Survival Guide - Dust Settles: The Survival Guide
by The O RLY Factor

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Ending Your First Turns:

This page will discuss a basic overview of ending your first couple of turns. This is NOT the only way to begin playing, nor is it the best. This is just a fairly standard approach to beginning. These explanations are provided to help you understand the basic gameplay and its progression. Because the starting populations are different depending on your class, the explanations are split up accordingly. Click the appropriate link below to be taken to the beginning of the turn explanation for your class.

One reminder/word of warning as you begin. Though I advise you to search for land your first 3 turns, be careful to watch how much land you are getting. If you do not limit your searches for specifically land at the beginning, you could end up out of anonymity (1,000 total land units) and beyond your starting communications range (5,000 total land units) before you have even opened recycling plants.

Nerd   -   Scout   -   Goofball   -   Popular

Nerd:

As a nerd you start with only 2 people in your camp. This means you have 4 spaces left in your initial shelter that you can fill with survivors.

Turn 1:

Because of your low starting population, you do not need to worry about any sort of construction just yet. What you need to do first is recruit survivors and expand your camp a bit. To do this, click the "Recruit" link on the left control panel. You should see a page that looks something like this with numbers appropriate for your camp size:

In the text box beside "Send" type in 1 and then click "now." The drop-down box is not important at the moment and only has one choice at this point anyway, so you can ignore it until you have opened and researched Time Management. The second box is for sending buses, which you will not have yet, so ignore this as well. This will set one of your people to recruit for 1 turn. Once you click "now," the text box and "now" button will be replaced by a message telling you how many people you have assigned to recruit for how many days and giving you the option to disband the group. For now, just check to make sure 1 person is assigned and continue on.

Now let's set up the other person to explore. Click "Explore" on your left control panel. You should see a page with options similar to the one below.

In the first text box, you will see a 1 since you only have one person left without an assignment. Leave this as is and go to the first drop-down box. Because you start with the maximum amount of your primary resources (food, disposables, and building supplies) that you can keep around your camp without a storage hut, you will not have to explore for one of those resources, just yet. Instead choose "Land" from the drop-down list to help expand your camp. The second drop-down box has only one option at this moment, so you can ignore it for now. Once "Land" is selected, click "now." After you have clicked, the options will be replaced by a message similar to the one on the "Recruit" page showing you how many people are assigned to search for what resource for how many days and giving you the option to disband the group. After checking to make sure the assignment is correct it is time to end your first turn.

You can end your turn by click the "now" button located at the top right of your screen or on your bottom bar. These buttons look like this.

Once you have clicked to end the turn, you will be taken back to the main game screen. Above the picture that appears at the top of your screen you will see your results from recruiting and exploring. This is your end turn display. This display will show you the results of the orders that you set up the previous day. It should look something like the image below, though your returns will vary depending on terrain and weather as well as certain random numbers that are used in many of the calculations. This image shows the expanded results of 1 explorer and 1 recruiter sent by a Nerd camp on the plains. To see the expanded version of what happened on your recruiting and exploration missions, as seen in the image, click "Show" in the appropriate box. Clicking "Hide" will close the colored box again leaving you with only your primary details. Once you click to another page, this display will disappear, but you can find out most of the information found in this display in the mid section of your main game screen.

Turn 2:

Now that you have seen the results of your first turn, it's time to do it again. Now, going on the results displayed above, you have 3 people in your camp. Because people are your most important resource in this game, let's send out most of them to recruit.

Once again, click "Recruit" on the left control panel. Type in 2 in the text box and click "now." This assigns 2 people to search the surrounding land for survivors. Now, click "Explore" on your left control panel. Leave the 1 in the first text box and select "Land" from the first drop-down menu. Click "now" to assign this 1 person to search for more land for your camp to use.

Once you have made these assignments, click the "now" in one of the two boxes where you can end your turn. Check the results to see how your explorers and recruiters did.

Turn 3:

Now that you have 4-5 people in your camp, you need to consider building your first shelter. To do this, click "Construct" on your left control panel. You will see a few options at the top of the page and a table at the bottom of the page. The table at the bottom shows how many buildings you have in your camp and will show you all buildings that you will be able to open and build throughout the game. This isn't very important at this point in the game since you only have 1 Shelter Level 1, so let's concentrate on the options at the top of the page.

Now the options at the top of the Construct page will look something like the image above. The first set of options allows you to set available population as construction workers. Available population are those people in your camp that have no assignments at the current time. Since you need to construct new shelter so that you can continue to expand your camp, you should assign 2 people. In the text box beside "Assign" type 2 and then click "now." This will set 2 people as construction workers. Now it's time to assign a Shelter 1 for construction. In the second set of tools, leave the first drop-down box on "Construct" since you want to build something and not demolish it. In the text box, leave 1 for now. In the second drop-down box, select "Shelter Lvl 1 ( 1 L , 2 W , 1 S )" from the top of the list. This selects a shelter 1 as the building that you want constructed. The numbers and letters in the parentheses show you some information about what is needed to build that building. 1 L means this building will only take up 1 unit of available land. 2 W means that this building needs 2 construction workers to finish construction in 1 turn. 1 S means that this building only requires 1 building supply for construction. Now that you have selected the appropriate building, click "Send to Queue." The option just before this button will be more important later in the game when you are setting up multiple buildings at once, for now ignore it.

Once you have clicked "Send to Queue," a new table will open up under the button. This table should look like the one above. You will be able to see what building type has been assigned for construction, how many were assigned, and how many days (turns) it will take to finish construction with the current number of construction workers. The images under the "Options" header at the end of the table is useful later for canceling a construction order, rearranging orders or putting something on hold. For now you don't need it so just ignore them.

Now let's move on to recruiting and exploring. Because your camp is getting bigger, you might want to consider sending out more people exploring than recruiting. So click "Recruit" to go to those options. Type in 1 in the text box and click "now." Make sure the entry is correct and go on to the Explore page by clicking "Explore." Depending on how many people you have left, leave whatever number you have available in the text box, select "Land" from the drop-down box, and click "now." Make sure everything looks okay and end your turn.

This time in your end turn report, you should see a message telling you that 1 Shelter 1 was constructed as well as the usual exploration and recruiting reports. Now, the rest is up to you. Recruit, explore, and build as you see fit.

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Scout:

As a scout you start with only 3 people in your camp. This means you have 3 spaces left in your initial shelter that you can fill with survivors.

Turn 1:

Because of your starting population, you do not need to worry about any sort of construction just yet. What you need to do first is recruit survivors and expand your camp a bit. To do this, click the "Recruit" link on the left control panel. You should see a page that looks something like this with numbers appropriate for your camp size:

In the text box beside "Send" type in 2 and then click "now." The drop-down box is not important at the moment and only has one choice at this point anyway, so you can ignore it until you have opened and researched Time Management. The second box is for sending buses, which you will not have yet, so ignore this as well. This will set one of your people to recruit for 1 turn. This will set 2 of your people to recruit for 1 turn. Once you click "now," the text box and "now" button will be replaced by a message telling you how many people you have assigned to recruit for how many days and giving you the option to disband the group. For now, just check to make sure 2 people are assigned and continue on.

Now let's set up the third person to explore. Click "Explore" on your left control panel. You should see a page with options similar to the one below.

In the first text box, you will see a 1 since you only have one person left without an assignment. Leave this as is and go to the first drop-down box. Because you start with the maximum amount of your primary resources (food, disposables, and building supplies) that you can keep around your camp without a storage hut, you will not have to explore for one of those resources, just yet. Instead choose "Land" from the drop-down list to help expand your camp. The second drop-down box has only one option at this moment, so you can ignore it for now. Once "Land" is selected, click "now." After you have clicked, the options will be replaced by a message similar to the one on the "Recruit" page showing you how many people are assigned to search for what resource for how many days and giving you the option to disband the group. After checking to make sure the assignment is correct it is time to end your first turn.

You can end your turn by click the "now" button located at the top right of your screen or on your bottom bar. These buttons look like this.

Once you have clicked to end the turn, you will be taken back to the main game screen. Above the picture that appears at the top of your screen you will see your results from recruiting and exploring. This is your end turn display. This display will show you the results of the orders that you set up the previous day. It should look something like the image below, though your returns will vary depending on class, terrain, and weather as well as certain random numbers that are used in many of the calculations. This image shows the expanded results of 1 explorer and 1 recruiter sent by a Nerd camp on the plains, so your results may differ. To see the expanded version of what happened on your recruiting and exploration missions, as seen in the image, click "Show" in the appropriate box. Clicking "Hide" will close the colored box again leaving you with only your primary details. Once you click to another page, this display will disappear, but you can find out most of the information found in this display in the mid section of your main game screen.

Turn 2:

Now that you have seen the results of your first turn, it's time to do it set up your next one. Now, after this exploration mission, you should now have at least 4 people in your camp.

You now need to consider building your first shelter. To do this, click "Construct" on your left control panel. You will see a few options at the top of the page and a table at the bottom of the page. The table at the bottom shows how many buildings you have in your camp and will show you all buildings that you will be able to open and build throughout the game. This isn't very important at this point in the game since you only have 1 Shelter Level 1, so let's concentrate on the options at the top of the page.

Now the options at the top of the Construct page will look something like the image above. The first set of options allows you to set available population as construction workers. Available population are those people in your camp that have no assignments at the current time. Since you need to construct new shelter so that you can continue to expand your camp, you should assign 2 people. In the text box beside "Assign" type 2 and then click "now." This will set 2 people as construction workers. Now it's time to assign a Shelter 1 for construction. In the second set of tools, leave the first drop-down box on "Construct" since you want to build something and not demolish it. In the text box, leave 1 for now. In the second drop-down box, select "Shelter Lvl 1 ( 1 L , 2 W , 1 S )" from the top of the list. This selects a shelter 1 as the building that you want constructed. The numbers and letters in the parentheses show you some information about what is needed to build that building. 1 L means this building will only take up 1 unit of available land. 2 W means that this building needs 2 construction workers to finish construction in 1 turn. 1 S means that this building only requires 1 building supply for construction. Now that you have selected the appropriate building, click "Send to Queue." The option just before this button will be more important later in the game when you are setting up multiple buildings at once, for now ignore it.

Once you have clicked "Send to Queue," a new table will open up under the button. This table should look like the one above. You will be able to see what building type has been assigned for construction, how many were assigned, and how many days (turns) it will take to finish construction with the current number of construction workers. The images under the "Options" header at the end of the table is useful later for canceling a construction order, rearranging orders or putting something on hold. For now you don't need it so just ignore them. Now, it's time to set your other orders.

Once again, click "Recruit" on the left control panel. Type in 1 in the text box and click "now." This assigns 1 person to search the surrounding land for survivors. Now, click "Explore" on your left control panel. Leave the 1 in the first text box and select "Land" from the first drop-down menu. Click "now" to assign this 1 person to search for more land for your camp to use.

Once you have made these assignments, click the "now" in one of the two boxes where you can end your turn. This time in your end turn report, you should see a message telling you that 1 Shelter 1 was constructed as well as the usual exploration and recruiting reports.

Turn 3:

Now you have 5 or more people in your camp and enough shelter space to hold a total of 11. Your camp is starting to reach a point where exploration for food and disposables is slightly more important, though you should still have well over 100 left. Because you should still have plenty left and you still have a very small camp, searching for a specific resource other than land is not yet necessary, but will become necessary later.

Now let's move on to recruiting and exploring. Because your camp is getting bigger, you might want to consider sending out more people exploring than recruiting. So click "Recruit" to go to those options. Type in 1 in the text box and click "now." Make sure the entry is correct and go on to the Explore page by clicking "Explore." Depending on how many people you have left, leave whatever number you have available in the text box, select "Land" from the drop-down box, and click "now." Make sure everything looks okay and end your turn.

Check the results to see how your explorers and recruiters did. Now, the rest is up to you. Recruit, explore, and build as you see fit.

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Goofball:

As a goofball you start with 4 people in your camp. This means you have 2 spaces left in your initial shelter that you can fill with survivors.

Turn 1:

Because of your starting population, you might need to consider using your first turn building your first shelter.

To do this, click "Construct" on your left control panel. You will see a few options at the top of the page and a table at the bottom of the page. The table at the bottom shows how many buildings you have in your camp and will show you all buildings that you will be able to open and build throughout the game. This isn't very important at this point in the game since you only have 1 Shelter Level 1, so let's concentrate on the options at the top of the page.

Now the options at the top of the Construct page will look something like the image above. The first set of options allows you to set available population as construction workers. Available population are those people in your camp that have no assignments at the current time. Since you need to construct new shelter so that you can continue to expand your camp, you should assign 2 people. In the text box beside "Assign" type 2 and then click "now." This will set 2 people as construction workers. Now it's time to assign a Shelter 1 for construction. In the second set of tools, leave the first drop-down box on "Construct" since you want to build something and not demolish it. In the text box, leave 1 for now. In the second drop-down box, select "Shelter Lvl 1 ( 1 L , 2 W , 1 S )" from the top of the list. This selects a shelter 1 as the building that you want constructed. The numbers and letters in the parentheses show you some information about what is needed to build that building. 1 L means this building will only take up 1 unit of available land. 2 W means that this building needs 2 construction workers to finish construction in 1 turn. 1 S means that this building only requires 1 building supply for construction. Now that you have selected the appropriate building, click "Send to Queue." The option just before this button will be more important later in the game when you are setting up multiple buildings at once, for now ignore it.

Once you have clicked "Send to Queue," a new table will open up under the button. This table should look like the one above. You will be able to see what building type has been assigned for construction, how many were assigned, and how many days (turns) it will take to finish construction with the current number of construction workers. The images under the "Options" header at the end of the table is useful later for canceling a construction order, rearranging orders or putting something on hold. For now you don't need it so just ignore them. Now, it's time to set your other orders.

Now that you have set the construction orders, you need to recruit survivors and expand your camp a bit. To do this, click the "Recruit" link on the left control panel. You should see a page that looks something like this with numbers appropriate for your camp size:

In the text box beside "Send" type in 1 and then click "now." The drop-down box is not important at the moment and only has one choice at this point anyway, so you can ignore it until you have opened and researched Time Management. The second box is for sending buses, which you will not have yet, so ignore this as well. This will set one of your people to recruit for 1 turn. This will set one of your people to recruit for 1 turn. Once you click "now," the text box and "now" button will be replaced by a message telling you how many people you have assigned to recruit for how many days and giving you the option to disband the group. For now, just check to make sure 1 person is assigned and continue on.

Now let's set up the last available person to explore. Click "Explore" on your left control panel. You should see a page with options similar to the one below.

In the first text box, you will see a 1 since you only have one person left without an assignment. Leave this as is and go to the first drop-down box. Because you start with the maximum amount of your primary resources (food, disposables, and building supplies) that you can keep around your camp without a storage hut, you will not have to explore for one of those resources, just yet. Instead choose "Land" from the drop-down list to help expand your camp. The second drop-down box has only one option at this moment, so you can ignore it for now. Once "Land" is selected, click "now." After you have clicked, the options will be replaced by a message similar to the one on the "Recruit" page showing you how many people are assigned to search for what resource for how many days and giving you the option to disband the group. After checking to make sure the assignment is correct it is time to end your first turn.

You can end your turn by click the "now" button located at the top right of your screen or on your bottom bar. These buttons look like this.

Once you have clicked to end the turn, you will be taken back to the main game screen. Above the picture that appears at the top of your screen you will see your results from recruiting and exploring. This is your end turn display. This display will show you the results of the orders that you set up the previous day. It should look something like the image below, though your returns will vary depending on class, terrain, and weather as well as certain random numbers that are used in many of the calculations. This image shows the expanded results of 1 explorer and 1 recruiter sent by a Nerd camp on the plains. To see the expanded version of what happened on your recruiting and exploration missions, as seen in the image, click "Show" in the appropriate box. Clicking "Hide" will close the colored box again leaving you with only your primary details. Under the results for the explorer and recruiter you will see a message telling you that 1 Shelter Level 1 was constructed. Once you click to another page, this display will disappear, but you can find out most of the information found in this display in the mid section of your main game screen.

Turn 2:

Now that you have seen the results of your first turn, it's time to do it set up your next one. You should now have at least 5 people in your camp and around 6 spaces left in your available shelter. Its time to continue your expansion.

Once again, click "Recruit" on the left control panel. Type in 1 in the text box and click "now." This assigns 1 person to search the surrounding land for survivors. Now, click "Explore" on your left control panel. Leave the the first text box as is and select "Land" from the first drop-down menu. Click "now" to assign these people to search for more land for your camp to use.

Once you have made these assignments, click the "now" in one of the two boxes where you can end your turn. This time in your end turn report, you should will only see the results of your exploration and recruiting missions, since that was all you set up.

Turn 3:

Now you have 6 or more people in your camp and enough shelter space to hold a total of 11. Your camp is starting to reach a point where exploration for food and disposables is slightly more important, though you should still have well over 100 left. Because you should still have plenty left and you still have a very small camp, searching for a specific resource other than land is not yet necessary, but will become necessary later.

So once again, you will only need to recruit and explore this turn. So click "Recruit" to go to those options. Type in 1 in the text box and click "now." Make sure the entry is correct and go on to the Explore page by clicking "Explore." Depending on how many people you have left, leave whatever number you have available in the text box, select "Land" from the drop-down box, and click "now." Make sure everything looks okay and end your turn.

Check the results to see how your explorers and recruiters did. Now, the rest is up to you. Recruit, explore, and build as you see fit.

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Popular:

As a popular you start with 5 people in your camp. This means you have only 1 space left in your initial shelter that you can fill with survivors.

Turn 1:

Because of your starting population, you will need to use your first turn to build your first shelter.

To do this, click "Construct" on your left control panel. You will see a few options at the top of the page and a table at the bottom of the page. The table at the bottom shows how many buildings you have in your camp and will show you all buildings that you will be able to open and build throughout the game. This isn't very important at this point in the game since you only have 1 Shelter Level 1, so let's concentrate on the options at the top of the page.

Now the options at the top of the Construct page will look something like the image above. The first set of options allows you to set available population as construction workers. Available population are those people in your camp that have no assignments at the current time. Since you need to construct new shelter so that you can continue to expand your camp, you should assign 2 people. In the text box beside "Assign" type 2 and then click "now." This will set 2 people as construction workers. Now it's time to assign a Shelter 1 for construction. In the second set of tools, leave the first drop-down box on "Construct" since you want to build something and not demolish it. In the text box, leave 1 for now. In the second drop-down box, select "Shelter Lvl 1 ( 1 L , 2 W , 1 S )" from the top of the list. This selects a shelter 1 as the building that you want constructed. The numbers and letters in the parentheses show you some information about what is needed to build that building. 1 L means this building will only take up 1 unit of available land. 2 W means that this building needs 2 construction workers to finish construction in 1 turn. 1 S means that this building only requires 1 building supply for construction. Now that you have selected the appropriate building, click "Send to Queue." The option just before this button will be more important later in the game when you are setting up multiple buildings at once, for now ignore it.

Once you have clicked "Send to Queue," a new table will open up under the button. This table should look like the one above. You will be able to see what building type has been assigned for construction, how many were assigned, and how many days (turns) it will take to finish construction with the current number of construction workers. The images under the "Options" header at the end of the table is useful later for canceling a construction order, rearranging orders or putting something on hold. For now you don't need it so just ignore them. Now, it's time to set your other orders.

Now that you have set the construction orders, you need to recruit survivors and expand your camp a bit. To do this, click the "Recruit" link on the left control panel. You should see a page that looks something like this with numbers appropriate for your camp size:

In the text box beside "Send" type in 1 and then click "now." The drop-down box is not important at the moment and only has one choice at this point anyway, so you can ignore it until you have opened and researched Time Management. The second box is for sending buses, which you will not have yet, so ignore this as well. This will set one of your people to recruit for 1 turn. This will set one of your people to recruit for 1 turn. Once you click "now," the text box and "now" button will be replaced by a message telling you how many people you have assigned to recruit for how many days and giving you the option to disband the group. For now, just check to make sure 1 person is assigned and continue on.

Now let's set up the last 2 available people to explore. Click "Explore" on your left control panel. You should see a page with options similar to the one below.

In the first text box, you will see a 2 since you only have two person left without an assignment. Leave this as is and go to the first drop-down box. Because you start with the maximum amount of your primary resources (food, disposables, and building supplies) that you can keep around your camp without a storage hut, you will not have to explore for one of those resources, just yet. Instead choose "Land" from the drop-down list to help expand your camp. The second drop-down box has only one option at this moment, so you can ignore it for now. Once "Land" is selected, click "now." After you have clicked, the options will be replaced by a message similar to the one on the "Recruit" page showing you how many people are assigned to search for what resource for how many days and giving you the option to disband the group. After checking to make sure the assignment is correct it is time to end your first turn.

You can end your turn by click the "now" button located at the top right of your screen or on your bottom bar. These buttons look like this.

Once you have clicked to end the turn, you will be taken back to the main game screen. Above the picture that appears at the top of your screen you will see your results from recruiting and exploring. This is your end turn display. This display will show you the results of the orders that you set up the previous day. It should look something like the image below, though your returns will vary depending on class, terrain, and weather as well as certain random numbers that are used in many of the calculations. This image shows the expanded results of 1 explorer and 1 recruiter sent by a Nerd camp on the plains. To see the expanded version of what happened on your recruiting and exploration missions, as seen in the image, click "Show" in the appropriate box. Clicking "Hide" will close the colored box again leaving you with only your primary details. Under the results for the explorer and recruiter you will see a message telling you that 1 Shelter Level 1 was constructed. Once you click to another page, this display will disappear, but you can find out most of the information found in this display in the mid section of your main game screen.

Turn 2:

Now that you have seen the results of your first turn, it's time to do it set up your next one. You should now have at least 6 people in your camp and around 5 spaces left in your available shelter. Its time to continue your expansion.

Once again, click "Recruit" on the left control panel. Type in 1 in the text box and click "now." This assigns 1 person to search the surrounding land for survivors. Now, click "Explore" on your left control panel. Leave the the first text box as is and select "Land" from the first drop-down menu. Click "now" to assign these people to search for more land for your camp to use.

Once you have made these assignments, click the "now" in one of the two boxes where you can end your turn. This time in your end turn report, you should will only see the results of your exploration and recruiting missions, since that was all you set up.

Turn 3:

Now you have 7 or more people in your camp and enough shelter space to hold a total of 11. Your camp is starting to reach a point where exploration for food and disposables is slightly more important, though you should still have well over 100 left. Because you should still have plenty left and you still have a very small camp, searching for a specific resource other than land is not yet necessary, but will become necessary later.

So once again, you will only need to recruit and explore this turn. So click "Recruit" to go to those options. Type in 1 in the text box and click "now." Make sure the entry is correct and go on to the Explore page by clicking "Explore." Depending on how many people you have left, leave whatever number you have available in the text box, select "Land" from the drop-down box, and click "now." Make sure everything looks okay and end your turn.

Check the results to see how your explorers and recruiters did. Now, the rest is up to you. Recruit, explore, and build as you see fit.

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