Moonshine Scandal: getting out of the Bandits’ Jail
Distil moonshine without a license and the Moonshine Scandal side quest puts you behind bars in the Bandits’ Jail, with escaping as its next objective. There are three ways out, and each earns its own achievement. The one players have spelled out step by step on the Steam forum: spook the horses outside so the guard drops his key. The other two are a fire and a feud between the bandits.
How you end up in the cell
Moonshine is one of the drinks your town can make, and producing it needs a license. Go ahead without one and a federal agent, Thomas Jones, turns up during Moonshine Scandal: the agent’s line in a pre-launch build was that distilling without a license comes with a free trip to a government cell. (Shown in Is Wild West Pioneers the Next Great Frontier Colony Sim? (Pravus, YouTube)) In the launch build the cell is the Bandits’ Jail, with the agent telling the bandits to keep you there. (Shown in How to Resolve the Moonshine Incident and Escape Jail in Wild West Pioneers! (Shadowcoast Gaming, YouTube))
The three ways out
Each route shows up in the Journal as its own Prison Break entry. More appear as you poke around, so if you only see one, keep clicking the things in and around the cell.
| Journal entry | What it asks, word for word | What to do | Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prison Break - Theft | Make some noise to distract the guard | Click the bandits’ horses outside the bars a few times. The guard walks over to see what spooked them and drops the key; pick it up from the sand where he stood, then click the door. | I mean, they were right there. (14%) |
| Prison Break - Diversion | Find some kindling to make it easier to light the wood | Your character spots dry wood in the cell, then decides it won’t catch fire that easily without strong alcohol or something like it, and that is the kindling the Journal is asking for. | Playing With Fire (2%) |
| Prison Break - Disagreements | Listen to the bandits' conversation to learn something usefulthen: Use the information about the betrayal to sow discord among the bandits | Two steps. Listen in until the bandits give away a betrayal among them, then use it to turn them on each other. | Divide and Conquer (under 1%) |
The key route in the table is a player’s solution from the Steam forum, in their words: “Click on the horses a few times they will get skittish and the bandit will investigate dropping the key when doing so. Click on the key in the sand where he was and then click on the door.” (Posted in Bandits Jail thread (Steam Community)) So far 14% of players hold I mean, they were right there., against 2% for the fire; the share in brackets is Steam’s unlock rate for each escape.
When nothing reacts to your clicks
- Turn the camera
- One player found the jail is the only event where you can, and that it was the way out: “right mouse button can rotate camera, which is how I figured out how to get out.” (Posted in Bandits Jail thread (Steam Community))
- Follow the clues in order
- The publisher’s hint: “It's important to listen to the clues, especially with clicking the wooden pallet that lays there, the clues will progress with each step, and besides zooming in and out you can turn the camera on certain steps that will reveal more outside of your initial peripheral vision.” (Said by the publisher in MOONSHINE SCANDAL thread (Steam Community))
- Reload if the object never appears
- A player in the same thread: “Sometimes, the thing you're supposed to click on simply doesn't appear. Reloading the game sometimes fixes this.” (Posted in MOONSHINE SCANDAL thread (Steam Community)) If it keeps happening, crashes and bugs covers how to report it from the pause menu.
The license offer after you get out
Once you are free, the government offers to sell you an alcohol license so the stills can keep running, and the card lets you buy, refuse or think it over. (Shown in Is Wild West Pioneers the Next Great Frontier Colony Sim? (Pravus, YouTube)) Players report two prices. One wrote that the government asks first and traders turn up later with a cheaper license: “The first offer will be from the gov for 1500. If you turn it down and save up, you will pay 1000 for it.” (Posted in Bandits Jail thread (Steam Community)) Another saw the same pair: “I've come across one guy selling for 1k and another for 1.5k.” (Posted in How do you get license? (Steam Community))
So if the government’s price is more than you have, turning it down does not shut you out: by that player’s account, the traders’ cheaper offer comes later. The debt itself is paid in gold, not cash; gold and the debt covers it.
Buying it has not settled things for everyone. One player paid for the license and still had the illegal brewing penalty. (Posted in Illegal brewing thread (Steam Community)) Another said their moonshine never reached storage afterwards, and an official forum account asked people hitting problems like these to report them from the pause menu, mentioning the license and the prison event. (Both in Crafted items are not added to inventory (Steam Community))
Achievements tied to this quest
- Say my name for finishing Moonshine Scandal, held by 4% of players.
- Behind Bars for getting locked up in the first place (17%).
- One for each escape, listed in the table above. Two more escape achievements are for the government prison; quest order and achievements lists all five and the main quests in order.