It's been quite some time since we last checked in on the Destructoid crew. Unfortunately, the notes of the goings on around the settlement were on the work laptop at the place I no longer work at. Thanks to the magic of cloud saves, I do still have the game running. I must apologize to anyone interested in the story of what happened in the year of game time that has transpired since the last episode and where my save file picks up. (Currently in the middle of summer of the third year on the planet)
One Year Gone
Not only has everyone managed to not die in spectacular fashion, Destructoid has thrived over the last year. All members of the crew from the last episode are alive and well. There are even four new additions! Let's meet them.
LimoMaker: Limo is a bit of an odd duck. He was a bartender on a seedy space station prior to ending up on this planet. He is a nonviolent psychopath that loves to be out at night, and gets very irritated if up during the daylight hours. Strangely enough his best skill is social interactions. Luckily, he's a decent cook and relatively handy at building things.
IAm16Bit: He's a new youngster of the group at the age of 19. IAm is a pyromaniac, and is listed as being "too smart for his own good." He'll pick things up quickly, but is more likely to have a mental breakdown. This is very likely going to lead to problems at some point if he attempts to burn down the settlement. His best skill is arts, so everyone tries to keep him busy creating things.
Jiraya: Jiraya is an escaped convict from a brutal penal colony. He's got a burning desire for the arts and crafting things. If needed, he could also fill in on mining duties. Unfortunately, Jiraya never seemed to have gotten over his time as a convict, and is very nervous all the time and is likely to crack under pressure. However, he is a hard worker and eager to help.
OrochiLeona: Orochi is the group's old timer at the age of 75. He's a pessimistic former factory worker with a penchant for being naked. His forte is construction and crafting. Despite his advanced age, he is also very skilled with melee weapons.
Catching Up
Not much has changed overall in the social scene. Dere and Vadicta still haven't solved their issues as ex-lovers. Maybe there's jealousy there since Dere is moving on with his life and is engaged to DeadMoon. The new settlers are fitting in pretty well overall, although Orochi isn't getting along well with DeadMoon and Vadicta.
Health-wise, people are still a bit banged up. Dere and JCDent could each use a bionic eye to replace the ones they lost in combat. Dinosir is gimping around due to having his left leg torn off. It appears that a bunch of wild boars attacked recently, because Limo and IAm16Bit are recovering from tusk wounds. Limo is fighting off an infection in his torso from that attack.
The animal raising aspect of the settlement is going well. There are 6 muffalo, including one calf. There are 3 wild boars, although the male took a beating in the last attack. Honky, the ever faithful heroic labrador, is still going strong without a jaw, right ear, tail, or rear right paw.
The Current Situation
The look of the settlement since last time
As you might expect, there have been a number of additions and improvements to the Also Cocks settlement.
Life has gotten quite a bit more bearable and comfortable. All the apartments have been outfitted with carpeting and art works, to make the rooms pleasant to be in. Any of the low quality beds were removed and replaced with much better ones courtesy of the more skilled artisans of the bunch. A new television was even installed in the rec room! (I'm not really sure what kind of shows are being picked up all the way out here on the outer rim of the galaxy though.)
The Destructoid crew is quite productive these days. A smelter and component bench have been added for getting use out of scrap metal and to create the components used in higher end equipment and buildings. Thanks to Vadicta's impressive scientific research capabilities, he was able to get a deep ground penetrating scanner working. Now the settlers can drill down deep to acquire all sorts of extra materials. Gold and plasteel have already been pulled from deep underground.
As far as extra odds and ends go, there is now a dedicated building for training everyone in both melee and ranged combat. A large building has been put up to grow crops indoors year round, to help out with the need for extra food now that the settlement has so many mouths to feed.
The two pirate groups, The Razors and The Cutters of Misery, continue to be the biggest threat to life at Also Cocks. The Outlander Union known as Tioeron has become a great trading ally, and Destructoid is starting to get an actual economy going as they sell furniture, artwork, and weaponry.
That is the rundown of all things Destructoid out on the outer rim. Things are looking very bright, and I'm looking forward to digging back into this game.