Overview
Our Shelter, is where your group of civilian survivors live in. The shelter starts out with lots of items to scavenge.
In the current game version, there are two possible locations for survivors to call home. The difference in locale is generally cosmetic, though there may be a slight difference in the number and placement of rubble piles, the placement of any bonus furniture, etc. The particular shelter is randomly chosen when starting a new game.
With The Little Ones expansion, two more possible locations have been added for survivors to call home, one of them being the torn down apartment. Much like the alternate shelter, majority of the difference are entirely cosmetic and similar, except the characters/neighbors which arrives are at a different location. Also, if a child is living with the other survivors, he/she will run over to the door and greet the person who came back from Scavenging, asking about one of various things.
Stories features affixed location for different stories. Father's Promise features an broken-down apartment of two rooms wide, The Last Broadcast features a large abandoned broadcasting station, with a room containing a broadcasting station that cannot be removed under any circumstances, and Fading Embers features two location; one location of an abandoned small shed, and another of a giant battered museum.
Original Shelter Description
The original shelter has 3 stories and a 2 level basement, connected by stairs and ladders. The ground floor has a kitchen, where Raw Food, Vegetables, Canned Food, Moonshine, and Pure Alcohol are kept in the refrigerator and can be consumed directly. To the right of the kitchen is the bathroom, where Herbal Meds, Bandages and Medications are kept in the medicine cabinet to be consumed by survivors.
The first basement has a Workshop. There is usually a chair in the kitchen. In winter starts, a Simple Heater can be found in the lower basement.
Collectible resources
When the game begins, there will be a few rubble piles in the house. Also, there are a few lootable containers (some are locked).
First, collect the materials within reach. Then, build a Metal Workshop and make a Crowbar to pry open the locked doors and container. At the same time, use the other survivors to clear the debris piles (a shovel gets things done faster, but hand-digging works as well).
At some point, upgrade the Metal Workshop and make a hatchet to chop down the wooden furniture and gain significant amounts of wood and fuel.
Events
- Approximately every 3 days, a trader, named Franko, will show up at the front door at around 10:30am.
- Raids can occur at night, during which survivors must defend against looters. Your survivors can get injured, and subsequently depressed if they cannot effectively defend themselves or prevent loss of supplies.
- At certain points in the game, a new survivor will come and ask to join the player's group.
- Once every 6-7 days, a neighbor will come and ask the group for help, or give away free resources.
- Note that the last two event will not take place to Stories DLC mode at all.
Managing the Shelter
During the day (from 6 am to 8 pm), the player can assign survivors to various tasks, such as crafting items, cooking or resting. The goal is to balance use of resources to improve the shelter, making it more habitable, and meet the survivors' basic needs e.g. food, rest, etc
The shelter's inventory can be accessed anywhere by clicking the Our Things label. The overall state of the shelter can also be seen in the inventory screen, on the Some thoughts note. Individual survivors' states can be accessed at their portraits
If you can't choose your next scavenging goal, you can always oversee state of your shelter in Our Items/Some Thoughts tabs.
Defending against raids
Initially, the shelter will be raided only occasionally. However as time goes on raids may increase in frequency to almost every night, especially when the Radio warns of sweeping crime and looting overtaking the country. The player has no direct control over raids, and will only know the outcome the following morning. Generally, raid frequency and outcome is randomized based on various factors.
Assigning Guards
Characters may be assigned to guard duties to prevent losses. Leaving weapons and certain tools in the inventory will improve the odds of guard characters fighting off raiders. However, keep in mind that some ammo will be used up if firearms and ammo are kept in the inventory.
Shelter Defense
Casualties and losses can be reduced or even prevented by doing the following:
- Post multiple characters to guard duty at night
- have at least a melee Weapon available for each survivor
- use an upgraded workbench to Board Up three open areas in the shelter walls. This allows survivors to better resist attacks.
And as the game progresses:
- provide the best guns possible for each survivor
- obtain armor and/or helmets to prevent injury
- use the tier 3 Workshop to install a Reinforced Door