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Kenshi - open-ended sandbox RPG set in a desert world

Dawkinsfan69

Dumbfuck!
Dumbfuck Bethestard
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
2,815
Location
inside ur mom ᕦ( ▀̿ Ĺ̯ ▀̿ )ᕤ
Even though I've kinda finished my run, I think Kenshi is basically the perfect game. It's got all the good things: great aesthetic, cool world, great rpg elements, crafting, building, etc.. it's all really good.

-One love
 

Jimmious

Arcane
Patron
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
5,132
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
It's definitely not perfect since it lacks a basic element for me:
There is no "drive" forward. The only thing your character "needs" is food which is pretty cheap and you can easily make money by digging stones. And you are safe ,more or less, in big cities. So basically there isn't something to drive the player forward, it's all up to you. While that's OK, it certainly is not perfect - the game should have SOMETHING that pushes you to improve and do stuff..
RimWorld ,for example, does a much better job with that, since you need to constantly improve in order to survive the next problem that appears etc
 

Efe

Erudite
Joined
Dec 27, 2015
Messages
2,597
isnt it an illusion in rimworld?
afaik total value of your settlement determines the strength of raids/events you get.
 

Martyr

Arcane
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
1,110
Location
Bavaria
It's definitely not perfect since it lacks a basic element for me:
There is no "drive" forward. The only thing your character "needs" is food which is pretty cheap and you can easily make money by digging stones. And you are safe ,more or less, in big cities. So basically there isn't something to drive the player forward, it's all up to you. While that's OK, it certainly is not perfect - the game should have SOMETHING that pushes you to improve and do stuff..
RimWorld ,for example, does a much better job with that, since you need to constantly improve in order to survive the next problem that appears etc
but that's the defining characteristic of a true sandbox game: you're free to do whatever you want. the only goals that matter are the ones that you've created for yourself.
this only becomes a problem if a player doesn't create any goals for himself.
 

Jimmious

Arcane
Patron
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
5,132
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
It's definitely not perfect since it lacks a basic element for me:
There is no "drive" forward. The only thing your character "needs" is food which is pretty cheap and you can easily make money by digging stones. And you are safe ,more or less, in big cities. So basically there isn't something to drive the player forward, it's all up to you. While that's OK, it certainly is not perfect - the game should have SOMETHING that pushes you to improve and do stuff..
RimWorld ,for example, does a much better job with that, since you need to constantly improve in order to survive the next problem that appears etc
but that's the defining characteristic of a true sandbox game: you're free to do whatever you want. the only goals that matter are the ones that you've created for yourself.
this only becomes a problem if a player doesn't create any goals for himself.
Maybe. Maybe I just believe that games should not be completely sandbox and at least create some sort of pressure to get better.
 

LizardWizard

Cipher
Joined
Feb 14, 2014
Messages
995
Well to be fair, Rimworld still hasn't given us a reason to continue playing it over Dwarf Fortress. The caravan aspect, which is it's only real uniqueness remains woefully underdeveloped
 

Jimmious

Arcane
Patron
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
5,132
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
isnt it an illusion in rimworld?
afaik total value of your settlement determines the strength of raids/events you get.
To be honest my point is that there is no real incentive to build a settlement in the first place. Sure I wanna do it for the fun of it, but do I need it for some reason? Not really.
That's basically it. Hey I'm not hating on the game, I actually like it, but I believe there's a flaw there
 

mondblut

Arcane
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
22,230
Location
Ingrija
To be honest my point is that there is no real incentive to build a settlement in the first place. Sure I wanna do it for the fun of it, but do I need it for some reason? Not really.

Settlement gives a vast array of options to gid gud that are far superior to digging rocks.

I mean, you don't really need to progress beyond the starting area in any dungeon crawler, you can beat random encounters indefinitely, so...

Me, I was looking forward to recruit everyone I could recruit into my crew. And the increasingly pressing need to import the game is about to ruin that, since all random characters respawn all over again. It's not like I cannot accomodate another 120 recruits, but I am already at over 160, and the modded limit is only 256... :negative:
 

Delterius

Arcane
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
15,956
Location
Entre a serra e o mar.
To be honest my point is that there is no real incentive to build a settlement in the first place. Sure I wanna do it for the fun of it, but do I need it for some reason? Not really.

Settlement gives a vast array of options to gid gud that are far superior to digging rocks.

I mean, you don't really need to progress beyond the starting area in any dungeon crawler, you can beat random encounters indefinitely, so...

Me, I was looking forward to recruit everyone I could recruit into my crew. And the increasingly pressing need to import the game is about to ruin that, since all random characters respawn all over again. It's not like I cannot accomodate another 120 recruits, but I am already at over 160, and the modded limit is only 256... :negative:
You haven't finished the game until your 100 people army hires 10 more mercenary groups and destroys all the enemies of your favorite faction, tbh.
 

XenomorphII

Prophet
Joined
Jan 23, 2011
Messages
1,198
I always treated my settlement more as my base of operations than as a settlement. Have all the crap there to do whatever I want (farming, crafting, whatever), stop in between adventures and stock up on food, build some improved weapons or armors, drop off special loot, or maybe just to let people heal up. Once I do whatever I wanted to, everybody loads up and rolls out to go ruin somebody else's day.
 

mondblut

Arcane
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
22,230
Location
Ingrija
I always treated my settlement more as my base of operations than as a settlement. Have all the crap there to do whatever I want (farming, crafting, whatever), stop in between adventures and stock up on food, build some improved weapons or armors, drop off special loot, or maybe just to let people heal up. Once I do whatever I wanted to, everybody loads up and rolls out to go ruin somebody else's day.

Why not both though?

Currently I have about 30 farmers, cooks and crafters at permanent residence in my "capital", plus some 50 trainees there, while the adventuring party of about 60 (in 2 groups) wanders all over the place. The remaining 20 are scattered in triplets across a number of small self-sufficient walled outposts all over the border zone, from vain to swamp to skinner's roam.
 

Major_Blackhart

Codexia Lord Sodom
Patron
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
18,323
Location
Jersey for now
I've built a settlement, but so far it's too undermanned and I haven't made a viable food source yet.
My core group of four (PC, Beep, Burn, Hand) can take out anything. Shryke, an escaped servant, and a few others can hold their own.
Gonna train Rane the Giant's strength up to the 80's or so, then up her toughness against broken skeletons.
 

mondblut

Arcane
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
22,230
Location
Ingrija
Gonna train Rane the Giant's strength up to the 80's or so, then up her toughness against broken skeletons.

Mind that training strength of a single character is terribly inefficient. You can train 50 in the time it takes to train one by overloading them all and setting to follow the original one as he goes back and forth carrying a single piece of ore to his destination. Leave them for the night, and everyone will have 90 (unless someone gets stuck in the terrain and dies of hunger).
 

Technomancer

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 24, 2018
Messages
1,464
Anyone can suggest other locations with the highest resource yield? I know areas around crab raiders have 200 iron, and the swamp has 209 water, what about stone?
Naturally, the worst shit hole gets the most resources. Sattelite debris in the Ashland can be mined for 300 quality iron & copper. I don't think it gets higher than that. Do you get raided by old empire skellies there?
 

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
Patron
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
11,878
How tedious is the micromanagement?
Micromanagement is worst in the base-building component of the game, relative to exploration and combat, even with the ability to automate tasks. Also, it generally worsens as you increase the number of squad-members. In combat, ranged weapons are extremely effective with micromanagement to reduce friendly fire and avoid melee attacks. Still, I think the main problem with Kenshi isn't the micromanagement but rather the excessive grinding needed to improve combat skills, without offering you some kind of missions or quests to provide direction.
 

Deleted Member 16721

Guest
I think the "make your own story" approach is refreshing. I had some great adventures and personal stories in the game.
 

Zanzoken

Arcane
Joined
Dec 16, 2014
Messages
3,574
I jumped back into the game today and decided to make a run at wiping out the entire leadership of the Holy Nation. Had a blast, read on for more details.

Stack and its leader High Inquisitor Seta were the first target. My plan was to disguise my main crew as Slave Traders, then once inside use assassination to clear the gates for the rest of the troops and fight our way through town.
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For whatever reason the disguises were blown immediately, despite showing a 100% chance of success. I got lucky though and was able to kill the gate guards without alarming the whole town.
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In the throne room, only a single guard stood between me and a free shot at Seta. I took a chance and rushed the guard with a stealth KO, and Grey managed to pull it off.
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The game gave me a 70% chance to kidnap Seta without a fight, and it worked!
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I had initially planned to return both High Inquisitors to Flotsam, but the Shek town of Squin was much closer. Got a bit of unique dialogue and a fat $40k bounty.
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A couple days after turning Seta in, the Shek conquered Stack and even moved their faction HQ there.
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Very successful mission, bolstered by plenty of good luck.
Okran's Shield was the next target, ruled by High Inquisitor Valtena. The walls and crosswalk are both lined with turrets, so this place is no joke. Valtena's barracks is the triangle shaped building in the back right.
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Because of the fortress's tight defenses, I recruited the skeleton Burn to provide a distraction. The plan was for Burn to run through town ahead of my forces, causing the Okranites to go berserk and leave their posts. This would create a gap for my troops to slip through and attack Valtena, pacify him, and hopefully escape before the brunt of the garrison realizes what's happened.
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In a strange turn of events, the guards are already freaking out about skeletons when I get there. I guess these two wild motherfuckers just showed up for some reason and started kicking ass!
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All hell was breaking loose with iron spiders, broken skeletons, and black dragon ninjas joining the fray. And some cool lightning from the Iron Valley just to the south.
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Valtena was ready to get to it as soon as we walked in the door. He had about 6 paladins with him.
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It was a tough fight but we defeated Valtena and took him prisoner. However by now it was starting to get daylight, and the guards had manned their turrets. We were pretty banged up and had to beat hasty retreat.
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Four of the team didn't make it. I considered going back for them, but as you can see the turret gunners had the area locked down. I didn't want to risk any more losses.
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Flotsam was the closest ally this time, and Moll was pretty stoked to take Valtena off our hands.
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Overall it was a much more action packed mission than the previous one, but we got the job done. Of the 4 MIAs, one escaped, two were imprisoned (and later escaped), and one was killed. Here's to you, Set :salute:
Last but certainly not least: Blister Hill, and the big man himself, the Holy Lord Phoenix. Forget about disguises, distractions, and any other tricks. We were riding high, and it was time to mount up and conquer this city like they did in the days of olde, then drag the Phoenix's candy ass out kicking and screaming. I recruited a gang of Flotsam plus all the mercenaries I could find in World's End for the final showdown.
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We hit the town head on and just carved through anyone in our way. The paladins were tough but we had taken the upper hand.
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But once the Phoenix and his bodyguards got involved, things started going south in a hurry. Turns out these dudes are the real deal and they cut through my foot soldiers and mercs like it was nothing.
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I rallied Grey and the rest of my top fighters to go for a final charge. We weren't going to conquer the city today, but if we could rush the Phoenix and kidnap him then we could still salvage a victory.
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We managed to take a few more of their guys down, but never got close to the Phoenix himself. Realizing that defeat was imminent, I decided it was time to live and fight another day. I focused on getting my Ninjas out safely and left the foot soldiers to their fate.
vNV109b.jpg


So the Battle of Blister Hill ended up being a resounding defeat. Fortunately all seven of my Ninjas got away with no permanent injuries, but of my 19 rookies, only three managed to escape. There were 5 or 6 dead (including Burn, goodnight sweet prince) and the rest imprisoned and/or enslaved.

I really thought we had a good chance of winning but it was still a hell of a lot of fun to lose. Now I'm just that much more motivated to figure out how to take revenge and put the Phoenix down for good.
My next update should hopefully be my last for this run, and I will link all the prior posts for anyone who wants to read the whole thing.
 
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