A Vanillian Odyssey

[Bob]

We were able to convince T to do a little remodeling yesterday. Looking better each morning…

We agree to take a screen shot then head out to bring that core here to make it our new home. Bare minimum list of items needed: 6 thrusters, generator, fuel tank, cockpit, and maybe an RCS. I have a feeling it is going to be fun the volume system

Got almost everything prepped. Flux coils and silicon is needed to build a cockpit and 4 more thrusters. Decided to make use of the core in space to build itself. There are other derelicts around that can be harvested for parts. Hopefully the volume system is kind to us.

Ouch…

After a bit of shuffling around this was the best I could do. Fingers crossed…

Slow goings but enough to break orbit. I am seeing that just about every mission requires a bit of planning. No matter how small the idea is.

Letting momentum help conserve fuel.

Well she isn’t pretty but we have enough parts to get where we need to go.

Any one we can walk away from, right Mo?

Sun sets on another eventful day.

[Bob]

Had a late night visitor requesting a solo concert.

Mo was more than happy to accommodate

The General and I enjoyed a late evening rain storm. Very serene.

After a long night of trying to screen shot a lightning strike, We decided to do a little remodeling. We will showcase the results tomorrow. For now I think I have stayed up way past my bed time. Good night all.

[Bob]

Good morning all. Been a bleh morning so remodeling was the focus of today. View is still wonderful here.

Night work is never really appreciated till the sun comes up.

Not much interesting to post during the day but we hear someone calling for Mo while enjoying another rain storm. I was recording the storm and heard this little fella after the show ended. Knew I should have kept the camera rolling…

Mo bathing in the moonlight.

Mo really likes the rain catcher. The view from there is amazing.

We catch the artist formally knows as “Texture Gun” enjoying a sunrise. He is shy. His work says all he needs to.

Liking that open concept nonsense T was raving about.

Mo spots a fan in the distance. Headed over for a quick reminder of how great he is.

I say it has turned around quite nicely. Scoot made a few cameos to show his interest. All in all a relaxing day in Vanillia.

As we admire the night sky from our balcony, The General and I have a deep conversation. We noticed that Mo seems a little down and we think he feels neglected since he was upgraded. Pondering how we can try to lift is spirits, we look up at the moon and remember that the Zirax there would love for us to drop in for a show. The main star would be Mo of course. So we say good night and will give Mo the good news in the morning.

[Bob]

We couldn’t sleep because enemies were near by so Mo and I had a heart to heart while looking for victims. He admitted he did feel a little under used but doesn’t mind so much because the breathtaking visuals have kept us all occupied. I marked an ancient watch tower earlier that we can take a look at. Mo also agreed that there are still Zirax to have fun with here. We will kill what’s preventing us from sleeping and move to the tower in the morning.

Heard this little fella snooping around.

He was rubbing on that core a little too oddly for my liking.

Can’t seem to find our stalker. Time to remodel. Mo was talking about a wet bar.

Worked through to the morning and still can’t find the enemy. Bar is looking great though. Time to head out for a bit of fun.

There she is. Hope we find something good.

Our welcoming party was asking to hear one of Mo’s new tunes.

We feel like Yukon Cornelius searching for silver and gold…

Get a ping of a small wreckage and hop in to see. Get fired at by 5 various drones on arrival. Mo played his new tunes quite well. Was only able to get a screen shot of the damage Scoot took. Glad I wasn’t sitting in the cockpit when that happened…

Tried to put down my portable constructor but “Alpha Happens.” We were only about 900m from the base so I chopped up Scoot and stuffed him back in the factory. Was a little short on materials to respawn him so continued on foot. Met a couple more fans of Mo along the way.

“We lost a man gentlemen.” I say as we get back, “But that’s ok, we can rebuild him!”

Enjoyed another fine sunset with Mo. He was happy to get some action today.

Welcome back mate! Good as new!

Mo and I spent a very long time searching for the stalker that wasn’t letting us sleep again. Admiring the work done to the starter base, I figured it was time to share it on the workshop. T suggested I should give it a touch up in creative before hosting the raw one we are currently living in. Spent a much longer time than I would have liked but she is so nice. Check it out and let me know what you think. The rain catcher is my favorite place to hang out. The solitude seat at the very top will drown out most ambient sounds giving many different soundscape experiences.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1950842343

[Bob]

A journey we go on. Caffeinated we must be…

Took a page from Quinn Mallory’s book before shutting down last night. Spent a little time in creative touching up the shuttle. Then hopped over back to our true home in HWS to find a place to put our retirement home. I figured Freelancer HQ was a good place as any. Started there. Ending there. I thought it would be nice to find a place near the beach. I did not have the camera out taking snapshots but long short I was able to find the perfect spot. Come by and visit if you would like. The view is amazing!

I was able to witness a breathtaking sunrise and recorded it. Once I figure out how to add high quality videos, I will post them.

The rain catcher is working out wonderefully!

Come check it out. I set everything to public and loaded with a few odd & ends. Take what you need, leave what you can. I plan to spawn it every season for anyone wanting to visit and in need of assistance. Bathroom area is done. Currently trying to come up with a med tent of sorts for those occasional mishaps. But not to worry adventurers, we will rejoin Mo and the gang soon enough. This was Mo’s idea by the way. We figured since you wouldn’t be able to visit our area of Vanillia we would bring a piece to you

[Bob]

So I hop back in to see what the crew is up to. The General and I look up at the stars he says we should ask the audience where our next stop will be. Took scoot for ride upwards to scan the sectors. We know it wasn’t necessary to check the sector map in space but it was cool to do any way…

Bromalis Says it only has Magnesium. Since space mining is currently cancerous, we will skip that sector for now. Irdon orbit only has iron but the planet and moon are showing a variety of lovely gems.

Scandus’s snowy surface has some gems like neo that we will be needing for future CV exploration. Just not seeing zascosium at the moment. Making mental note to conserve the red rock.

So we will need to prep for either direction. I imagine there will be plenty to explore once we arrive. Want to make sure we have the basics. Running home isn’t always the best option. Making a poll post for where should we go next, the frigid lands of Scandus or the murky swamps of Irdon?

“Choose our destiny…”

Irdonian swamp lands or the glaciers of Scandus?

Those that have been following Mo and crew on our adventures through The Vanillian Nebula have a chance to decide our fate. We will need to prep for the journey and it will take some time to make sure there are as little mishaps as possible. Help us choose the next step in our journey if you would. For those that have a huge question mark on their faces right now, go here: https://forum.empyrion-homeworld.net/t/a-vanillian-odyssey/22011/ poll

[Bob]

So back to excursion preparations we pick some plants and see this when putting them in the fridge. I sorted the mess before taking a screen shot. It was not pretty.

So as I am looking at the food replicator for what cures food poisoning, the purple and blue anti-toxic pills, I see that spoiled food is a constructable material. Investigation reveals something I knew about long ago but have not had to use in a while. Spoiled food if a key ingredient in making nutrient solution. I have had a lot of plant plots in my OCD on HWS servers for some time now and with the DSL plant killer on the loose, I nearly forgot how to garden in this game.

So after some deep thought I recall someone once telling me a tale about eating spoiled food in game and how it is a requirement. Thank you for that wonderful superstition. If you are reading this, you KNOW who you are. My realization was that the ghost in the machine was only trying to open my eyes. Either way, new mission: Crushed Stoner Endeavor…Scoot looks so peaceful when he is sleeping. We will take him for a ride in the morning.

Scoot enjoys a few rays of morning sunshine as we start our day. A previous map marker catches our attention so we head in for a closer look.

Sounds promising…

A few natives were grumpily shouting about their lawn or some nonsense.

The General knows how to diffuse the situation…

I thought there were 4 of you?

There you are!

Found a couple more hiding in the bushes.

Base doesn’t seem to have any turrets on the outside but a little ground opposition.

Going to set down a bit away to make repairs.

Everyone is getting action today

Pro Tip #32: Insure correct firing method

The painful lessons we learn. With a little bit of time and a lot of patience, crushed stone can make just about anything…

Got sick of extracting crushed stone from the ground with a survival tool. Hit F2 to see what we can work with fast and notice a nice little surprise ready to spawn. Was a train of thought derailed a while ago…

Quickly got back to base in search of a cockpit and remember the hockey puck from space we started and derailed as well.

The NPC core in it was very handy for this rescue.

You shall be called Negan. You are our savior.

[Bob]

Still feeling like garbage, I took some cold medicine after that last entry and it put me down fast. Not sure where we left the gang before my drowsy stumble to bed. Waking feeling like crapo. Downing day time cold meds and getting ready for work. I just hope it won’t be a hectic day. We shall rejoin the crew this evening…

[Bob]

Really wish we had CV medical stations here in real life…Maybe one day there will be a NyQnuil A thu Z cure all but for today we suffer less than the last generations did before and so on…

Now back to our Oddly Crew. Where we left off? We are about to find out together

[Bob]

This is where we left after Negan saving the day.

Tried to sleep but there were Mo fans about. Was so cute to hear this little fella then seem him slowing walk out from behind the tree…

Mo had a few night shows.

Ended up pitching a tent to get some sleep

Made sure I had the repair gun this time and fixed Scoot up. When T finished repairs, we thought he is in the perfect position already and headed to space.

Pointed to the moon and remembered we still had a bit of loot left to snatch from the PDA mission. Headed to kill the core on the Polaris mining ship and scoop up anything we find. Missed this sign earlier. Don’t worry Finn, Mo told them how we feel

Didn’t have to run back through the maze once the core was down

Started chewing my way back to scoot and found a couple of Mo’s heavy metal fans looking for a tune.

Not a bad haul. Most of it came from Mr. T’s Salvage. He hated me saying that btw

Ended the day by heading back to HWS for dailies and another amazing sunset. Cold meds kicking in again so we are calling it an early night. The adventure continues tomorrow.

[Bob]

Feeling a little better this morning. Not 100% but getting there. No work tomorrow so hoping it will be an eventful night in Vanillia. Thinking of causing trouble on the Zirax moon finally. I’m sure there has got to be some decent loot there. Plan is to fix up Negan for the trip.

[Bob]

Well got home early from work and was able to spend time with my granddaughter before her mother came to take her away from us She did visit for a long time though because my little snow pea was snuggling comfortably. But now it’s time to gear up and see what trouble we can find on that moon. Coffee brewing…

[Bob]

Happy New Year adventurers! Be safe out there in your own travels.

The gang showed up for an end of the year group photo

Enjoying a quick sunset for loading up.

Should be enough to get Negan there and back.

Guess who’s back? Back again…Picked an unexplored spot and rolling the dice. Come on nat-20…

Was notified of a POI and parked Negan behind a ridge to be safe. Got close to the wreck and was nailed by a rocket from this base…

While getting pelted by this guy.

Sent my drone up to get a lay of the land and this was the last thing he saw before vaporizing

Sorry gang, we need a little more firepower to take the moon. Mo reminds me again that there are still Zirax on the planet just dying for a show. I giggled and we decided to call it quits again.

So we gather fallen scraps from the floating firing squad and head back. Along the way I figured it would be a good idea to attach a couple crucial assets to another NPC core we snagged from the Polaris mining blunder. We will give this one more attention another time.

There were a couple of these floating around. Could make good use of them depending on how long this adventure goes on

[Bob]

Back on the planet we loaded up and headed back to the Spaceport we spied on last time.

They called for reinforcements. Mo made short work of them with his famous tunes.

Wanted to give the general some action and scoped a couple victims as well.

Got stuck in the middle of a few of Mo’s heavy metal fans for death #7.

Running from one frying pan to another I was able to rescue the gang.

Now with the ground opposition suppressed, we can take a look inside. “Oh hello there!”

They just throw themselves at Mo sometimes.

It’s odd how they just leave these things laying around like this. Would be a shame if someone…

Was surprised by this guy after going back ouside. Mo sang out to them and they took off in a hurry without dropping anyone off

So we decided to level the place

Stopped at our O2 farm on the way back and saw a family of XP taking a drink. I left one alive to tell the tale

Got back home to sort the loot and heard this guy snooping around. He was checking out the entire base.

Mo and I followed him around for a bit while watching the sunset and finally gave him his goodnight song.

[Bob]

Spent most of the day neglecting the gang. With the new season approaching I was in creative trying to come up with new CPU compliant builds. Ended up getting frustrated playing the numbers game and finished with a small mining CV that will get torn to shreds in hostile environments. But it does have a great view for mining and/or dying

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1956286909

[Bob]

Ok real sick of creative so I’m back from work and heading in to see what the gang is all up to…
We discussed it and said this is a decent spot to look for trouble. Scoot suggested we go light and check the area out before taking Negan out there. “I don’t think those sentry guns he has will match to base turrets well.” I saw the logic since Scoot has been shot at a couple times in past experiences.

Those do look like base turrets…Oh hi Mr Zarax laser man! Did not see you there. Don’t worry, Mo will be back to play with you all.

After dodging a few bullets, Scoot convinced me to investigate all the Zirax locations so we can plan taking them out one by one. He seems to have a few decent ideas today.

We were notified of a shelter near by. Figured we would give it a go.

Said hi to the local Talon patrol. Was growled at.

Found nothing of interest in the shelter until it started raining. Was interesting to see rain lag shot through the walls. Tried to screen shot it but couldn’t hit it just right.

Drone base got a few shots off on us as we got closer. Didn’t seem to hurt much but kept our distance in case.

Found 2 defence towers on the other side of the drone base. We got right up to it before it started firing. Not sure who was at the controls or what they were shooting at but it was not us. Decided to dip before they figured out their targeting systems.

Ooo a floaty base. Marked you for later

Didn’t notice how much fuel I didn’t have until I looked at that last screen shot so rushed to get back to the base. Made it just in time. Scoot said he was never worried.

“Tis but a flesh wound.” Scoot the comedian says to us. He knows how much I hate Monty Python so he tries to rub it in all the time. prick…

Safe back home we talked it over. The crew thinks I should go back to creative to build a little tank for those bases. Back in the shop we go…

[Bob]

Meet Skip. He will let us know what is needed to take down a Zirax base.

[Bob]

So we just need a few things to get our new tank spawned in.

Sorry little guy. I guess you can live up to your name at least

For those that laugh at salvaging lots of steel plates: Ha!

We docked Skip to Negan and headed over to stir up some trouble in the north.

When we got there Negan wanted to light up some of the Zirax on foot. A couple of them brought rocket launchers and took out all but one of his sentry guns and the advanced constructor. Pulled away a little and hop in our newly spawned tank. Skip’s dual rocket launchers made short work of those turrets. The 15mm was nice for swatting drones and ground troops.

Knock knock!

Don’t you know to ask who is at the door before just opening to any knock? Silly Zirax

And here is what we came for. After Mo takes this out, it’s time for T to start “remodeling” the place

See this guy floating around after finishing tearing down the top 2 floors, “You are next!” says T.

Redecoration complete. Time to see that other floating monstrosity.

Right about here I noticed my rockets stopped firing. Ran out of rockets. Come to find out they were put into Negan earlier when I was shuffling loot around. Wish I would have checked him before going all the way back to the base…

On the way back Negan tried picking a fight with this guy. Was so cute to see them running from his single sentry gun.

And now we say goodnight after adding a little more firepower to Negan. We have a few more targets for Skip to choose from next round. I would say he did pretty good his first run.

[Bob]

Home from work and coffee is brewed. Ready to cause some trouble with the gang. Hop in and listen to Mo howl at the moon

Good morning General. Are we ready for some action?

We just couldn’t resist. Didn’t work

Mo and Negan seem eager. “Time to see that shrine and save those Zirax from the burden of loot.” snickers Negan.

Skip took out all the lower turrets like a breeze. He was able to nail a couple top ones from the ground but a couple gave him trouble. Negan gave him a lift to take care of the rest.

Anybody home?

I guess he doesn’t want our money

Mo paid him with one of his favorite songs, “Who’s hostile now?”

Took me a few but I found it

This little gem gave us a new crew member. She said her name is Red. She is a little quiet at the moment. We will talk more at the base.

There wasn’t much other loot so T decided to rip the base up till he ran out of ammo. Skip and Negan work quite well together. I think they are starting to become good friends

Red and I enjoyed a wonderful sunrise when we got home. I’m sure she will fit in quite nicely.

[Bob]

Good morning adventures! Right now I’m waiting to see if my caffeine chooses to use it’s powers for good or evil today