Sandrock

Sandrock
First look⁠ Second look⁠ World map⁠
General information
Type	City
Location	Northeast of Portia
Region	Alliance of Free Cities

“	Sandrock is a resource rich city, it's located on top of an ancient megatropolis. But due to a lack of water, their population is low. Portia supplies much of their water.	„
— Lucy, teacher at Portia's school

Sandrock is a city in the middle of the Alliance of Free Cities, connected to Atara and Highwind by train. It is also neighbours with Portia, who along with Atara supply most of the city's water. The second game in the My Time series, My Time at Sandrock, will feature the city, and was fully released on November 2nd, 2023.

The city is built on top of an ancient metropolis, now explorable ruins, and the surrounding area is extraordinarily hot and dry. The large swaths of warm orange sand punctuated with reddish rocks earned the city its name. There are patches of yellow grass as well as more hilly areas with low shrubs and small trees. The people of Sandrock make and export Fire Stone, Eye of the Tiger, Sand Tea, and earthenware like Ceramic Jugs.

History

“	Like a pure sapphire in the desert, the beauty of Martle’s Oasis is truly a sight to behold.	„
— The Travels of Mayet Bee

Sandrock was founded 71 years ago (Year 27) by a woman named Martle when a caravan crossing the Eufala Desert from Atara to Highwind stopped at an Oasis. She built a rest station named Hotel Sandrock, from which the city state took its name, so that everyone could enjoy the Oasis so long as they also respected it.

In Year 32 during the first Duvos war, a mining company discovered the Old World metropolis underneath the settlement, which triggered a 'gold rush' where people flocked to the area to mine for power stones and relics.

Over the next five years the landscape of Sandrock was altered as the population reached its peak. Water from the oasis was used to cool machines, the forest was cut down to build houses, and the local wildlife population was hunted down for ranches and food.

In Year 42, Atara and Highwind built the trans-desert railroad so the resorces of Sandrock could be delivered around the Free Cities quicker.

Sandrock's population decreased as more ruins were found and railways built around the Alliance.

Politics

Little is yet known about the government of Sandrock except that its mayor is a tough woman named Trudy.

Connections to Portia

• Portia exports water to Sandrock as a part of their trading relationship.
• During the Long-Haul Bus, the player has the opportunity to help develop a new bus route that brings tourists to and from Portia. The player can then see and interact with the tourists as they wander around town.
• Mint has been there a few times.
• Siwa once considered moving there.
• Albert visits Sandrock often. He comes back from a business trip there as a part of Perfect Appearance.
• Paulie has clients from there.
• Mei picked up her hat in Sandrock.

News Reports

Sandrock's local newspaper is The Tumbleweed Standard. Mei has written a single guest article on it about four of the eligible romance candidates, which can be read on this Kickstarter update.

The Portia Times publishes a few articles about Sandrock over the course of the main story.

Road to Sandrock Announced

After the fireside meeting that introduces Mint and Gale's road to Sandrock project: _[ verify ]

Road to Sandrock Announced

Reported by Mei Portia's economy has been flourishing, and things are only projected to get better. Now with the announcement of a road through the Eufaula Desert to Sandrock, Portians can soon expect trade and business opportunities to thrive. Sandrock relies heavily on imports, due to the climate, and now getting what they need will be that much easier as goods from Vega 5 and Walnut Groove are planned to be moved through Portia en route to Sandrock. This leaves Portians in the enviable position of middlemen. At the same time, plans are being made for a small encampment over the bridge sources have said will be called "South Block," a transportation hub to keep traffic out of Portia's quiet city center, as well as a place to give travelers a nice view of the city. When reached for comment, genius engineer and head of the Sandrock Connection Project, Mint quipped, "Huh? Who are you? Why are you asking so many questions? I'm tired."

Portia Bridge Completed

After completing The Portia Bridge and waiting until the Portia Bridge opening ceremony: _[ verify ]

Portia Bridge Completed

Reported by Mei Today Mayor Gale cut a fine red ribbon declaring the new bridge to Sandrock officially open! Of course... the tunnel is still to be built, so the route can't be used yet, but symbolically, the mayor's gesture has meant a lot for plenty of people. "I'm so confident that this project will go well that I decided to celebrate less than one third of the way through it," Gale said of the matter. When this reporter asked local chicken expert, Emily, if she thought Mayor Gale was counting his chickens before they hatched, Emily had this to say: "An expert rancher like me can tell based on the weight of an egg whether it will hatch or not, so I do actually count my chickens before they hatch." Papa Bear, who happened to be around during the interview weighed in, "Aw aw aw!" An anonymous source from inside the A&G Construction company also expressed confidence: "The tunnel will be a walk in the park. All we have to do is drill through the mountain, as opposed to all the groundwork required for the bridge. It is easier to destroy than to create, after all."

Buses to Sandrock Now Road-worthy

After completing Long-Haul Bus: _[ verify ]

Buses to Sandrock Now Road-worthy

Reported by Mei Information supplied by Mayor Trudy of Sandrock Travelers rejoice! Tourists, gamers, and people who just love sand for some reason, your time has come! With affordable round-trips available every day of the week, traveling to Sandrock has never been easier. Try your luck at the fabulous Sandrock Gaming Center! Or have a glass of milk at the famous Sandrock Saloon! Ride one of the curious fuzzy creatures of the desert, a Yakmel! The possibilities are endless! Or, well, maybe not endless, but there are a lot of things to do. "Y'all can come down and have yerself a lark just so longs as ye stay off my property!" - Local disgruntled rancher, Cooper The Sandrock Board of Tourism has stated that reports of attacks by rampant bandit gangs have been greatly exaggerated, so bring the kids along, and enjoy fabulous, sunny Sandrock!

Trivia

• A Sandrock DLC for My Time at Portia was one of the Kickstarter goals, though it was not reached.
  • Despite the Kickstarter goal not being reached, a multiplayer Sandrock DLC had been mentioned since early 2018 in various developer and player comments on Steam. No official news about it was announced, however, and few details were given.
  • In October 2019, the purported Sandrock DLC was confirmed to not be a DLC at all, but rather a new game. It was not specified if the new game would be limited to Sandrock, if any characters might return, or if any content from a My Time at Portia player's game files might be included in the new game. For more information, see the My Time at Sandrock page.

Gallery

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A vehicle shown in an update preview video on Youtube that may be related to a new My Time at Portia character from Sandrock

Version history

• Steam 2.0.141082: Three news articles added to Portia Times about Sandrock.