End-of-Month Wrap-up: The Winner, Honorable Mentions, and Next Month’s Challenge...
(Original challenge description below, skip to it?)
Congratulations to the Santa’s Stash challenge winner, on a hot streak... bogboy3!
With a whopping 1250 bottles stashed by his Captain Jolly Missle-Toe, and a Brexian Spice Tea cocktail inspired by his time in the Himalayas(!!), he’s earned his second community challenge win in a row.
Honorable Mentions
T3h Brambl3 with a very impressive Coolant Leak cocktail, and a Vudka stash over a month in the making… only to be cut short by the Xeno. 😭
Dr. Spendlove for bringing us the tale of a dire Vudka shortage introducing him to a local mocktail recipe, Shalun Sangria.
Thanks everyone for sharing in our holiday fun, hope you had lots more at home!
As always, you can still post a run report for this challenge or any of our previous challenges in the Steam forums or in our Discord. We’ll always consider notable runs (impressive gameplay, fun screenshots / edits, fan art or stories) for a share on our Twitter or Facebook.
We’ll kick the new year off with a new challenge soon, stay tuned!
Twas the night before Spacemas, and all through the Void, Not a Captain was flying, not even the employed. The quadrants were gripped with a paralyzing fear, “Like nothing seen before,” rumors said: a massive xeno fleet was near. The gravs knew only stories, but spacers were filled with dread, If these rumors were true, all humanity might be dead. It was too late for another Exodus, there was no time for flight, Deep in the governmental Palace, the Prince wrestled with the plight. “There’s too many to fight them, our buildings too big to hide,” His advisors all bemoaned, “Shalun save us again, how will we possibly survive!?” As the noble Prince brooded and his soft courtiers despaired, BANG BANG on the Palace doors -- an intruder, who would dare!? As the massive doors opened, none were prepared for the sight. A striking red color and spectacular hat, a Star Trader stood, one they’d heard of alright. The captain’s exploits were infamous, the officers too; the first mate stood with him, representing all the crew. He spoke for his captain, grim-faced, mustache... burred… “We have an idea, and we demand to be heard! We must flee the city, and outwait the assault. Deep within the wilderness, we’ve stocked a hidden vault.” “Preposterous!” a royal idiot shouted, “and ridiculous too!” “Hear hear,” another shouted. “We are hundreds of thousands, what kind of stockpile could do?” But the Captain’s reputation was epic, and the Prince’s influence strong; they knew the worth of working together, and the Prince spoke to play along: “Our people are resilient, and food we carry can be shared. The problem’s not in feeding them, it’s what will they do for weeks when they are scared?” “The same thing we do in space,” that grizzled first officer did tell. “Remember your duty, trust your crewmates, and pass the vudka til all is well.”
Captains, to start this challenge you must find a system with both a) a wild zone and b) an urban zone of any of these types: Mining, Tradeway, or Orbital. This will be your Stash System.
You can take as much time as you like to find your Stash System and to prepare your ship, bankroll, and knowledge of the galaxy. Once you’re ready to begin, navigate to your Stash System and take a screenshot of it from orbit -- this will show the starting date, that the system meets the criteria (one wild zone and one mining, tradeway or orbital zone) and that there is nothing currently stashed on the system (as there is no green stash icon in orbit).
From this point, you have 1 in-game year (e.g. from 219.05AE to 220.05AE) to acquire and stash as much Vudka (supplied by Farming, Refinery Zones with Trade Law 7 or less, piratable from many Smugglers and Pirates) as you can possibly find into your “Stash System”. Selecting a well-located Stash System will be critical to your success, as you will need quick access to multiple locations supplying Vudka. There are a few other restrictions about where you vudka may come from, all based around the requirement that you must obtain your stash *after* the start of your year.
- You may not move any Vudka from another stash
- You may not have any Vudka already in your cargo hold
- You may not move any Vudka from a drydocked ship's cargo hold
And, to make it interesting, out-of-game we are providing massive bonus points for creating a Star-Traders-themed winter cocktail you post a recipe for and photos of. The cocktail must:
- Contain vudka (vodka is acceptable), rum (because pirates), or a base drink with no alcohol whatsoever (water-fuel).
- Have at least two-other Star Traders-themed ingredients / toppers. Creative substitutes for actual Kongon Locusts, xeno blood, hydrogen fuel, etc. are acceptable as these may not be available on your planet.
Scoring Rules
Points awarded for:
- +1 point per unit of vudka stashed
Bonus points:
- +5000 points for creating a cocktail with a recipe and photo
- Use the new Map Gen v2 - points x 2
- Screenshot your holiday captain outfit - points x 1.25
- x 1(+0.1 points per difficulty level above basic)
Note the bonuses are multiplicative. Therefore, at maximum you would get the calculation:
(Vudka + Cocktail Points) x 2 (for Map Gen 2) x 1.25 (for holiday outfit screenshot) x 1.1 (for Normal diff)
Screenshots:
To report your challenge’s score, provide the following screenshots and text:
- Recipe & Photo -- for your Star Traders cocktail / mocktail.
- Screenshot -- Your Stash System from orbit -- this will show the starting date, that the system meets the criteria (one wild zone and one mining, tradeway or orbital zone) and that there is nothing currently stashed on the system (as there is no green treasure chest stash icon in orbit)
- Screenshot -- Your total stash and the ending stardate.
Clear your cargo holds and check your trade routes captains. Maybe put that new Map generator to work for you. 😉 And we can’t wait to see what drinks you come up with!
Further Discussion, Post Scores and Ask Questions
All scores, questions and chatter about the December community challenge should be routed to the Discussions forum thread:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/335620/discussions/0/2962769352270501993/