Food, Fuel, and Rainwater Production Chains Explained
In Against the Storm, this is the point where new runs can feel straight-up unfair: your buildings finally come online, then everyone is hungry, the hearth is chewing through your last wood, and production keeps stalling. That feeling is totally normal. A reliable beginner plan is to build stable loops in this order: raw food first, then one reliable complex food, then fuel efficiency, then rainwater boosts. A production chain simply means one resource feeds the next (example: raw ingredients -> jerky -> happier villagers who prefer jerky).
Keep it simple and controlled. Maintain enough gathering camps so raw food income stays positive, and don’t convert every ingredient into multiple recipes at once. Pick 1-2 complex food types (cooked foods that stretch ingredients and can raise Resolve for species that prefer them), then disable the rest until supply is steady. For fuel, your Ancient Hearth must stay lit and burns fuel continuously, so avoid spending wood on low-priority crafts. If you get a coal-producing building, use it to ease wood pressure; if not, add woodcutters earlier than feels comfortable.
Rainwater has three types: Drizzle, Clearance, and Storm. Rain Collectors gather the current season’s water, while geysers provide one fixed type through Geyser Pumps. You can pipe that water into buildings with rain engines for faster production and a bonus double-yield chance (plus worker Resolve from the secondary engine). On Veteran and higher (above Pioneer), heavier rain-engine usage creates more Blightrot Cysts over time, so pair it with a Blight Post and enough Purging Fire.
Recovery coaching when a run is slipping
If a run starts spiraling, pause and reset on purpose: turn off all but one complex food recipe, set woodcutters to rebuild a fuel buffer, and assign rainwater only to the single building that restores food flow (usually food processing or planks). That one reset is often enough to stop the slide and get your momentum back fast.