Robot lore

This is a temporary section while the Nplh version 3 is being adapted to player requests.

The Nplh devs design a major beta patch based partly on player requests then adapt the new Nplh version as players react to to the devs' proposed design changes.

Version 2 game space (i. e. the prior game design) was changed:

1. Camp sites are replaced by fast travel underground doorways.
2. Bird feeders were re-introduced because of player requests.
3. A transport doorway was changed and the underground was extended

I'm still exploring version 3: Trying to understand the new dev focus.

I'll update my player guides for version 3:

1. 'Whats next' : Propose additional names for game spaces, sub-spaces and divisions.
2. 'Robot lore': Update image and text content to reflect the new version focus.

The devs tendency to require the game be played only strictly to puzzle/quest design will hinder my ability to fully play the game – delaying my changes to the guides.

But, that is their way.

'Whats next' and 'Robot lore' guides are meant to be used together.

The 'Robot lore' guide is meant to give the new player an overall perspective of game space.

The 'Whats next' guide has two purposes:

1. Assist in the initial game exploration.
2. Serve as a reference in later game navigation.

Early Access perspective: dj_moyer's guide has warnings and answers to common questions.

Overground: 'Whats next' short version … 'Robot lore' detailed exploration guide.

Underground: Brutal Brutis's guide short version … FlameBranded's guide map and interior images.

Wiki: https://no-place-like-home.fandom.com/wiki

Discord: https://discord.gg/Rb6VECt8rC

Devs https://awakenrealms.com/about-us

dj_moyer's guide was the first guide created. An excellent, comprehensive guide to the game.

. Need answers while playing? … Shift + Tab to access Steam then click dj_moyer's guide.

'Feather Hunt' Ornithologist Jay quests.

'Map of the Sewer' Overall map and images of all the underground exits.

Supplements: 'Underground map' assist in game exploration.

Currently unavailable: Farming strategy, Playing options.

Best to charge the robot / robot horde from the most vulnerable direction possible.

. A finger near 'W' to go forward and a finger near RMB for your first attack.

. That is, go forward and stay next to the target … drowning it in water … use the drill as backup.

Exception: Armored robots have a white circle shield ... trash protection.

. A finger near 'W' to go forward and a finger near RMB and a finger near Space.

Three sub-spaces: Main farm, auxiliary farm and farm extension.

Each successive sub-space increases the robot threat to your Ellen avatar.

Keep your water tank full and use your drill when the tank is empty.

This is the easiest part of the game with a minor challenge.

There is your Ellen avatar next to your Workbench with a Recycler and an initial plant field in the top of the image.

Lots of trash pieces and trash piles to vacuum.

Although not visible, there is some easy robots waiting to be eliminated and the blocked entrance to the auxiliary farm.

Ellen will, mainly, be vacuuming trash … not fighting


Begin by LMB (drill) + Space (vacuum) that trash pile in front of you.

Don't worry, this robot won't charge you. Finger near 'W' and finger near RMB (water).

Move to robot quickly then press RMB. Drown it and all that is left is a battery.

That break in the fence is the entrance to the Auxiliary farm sub-space.

. You vacuumed a lot of trash piles in order to get to this entrance.

Your drill needs an upgrade in order to breakup the trash piles blocking it.

. That means buying the rubble upgrade at the Workbench.


You'll need to get some items to upgrade your drill.
Those items appear at the bottom of the tool upgrade image.

The components come in 'surprise suitcases' hidden under, behind trash piles.

Beware! Two robots are ready to pounce when you breakup/vacuum the rubble trash piles.

. Don't be fooled by the distance between robots.

. Robots are now sneaky and can move quickly.

Beginning of hordes … cooperating robots. Walk over trash piles, thru fences and out of walls.
Robot pets are nuisances … vacuum off trash, build them houses and give them batteries.

. That balloon above the robot is the house it wants you to build.

A true robot horde of two robots guarding a caged chicken and the blue electric waste trash pile.

. Choose your target robot and the second robot sprays Ellen with poison … drown both robots.

LMB the cage and chicken asks you to build a chicken coop.

Once you get the Electric waste drill upgrade, get the surprise suitcase hidden here.

Last farm sub-space is the Farm extension connected by a gate (initially closed) and a bridge.

. So press that red button by selecting it and typing 'E' … gate opens/closes.

Fences connected like the letter 'Q' hide lots of robots eager to team up on poor Ellen.

. Lots of trash piles on the left, on the right and against the fence heading toward the inner part of the 'Q' shaped sub-space.

Oh, you missed the two robot welcoming party waiting to pounce at the inner entrance.

. But that is alright, as you can see, there are many more robots eager to meet Ellen.

. Avoid the robots until Ellen is safe and a robot is vulnerable to a fast water attack.

.. Initially, the robots have the advantage … but, you have grey cells … robots don't.

And Rudy? Rudy's shop is deep inside the inner part of the extension sub-space.

That is where you get the blueprint/recipe for the electric waste upgrade of your drill.

. Then you can purchase the Workbench upgrade … and … then you can break those trash piles.

Its ironic that the farm extension is filled with electric waste trash piles.

. Ellen has to weave around those trash piles in order to purchase the electric waste blueprint/recipe.

. There is Rudy's shop and two friends awaiting Ellen … I hope your water tank is full.

Two connections between farm and village : Main farm and the Farm extension.

. Both connections end up at roughly the same location in the Village channel.

The main farm has an opening in the fence leading to a bridge and wooden doors.

. Select the wooden doors and key 'E' to enter the village channel connecting sub-spaces.

. The village channel has Mark's shop, ladder to the Farm extension and sub-space entrances.

.. Ellen's house is adjacent to Mark's shop.

Ellen starts with a box (from the tutorial) in her backpack and gets a second box.

. As you can from the image, two boxes are needed for Ellen to get over the fence.

.. There is a nasty, large robot eager to shred Ellen near the box you need to get.

The button, that you see in the image, is selected and you key 'E' to activate the ladder slide.

. But Ellen can't get to the slide because a suitcase and that 'knight' chicken is in the way.

. Once Ellen can get on the slide, key 'E' to slide down the ladder.
Now Ellen is just behind Mark blocked by a trash pile … don't forget the suitcase behind Ellen.

. This location is further up the village channel to the main and auxiliary village sub-spaces.

Those buildings at the top of the image are in the city space

. Got to wait until version 3 before you can checkout that space..

Ellen walks up the village channel to view the sub-space entrances.

. The main village entrance is blocked by a electric waste trash pile … need a drill upgrade.

. The auxiliary village entrance is locked by a button behind the wooden doors.

The Workbench's Exploration and Upgrades tabs allow you to give Ellen advantages.

. Break trash piles, make the drill a better weapon, bigger water tank and better health.

Rudy and Harold, the pig farmer, provide blueprints/recipes and The Workbench does the upgrade.

. Rudy sells the first 3 and Harold sells the health blueprints/recipes.
Look for:

1. Drill upgrades … Break electric waste, Glue and Rubber trash piles.

2. Augmented drill … improves the drill's effectiveness as a weapon.

3. Water tank … Switch from 100 to 200 then to 300 and finally to 400.

4. Improved toughnest … Its harder for the robots to kill Ellen.

Sub-space landscape:

Main village → Auxiliary village → Village passage → Grey balls plain → Village extension

Another nasty robot trait activates: Robots emerge from the trash piles you are breaking up!

This guide only shows how to enter the Main village underground ... others are just mentioned.

. Use the 'Underground map' guide to locate all the other underground entrances.

Update the drill for electric waste trash piles so you can get through the Main village entrance.

Its wise to increase the backpack (inventory) and water tank sizes, also.
There is Ellen with the drill with the electric waste update and electric waste to collect.

Notice the two friends and that flash on the upper right side of the image?

. That flash is a turret that those robots would be delighted to back Ellen into.

. There is more than just a robot behind that electric waste trash pile … a turret button.

.. Ellen knows where the button is and will dispatch the robots while heading for the button.

That concrete wall, on the right, separates the Main village and Village extension sub-spaces.

You see those three robots waiting? Ellen should get a little closer … there is something to see.

Ah, and that flash that is visible in the middle of the image?

. Ellen disabled a turret … but … Ellen needs to find the button to disable another turret.

As Ellen approaches that turret, the river separating the Main village and Grey balls plain is visible.

. But where is the drawbridge connecting the two sub-spaces? Another button to press. Hmm?
Ellen now moves right to checkout that building foundation … something suspicious.

. Oh yeah, a door leading to something just below ground … Ellen jumps down.

When Ellen is next to the door, key 'E', let Ellen walk through the doorway.

. Ellen walks past a few trash piles … and … there are more friends to greet Ellen.

When Ellen first entered the Main village there is a fence that heads toward the river.

Very early, in Ellen's walk along that fence toward the river, there is an opening.

. That is where the entrance is to the Auxiliary village.

Don't worry, just keep your water tank full ... there are more friends to greet.

There is one (battery) who had their fill of water.
.
Best that Ellen attack the robots from the right ... puts two robots out of position.

. The robots in this sub-space will move aggressively if you hesitate …over trash piles.

This guide skips the left and right parts of this 'T' shaped Auxiliary village … same type of threats.

That bridge in upper left of the image connects with a long, windy Village passage.

. There is a threesome robot horde eager to make first contact … move quickly.

The passage is a road whose borders are shaped by the meanderings of the river.

. Robots are infrequently on the road but hiding on the borders and near 2 underground entrances.
Robots visible from a distance are rare … popping out of the trash pile is more common.

. It depends on your game perspective … trash piles hide robots.

Oh, if you got an acorn handy, there is a tree that would love to have it.
And then … you realize … you to have look over trash piles … robots are anywhere.

No matter how how many you dispatch … there are plenty more waiting for Ellen.
Ah, a big giant robot waiting close by to a glue trash pile.

. A good rule-of-thumb on trash piles is to be begin planning a drill update when a new kind appears.

.. There will usually be plenty more to breakup … just down the road.

Turns out, once you dispatch the giant robot, Ellen will be unchallenged to that deserted house.
That ramp leads to another underground entrance … you'll need two boxes to get over the fence.

. No worries, two boxes are available near by.

Ah, there is Harold … waiting for Ellen to fix his house and his shop … for a pig sty.
And just beyond the fence encircling Harold's home is another underground entrance.

That is the beginning of the Grey balls plain at the top of the image.

. Just follow the road which winds around that sub-space … lots to see.

Depends whether you are a billiards fan or not … big grey balls for the robots and trash piles.

. Frankly, I'm not a billiards fan so I drown the robots rather than use the grey balls.

There are an underground entrance, passage to Lonely hills and Village extension connection.
There is Ellen right at the edge of Harold's land looking at the end of Village passage.

And now Ellen enters Grey balls plain while the first of many big & small robots waits to greet her.
Near the right corner of the image is a drawbridge button - drawbridge connects with the Main village.

And there is the activated button and a drawbridge that spans the river.
And there is a grey ball almost lined up to dispatch those two robots with one shot.

. I prefer to drown them in water even though a horde of robots will gang up on Ellen.

With the drawbridge down, I can return quickly when Ellen is defeated by the robots.
While returning via the Main village, Ellen presses the button controlling a third turret.

At the right end of Grey balls plain is an underground entrance and a teleport to Village extension.

. By teleport, I mean; Ellen approaches (selects) two wooden doors and you key 'E'.

The final sub-space of the village … contains the last type of trash file: rubber.

. The rubber drill blueprint/recipe requires duck eggs … ducks are in Lonely hills.

The robot threat is mild compared Grey balls plain … its the closest sub-space to the city.

. Lots of land to plant apple, peach and orange trees … orange seeds are in Lonely hills.
The river separates this sub-space from the city … fill-up your water tank as you enter.

Three robots look formidable … they'll be batteries without you breathing heavily.
Cross the bridge onto the main part of the sub-space.

There were a couple of robots in the metal structure … not much of a challenge.
Ah, there is that rubber trash pile I mentioned … you'll have to wait to reach that suitcase inside.

Not many robots left to challenge you … no big loss.
Still a bit of a trek to reach the button that opens the wood doors blocking sub-space access.

Oh, there … the button is in sight … just a few more steps to go.
A before and after look at the Village extension entrance.
And now a look at a border separating the farm from the village.

Another button to push … releases a ladder that Ellen can use to move between spaces.
A ladder to use … and no robots in sight to annoy Ellen!

So, Ellen finds the teleport doors to the city … but they don't work … yet.
There is another bridge … leading to land that Ellen can plant a lot of trees.

And no robots to see … Ellen is sad …not me, tho.

And cityscapes to the left and to the right … but no way to get there.






And, now, the path connecting the village and the Lonely hills spaces.

. Select the wooden doors and key 'E' to get into the Lonely hills channel.

Make sure Ellen's drill can handle rubber trash piles … can't travel Main Lonely hills … otherwise.

Also, make sure that you've maximized Ellen's backpack (inventory) and water capacity.


. More to haul and the robot hordes are bigger, on average, and tougher to dispatch.

Lonely hills extension sub-space is accessible from the Main Lonely hills plain campsite.

And now you can use the Lonely hills channel to reach most of the Lonely hills sub-spaces.
Right to left ... top to bottom:

Stairs to suitcase, Main Lonely hills plain, Lonely hills auxiliary, Lonely hills plateau

. Main Lonely hills plain is divided into southern plain and Lonely hills base.

.. Lonely hills base has a campsite in which Ellen can take a nap … connects with extension.

Some new types of robots appear:

1. Armored robots … a white circle shield … Approach then Space and RMB at same time.
2. Doctor robots … heals the robots as you attack them … make it your first target.
3. Giant purple robots … releases babies when you dispatch it … water them well.

From teleport doors head to the left toward the drop to Main Lonely hills plain.

Then vacuum the rubber trash pile so Ellen can go to the left to collect the stairs suitcase.

Next follow the Lonely hills channel to the Lonely hills plateau.

. If you've upgraded the Chicken Coop, then head for the duck at its end.

. Also, do some vacuuming for Orange tree seeds.
Moving right past the drop to Main Lonely hills plain is the drop to Lonely hills auxiliary.

And, finally, Lonely hills plateau begins.
There is Rudy with another shop … He's also in the Lonely hills extension.

And there is the underground that Rudy comments about in his herbs quest.

At the end of the plateau is a drop to Lonely hills auxiliary … and … a duck.

. You did the chicken coop update? ...So the duck has a place to live?


Duck eggs become an important item at this point in the game.

Its shaped like a 'U' … mostly a plain with two peninsulas.

Robot threat is similar to the Lonely hills plateau.
The path from the Lonely hills channel ends in a ledge overlooking the plain.

The two peninsulas jut out like forks of the 'U'. … robots waiting.

. First robot horde of one armored robot and three ordinary robots.

Always target the most threatening robot … the others fall during the battle.

. Approach the armored robot then do Space and RMB at the same time.
Vacuuming that trash pile will allow Ellen to head north toward the plain center.

This game's deer are pests just like the chickens and cubebots … a pain in the butt.
Head west to complete one side of the 'U'.

Then head east … that bucket behind Ellen is part of a gas fumes site.

Finally, go to the end of the other peninsula.

Divisions: Main Lonely hills south and Main Lonely hills base.

. Main Lonely hills south has a button that controls access to Main Lonely hills base.

. Main Lonely hills base has a campsite and connects with Lonely hills extension.

That fence below heads upward toward the Lonely hills teleport doors … the village.

And, once again, Ellen;s drill needs the upgrade for rubber trash piles.

That small plateau has two sets of robots in its neighborhood.

One near the road and the other hidden by trash piles.

That small plateau is great for farming and drop point for chests and 2nd level recyclers.

. There are new things to grow that are needed for upgrades are purposes.

And this is where armored robots appear … requiring vacuuming and water to dispatch.
Ah, there they are … vacuum the trash off their back and that white circle shield disappers.

. Doesn't hurt to also spray water … turns two attacking robots into one … then none.

And some more Lonely hills greeters await their dispatch … then unload stuff.
Thats right, There are many robot hordes … all waiting for Ellen to appear.

But … to the main task: Opening a path to the Main Lonely hills base.

Ellen's objective: Getting to that button next to the Trolley.
Its hard to see, but look at top middle of the image, electricity around trash pile and a button.

Get a little closer to the trash pile and button … armored and regular robots to dispatch.

. Then Ellen can supply a battery to quell the electricity and push the button to access the base.

Now Ellen can go down the path leading to the campsite and access Lonely hills extension.

Remove the trash pile blocking the gate and begin the path leading to the campsite.

And, there it is in the distance … a ladder leading to the campsite and the deer feeding station.

There it is … the campsite and the ladder that Ellen can climb to the campsite.

That bridge in the image connects with Lonely hills extension sub-space.

Divisions: shops, center, west, east, north, Funghi

. Lonely hills extension shops contains: Frank's shop and Rudy's shop.
. Lonely hills extension center has view of the mine and a path to the Bulbulator underground.
. Lonely hills extension west connects with the mine.
. Lonely hills extension east connects with the Funghi underground
. Lonely hills extension north is robot heaven with giant purple robots.
.The Funghi underground is more of a robot Purgatory requiring Frank's assistance.

As you can see doctor robots will be a common sight in the Lonely hills extension.

That is Frank's shop in the distance … Rudy's shop is around the corner.
The shops division follows the river a bit … the shops are farther inland.
As you can see, Frank is waiting patiently for Ellen's arrival.

Frank is the kinds guy who looks for his benefit in a transaction.

And there is Rudy … more business like but very customer concious.

I'm not a fan of quests and I find the mine quest more trouble than its worth.

The Bulbulator quest, in contrast, was almost pleasant to do … fewer annoyances.

The main objective is dispatch the robots blocking the access to the mine shaft.
The path to the mine is first to the north and then to the west.

The robot hordes are sparsely distributed compared to the north division.
The west division border with the river has a minor robot threat.

The fallen tree serves as a bridge between the center and north divisions.

There are robots visible and hidden and eager to block Ellen every way possible
This division is overflowing with robot hordes … most with armored or doctor robots.

There is a robot horde with a doctor robot on the path to the northern plain.

And there you see both extension west and the western end of the extension north plain.

The extension north plain is deep and at the furthest points north has armored, doctor and giant purple robots who make baby robots.

The extension north plain has structures, lots of trash and every kind of robot.

Its best to target the two robots on the left than to face the bigger horde on the right.

Robots love to hide under that roadway fragment in the middle left of the image.
The main objective in this division is to show the different types of robot threats.

The visible threat here is two armored and a basic robot waiting to attack Ellen.

The only robot you haven't seen is the giant purple robot … hiding deep in this plain.
A search strategy of heading north-west then heading east has worked for me.

The devs vary the type and number of robots in a given horde … a spice of variety.
And, finally, a lone giant purple robot awaits contact with Ellen.

Nearby, another collection of robots await their dispatch.

Not much here except a broken bridge you need Frank to fix

Actually, its Rudy who asks Frank during Rudy's Bulbulator quest to fix the bridge.

First, complete Rudy's Bulbulator quest so that the bridge spanning the river is repaired.
There is a long path leading to the three levels of the Funghi complex.

There are many robot hordes in the Funghi complex but hardly challenging.The path is at level 2 and there is a stairway leading down to level 1.

Level 2 continues to the right of the truck with some friends waiting.
There is also a ramp connecting levels 2 and 3 ... shows on right side middle of the image.

As can see, each side of the complex and each complex level is extensive.