My Time at Sandrock Multiplayer on PS5
Finally, about six months later than promised, My Time at Sandrock multiplayer arrived to Playstation 5. To get it you need to download it separately from the Playstation Store, it is there named as Sandrock Online. It's free if you own the base game.
Chronically the multiplayer is set before the single player. Originally it was supposed to even have different characters, such as Howlett. But for some reason the players didn't like this idea, and so the NPC characters are the same in both versions of the game.
There's no story mode in multiplayer. There are no main story missions, and no side missions. You only get commissions to build the town.
You can play the whole multiplayer experience solo. Having friends helping you would certainly be beneficial at some points, but I personally only play alone, and have managed just fine.
The game is cross platform. You can select to turn crossplay on or off. You can choose whether you want other players to be able to join your town.
The game saves automatically, there's no manual saving. You can NOT pause the game, which makes things even more hectic, and on fighting missions even more difficult when monsters keep attacking you while you are trying to use healing items.
In multiplayer you aren't forced to sleep. You won't collapse, and no one will carry you home. If you choose to sleep you get stamina and health points while doing so.
My Time at Sandrock Multiplayer vs Single Player Differences
There are many differences between My Time at Sandrock's multiplayer and single player, so even the most seasoned player might struggle at first. And most guides online are only focused on the single player, so it might be difficult to find the needed info.
There are things I wish I knew before I started playing the multiplayer. So here are some tips to get you started.
How to get started
So what to do first, besides starting with those pesky commissions?
Getting rid of the rocks which block the pathways in town is a good
idea. And building the money tree and the sphinx cat right next to your workshop.
Bronze Axe & Bronze Pickhammer
You can buy these straight at the start from Hugo's shop Hammer Time, and they make life a lot easier. So no need to build these on your own. For Iron Axe and Iron Pickhammer, you get the recipe from Hammer Time, once you have leveled your workshop enough. And same applies also to better tools after that.
City Hall's Urban Planner
This is where you make the city projects, and I suggest you start doing them straightaway. I didn't. By doing these projects, you unlock many things to town, including the arrivals of many characters, such as Nia, Fang and Logan! So don't ignore the Urban Planner like I did.
There's a nice mission, where you have to make 80 pcs (!!) of rail road. No wonder why this is called multiplayer... Little help, please? I'm still doing everything solo, I couldn't trust a stranger with my town... In multiplayer you share everything with other players, including money. But actually this rail road mission sounds more daunting than it is. It didn't take me too much time to make these rail road tracks, just had to keep making lots of manganese steel bars with two civil furnaces. And for some reason I ended up having 39 extra rail tracks, who's gonna want to buy those?! (spoiler: Yan)
Commission Board
This is where all the action is, just like in the base game. You can get new commissions every morning.
Do note that there's also a whole other menu (on PS4/PS5 you press R2 to get it), where are personal commissions. I missed this for weeks ingame time at the start. Does it really matter? Well, there's a trophy where you need to do 100 personal commissions, so there's that.
Adopting pets
I'm sure you are very relieved to know that the pets are there
from day one. Nemo, Macchiato, Banjo and Meercat. No sign of Coco or X
though, until you unlock them.
The pet adoption system is different in multiplayer. In single player you need to befriend the pets to be able to adopt them, but that's not needed in multiplayer. Here you need to build pet houses for them, and once you have one in your yard the option to adopt will pop over the pets' heads. It really is much easier and less time consuming. Then you can send your pets to collect water and other things, just like in the base game.
How to build the pet houses? While standing on you yard choose home editing. You also need to level up your workshop enough for each pet.
Do you have to kill any animals?
When Vivi's commission required lots of Yakmel hair I really didn't want to start killing animals. Luckily you can buy them from Wandering Y Store, along with some other animal products. Also Vivi sells leather and other things. So check the stores before going for a murder spree. Who could kill those cute and innocent animals? Those angry birds can go to hell though.
Signing up for Festivals
There's a bit of confusion how to sign up for the events. For example I totally missed the first event of the year, Day of the Bright Sun. I simply couldn't find the box where to sign up. It was supposed to be at Martle's Square, but there was just the event store. So when the day arrived, I followed the airship, but it didn't drop any presents. I missed the whole festival, and therefore it didn't happen even for the other townsfolk. This is how important we builders are, the whole world revolves around us.
Only afterwards I learned online that you can only register for this event on the morning of it, so right before that happens. Darn.
So on the morning of the Dance-off I was scared. Would I be able to participate this time? I wouldn't want to miss all the events on my first year, just for the sake of trophies. So the first thing I did that morning was to go to the dancing platform, by the Blue Moon Saloon. And once again, there was no option to sing up. Once again there was just the Festival store. I was mortified, sure I wouldn't be able to participate.
But the Dance-off doesn't start until the afternoon. And when it begins you can just go there and start the dancing option from the booth. So no worries, no need to sing up beforehand. I danced and won and got the trophy, on the easiest difficulty!
How to get copper and bronze ore
Unlike in single player, in multiplayer you get these ores from The Breach. Before you can get there you need to clear the rocks blocking it.
How to get iron
You can get iron bars from the Eufaula Salvage, there's iron scrap which you can put to a recycler. To get iron (pyrite) ore you first need to unlock Gecko Station ruins by building the tram cart from Urban city planner at the City hall.
How to get granite
Then I faced another dilemma. I accepted a commission which required granite, but I didn't know where to find it. The answer is: Valley of Whispers. You know, the place with the gas. I spent one night there, mining granite, sulfur, spinels, sisal and even aluminum scrap. And yes, this is similar to the single player. You can get those things from above the gas, so no need for the protective suit. You can buy that suit from Tailor Made when you progress enough.
Can you romance in My Time at Sandrock Multiplayer?
Yes, you can romance and date characters also in multiplayer, and you can get married to them. You just need to unlock most of the bachelors first by doing city projects from the Urban Planner at City Hall.
Can you marry Pen?
I got wondering is it possible to marry Pen in the multiplayer, because you can't do that in the base game. And if you have played it you know the reasons. But there is no story mode in online, so technically there shouldn't be any reason why you couldn't marry Pen. But... I doubt it's possible. I haven't unlocked him yet.
Gift guide
Here's a little gift guiden to some of the bachelors. What items to give them early on, when you don't have access to better stuff yet?
Qi likes data discs and power stones.
Unsuur likes rocks like spinel, gold, opal.
I noticed that Logan loves sharpening stones. You can buy them from Hammer Time. He also likes medicines such as Hemostat, you can buy them from Fang's clinic once you have build it. So I'm buying my way to Logan's heart? Yes please...
Logan in My Time at Sandrock Multiplayer
You unlock Logan by doing an Urban planner mission, where you have to kill some Geeglers. And if you are doing this solo/alone, expect to die a lot in this quest. Even if you bring along food and healing items. Remember that you can't pause the game to use them...!
Logan & Fang plushies
Where to find Logan after you have unlocked him? He usually roams around the Eufaula desert, past the Gecko Station ruins. He can also be found on the bridge between Sandrock and the desert, Shonash bridge. Sometimes he does come to town. But most of the time he runs, fast.
To be able to get Logan as your lover you also need to build his Hunter Outpost.
How to unlock Fang
Like I have said when you start the game some characters haven't yet arrived to town. These include Arvio, Amirah, Venti, Nia, Pablo, Logan, Ernest, Pen, Grace and our dear doctor Fang.
To unlock Fang and X you need to build the Clinic to town, via City Hall's Urban Planner.
My Time at Sandrock Multiplayer gameplay: The start of the game (Youtube)
