So I’ve noticed you can ask NPC’s to work on certain tasks independent of the faction camp system. Has anybody made a guide as to how that works or if it’s tenable? IE, can I get them to work on construction projects etc just by telling them?
I’ve had some luck getting an NPC to chop down trees from a zone, but trying to get them to then cut planks (with wood saw in inventory) led them to attempt the task for a few minutes and then declare it complete with no results. Am I going to have similar struggles with the Construction Blueprint Zone?
I recently spent a lot of effort clearing out a military base and it just seems like the sensible location to try and build a home, but I don’t know if it’s worth the headache of trying to leverage NPC labor individually to try and make it happen.
Many zone based companion activities differ from the base camp ones in that they’re simulated in greater detail (go here, do that, then go there, repeat) and this, in turn requires the companion as well as all tiles involved to be within the reality bubble (a square 60 tiles out from the player, i.e. 121 tile sided box with the player in the center). Locations outside of the reality bubble (which thus moves around as the player moves around) are not considered, and the area considered is strictly on the same Z level. If a targeted location ends up outside of the bubble or companions collide the cancel the task and claims it to be complete (even though it’s actually cancelled).
Most or all base camp activities are abstracted, so once the task has been accepted the companion disappears and won’t return (and reappear) until recalled via the bulletin board (either prematurely via an emergency recall or any time after the task has completed).
I don’t know how blueprints are handled, as I haven’t used them yet. If nobody answers the question you might try it out by copying your save, whip up a moderately sized blueprint, order a companion to implement it go away so the areas where the blueprint is to be constructed as well as the locations of building materials and tools are outside the reality bubble and then come back after being away for long enough for the companion to finish several segments. If the segments are completed when you come back, it probably works regardless of reality bubble considerations. If the companion is still working but nothing has been constructed, it probably works like base camp blueprints, where everything appears at once when you recall the companion after completion, but I’d go away again and wait until it should have been completed and then come back to make sure.
I’d use the debug menu to wait (which has to be bound to a key to be accessed).
After the test I’d delete the save and restore the backup.
I’ve had some luck getting an NPC to chop down trees from a zone, but trying to get them to then cut planks (with wood saw in inventory) led them to attempt the task for a few minutes and then declare it complete with no results.
IIRC the last time I accidentally got planks by telling them to construction->Remove grass on that tile. I don’t recommend using NPCs for this as you can more time-efficiently get planks by Construction->Deconstruct Furniture in houses. Some types of furniture will yield a lot of planks. Several times more.
Am I going to have similar struggles with the Construction Blueprint Zone?
Get ready to suffer
I recently spent a lot of effort clearing out a military base and it just seems like the sensible location to try and build a home, but I don’t know if it’s worth the headache of trying to leverage NPC labor individually to try and make it happen.
Yes, it’s always worth it. Or did you have any other use of NPCs in mind?
I don’t know how a military base looks like. Do you have a picture? I like lone gas station garages as base location - 2 vehicle gates with a lot of space inside. Make sure it is close to a river for large amounts of free electricity.
The military base is something like 10x12 overmaps large with buildings for admin, mess, bunks, hospital, armory, and garage/workshop. There are several military vehicles in decent condition and the tools to fix them up. And the loot drops, without saying too much, are appropriately astronomical. It’s an entire pre-built fortified settlement in its own right and it just looks too good to leave behind.
As for power, it’s sadly not on a river but probably a 20 minute walk from one. There is a nuclear generator on site but I don’t think there’s any way to make that functional.
It seems silly to go through all the trouble of building a faction camp from scratch with all of that there, but without it I’d be missing out on all the passive work you can get the your followers to do. Planting, foraging, hunting, crafting etc.
I guess the crux of my dilemma is whether it’s worth giving up the “relative” ease of use of the faction camp and some of the extra labor I can assign with that system so that I can live in a pre-built fortress.
Assuming you’re up for the JSON work, you can define a base camp for those facilities, although the camp itself can’t be larger than 3*3 (the camp itself and extensions in the 8 tiles surrounding it). You’d have to define all the extensions yourself as none of the existing ones can be placed on anything than plains tiles.
Also note that defenses amount to next to nothing against roaming hordes with the current system, as the reality bubble is centered on the PC, and hordes move around abstractly, and so can spawn inside whatever defenses you have when the reality bubble touch their positions.
It is worth it, if what you are describing is true. You can still get them to work in a faction camp setting if you have a field less than 3 overmap tiles away from that base (the range at which they accept orders seems to be 2 overmap tiles).
Power: initially you can build water wheels away from base and swap storage batteries. The water wheels do “catch up” when they re-enter your reality bubble. After a while you will harvest enough (not sure if you are already there) solar panels to not need water wheels any longer. Steam generators are also possible - charcoal from trees is almost free.
The reality bubble radius is 60 tiles = exactly 2½ overmap tiles. Rather than try to hack a field base camp into somewhat work to drive a tile or two of a base, I’d rather add a completely rudimentary base camp that consists of only a bulletin board that can be placed on a base tile. Still, I don’t think you can use base camp functionality to drive a complete military base of the size described, as I think there’s a limit as to how close you can place base camps, so you’re probably limited to using a 3*3 overmap tile section of the base as your “real” base camp.
While water power is convenient (I assume: I’ve never been in a position to build them), there are wind turbines as well, which have the advantage that they can be mounted without regard to access to flowing water (and can generate power at night, as opposed to solar panels).
Thank you all for the excellent elucidation and advice. I’ll probably end up just making a field camp somewhere near the base and cannibalizing some of the structures there for materials… I’ve also noticed there’s something strange happening with the base that is causing extreme slowdowns near the center. Normally that is a sign of zombie activity within the reality bubble but I’ve cleared everything including some subterranean access. So unless there’s a hidden doorway somewhere, I can’t imagine where this slowdown is coming from, but it is very severe and there is a multi-second hang-up every time I approach the center of the base and the respective overmap loads in.
Having NPC’s work on construction blueprints seems to allow them to finish an in-progress tile while outside the reality bubble, but they will only start on their next job when inside the bubble. Alright if you’re going to be hanging around the base but not so good for if you’ll be away for extended periods.
A common reason for slowdowns is something buried in the ground below the area that slows down. It might be as simple as a subway, but often is something connected to one (with zombie activity within it).
A while ago someone complained of the sheer amount of loot slowing things down. Something about massive amounts of pockets in MRE rations. So just build a storage facility 5 overmap tiles away from base and move useless stuff there? Could even be an underground facility that can only be accessed via tunnel from base - NPCs can be used for digging with jackhammers.
Yes, large amounts of loot can lead to slowdowns. I encounter a delay whenever my character comes close to the “base” with all its loot. Moving “won’t probably not need this ever, but you can’t be sure” loot to a location that’s outside of the reality bubble of the locations you tend to visit (your “base” and the routes to it, for instance) might help.
However, you may then end up spending more time hauling stuff there (and continue to visit to offload even more junk) than it costs you in delays.
Stashing “stuff for a rainy day” somewhere you can find it at the location it was found is also an alternative.
I’m planning to fill useless loot into vehicles with a lot of cargo space and then tow them 5 tiles away from base. That way they are close enough if anything is needed and far enough for it to not worsen my experience.
