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

[toro]

I keep starting this game up, staring at my base for an hour or so, and then thinking, eh what's the point? and shutting it off. I really need some kind of goal to work towards to keep me interested.

Be the man that can kill a Beak Thing Elder with one arm
Find the story behind Mad Cat Lon. Collect all lore.
Destroy all Hive's enemies. Make them invade the entire world.
Build the perfect settlement in the middle of Beak things.
Make your own kingdom of bandits.
Download the mod tool and go ham.

I just want to explore all the areas related to the lore. Build a squad of Terminators and destroy HN or another faction.

 

[Zanzoken]

I keep starting this game up, staring at my base for an hour or so, and then thinking, eh what's the point? and shutting it off. I really need some kind of goal to work towards to keep me interested.

Try one of the different starts, if you haven't already. I was in your same position after using the default start and playing pretty aimlessly in my first couple of games, but the alternate starts come with some built-in motivation.

Also, this may be an unpopular opinion, but getting too invested in base building killed my interest quicker than anything. I spent hours and hours on my first base -- building walls, gates, turrets, farms, mines, structures -- and then realized I didn't actually have any use for the damn thing. I was spending all my energy on a completely pointless exercise.

So just remember that you don't have to build a base, and you aren't missing anything important if you don't. I do have a base in my current run -- which I built because it makes certain things easier for me -- but it only consists of a single stationhouse. And sometimes I go two or three play sessions without visiting it. It's just a tool I use to support my mission, nothing more.

 

[PanteraNera]

Maybe I missed a line of dialogue but I could have sworn I got attacked by Holy Nation guards simply for having a female Shek with me. When I entered town, the guard said something like "Make sure to keep your slave in line". Did my business without any trouble and went to leave and the guard said something obnoxious and then attacked me. The way I remember it, at no point was I in dialogue with either character. The guard's comments were just floating text.

That is strange I spent quite some time in Stack (a couple of in-game days) with at least six Shek in my party. I mined the four iron rocks outside and did extensive strength training in town. After that I went to all the other holy nation cities. I was never attacked in a town / at the gate.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

*Sigh* Now I'm at a loss. Alright, so I bought said Longhouse in Squin. Built a Research Bench II there, a Grog Distillery, some Grog Barrels, a Small Generator and a Biofuel Processor (which claimed it used Wheatstraw but now says Greenfruit), only to realize that the Grog Distillery takes a TON of Wheatstraw to make a single Grog. Is this correct? Where am I going to get the Wheatstraw from? I figured I could build a farm outside of town, a Large one, and hopefully no one destroys my fields. I can send a few workers to tend it. Would this be a solid plan or am I wasting time with this setup? It cost me a lot to do so I hope it's still salvageable. I do not want to head back to Shark to stock up on Wheatstraw. Also, no spoilers please, I don't want to know where some huge Wheatstraw field is that I can plunder, etc.. Should I just build the farm outside of Squin and maybe keep a few soldiers there to fend off critters?

 

[agris]

Fluent how did you spend 19k on the Squin longhouse? They’re 7.2 iirc, and can fit a research 3 bench (at least). As another poster said, you can get iron plates from the Squin trader (merchant scales sign), the Wayfarer station SW of Squin, and the Hub.

I’m using my Squin longhouse as a research hub, medical station, leather tanning and light armor manufacturing. Plus lots of beds on the roof. It’s great, and I don't feel bogged down by managing a base like Zanzoken discussed. I get my plates from the aforementioned locations, same with fabric.

Edit: remember, you can disassemble your tier 2 bench, recouping the space and some plates, before building the tier 3 version.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Fluent how did you spend 19k on the Squin longhouse? They’re 7.2 iirc, and can fit a research 3 bench (at least). As another poster said, you can get iron plates from the Squin trader (merchant scales sign), the Wayfarer station SW of Squin, and the Hub.

I’m using my Squin longhouse as a research hub, medical station, leather tanning and light armor manufacturing. Plus lots of beds on the roof. It’s great, and I don't feel bogged down by managing a base like Zanzoken discussed. I get my plates from the aforementioned locations, same with fabric.

Edit: remember, you can disassemble your tier 2 bench, recouping the space and some plates, before building the tier 3 version.

Nope, mine definitely cost 19,000. Right next to the general shop.

To speed up the iron plate thing I had my worker who was mining copper in stack hire some mercenaries and bring me a big supply of them and fuel to Squin. It worked well and now I still have one worker mining copper in Stack for a steady income.

I'll probably recoup the space and get a tier 3 bench in there then, good to know it can fit it. I just hope the Grog assembly is worth it, but I can always dismantle that too if it doesn't work out. I need a big supply of Wheatstraw. Would you recommend building a farm outside of Squin? I can then hire a couple more recruits from Squin who are lower level and have them work the farm. But it's turning into a big venture and I'm not sure if it's going to work out. One good thing is that on the one side of Squin the river raptors have been wiped out, so a farm should be relatively safe over there if I can build that close.

 

[Zanzoken]

Fluent A longhouse in Squin costs 19000c if you buy it intact, but 7200c if you buy a damaged one. The fixer-upper is a much better deal since the building materials it takes to repair won't set you back more than a couple grand. Reload an earlier save and go that route if you want to save some coin.

Biofuel distilleries are specialized to run off of either greenfruit, wheatstraw, or hemp (the most efficient). When you select it on the build screen you'll see a toggle arrow to select which type you want. If you built one to take greenfruit you'll have to tear it down and rebuild. Keep in mind though that when you're living in a town, the electricity gets shared amongst all residents, so you can't target your generator to focus just on your house. You'll have to generate enough power to run the whole town in order to stay at max efficiency.

I am pretty sure building a farm counts as starting an outpost and will generate base-related events, such as bandit raids and Shek provings, so I doubt it's worth your time. I am pretty sure wheatstraw won't grow worth a damn near Squin anyway, since it's desert, but I have never tried to farm there so I could be wrong.

agris Only the tier 1 research bench is a different size. Tiers 2 through 6 all utilize the same amount of space and can be upgraded without being torn down. Just click on the research bench, click the upgrade button, add the iron plates you need, and order your people to build it like you would any other structure.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Sheesh. So another potential outpost ruined. Zanzoken What should I do then? I also built a weapon smith upstairs. Should I just disassemble the Grog Distillery, Grog Barrels, Power Generator and BioFuel Generator and just go into something like fabric or weapon production?

 

[agris]

Zanzoken Thanks. Regarding power, what do the numbers for the town mean? Squin has something like 603/113 with the bar green and entirely filled. I searched for the answer to this, but couldn’t find it.

If it’s Used/Supplied, the UI is doing a poor job of indicating a huge shortfall in production.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

agris I saw the left number '603' going down incrementally to 475/100. I think it's Supplied/Used maybe?

 

[Zanzoken]

Fluent I am not sure where you're at in your playthrough, but if you're just trying to get up and running (i.e. food production and income), then imo your best bet in the Squin area is to hunt garru and goats, mine copper and iron, and fight dust bandits.

Feed your people with meat, which can be cooked on campfires inside your home. Dried meat doesn't have much nutrition but you can source a lot in this area. The last time I settled in Squin I ended up with bins full of the stuff.

To make money, carve the animal skins into leather, then craft the leather into armor. You gain armour-smithing skill from both of these activities, and once you reach level 40 the armor you craft will be worth decent coin (and it only goes up from there). Mining and loot from bandits will supplement your income whenever there are no critters around.

I could say more but idk how far you want me to go into this without it becoming spoilery.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Zanzoken I have a squad of 14 already, looking for new income in Squin. I wanted to weapon smith and craft weapons. Is that at least feasible there?

 

[Zanzoken]

Zanzoken Thanks. Regarding power, what do the numbers for the town mean? Squin has something like 603/113 with the bar green and entirely filled. I searched for the answer to this, but couldn’t find it.

It means supplied / used. Most cities are poorly planned in that they are overbuilt on turbines, but underbuilt on batteries and generator backups. So their electricity supply is either way too much, or nonexistent.

You can try to fix this yourself but as I said, you have to supply enough for the whole town, which is pretty annoying.

 

[Zanzoken]

Zanzoken I have a squad of 14 already, looking for new income in Squin. I wanted to weapon smith and craft weapons. Is that at least feasible there?

Weapon production is feasible, but more difficult. You need iron plates -- and eventually steel bars -- that can't be manufactured without an outpost. So you'll have to either purchase your iron / steel from local traders, or try to set up a mining camp nearby and worry about raids / potential problems with the Shek.

 

[PanteraNera]

your best bet in the Squin area is to hunt garru and goats

Can only second that, when I started my current game I spend probably an in-game week in Squin fighting Hungry Bandits and Dust Bandits. As I wanted to min-max money at that time I set camp outside to heal of my wounds. My squad had still no name, but the Shek started to call me Goat Hunter (roleplayed that) as I kept selling goat leather and meat to them. Ruka was pissed about that as I was. We wanted to become something big, to be feared and turned into mere Hunters.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Alright, so is there a cheat way to place a party member in a different location. Somehow one of my companions is up on top of the giant mountain near Squin and there's no way to get down. No clue how she got up there, either. So is there a way with a cheat engine or something to pick her up and put her back on normal ground?

 

[Major_Blackhart]

You fucked it up Walter. They're gonna kill that poor woman!

 

[PanteraNera]

Alright, so is there a cheat way to place a party member in a different location. Somehow one of my companions is up on top of the giant mountain near Squin and there's no way to get down. No clue how she got up there, either. So is there a way with a cheat engine or something to pick her up and put her back on normal ground?

In the main menu click import, than check "reset squad position" and everything you want to keep (research, faction relations, buildings ...)

 

[XenomorphII]

You don't have to do that. Just select another character besides the stuck one, save, then load and check the reset squad positions box. Should center the party around whoever was last selected. I've had hell with people getting stuck in walls and this is a lifesaver.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

i cranked the frequency of town assault to max because i want to use all those defenses for something. "crab tournament incoming", oh well, manageable with a few wounded. "skin bandits incoming" just a few seconds later. oh. fucking. shit. i scramble to build and man as many more turrets that i can, i'll probably stop food production to move more people to repair the gate and heal the people who'll inevitably suffer friendly fire. the time comes, i begin by potshotting the war leader from as far as i can, from my farthermost watchtower, men and beasts rush for the gate, white and green numbers everywhere, then lots of red. the gate holds, but just barely, while the medics bring the wounded to the nearest beds. i turn around the camera and watch the horror of the skin bandits already sprinting through my killbox. they crash on the gate and with just a few swings they open it. but they don't enter. they stop, pick the fallen crab men and turn around. all of them. as fast as they came, they were gone, my base unscathed, the worst fated will see a bed for few hours and that's it.
a shame because i couldn't use my secret plan: the jail bomb! not far from the outer gate, on the way to the inner gate, i built a prison and i filled it with the skeleton bandits who survived the previous assault. had the skin bandits broken in i'd have freed them all, pushing 15 old invaders in the way of the new invaders.

this clearly still unfinished game needs just a few touches and small additions to be a masterpiece despite its many shortcomings, it's truly devastating to hear the devs say it's complete in their opinion.

 

[PanteraNera]

this clearly still unfinished game needs just a few touches and small additions to be a masterpiece despite its many shortcomings, it's truly devastating to hear the devs say it's complete in their opinion.

Agreed on the other hand Overhype said the same thing about Battle Brothers and eventually they did a free mini DLC and an DLC.
Also as far as I can tell Kenshi sells really well, so that might change their minds as well.
I really hope for Kenshi EE / 1.5 / DLC's there is so much stuff they could tweak / fix and add.
Playing around with the FCS currently and I can say modders can certainly do a lot with it.

 

[agris]

PanteraNera FCS?

 

[mondblut]

Can you cut humans for meat like in Unreal World?

 

[Ironmonk]

no, but at least you can feed your animals with humanoid limbs

Edit.: Oh, wait.... there is a mod that adds cannibalism

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=784229550

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

MadMaxHellfire I still think it's a masterpiece, though. But yeah, I agree about it being sad that the devs are done with it. It's a game that comes around, I dunno, once in a lifetime maybe? It's a very special experience. One I've fallen deeply in love with. I would marry this game, and again, gladly spend money on whatever they do going forward (hopefully expanded features in DLC form since the game is popular right now.)