I’m still deep down the rabbit hole of Expedition 33, but poked my head up to play through The Alters Act 1. Balancing survival with resource gathering and the needs of my alters is addicting. Once I’m finally ready to dive fully in, The Alters will be my new addiction.
Day One: Running from Radioactivity
After I crash landed on that red-hazed planet as Jan Dolski, it was a race to the wheel-shaped base to escape the radioactivity. In The Alters, sunrise is death. Radiation kills everyone outside. I spent my first hour frantically snapping down power pylons, building a drilling platform, then scavenging for metal and organics.
Things were so hectic. Every minute equaled an hour in game. Trying to get things done before the day ends, and exhaustion sets in, is a true race. I completely forgot I could hit Space to pause time when (not if) I felt overwhelmed. It was my task to get the base operational to move out of the path of the sun.
Unlocking my First Alters
Once I gathered enough Rapidium, I unlocked the Tree of Life via the Quantum computer. It showed the major life choices from my Jan’s Mind Record. From those major choices, I could branch off to an alternate choice. There, I created my first Alter—Jan Technician. He helped me get the base up and running, but not without drama.
Each Alter has issues to go along with strengths. It’s tough managing a relationship with a clone I created and explaining to them how or why. Jan Technician hated long shifts and complained about the sleeping conditions. He’s the reason I built the Dormitory.
Dealing with Jan Technician was more than just wants and needs. He has emotions I had to balance to get his help moving the base. It’s a big hook in The Alters Act 1 and I’m sure it will get even more complicated later.
My Alters Act 1 Team
As I near the end of Act 1, I created 4 Alters, so far:
- Jan Miner: faster mining, but he has reverse phantom pain of the clone arm (he lost his in his memories).
- Jan Technician: helps me maintain the base, but is quick to demand better living conditions.
- Jan Scientist: opens up the ability to research, but is more concerned with results than crew safety.
- Jan Refiner: who will eventually help me actually refine, but so far he’s just mined some and talked to himself.
Watching their morale levels was as crucial as watching my resource meters. I learned to stagger shifts and build their requested features whenever possible. There were also momentos from shared memories I’d find in crash debris to share with them. I even made perogies with Jan Technician.
More cracks are forming, though. Jan Miner is pushing me to choose between medicating him and pissing him off. He’s already had a few accidents, so it’s a risk either way. I really need him mining, but if he gets really hurt … tough choices.
My Early Alters Base-Building Priorities
- Power & Oxygen First
I’m working on building at least two oxygen injectors, so I never run dry. - Mining
I’ve setup 4 mining rgs to quickly fetch all needed resources. Now I have easy access to organics, metals, minerals and Rapidium. - Rapidium Storage
I need a ton of each resource in hopes of building Ark modules. The raw Rapidium I use to create my alters is fine in regular storage for short trips, but safe storage is my ticket off the planet. - Radiation Shields
I need to research more efficient radiation protection and hopefully install better shielding. It’s pretty obvious a bad radiation storm is inevitable. - Travel Pylons
I glossed over the Fast travel points I could building strictly for travel. Now, I need to build a hub to help me travel around faster. Mining platforms I have covered, but the resources I don’t mine are a trek. Each minute equaling an hour reminds me how I’ve neglected those Travel Pylons.
Altering my Workflow with the Alters
As a creature of habit, I strived for a reliable loop:
- Morning: Unpause, plan my main resource or goal of the day, reassign Alter tasks (mining → building → research).
- Midday: Check batteries, top off food rations, patch any damaged pylons, work on secondary goals or resources.
- Dusk: Pause, double-check every module and Alter, then brave one last resource run before radiation gets too high.
Every pause-and-plan session taught me to look ahead of The Alters act 1: “Enough filters? Batteries? Which Alter is going nuts?” This habit will help me in later acts, but probably not truly save me.
Why the Alters Act 1 Hooked Me
- Tense Time Pressure: That real-time clock keeps me constantly reacting.
- Personality Management: The clones of Jan are a trip. They mostly help, but it adds a whole other layer dealing with their quirks.
- Meaningful First Choices: Which Alter to birth next? Which module to build? Which Alters wishes do I fulfill at the expense of others? These small decisions shaped my initial playstyle.
Getting Ready for the Alters Act 2
I have my 4 Alters to focus on repairs, mining, refining and research. They are also available for me to assign to other tasks, but they are not as good at those. That leaves me time to explore and discover more of the planetary secrets.
There’s a giant river of lava surrounding my base now. I need to build the Rapidium Ark to get help from the company to solve my traversal problem. It’s going to be all hands on deck to mine enough resources, while keeping everyone fed and safe. It’s going to be stressful, but I can’t wait for more of The Alters.