Survivors: GregTech New Horizons multiplayer

[GamerwithnoGame]

Preamble: This is my second attempt at a playthrough thread; my first one ended before it had really begun, so I'm hoping this goes a little better! Please forgive the brightness of the first few screenshots - I forgot to switch it from "Moody" to "Bright"!

GregTech New Horizons is a very large, extensive and extraordinarily customised quest-driven modpack for 1.7.10, that has been continuously developed over many years. The linchpin mod is of course GregTech, and for those who know of the "Greggy" reputation, this takes that and turns it up to 11. But, having played it a little once or twice before, I know I'm going to have a good time - and not only am I playing on a server, but we're going to be working together too! And I'm hoping to put something of a story spin on it too.

Because of how we're playing, there's going to be some jumps in progression too, so if that's not your bag then you may want to give this a miss Otherwise - lets get going...

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I awoke with a start.

After a few seconds of blankness, memories came rushing back: alarms blaring, lights flashing, mayhem. A transport ship, barreling through some backwater solar system, out of control. And then... an automated voice speaking in calm tones over the chaos:

"EMERGENCY EVACUATION: TELEPORT ACTIVATING IN 3... 2... 1..."

Then a gut-wrenching lurch right through my spine, and then...

Oh.

Oh NO.

I feel panic begin to set in as I'm brought back to the present, and I look around.


The EmTel will only dump passengers on a planet that it reads is habitable, and it looks like it was working correctly. Greenery everywhere. Good start.

Then I spot something in the distance. What is that? Whatever it is, it's been built, which means there's something more intelligent than animal life here. That could be good or bad news...

I'm briefly lost in my pensive reverie, when something else draws my attention back once more:

The sun is going down! Damn. Well, whatever lives there, I hope it's friendly... so I make my way over to the hut. Perhaps no-one is home? Before I set off, I take a quick look around to see what else is around. Mountains, a forest, and I think I hear water too. Well, I've been in worse places!

Inside the hut, its's snug but warm. This looks like a good place to see out the night... and a dark night it is too. I can't see a thing!

With a start, I hear the door open and in comes perhaps the strangest creature I've seen. Short, with green skin, but heavily muscled - not the sort of creature I want to mess with!

We look at each other for a moment.

I stare at it.

It stares at me.

With no hostility or unfriendliness forthcoming from the creature, bar a rather disgruntled noise and eyes that don't leave my person, it seems that the two of us will make room-mates for the night, albeit strange ones. As I start to relax, I realise quite how tired I am, and how sore my head is.

How long was I unconscious? Did any other passengers survive the EmTel's less-than-gentle treatment, and make it to this seemingly safe haven?

As that thought passes my brain, I hear something that makes my blood run cold... an unearthly groan, and shambling footsteps outside the hut. Even the creature in front of me quiets for a moment. Whatever is out there, I don't think it's friendly.

A sense of dread begins to set in, when I get my second surprise of the night: a faint signal coming through on the one piece of technology I have managed to retain. It's barely there, but it's real!

Survivors!

All I really have is a direction, and a distance, but its enough, and my spirits lift once more. I have restored something that I had began to lose.

Hope.

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

Eventually, I see the dawn approaching.

I bid my now erstwhile companion farewell, and set off in the direction of the coordinates.

On my travels, I see the remains of what can only be an impact from some large object, and as I crest the rim of the crater and look down, sure enough there it is. Strange indeed. And other odd sights too: another strange construction made from dark stone that gave me a decidedly uncomfortable feeling at the base of my skull, an erupting geyser of a black liquid that gave off a decidedly petrochemical odour, some signs of perhaps the survivors I had been looking for, and a strange totem.

The crashed meteor

The eerie construct, with the oily fountain pouring down nearby

Signs of life! A farm...? Just how long was I lying there??

The totem. I find myself looking away from the eyes on the headstone, yet... I feel like they're watching me, still.

As I approached the coordinates, I could see no further signs of life, but then as night started to fall again, a fellow survivor appeared. It was their farm I had stumbled across! They led me back to their small encampment by the side of the lake, and there I rested once more.

They kindly share their food with me, and I tuck in ravenously. I feel like I haven't eaten for a week.

As the next day arrives, and my new companion departs to continue searching for resources, he passes me something to tide over my hunger. I stare at it, uncomprehendingly for a moment. When I ask him if it is... well, what it appears to be... the nonchalance of his answer unnerves me.

Just what have I let myself in for...?

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

Despite the supplying of meat of dubious origin, my new companion Sora has been a stalwart ally, keeping me informed about the events as experienced so far. Unbeknownst to me, we have another compatriot; this mysterious figure is apparently responsible for the construction of two large ovens that seemed to have cropped up overnight.

Although... I find myself increasingly sure that when I sleep, much more time passes than I would have expected. Perhaps I took greater injury than I'd realised when I first landed.

Trying to shrug off this unsettling sensation, I decided to explore the nearby forest, to see what bounties nature had to offer here. Verdant and lush, and filled with gardens containing a bewildering variety of vegetables, fruits and other edible objects, I felt truly lucky that we had landed in such a friendly seeming place. Except... those noises in the night.

The forest also provided another surprise - a village, indicative of further native intelligent life! And built not only of simple materials like wood and stone, but some sort of ceramic blocks bound by a stony adhesive.

After some further exploration, I found the aforementioned occupants of the village:

These villagers made similar sounds to the small green creature I'd met previously - perhaps there is a common language between them?

Unfortunately in my eagerness to explore, the night has snuck up on me faster than I had anticipated, and so I find myself in dire straits. It really is dark, but I'll have to make a run for it.

After a frantic run, dodging branches and stumbling through pits and crevices, I flooded with relief at the sight of a light - home at last!

The unmentionable sounds I heard during that run though... behind me, all the way... I hope I haven't led danger to our makeshift home.

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

Sure enough, as I had feared, there were dreadful things lurking in the darkness. With that discovery, came another shocking revelation:

This fiendish fiery beast, murderous eyes aglow, slaughtered me where I stood. I died. And moments later... there I stood, once more. Something about this world... it will not let me die. Not permanently. No matter how times this dreadful monster left me slain, no matter the agony, I stood once more. Whether this is a blessing or a curse... only time will tell.

Truly this planet is full of surprises, but not every unexpected event I experience is tied to the celestial sphere I find myself bound to: it turns out that there are more survivors! From what I have discovered so far, the survivors who first awoke gathered, and broke into factions. This schism wasn't born from disagreements or rivalries, but rather a practical sense of aiming to avoid depleting resources in a single area. Which is something of a relief! Although I was concerned about communicating with the other groups, I found a sense of friendly co-operation between us, and I was invited to journey to their outpost.

After a long walk, I came across their base, nestled in a beautiful valley filled with flowers, by a lake.

After taking some time to appreciate my surroundings, the other survivors and I traded some varieties of plant garden with them, and made my way home.

My last surprise came on my journey home - a walled town, surrounded by a wall made of a white material...

Upon closer examination, this turned out to be snow - despite the temperature surrounding the town being no colder than the rest of the land, the walls remain strangely unmelted. Is this an oddity of the climate? Some sort of effect on the snow that prevents its phase transition? Truly, another mystery to solve...

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of updates! It's been a busy time. Hopefully I'll get back to updating more regularly soon!

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The day after my discovery of the strange snow-city, I found this peculiar looking pool of something... unpleasant. I was able to gather that it was poisonous (though clearly not to the plant life around it), but nothing further. I definitely shouldn't pick those wild carrots, that's for sure.

Back at the encampment, I found that the garden area had been expanded considerably - something which came as no small relief to me, given my area of expertise. While neither engineering, combat nor mining are normally in my bailiwick (though on this world I get the feeling I'll need to be adaptable...), the preparation of culinary delights is. Before I took this ill-fated journey that let to me being stranded, I was a chef. I haven't told my compatriot this yet, I'm a little concerned that I might come across as... less than useful.

Not only that, but a shelter built of wood and stone had cropped up too! Although it has no windows or doors, it still offers shelter that we had sorely lacked.

There seem to be plentiful fruits and vegetables on this world, with most bearing remarkable resemblance to those I've seen on my homeworld. Perhaps this planet has been visited before, seeded maybe? Hmm. With plentiful resources at my fingertips, I set to work making the first proper meal I've had since we crashed here:

...well, they do say breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

As a few days passed, it became clear that I would indeed need to broaden my repertoire of skills. The unseen member of the group, a mysterious presence whom I never seemed to be awake to meet, had left a message for me, asking if I could find a particular mineral. Not being a geologist, I was hesitant to accept, but on the back of the note I found a series of coordinates. Following those, and digging down, I soon came across the mineral in question: Gypsum.

This variant of calcium sulphate is going to be essential for the next large construct he wants to build, apparently, so I grabbed a pickaxe and got to work. The pick in question was handmade - one of my fellow survivors had left a pickaxe head in one of the chests, so it was a fairly simple matter of crafting a wooden handle, and binding it to the head with more wood.

It was backbreaking work, but not the only task I would need to do. A little later on... was it days? Weeks? Months? Its hard to tell how long my rests last.

It wasn't long before another request was passed to me - this time for a different calcium mineral - calcite. Even with the limited knowledge I have, I began to realise that the plan would involve making something that can deal with high temperatures, possibly high enough to refine the raw iron we've been obtaining into something stronger. Once again, I dig a hole; this time the ore body lay much deeper, so I needed a better way of getting out:

For this task, I needed a pickaxe with some longevity, so I crafted my own. The tool itself was cast from bronze; an ancient alloy, but tough enough and able to be made from local ore-bearing rocks. Even with the extra weight of a metal handle, I found its heft and durability more than up to the task!

A few days later, and sure enough, a new construct had appeared. It appeared cool, so I approached it, and prized out a darker metallic ingot from its insides.

We have it, at last... an alloy strong enough and light enough to truly progress technologically!

We have... STEEL.

However, this enthusiasm was not to last. As it turned out, steel was not the only new thing that had been created... there have also been...

Dark Constructions.

I don't know what this is, but it gave me an unnerved feeling.

I approached for a closer look, and found myself mesmerised by the swirling within; I'm not sure how long it held my gaze until I tore my eyes from it. But whatever it is, it felt like it, or something somehow... beyond it... was looking back at me. It wasn't until I walked back to the main encampment, and the breeze blew an unexpected chill into me, that I realised the clamminess of my skin, like a cold sweat. And a persistent prickle at the back of my neck, too. Even the fear of imminent death on a spaceship hurtling out of control through a solar system somehow pales in comparison to this... thing. I didn't get this far by ignoring my instincts - I'm going to give it a wide wide berth.

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

I still haven't seen the mysterious survivor who - as I've recently noticed - signs his missives "LP", but I have certainly felt his presence. His latest request came with a simple instruction, to make a space for a large charcoal pit.

Or, to put it succinctly:

Diggy Diggy Hole.

I can certainly oblige there!

The pit required lining with bricks as a heat resistant floor; thankfully, there were plentiful supplies of clay to make it from.

Entering the finalised pit is impressive, especially after taking great pains to make the outside blend into the landscape.

I'm definitely proud of my handiwork here. With an internal volume capable of holding 605 logs of wood... this should make quite the pile of charcoal, when it's done!

 

[Tianyulong]

I love the way you take the strange logic of Minecraft and weave it into the lore of your world. Really cool!

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

I love the way you take the strange logic of Minecraft and weave it into the lore of your world. Really cool!

Thank you, that's very kind! I'm sorry my posts have been a bit slow, I've not had chance to play much, But I've been capturing screenshots when I do, hopefully I'll have something interesting to post about soon!
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