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Solved Strategies for both Feeding and Rationing your Faction Outpost

bullyrook

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So you find an empty settlement and choose a faction and make it an Outpost HQ. Your first goal is to start recruiting more. 5 troops ain't enough to get to conqueroring.

What's the first thing you do?

The natural tendency for most players is to get the troops you do have fed, watered, defended, and bedded. No one likes to see red in their workshop numbers and half full/empty HUD bars drive some us mad.

Trained in all things SS, you drop down an Ag plot to start the slow slog to getting food production ramped up. Yikes, this level one plot produces 1 Food! But I've got 5 guys who need to eat. So if I put down 4 more Ag plots, they'll get fed, but then I can't do everything else I need to do to get recruitment up and running.


So I'd like to talk about ways to keep your recruits fed while building up all the other things you need to start recruiting with soldiers' needs.

To recruit with soldiers’ needs, we have one goal: to procure or produce surplus wages, rations, and equipment:

Commercial plots produce wages.
Ag plots produce wages.
Industrial plots produce equipment.​

So I need at least one of each of these plots to get things going. Easy. I’ve got 5 guys, so I can put three on these plots.

Note: In a Conqueror play thru, I make sure that the Commercial Requirement is set to off. I want to be able to build and even level my Commercial plots unrestricted by Residential plots and population. https://simsettlements.com/web/wiki...play_Options_Immersion#Commercial_Requirement

So I build one of each Comm, Ag, and Industrial. Now, I am producing a surplus on all three w/r/e needs bars.

But, that damn Ag plot is only producing 1 Food. I need at least 5 and will need more as I recruit.

I have two other recruits. One I’ve put on a martial plot because I need defense.

Note: In a Conqueror play thru I set the Martial Tech Requirement to off. I want my Martial Plots to level as soon as possible unrestricted by the number of Industrial plots in the outpost. https://simsettlements.com/web/wiki...ay_Options_Immersion#Martial_Tech_Requirement

So I’ve got one dude left. If I put him on a second Ag plot, I still won’t have food needs met, even though I will have an even greater rations surplus.


Here’s where we can start up strategizing solutions:

1. Farmer Recruit Strategy: First thing I might do with this recruit is assign her to vanilla crops. These will produce their full normal food output even though they won’t produce any rations. The goal is to feed the troops. The Ag plot will ration the troops. This recruit working vanilla crops can feed up to six recruits.
Note: A savvy player might use WSFW to increase the max number of crops worked by one settler. That way as Outpost population increased, this one farmer recruit would be able to feed even more while freeing others up to do other things.

Downside: 1)You might not have any or enough crops to plant early game. 2) This recruit is farming/feeding your troops which is important, but this recruit isn’t working another job like a mess hall.


2. Caretaker Strategy: The second thing you might do is just forget about food production! Just stuff the workbench full of as much and as many food items as you can scavenge. Food in the workbench will feed your troops. It won’t fill your HUD bar or increase your workshop numbers, but it will keep that zero green, not red.​

Note: If you’d like to keep your Deathclaw steaks safe, go into WSFW and change the setting to only consume the basics. Now, your settlers will only actually eat farmed food and will leave your Cram and fancy meats alone.

A variation of this Caretaker strategy is to build a CP desk and make food donations. The benefit here is that food donations will feed your recruits and will actually report to the workshop food numbers. Food donations can also fill up the Food HUD bar. Unfortunately, what it reports is somewhat unpredictable. It is possible that all food donations will report at once which may cause defense issues early on.

Because all our troops being fed thru the workbench/CP desk this fifth recruit can work a Conqueror Rec plot. Rec plots early help turbo charge morale. Better morale equals better w/r/e production.


3. Logistics Strategy: The third thing you might do is set up an IDEK’s supply line. This takes preparation. Build a regular settlement that is focused on farming with an IDEK’s station. Once all these plots start to level (at full food production, because they are in regular settlement) go make your outpost HQ at Red Rocket and build another Logistics Station. Logistics stations don’t work according to vassal/outpost mechanics and will share 100% at level three. IDEK’s stations can be configured to both supply your outpost with food and to fill up its workshop food numbers/needs. Idek’s won’t share rations but it will share food.​

For all you liberators, let Preston run the show at Sanctuary (regular settlement) supplying the troops, while your military HQ (Outpost) is at RR. Then liberate/vassalize Abernathy for their rations.

If using this strategy, the first industrial you build in your outpost will be an IDEk’s Station. This plot will produce equipment and now supply your food. The fifth recruit is again freed up to work a Rec plot like a training yard, mess hall, etc.


4. Alternative Food Sources: Use mods to add unworked food producers, like: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/34505/ You still need Ag plots to produce rations, but things like food cellars can take care of your Outpost's food needs.
The fifth recruit is again freed up to work a Rec plot like a training yard, mess hall, etc.
 
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