Heavy Tools?

[Pho3nX]

For some of the higher production buildings, but also for the mill, I need heavy tools.
Also, I need heavy tools to start producing heavy tools. So the only way to initially get them is to wait for a trader to sell them to me - The last three years they did not sell any! What am I doing wrong? Or is this a "on purpose" way of dragging out the game?

[MedeaFleecestealer]

You're not doing anything wrong, it's just a case of waiting until Atka shows up with heavy tools to sell.

[Snidget]

Unfortunately it's just a game of luck. You'll need to buy from traders and you aren't doing anything wrong.

[Bulldog]

The price of heavy tools is very high.
Price range is high $200 or $300+ for only 1.
When starting out your money is limited so you may afford to buy only 1

[RDawg]

Your first real need for the heavy tools is the windmill. The gear has a life span. So first it's 100% and gets lower over time. You should not need another gear for quite a few years.

[mikeydsc]

Plus, once the building is built, you can take the heavy tool out to build another building that needs one.
Havent played this last update yet, but all that would happen was a lower production speed by missing one.

[Pho3nX]

I understand, thank you - yet I have to say I'm not a fan of this mechanic. It feels like its artifically holding back progress.

[Bulldog]

I think the Devs are adding realism to the game.

Players learn that you cant always get what you want when you want it. I play games and experience trader envy too. But when the trader shows up with what I want its a great feeling.

[Immortalits]

Originally posted by Dog Turds:

I think the Devs are adding realism to the game.

Players learn that you cant always get what you want when you want it. I play games and experience trader envy too. But when the trader shows up with what I want its a great feeling.

What is realistic about a certain resource needing itself to be created?
It's clearly just an artificial hardblock on progression to force the player to trade, there's absolutely no other point to the whole thing.

I can understand the point of the mechanic, but that doesn't mean it's good design.
And it definitely does not need any glorification, since it's the worst possible thing to make a player use a mechanic - force them to do it or they're completely blocked in progression.

If the tools are still lvl 3 building locked, but at least THAT one building doesn't need it, then people would already be much happier with the whole thing. It is even possible to advance to tier 3 without anything, that needs heavy tools.
It's also a sandbox game, player freedom is one of it's key feature, yet just through this one simple hard-forced mechanic, I saw so many posts, where people are just like: 'ok, but why?'

Trading should be a simpler way of obtaining early heavy tools - or any resource - but not the only option, whatever you do.

Also, it's already written here in a post above, you can just remove the heavy tools from buildings, that need it to be built... then whats the point of the heavy tools as a building requirement if they can operate without it anyways?

A simple building tooltip, warning the player of the significant production speed loss of not putting in a heavy tool into the building would be more than enough and much less forcefull. Trading would still be the early way optimally, but you're not blocked if you can't trade for it or just don't want to.

[geotom]

i'm finding it difficult to get my blacksmith to create heavy tools that can then be used in other buildings. It can store up to two but then it does not seem to want to produce more to go into storage. I had a furniture maker sat waiting for one (even though 2 were stored in the blacksmith).