• If you have a mod, tool or prefab, please use the Resources section. Click Mods at the top of the forums.

Dishong Tower Challenge

duanethebathtub said:
I've been watching your DF series.  Couldn't you just cheese the food situation and build like 10 bee hives???
Click to expand...


Oh did seven do a DF series as well? Can you share the link? I'd love to check it out!

Back when I did my own Darkness Falls Dishong Tower Challenge, I should have totally just cheesed it with beehives but didn't realize yet at the time that honey actually feeds you!

 
KatsPurr said:
Oh did seven do a DF series as well? Can you share the link? I'd love to check it out!

Back when I did my own Darkness Falls Dishong Tower Challenge, I should have totally just cheesed it with beehives but didn't realize yet at the time that honey actually feeds you!
Click to expand...


I think he's mixing us up, or forgot a quote. I don't have any videos posted. And I'm doing vanilla with all constraints mentioned in the first post.

In my longest attempt I found that food wasn't an issue after a while. With the generous harvest and cheap seed production in the mod I soon had plenty corn, potatoes, pumpkins and mushrooms. It's just the first week or so that's a problem.

Anyway, after another failed attempt I think I'm done with this. With the low drop rate of antibiotics, infection is pretty much a death sentence which is particularly annoying when crawling zombies can hit you through doors and hatches. I again cleared the building and survived the first horde but did get infected on day 4. On the second looting I actually got one honey but at 85% that's not going to do anything and I won't survive until the next loot respawn.

Maybe 1 of the good anti-biotics could be added to the initial care package?

 
Great!

seven said:
I think he's mixing us up, or forgot a quote. I don't have any videos posted. And I'm doing vanilla with all constraints mentioned in the first post.

In my longest attempt I found that food wasn't an issue after a while. With the generous harvest and cheap seed production in the mod I soon had plenty corn, potatoes, pumpkins and mushrooms. It's just the first week or so that's a problem.

Anyway, after another failed attempt I think I'm done with this. With the low drop rate of antibiotics, infection is pretty much a death sentence which is particularly annoying when crawling zombies can hit you through doors and hatches. I again cleared the building and survived the first horde but did get infected on day 4. On the second looting I actually got one honey but at 85% that's not going to do anything and I won't survive until the next loot respawn.

Maybe 1 of the good anti-biotics could be added to the initial care package?
Click to expand...


My bad.  I thought I was replying to KatsPurr.  I watched some of her Darkness Falls series.  I have a lot of time in Darkness Falls and thought to just do beehives or traps for food.  Thus, no worries on food or infections at all.  However, there would be a ton of zombies.  I also tried it in Apocolypes now.  wow.  Not good.  First day within hours I had feral soldiers and radiated zombies chasing me.  Gave up on that one.  lol.  So, I'm currently doing a vanilla playthrough.  On day 16 I think.  I have a good stock of food and antibiotics.  Not sure how I will make steel cause I don't have a crucible.  Can't recall if I can make one or not in vanilla.  Also, to level up is tough as there are not that many zombies to fight in vanilla. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
seven said:
I think he's mixing us up, or forgot a quote. I don't have any videos posted. And I'm doing vanilla with all constraints mentioned in the first post.

In my longest attempt I found that food wasn't an issue after a while. With the generous harvest and cheap seed production in the mod I soon had plenty corn, potatoes, pumpkins and mushrooms. It's just the first week or so that's a problem.

Anyway, after another failed attempt I think I'm done with this. With the low drop rate of antibiotics, infection is pretty much a death sentence which is particularly annoying when crawling zombies can hit you through doors and hatches. I again cleared the building and survived the first horde but did get infected on day 4. On the second looting I actually got one honey but at 85% that's not going to do anything and I won't survive until the next loot respawn.

Maybe 1 of the good anti-biotics could be added to the initial care package?
Click to expand...


So my two problems doing the challenge with the mod:

#1 Infection

#2 Getting a to a point where I've already cleared the building, I've looted everything, I've salvaged all the wood/metal etc. and there is nothing to do but wait around for:

  1. zombies to come in for killing
  2. the next loot container respawn to come in
  3. the next blood moon 
I've restarted this challenge (using the mod) around 5 times now and each time I get to a point where there is nothing to do. 

So why am I not using my time to start building the gyrocopter? Probably because I'm obsessed with getting all the salvage operations points in before I start salvaging all the goodies for engines etc. I just want to maximize my chances of getting the highest amount of these resources when I do go and wrench them. 

And what's stopping me from getting all the salvage operations? Levels! And what's stopping me from that? Waiting around for mobs and blood moons!

This behavior of mine, is not a fault of the mod of course. I mean... I could start salvaging machinery straight away after getting a wrench. But my anally methodical and thorough personality type won't let me haha! 

So, the question is posed - is there anything that can be done about the "rules" to alleviate this issue? I guess only that there would be some flexibility. The rules state that default settings are recommended. But perhaps there could be some wiggle room in XP %, Difficulty settings, Zombie amounts, Animal amounts etc etc. 

duanethebathtub said:
Great!

My bad.  I thought I was replying to KatsPurr.  I watched some of her Darkness Falls series.  I have a lot of time in Darkness Falls and thought to just do beehives or traps for food.  Thus, no worries on food or infections at all.  However, there would be a ton of zombies.  I also tried it in Apocolypes now.  wow.  Not good.  First day within hours I had feral soldiers and radiated zombies chasing me.  Gave up on that one.  lol.  So, I'm currently doing a vanilla playthrough.  On day 16 I think.  I have a good stock of food and antibiotics.  Not sure how I will make steel cause I don't have a crucible.  Can't recall if I can make one or not in vanilla.  Also, to level up is tough as there are not that many zombies to fight in vanilla. 
Click to expand...


Ah right! And yeah beehives totally make sense. And yeah also suffering with the level up issue (see my response to seven)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
KatsPurr said:
So my two problems doing the challenge with the mod:

#1 Infection

#2 Getting a to a point where I've already cleared the building, I've looted everything, I've salvaged all the wood/metal etc. and there is nothing to do but wait around for:

  1. zombies to come in for killing
  2. the next loot container respawn to come in
  3. the next blood moon 
I've restarted this challenge (using the mod) around 5 times now and each time I get to a point where there is nothing to do. 

So why am I not using my time to start building the gyrocopter? Probably because I'm obsessed with getting all the salvage operations points in before I start salvaging all the goodies for engines etc. I just want to maximize my chances of getting the highest amount of these resources when I do go and wrench them. 

And what's stopping me from getting all the salvage operations? Levels! And what's stopping me from that? Waiting around for mobs and blood moons!

This behavior of mine, is not a fault of the mod of course. I mean... I could start salvaging machinery straight away after getting a wrench. But my anally methodical and thorough personality type won't let me haha! 

So, the question is posed - is there anything that can be done about the "rules" to alleviate this issue? I guess only that there would be some flexibility. The rules state that default settings are recommended. But perhaps there could be some wiggle room in XP %, Difficulty settings, Zombie amounts, Animal amounts etc etc. 

Ah right! And yeah beehives totally make sense. And yeah also suffering with the level up issue (see my response to seven)
Click to expand...


I've done 5 attempts as well. First one I died on day 3 when my character got stuck. Three times I've died (or would soon die) of infection after clearing the building and fighting the first BM. I rarely die to zombies playing this game but I do get hit and get infections and with such limited source of antibiotics it really is I think a problem with the challenge.

My other attempt I got to about day 60. I had iron and clay set aside for steel making (and about 30 steel from loot). I had the headlights, electrical, etc. I had a crucible schematic and material to make it. Except for the oil, which I also needed to make tires. With the updated loot settings for oil maybe I would have been ok. Except while waiting and doing busy work I decided to salvage the cement mixers. That was a mistake. After the first looting destroys any chem piles those are the only source of oil shale for gas, and I had found none. The rules do mention you can increase the zombies. What I did to pass the time was set BM to every 3 days, otherwise, yeah, you get to the point where you're just waiting around for the next horde, or loot reset.

 
seven said:
I've done 5 attempts as well. First one I died on day 3 when my character got stuck. Three times I've died (or would soon die) of infection after clearing the building and fighting the first BM. I rarely die to zombies playing this game but I do get hit and get infections and with such limited source of antibiotics it really is I think a problem with the challenge.

My other attempt I got to about day 60. I had iron and clay set aside for steel making (and about 30 steel from loot). I had the headlights, electrical, etc. I had a crucible schematic and material to make it. Except for the oil, which I also needed to make tires. With the updated loot settings for oil maybe I would have been ok. Except while waiting and doing busy work I decided to salvage the cement mixers. That was a mistake. After the first looting destroys any chem piles those are the only source of oil shale for gas, and I had found none. The rules do mention you can increase the zombies. What I did to pass the time was set BM to every 3 days, otherwise, yeah, you get to the point where you're just waiting around for the next horde, or loot reset.
Click to expand...


As this mod is meant to be a fight for survival, with food and water being scarce, waiting around for zombies to respawn is part and parcel of the challenge. The latest version of the mod is MUCH closer to the A19 version; which took me 3 attempts to clear.

Some tips for you:

Always reseed lootable containers with anything you can find like plant fibres, broken glass, paper etc. As long as the container has one item in it, you will be able to re-loot that container after the respawn timer has expired.

You MUST have loot respawn on for this to work. I'm certain that it would be impossible to complete without it.

Don't start wrenching the "important" items (work lights etc) for things that you will absolutely need to craft the gyro. Maxing out Salvage Operations will be a big help with the number of items you can get from these salvageable blocks. (you get given a wrench after the first quest step, á la A19)

Everything you need to craft the gyro, and any other items that you need to craft can be obtained in the tower, but planning is key. Game stage and loot stage can play a factor in this, so if you don't need to loot it, leave it until you do.

Obtaining oil and acid in this challenge has always been ... well, a challenge, BUT the ability to find acid has been improved, the ability to craft acid has been added, and the recipe for oil has been lowered drastically. The challenge is no longer impossible, but it is a grind. (the Wasteland Treasures book for acid from med cabinets is now a quest reward too)

KatsPurr said:
So, the question is posed - is there anything that can be done about the "rules" to alleviate this issue? I guess only that there would be some flexibility. The rules state that default settings are recommended. But perhaps there could be some wiggle room in XP %, Difficulty settings, Zombie amounts, Animal amounts etc etc. 
Click to expand...


Levelling can get a bit stale, waiting around for zombies and such, but Screamer farms are totally within the rules - craft up a bunch of campfires, fuel them up with wood and let them burn - before long you'll have so many zombies you won't know what to do with them all :)

If you can wait to raid the main loot room - wait. Again, game stage and loot stage matters here. If you don't need it, don't get it.

Hunger and thirst can be a real problem in the first few days, but there are so many farm plots in the new tower, and a lot more outside if you want to build a bridge to them, that you should be able to get a farm going fairly easily - as long as RNG is on your side with crop foods. If you get lucky with working vending machines, there should be eggs too :)

Infection can be a real issue, so firstly - don't get hit! Secondly, nurses have a chance to give antibiotics on harvesting them, so harvest those dead undead nurses, and check your working vending machines for honey ...

I'm looking forward to giving this a proper play through, as I'm one of the guys who made the changes :)

 
Hells_Janitor said:
... The challenge is no longer impossible, but it is a grind...
Click to expand...


I was going to say "what mod are you talking about" but then I saw the first post was updated with a new version.

I wouldn't say the previous version was impossible. I'd say more like start the game, roll 5 dice and if you get a straight you might win. Otherwise, start over. In my one attempt that went to day 57 I was doing reasonably well. By that time I had looted a few honey/antibiotics. I had the recipes for crucible, oil, gas, etc. I was prepared to keep going but then I had a stupid moment and wrenched the mixers and lost any chance of oil shale. Except for that, and getting hit, I pretty much do all your tips. I've downloaded the update and it does look more achievable. Still not easy, but not completely reliant on good rng. I'll likely give it another shot.

When you say harvest zombies, do you mean loot bags? Or chop them up?

Edit: Ah, checked entityclasses. I guess it's chop them up.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hells_Janitor said:
As this mod is meant to be a fight for survival, with food and water being scarce, waiting around for zombies to respawn is part and parcel of the challenge. The latest version of the mod is MUCH closer to the A19 version; which took me 3 attempts to clear.

Some tips for you:

Always reseed lootable containers with anything you can find like plant fibres, broken glass, paper etc. As long as the container has one item in it, you will be able to re-loot that container after the respawn timer has expired.

You MUST have loot respawn on for this to work. I'm certain that it would be impossible to complete without it.

Don't start wrenching the "important" items (work lights etc) for things that you will absolutely need to craft the gyro. Maxing out Salvage Operations will be a big help with the number of items you can get from these salvageable blocks. (you get given a wrench after the first quest step, á la A19)

Everything you need to craft the gyro, and any other items that you need to craft can be obtained in the tower, but planning is key. Game stage and loot stage can play a factor in this, so if you don't need to loot it, leave it until you do.

Obtaining oil and acid in this challenge has always been ... well, a challenge, BUT the ability to find acid has been improved, the ability to craft acid has been added, and the recipe for oil has been lowered drastically. The challenge is no longer impossible, but it is a grind. (the Wasteland Treasures book for acid from med cabinets is now a quest reward too)

Levelling can get a bit stale, waiting around for zombies and such, but Screamer farms are totally within the rules - craft up a bunch of campfires, fuel them up with wood and let them burn - before long you'll have so many zombies you won't know what to do with them all :)

If you can wait to raid the main loot room - wait. Again, game stage and loot stage matters here. If you don't need it, don't get it.

Hunger and thirst can be a real problem in the first few days, but there are so many farm plots in the new tower, and a lot more outside if you want to build a bridge to them, that you should be able to get a farm going fairly easily - as long as RNG is on your side with crop foods. If you get lucky with working vending machines, there should be eggs too :)

Infection can be a real issue, so firstly - don't get hit! Secondly, nurses have a chance to give antibiotics on harvesting them, so harvest those dead undead nurses, and check your working vending machines for honey ...

I'm looking forward to giving this a proper play through, as I'm one of the guys who made the changes :)
Click to expand...


Awesome tips.  I am also currently in a waiting state but totally forgot about the screamer farm idea.  Thanks for the cool mod.

seven said:
When you say harvest zombies, do you mean loot bags? Or chop them up?

Edit: Ah, checked entityclasses. I guess it's chop them up.
Click to expand...


Hmm.  You can chop up/harvest the zombies???

 
So I see there have been some revisions to the rules.

Inititally:

"You may build bridges off the side of the building to reach things, but those bridges must support themselves and cannot touch the ground."

Later:

"You may build bridges off the side of the building to reach things, but those bridges must support themselves and cannot touch the ground, bridges cannot be build out from the ground floor of the tower. You may not place blocks outside of the bounds of the tower (not including the porch) if you are on the ground floor. You may still place blocks anywhere inside the tower ground floor."

Now:

"You may build bridges off the side of the building to extend your area for farming, but those bridges must support themselves and cannot touch the ground. Bridges cannot be built out from the ground floor to reach areas out of bounds (anything outside of the tower beyond the porch is out of bounds) You may not place blocks outside of the bounds of the tower (not including the porch) if you are on the ground floor. You may still place blocks anywhere inside the tower ground floor."

So, this means that the planters around the building are off limits? Either for growing plants or digging up for clay? I think the mod is now back to the impossible again. Unless we are expected to collapse the building.

 
seven said:
So I see there have been some revisions to the rules.

Inititally:

"You may build bridges off the side of the building to reach things, but those bridges must support themselves and cannot touch the ground."

Later:

"You may build bridges off the side of the building to reach things, but those bridges must support themselves and cannot touch the ground, bridges cannot be build out from the ground floor of the tower. You may not place blocks outside of the bounds of the tower (not including the porch) if you are on the ground floor. You may still place blocks anywhere inside the tower ground floor."

Now:

"You may build bridges off the side of the building to extend your area for farming, but those bridges must support themselves and cannot touch the ground. Bridges cannot be built out from the ground floor to reach areas out of bounds (anything outside of the tower beyond the porch is out of bounds) You may not place blocks outside of the bounds of the tower (not including the porch) if you are on the ground floor. You may still place blocks anywhere inside the tower ground floor."

So, this means that the planters around the building are off limits? Either for growing plants or digging up for clay? I think the mod is now back to the impossible again. Unless we are expected to collapse the building.
Click to expand...
Yes this was originally not allowed, so we changed the rules to make it more clear.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Zilox said:
Yes this was originally not allowed, so we changed the rules to make it more clear.
Click to expand...


In MidnightDesigner's original mod it was allowed. You could build bridges to reach things outside the tower as long as your bridge did not touch the ground or have any supports. If you are talking about before that it seems like people played by a number of different rule sets.

In MidnightDesigner's own words regarding bridges:



 
seven said:
So, this means that the planters around the building are off limits? Either for growing plants or digging up for clay? I think the mod is now back to the impossible again. Unless we are expected to collapse the building.
Click to expand...
How does this make it impossible?

There's plenty of nitrate and rotting flesh from zombies, and clay is infinite (craft dirt and dig it back up for net gain).

 
the only things that could possibly be of any use outside the tower are farm plots. There are so many farm plots inside the tower now, it makes that issue moot.

There are potted plants everywhere that give clay when dug up, there is destroyed stone that is reachable from inside the tower that gives clay, as well as a bunch of it on the upper floors, there is clay soil in loot, and as Dan said:

FranticDan said:
How does this make it impossible?

There's plenty of nitrate and rotting flesh from zombies, and clay is infinite (craft dirt and dig it back up for net gain).
Click to expand...


Absolutely possible to complete. Trust me, I completed it on Friday! :)

 
FranticDan said:
How does this make it impossible?

There's plenty of nitrate and rotting flesh from zombies, and clay is infinite (craft dirt and dig it back up for net gain).
Click to expand...


Yeah, you can cheese the clay, but I don't do that.

Hells_Janitor said:
the only things that could possibly be of any use outside the tower are farm plots. There are so many farm plots inside the tower now, it makes that issue moot.

There are potted plants everywhere that give clay when dug up, there is destroyed stone that is reachable from inside the tower that gives clay, as well as a bunch of it on the upper floors, there is clay soil in loot, and as Dan said:

Absolutely possible to complete. Trust me, I completed it on Friday! :)
Click to expand...




So, I did a test. I started a new game with a bunch of skill points so I could max out miner 69r. I then went through the whole building harvesting potted plants, farm plots and and all the destroyed stone.

Clay harvested maxed miner69r: 2335

Clay needed for gyro chassis steel: 1875, or 1500 with max engineering

Clay needed to craft crucible: 900

That's 2400 already. And that's not saving any farm plots to grow food.

Now we do get some steel in loot. In my current attempt at day 49 I think I have 14. So, eveeentuuuuaaaalllllyyyy we can get enough steel, but at day 49 the challenge is already just tedious. I have all materials to craft the gyro and gas except the knowledge to craft the crucible and the gyro itself. So, it's just grinding for skill points or schematics at this point. I have stacks of meat, lots of water. There is no challenge anymore.

Ok, there is some clay in loot which isn't counted for in my test, but in my game there hasn't been that much.

I also didn't consider breaking through the walls and digging what I could reach outside. But to me that doesn't really seem any different than building a bridge and digging it up. And that rather contradicts "the only things that could possibly be of any use outside the tower are farm plots".

Edit: After writing that I just realized I screwed up. It's motherlode I should have maxed. So, that does change the numbers a lot, if you wait and put points there before doing any harvesting.

I'll still say, if the idea is to bring back the original challenge, bridges to reach materials outside was part of it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
seven said:
Yeah, you can cheese the clay, but I don't do that.

So, I did a test. I started a new game with a bunch of skill points so I could max out miner 69r. I then went through the whole building harvesting potted plants, farm plots and and all the destroyed stone.

Clay harvested maxed miner69r: 2335

Clay needed for gyro chassis steel: 1875, or 1500 with max engineering

Clay needed to craft crucible: 900

That's 2400 already. And that's not saving any farm plots to grow food.

Now we do get some steel in loot. In my current attempt at day 49 I think I have 14. So, eveeentuuuuaaaalllllyyyy we can get enough steel, but at day 49 the challenge is already just tedious. I have all materials to craft the gyro and gas except the knowledge to craft the crucible and the gyro itself. So, it's just grinding for skill points or schematics at this point. I have stacks of meat, lots of water. There is no challenge anymore.

Ok, there is some clay in loot which isn't counted for in my test, but in my game there hasn't been that much.

I also didn't consider breaking through the walls and digging what I could reach outside. But to me that doesn't really seem any different than building a bridge and digging it up. And that rather contradicts "the only things that could possibly be of any use outside the tower are farm plots".

Edit: After writing that I just realized I screwed up. It's motherlode I should have maxed. So, that does change the numbers a lot, if you wait and put points there before doing any harvesting.

I'll still say, if the idea is to bring back the original challenge, bridges to reach materials outside was part of it.
Click to expand...
Which version of the mod are you running for that playthrough? 

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top