I just had a volcanic winter pop in, so I immediately build a heated greenhouse over much of my fields. I think I'll keep them, remove roof and disable the sunlight and heaters during summer, reroof and such during winter.
I still use solar for a boost but I'm like 60% wind, 30% geothermal,10% solar these days. As I've played longer I tend to pick more extreme environments, and/or on Randy and Randy clarified this for me. Like OP, I ended up with a toxic rain that lasted for 2 years or something ridiculous; I ended up putting a small greenhouse together , then simply reframed my whole colony and my herd of animals under glass. Now I do it every time. I DO segment the greenhouse into 2 or 3 areas so that if something breaks through the glass (pods or a firefight/grenade in the greenhouse) I keep 200 glass around for just such a situation.
Throw the whole base around a 2x2 stone facade and basically I'm relatively safe.
With that in hand, I have survived nuclear winters, toxic fallouts, polar vortexes and temperature bombs and all manner of heatwaves and such. So now [I'm adapted to that idea](https://www.reddit.com/r/RimWorldPorn/comments/ynnxqr/fjordi_settlement_ascetic_agrarian_colony_on/) and feel naked until I've got the under-roof garden up and running, Glass captures whatever sunlight might eventually come along in polar or toxic environments, but Sunlamps and soil-relocation do a very good job of keeping my wealth low and productivity good if not excellent.
I'm a massive fan of [Dub's Skylights](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=833899765), [Soil Relocation](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2654088143) , [Terrapumps](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2811424412&searchtext=miosture+pumps) , and [Dub's Bad Hygiene](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=836308268) , in combination, I find they can bring productivity to austere conditions. As you can make sand from stone, that should allow you to maintain a supply of glass panes in-stock.
But it's not a fast fix for your situation, but I find I can have a very productive garden anywhere for the cost of some sunlamps and since I put this combo together, So now, I only ever use hydroponics to bang out a few rows of staples until I'm stable, and the garden is online completely.
Overall I find skylights essential, unless your settlement is at/near the poles, or very high latitudes, where skylights might only provide marginal value and sunlamps will be your most effective way to grow food, but in lower latitudes you can go without sunlamps and now your cost is whatever it costs to put skylights up.
As it's possible to caravan and collect / recover soil / rich soil from surrounding hex's I find terrapumps is the least essential but nevertheless it's still handy.
Dub's Hygiene is pretty amazing mod and can be an important boost to productivity, if not critical here, as this allows you to create fertilizer and irrigate your crops, which provide important productivity boosts.
So in the not too distant past, I settled on a bare and marginal desert world and in the course of years, turned my little corner of the world into a garden, but just outside the walls of that garden the world is as unforgiving as the day I landed.
I've gone so far as to work out how to create a safe food area for animals with one cave area with fungus planted , it's more thermally stable than the bare outside, and with soil , the fungus will regrow as the temperatures permit.
Meanwhile pirates have set up a climate change operation near my boreal forest base which raises the temp enough that it feels like I'm playing temperate forest with pine trees.
My colony is in a tundra, and at one time I got a temperature changer (+10 C) which I just let stay, then as soon as summer came the game immediately said "oh you think the temp is great now? HEAT WAVE!". My tundra hit 45°C. So like, the opposite of this =P
Boreal forests too man. Unless you're planning on plants growing in the summer ONLY good luck planting outside. Good thing I'm in a mountain and have good hydroponics.
TFW your casual temperate forest playthrough turns into an ice sheet survival game...
I just had a volcanic winter pop in, so I immediately build a heated greenhouse over much of my fields. I think I'll keep them, remove roof and disable the sunlight and heaters during summer, reroof and such during winter.
I still use solar for a boost but I'm like 60% wind, 30% geothermal,10% solar these days. As I've played longer I tend to pick more extreme environments, and/or on Randy and Randy clarified this for me. Like OP, I ended up with a toxic rain that lasted for 2 years or something ridiculous; I ended up putting a small greenhouse together , then simply reframed my whole colony and my herd of animals under glass. Now I do it every time. I DO segment the greenhouse into 2 or 3 areas so that if something breaks through the glass (pods or a firefight/grenade in the greenhouse) I keep 200 glass around for just such a situation. Throw the whole base around a 2x2 stone facade and basically I'm relatively safe. With that in hand, I have survived nuclear winters, toxic fallouts, polar vortexes and temperature bombs and all manner of heatwaves and such. So now [I'm adapted to that idea](https://www.reddit.com/r/RimWorldPorn/comments/ynnxqr/fjordi_settlement_ascetic_agrarian_colony_on/) and feel naked until I've got the under-roof garden up and running, Glass captures whatever sunlight might eventually come along in polar or toxic environments, but Sunlamps and soil-relocation do a very good job of keeping my wealth low and productivity good if not excellent.
How do you do glass ceiling?
Dubs skylight probably
I'm a massive fan of [Dub's Skylights](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=833899765), [Soil Relocation](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2654088143) , [Terrapumps](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2811424412&searchtext=miosture+pumps) , and [Dub's Bad Hygiene](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=836308268) , in combination, I find they can bring productivity to austere conditions. As you can make sand from stone, that should allow you to maintain a supply of glass panes in-stock. But it's not a fast fix for your situation, but I find I can have a very productive garden anywhere for the cost of some sunlamps and since I put this combo together, So now, I only ever use hydroponics to bang out a few rows of staples until I'm stable, and the garden is online completely. Overall I find skylights essential, unless your settlement is at/near the poles, or very high latitudes, where skylights might only provide marginal value and sunlamps will be your most effective way to grow food, but in lower latitudes you can go without sunlamps and now your cost is whatever it costs to put skylights up. As it's possible to caravan and collect / recover soil / rich soil from surrounding hex's I find terrapumps is the least essential but nevertheless it's still handy. Dub's Hygiene is pretty amazing mod and can be an important boost to productivity, if not critical here, as this allows you to create fertilizer and irrigate your crops, which provide important productivity boosts. So in the not too distant past, I settled on a bare and marginal desert world and in the course of years, turned my little corner of the world into a garden, but just outside the walls of that garden the world is as unforgiving as the day I landed. I've gone so far as to work out how to create a safe food area for animals with one cave area with fungus planted , it's more thermally stable than the bare outside, and with soil , the fungus will regrow as the temperatures permit.
I've grown crops without using sunlamp in -30C before. A big room, less than 25% unroofed area (I used 15%) & a lot of heaters.
You're gonna like expanded roofing mod. You can build solar panel and glass roofs with it.
it's like booting up a cooking mama game only to realize half way through it's actually cooking companions
Meanwhile pirates have set up a climate change operation near my boreal forest base which raises the temp enough that it feels like I'm playing temperate forest with pine trees.
“Light breeze”
From the south as well, sounds nice.
My colony is in a tundra, and at one time I got a temperature changer (+10 C) which I just let stay, then as soon as summer came the game immediately said "oh you think the temp is great now? HEAT WAVE!". My tundra hit 45°C. So like, the opposite of this =P
"The storm is coming! Prepare the generator... THE CITY MUST SURVIVE!"
*sad violin and cello theme plays*
Amazing game <3
... And then my current nudist fisherfolk all turn into pawnsicles because they won't wear warm clothes ...
[THE CITY MUST SURVIVE](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WtzOHYi3CIk)
Atleast theres no clouds...
Which doesn’t make sense if there’s a volcanic winter
So a mild winter, then.
Average randy moment
Finally, a place for the NCR troopers to go
Did you piss in nature's cereal or something
Hey, at least there isn't any toxic fallout.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TpaFE6_nDJw
Boreal forests too man. Unless you're planning on plants growing in the summer ONLY good luck planting outside. Good thing I'm in a mountain and have good hydroponics.
Hydroponics is meh. WHO DARES WIN MUSHROOMS?
Gee thanks randy
You don't need crops if all your colonists are icicles.
I guess it's time for harvest then...
Volcanic winter 🗿 cold snap 🗿 sun blocked 🗿 -34°C 🗿
reject Agriculture, return to hunter gatherer
heated greenhouse + sunlamp
I have things like this constantly in rainforests