Not sure how to play

[TemporarySolutn]

I so I know how to play but i dont know how to play. Like im aware of most of the mechanics like plumbing and stuff but like how am I supposed to start, what should I prioritize, how should my base be built. Every time I've tried to find a video on this I end up just finding a 40 minute video that says "watch out heat is hot and hot is uncomfortable!"

[miauly]

I'd suggest to try and watch this play-through made by @JohnFrancis , very interesting and answers your question in full and in great detail (also fun to watch), notice it's a playlist:

Spoiler

 

 

[BaloneyOs]

It's generally guided by your map layout but many maps you can stabilize for a while on mealwood and outhouses while branching to other decisions. Depending on your starting biome and as you explore, your planning could vary greatly based on how your map gen turned out.

[Gurgel]

Just try it out! You will run into catastrophes, that is the whole point of the game. Some, you will be able to deal with immediately, some need more preparation and you may lose the colony. Loss of colony is mostly a thing in the first, say, 50...100 cycles or so. Don't worry about it, it has happened basically to everybody here and it is part of the experience.

And do experiment! Most problems have different solutions with their own characteristics. You can grow a colony slow or fast. Initially, I would recommend staying at 3 dupes until you think you have a handle on food.

[Eternal Firesea]

One thing I'll stress is that you shouldn't be afraid to dismantle and rebuild parts of your base as things change as you move forward.  It may get a bit tedious to rebuild often, but your layout is actually really flexible.  The only advice I really want to give you up front is that you should try to make sure you have room for air to flow - a tile can only have one type of gas in it, so gasses can get stuck in a very unintuitive way.

As for priorities, my main suggestion would be to collect -  and protect - some clean water in a nice pool.
And bathrooms.  Make sure you have plenty of bathrooms.

[phod]

A couple other things to consider, I really, really learned a lot from this tutorial on plumbing and gas pipes:

https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/94932-a-guide-to-bridges-and-how-they-help-you-achieve-efficiency-and-flow/

Read that, and use lots of pipe bridges, you'll thank yourself later as your plumbing becomes more complicated.

Don't accept a new dupe every time one is available. I've had bases that ran up to 400 cycles before getting more dupes. Make sure your food and oxygen production can handle new dupes.

Other things that helped me early on:

Seal off your base, don't let your oxygen float away, or let non-breathable gasses in, as much as possible. Early on, you can usually avoid the build up of CO2 just by digging down, and letting it fall out of your base. Once it becomes a problem, then work out a solution. 

Hit F9 often, keep an eye on germs, they can creep up on you, though on default settings, I rarely have any serious problems with that.

Try to keep your clean water clean if your dupes are making food with it. Food poisoning can really cripple your dupes' ability to work in the base, since they spend most of the time in the bathroom. Make sure they're washing their hands after using the bathroom, and any time they interact with food.

 

[chasinji]

Meep whispers me: "Summon The mighty Wheezworts and voila! the Heats is gone. Problem solved." But...............

you know, like in the trailer, Meep likes to messing you up. it means it worked just weeks before. Not now sadly. it became a Noob Trap.

[ONIfreak]

I will put here a quick way how i start first 50 cycles. I know there are better ways but i found it most convienant for me. 

Cycle 1 - build 3 outhouses and washrooms and close in one room. ( ideally build also 3 cots). And hook up closes or most convienant water soirce.

Cycle 2-10 - research station. Maybe planters if not wnoigh food around ( at least 6. I try to keep layout 4 tiles up for every lvl ( most machines will fit)

Cycle 10-20 - expand starting biome try to lurke what is around. Research as much as possible. At least 4 floors. ( 2 on top of printing pod 1 below). Ideally build some big room on bottom of starting biome for CO2. Get jobs board if possible. 

Cycle 20-30 stabilize food soirce ( 12 mealwoods) maybe accept 1 dupe if something good appear. Start to build 4x4 rooms ( for barracks) 1 each dupe ( placing cot there and tidy up floor for decor)

Cycle 20-50 - ideally research latrine and build 2 toilet rooms ( 2 lav. And 2 sinks each). Get carbon skimmer. Start to build insulated tiles around starting biome

And so on and so on. Many things depend of the starting position but if by cycle 50 i have all above i start to aim for atmo suits ( safery for dups) and with that start to break organic biomes. 

[avc15]

Don't be afraid to lose a colony. If you are, try no sweat mode or maybe even sandbox a little. Ran out of water, spawn a couple tons of water. Base too hot, spawn in some cold oxylite. This is exactly what the sandbox tools are for, to help you get past a difficulty that was too much for you and you would have lost the colony.