Showing posts with label Construction Worker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Construction Worker. Show all posts

Saturday, 26 October 2024

Empyrion - Galactic Survival

Scavenging everything to make everything!

Do you like things that are complicated? Was Bear and Breakfast too simple? If so then by golly this first person survival game for you. Just from the tutorial mission where you begin on a space ship to get your bearings on how food, medicine and anti radiation showers work which are then followed by short space walks to mine an asteroid followed by the ship blowing up so you have to claim ownership of the ship to use the teleporter which puts you on a remote planet where you can kill wildlife for food and disassemble pretty much everything, claim and build buildings and manufacture hover bikes for 5 stones while working towards creating another spaceship with warp capabilities... WTF? Information overload.

But on the flip side, you can do all that stuff. And you can do it cooperatively if you have a server to play on. Gameplay wise (excluding the crafting bit) it reminds me a lot of Project Entropia: beautiful environments and structures coupled with odd looking people and insects. Not one for me but I'm sure this would fill the building/survival itch for someone.

Friday, 25 October 2024

Bear and Breakfast

Scavenging trash to make things.

This quirky game has you play as a bear who gets roped into setting up bed and breakfast motels in the forest for humans. You'll understandably start with nothing and must go foraging through the woods for conveniently appearing stacks of timber and literal garbage that you can repurpose to turn into beds and furniture for your guests, who conveniently litter some more. Smaller junk "treasures" can be traded to the local racoon for more things or blueprints of things to improve your hotel.

While the exploration part is fine (though I wish there was a way to speed up conversations) the managing of guests and having to actually make rooms, doors and the works with the particular view provided isn't great. The game also has a hard time starting up for some reason, so now I've just discarded it. Maybe a happy bear can make use and recycle it into a toilet or something (yes you need to build those too). If you just want a game where you can play as a bear, Lumbearjack beats this easily.

Sunday, 22 August 2021

Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead

Where infinite time and infinite resources still make for difficult puzzles.

This falls definitely into the puzzle game category as the main gameplay is written in the title: constructing bridges. It plays much like "The Incredible Machine" where everything is paused while you build things and give your survivors simple commands (go right, climb up, etc) - then you hit play, watch the result, and usually head back to the build phase to improve your design until you win the challenge.


It's all about the triangles Daryl!

It is not easy. Even the simple "build a bridge from point A to point B" requires knowing how to construct supports to be able to take the weight of the bridge and whatever is traveling over it, be it survivors, vehicles or zombie hordes - complicated by the decision of what material to build your bridge with. The Walking Dead trappings are a nice touch with characters from the series showing up, each with some special ability but if your building skills aren't up to scratch, those won't save you.

Recommended to those who like puzzle and/or bridge building games I give it two cables out of five. If like me, you are a Walking Dead fan but are no good at puzzles, then skip this one.

Insight: Read the help section right away.

Sunday, 18 July 2021

Frostpunk

Depression is a dish best served cold.

It is the beginning of a new ice age and it is up to you to lead your group of survivors to outlive the cold. To do this, you'll need to get them working to build shelters, outposts and other stations to keep your community happy. They'll also need to mine resources to keep feed the furnace to stay alive. Expect to restart a few times as there is little in way of tutorial.

It's a pretty game though, and managing the warmth is an interesting concept. I quite like the book of laws too, where often you need to do devious things to ensure everyone's continued survival. Do good things and your colony's hope will rise - preventing people from abandoning you. Do bad things and discontent will rise. Max that bar out and its an icy execution for you.


Forced child labor for the win!
(or not, because your people are more likely to kill you)


Personally, I dislike building games but this one held my interest for longer than I thought, so if you enjoy building games this one is definitely worth a look. I give it three corpse pits out of five.

Insight: You don't need streets to everything. Also, on some warmer days you can leave the generator off. Always try get it on at night though.

Monday, 21 January 2019

Astroneer (Alpha)

Mining the galaxy for... fun?

Astroneer is a cute but strange little game where you take the role of a titular Astroneer to land on lonely, randomly generated, decent sized planets and build bases on them. To do so, you (and your buddies if in co-op) will need to use your magical vacuum cleaner to collect various materials to research and construct things.

Exploration is essential in finding some of the rarer components, often requiring cave spelunking where hostile flora often resides. That said, the worst threats are of an environmental nature - either from powerful wind storms or from simply going too far from your tethers and running out of air.

Better take shelter from that...

Once you progress far enough, you can build a shuttle to take you to the next planet and start all over again. That's pretty much all there is to this game at the moment and while it certainly is pretty it's not really my cup of tea. Probably one currently better suited to the Minecraft crowd, we'll see if it gets more interesting when it goes live for real.

Monday, 23 February 2015

The End-Times: Peace and Quiet

[This is part of The End-Times (Project Zomboid) story.]

Nick Hernandez, Construction Worker
Just before opening the last can of beans I checked the garden and to my surprise found carrots ready to be harvested! In the following days the broccoli and potatoes too. I was having a feast of vegetable salads that improved my mood, only I knew now that I had over planted - and that much of the fresh produce would spoil eventually.

Maybe the plants can be turned into defensive weapons?

By God's grace I harvested seed-bearing crops, meaning I could plant again. This time using a cycle methodology, which despite getting mildew, flies and fungi still provide a sustainable food source with only rain water from the heavens to sustain it. My water is still conserved using only the neighboring house taps. While it is true that two of those houses are now "dry", they have sustained me here for three whole months. Furthermore, my base home itself still has water in the upper level that I am reserving for emergency, just like my as of yet unused "travel bag".

The zombies are still around. While I've only had to kill two who loitered too close to the garden in the last few months, I still hear machine gun fire and screaming in the night. For now I just have to be patient and quiet, and with prayer perhaps this storm will pass.


[Still alive: 3 Months - Stopped playing due to it becoming an Idle Game. Thanks for reading!]

Thursday, 19 February 2015

The End-Times: Cold and Dark

[This is part of The End-Times (Project Zomboid) story.]

Nick Hernandez, Construction Worker
Managed to plant all the crops and scavenge some more food in this sudden cold break. At least the rains and thunderstorms should be good for the plants. Not sure how long until they bear fruit though. God willing, it will be soon. As of day 14 the power has stopped working, so I am thankful that I have cooked as much food as I could have and am now eating the things in the fridge before they spoil. Even if those go bad I have at least six cans of beans, numerous bags of chips and an assortment of chocolate to tide me over.

More worryingly I have noticed the downstairs tap has run out of water. I have built up a decent supply of it, but I don't know how long it will last. The large pots I previously used for soup certainly last me a few days but for some reason cannot catch rain water. To this end I am preparing a "travel bag" with some supplies should I be forced to move on from here but for the time being, quiet meditation and prayer has seen me this far, so I will stay until God tells me otherwise.

Earl Parker, Unemployed
The lights are out!? SHIIIIIT! Now I've got all this uncooked food that I don't have heat sources for. Worse, I've had no luck finding a needle, tweezers or thread to properly fix the cut on my arm. It isn't healing at all. I'm getting pretty good at bandaging it though, and washing the bloodied rags for reuse. Not much else I can do other than change the bandage.

As much as I dislike the idea, I'm gonna have to move on. There's simply not enough food here that I'm willing to eat. Uncooked chicken vs rotten vegetables? Fuck that. I'm out of here. Had my fun with the girls anyway. Typical, it decides to rain just as I'm a good distance away from the house. No going back now.

...

I'm exhausted, and now I find myself in some... fenced area as night falls. There's an office but it's locked up tight. No choice but to break the glass and gain another cut on my hand. Damnit! At least I can refill my water at the john, and peacefully eat my pack of chips in the upstairs office. I even find a new golf club and some shotgun shells. No shottie though.

Sleeping in an office chair is uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as realizing in the morning that I am in a rail yard, and it is crawling with zombies.

Not the hot kind either.

Sunday, 15 February 2015

The End-Times: The Bad News

[This is part of The End-Times (Project Zomboid) story.]

Nick Hernandez, Construction Worker
The last house I tried to scavenge sounded an alarm, summoning the putas from all over. I am upset that I couldn't forage anything today, so instead just decided to begin digging up soil in the garden in preparation for seed planting, something I seem to have plenty of. In the process I collected some earthworms who now live in a burnt TV dinner inside the house. They may not say much but at least I have company.

Earl Parker, Unemployed
Damn it. Something came through house in the night, judging from the broken windows it just came through one side and walked out the other. Good thing I sleep upstairs with the dorm "harem". I wonder how I can fix the... OW... SHIT! Stupid stupid stupid! Now I've got a cut on my arm with tiny pieces of broken glass inside. It hurts like a biiiiiitch! Good thing there's a lot of spare clothes here I can tear up into bandages. I'd better do that before this gets infected.

Shaun Jones, Security Guard (beginner)
I couldn't sleep. The excitement was too much. Despite the rain, I decided to raid the school for supplies but got more than I bargained for when I was jumped by three zeds in the toilet. One of them managed to bite my ear! Fricking Mike Tyson zombie. I ran away and made it back to the tavern to rest, but when I awoke I was just feeling sick.

Ok, maybe it wasn't a zombie?

Now I'm back in the commercial district, quickly losing strength as I go through this line of shops looking for medicines. Already had to ditch a number of items from my pack just so I can walk! So far I've only found a fast food joint, a book shop and "Jewel's" beauty parlor where I am currently resting while writing this. Total BS. Why don't they have a clinic or something nearby? Well... I'm too tired to continue searching at the moment so I'm going to rest up here a little.

[Dead: 7 Days 8 Hrs]

Wednesday, 11 February 2015

The End-Times: The Good News

[This is part of The End-Times (Project Zomboid) story.]

Shaun Jones, Security Guard (beginner)
I'm saved! I stumbled across a two story tavern called "I Has Beer" in the early morning, stocked with some food and lots of drink! After clearing out the few zeds within and taking a long nap in one of the windowless rooms through a thunderstorm. The next morning I decided to look around more and found a commercial district nearby leading me to think that there will be a lot of good stuff to loot on future runs, provided I can continue to avoid the undead.

I've begun building up the tavern as my base, planting a few crops across the parking lot outside. With any luck this might serve as my new home for a long while.

Nick Hernandez, Construction Worker
I found a small two story house and thankfully have enough drapes to cover all the windows. I know they won't stop the cabrones from getting in, but hopefully they will never know I am here, like a ninja sheep in a pack of impaired wolves. I've gathered quite a lot of food now so I'm cooking up a storm and gathering water in a few containers. By the grace of God, I will have enough to outlast the dead.

Earl Parker, Unemployed
The good news? Zombie disease isn't an STD!

Mmm sexy!

The bad news? I'm out of booze. Time to go looting the nearby houses. There better be some heavy drinkers in the area.

Sunday, 8 February 2015

The End-Times: Surrounded by the Dead

[This is part of The End-Times (Project Zomboid) story.]

Nick Hernandez, Construction Worker
Only by the grace of God am I still alive. Twice I had already been saved yesterday. Most of the zombies I had been fighting ran off to chase a speeding police car. Then, while resting in the evening I awoke in a sweat to one of the putas breaking in through the window to my bedroom! I killed him but broke my holy plank in the process. I know this is the word of God, telling me to move on. As if by fate I found a frying pan labelled "Jesus" which I now wield in his holy name. I don't have many resources other than this, so I will have to scrounge the nearby area for supplies and a suitable new home. I know that God will provide.

Earl Parker, Unemployed
Ohhh yeah... this is the life! Now where did I put that beer?

Shaun Jones, Security Guard (beginner)
Tired. So tired. I can't believe the rail tracks went nowhere. Now I'm following this long... endless road. Heard lots of gun shots followed by a woman's scream from the nearby forest, so I don't dare to stop. With this heat it is no surprise my water is running low. It would be ironic to die from something other than zombies in a zombie apocalypse. They're still around, but very few out here where I am passing. Easy enough to evade, and those that come close I put down with the old homestar runner.

The baseball bat, not the character.

Jennifer Reed, Police Officer (last stand)
I thought I could lose them by turning off the sirens in the forest, but it seems they've followed me all the way to the hunting cabin. I hear them all around and with night falling fast all I can do is get all my weapons ready and hold them off for as long... something is at the door. They're here!

...

Pistol's out of ammo ... there's more coming from the tree line... Shotgun was taking them down in groups but that's out of ammo too, I'm running for the kitchen to get a knife! Killed two more but they've cornered me in the attic, and I'm stabbing as many as I can while they come up the stairs...

Shit! The knife broke! Running to the nearby window and hopping out to the roof below. The bastards are still chasing me! I've got to jump down into... there's a sea of them down there! What do I do? I need to... Aaaaaaaahhhh!

*Zombie behind her pushes her off the roof into the mass of groaning flesh eaters below*

[Dead: Wave 7 - 83 zombies killed.]

Chuck Gray, Angry Fireman
Unbelievable. My AC unit doesn't work and the temperature is just rising. I've also somehow eaten all my food and read all those books I was reserving. What the hell is taking the army so long in getting this mess cleaned up? I'm going to have to risk sneaking to the next house. Damn, it's locked up tight. Hey, what's that sound? A helicopter!?

"HEY! OVER HERE! HEYYYYYY!"

Are they blind!? I'll run out into the open so they see me!

"OVER HERE YOU PIECES OF SHIT!"

I can't believe they are flying away. What bastards! They didn't even see when I threw those pots and pans at their helicopter! And... what's all the moaning around me? Oh. Great. Zombies. FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU....

[Dead: 2 Days 3 Hrs]

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

The End-Times: Suddenly, Zombies

[This is part of The End-Times (Project Zomboid) story.]

Jennifer Reed, Police Officer (intro only)
No one knows where they came from. They suddenly appeared everywhere. There's no choice now. For any others still alive I have to lure away as many of these ... things ... as possible! They seem to be attracted by sound so I'll use that. Hopefully I can take them away from the city and lose them in the forest.

Shaun Jones, Security Guard (beginner)
I knew moving to Kentucky was a bad idea. I haven't been here a week and already there's some zombie apocalyse going on. Good thing I didn't really unpack yet. Seems to me the dead heads are attracted by noise so it's better to leave quiet like with my pre-prepared pack of supplies and water. I saw some train tracks on the way in. The plan is to follow those and get the hell out of here.

Nick Hernandez, Construction Worker
JESU-CRISTO! Is this how the world ends!? I might only live in a trailer and my whole life spent only in building things, but by the grace of God, the almighty Father, and this handy two by four I am going to smite all these ugly cabrones that threaten my home! Bring it on, pendejos!

Kimberly Ward, Park Ranger
Woke up to some loud sirens racing past the house, so I look out the window and what do I see? OMG - Zombies!?! I don't know what's going on! The TV doesn't work, and I picked a really bad time to start that diet! There's literally no food in the house, just designer handbags and fashion magazines. Think brain, think!

I know! I'll just raid the creepy fat dude's house. He's fat, so he should have lots of food. Right? This can be payback for all the times I've caught him perving at my bed room window...

What luck - he's not home to get mad at me for breaking his window. Or taking some of his food! I'm sure he wouldn't care about me burning some bacon in his microwave either. I was distracted by this shiny pistol I found in one of his drawers. NICE. Oh look, the fat bastard is out on the street... he's one of them? Hah! Serves him right!

Wait, no I got a better idea. Let me get this door open... "HEY YOU, FAT ASS!"

Haha, he's even uglier now as a zombie. He so has this coming as I point his own gun at him and pull the trigger with a satisfied grin on my face.

*click*

Eh?

[Dead: 1 Day 6 Hrs]

Chuck Gray, Angry Fireman
When will that stupid bitch stop screaming? Ah there we go. Serves her right for confronting one of those with an empty gun. There are zombies. So what? Not my problem. I'm just going to shut all my curtains, read my books and cook some food from my well stocked fridge.

Earl Parker, Unemployed
Wow, everything's going to hell eh? Well unlike that Mexican motherfucker with the two by four defending his "home" I'm not really attached to this caravan. It's my third ex-wifes really. I only inherited it when she accidentally fell onto some bullets and rolled into the lake tied to a concrete block. Sure looks like it's everyone for themselves now, and if I can choose which house I want to be mine next... it would be that one. The pink, two story one. Aheheheh!

With a bag full of booze and a golf club I once found on some rich, fool who was killed in a hit and run by a car I happened to be driving at the time, I'm headed over to claim my prize.

Turns out it was well guarded, but not well guarded enough. The window was easy to open, and killing the five cute, zombified dorm girls inside was actually kindof... arousing. Aheheheheh.