Resource Farming

[computerquip]

Let me preempt the conversation by saying I've not bought the game and I've not gotten past what the demo provides...

Anyways, what's stopping me from buying the game is that so far, the only way I've found materials are by literally walking around and picking them. When I started the game, I thought this would change but so far it has not. I see some caves that eventually melt (outside of the demo seemingly) and potentially a miner construct (also later in the game). Some of the debris or lost ships also have limited goods in them (and apparently, you can glitch them by walking out and walking back in but that feels like cheating and doesn't provide all the materials I need anyways).

Anyways, TLDR, does the game get a bit less grindy for materials? I really don't find that part fun at all after awhile.

[Taonath]

Farming resources to build stuff that terraforms the planet is pretty much the whole point of the game.

[computerquip]

I usually see some sort of automation after awhile that makes the farming less arduous. But I mean, I get it. Doesn't seem like my cup of tea though.

[Thiesen]

Originally posted by computerquip:

I usually see some sort of automation after awhile that makes the farming less arduous. But I mean, I get it. Doesn't seem like my cup of tea though.

Then don't buy it... easy as that... I am not going to change your mind...

But I thinki it's a very relaxed game..

[tritscwa]

In the early game you pretty much explore to get any materials. There are occasional meteor showers that also drop in a random assortment of the basic materials.
About mid game two options open up, the T1 miner which you can use to mine most, but not all materials, but it is rather random, and rockets for a couple of the rare materials which cause meteor showers that have lots of that particular material in them. Your biggest hold up here will be 1 particular material you can neither craft nor mine nor gain from rockets, and it is a pain to find.
Late game, you get access to the T2 miners. This pretty much eliminates most the material needs save a few. Once you start mining with these you are pretty much set.

Now that doesn't mean every material is in infinite supply. There are still some things that are currently finite (plants and seeds). That said, I have far more of those than I need, so the supply is quite large considering your need for them and I still have lots of places to open crates for potentially more.

And all that said, the game is still in development, so I can see all this changing.

[Fishbits]

In the early game, you run and pick stuff up. It's annoying, but it is what it is. You can fix the most annoying part of it with an inventory stacking mod(It's on Nexusmods). As for automation, that's actually very, very much a thing.

Into the midgame, you start getting the ability to build Ore Extractors. Basically stationary miners. Which are neat, because they fill an inventory with resources. That stacking mod also helps there, as it lets them run longer without you having to pop in and empty them. Depending on where you place them, they dig up different special resources, but they ALL dig up the basics(iron, titanium, silicon, magnesium, and cobalt). So the need to "Grind" up to get resources kinda goes away at that point. Once you unlock Tier 2 ore extractors, you can start mining the rarer resources regularly too(there are specific areas where they are all able to be mined, including Zeolite, which used to be a flagrant pain in the butt to get). And at that point, you're basically just hanging out in your own base and doing stuff, building more resource gatherers of various types(you'll hate building food growers, since they don't place to a grid properly, they're kinda annoying) or exploring while your extractors fill up, then trekking out to grab up everything from their inventory and haul it home to do whatever with.

Also as you advance, you start getting better and better resources from meteor showers, which do no damage to your base, but do damage you if they hit you, so be mindful of that. At present, I get Super Alloy showers(green and purple meteors), and Osmium and Sulfur showers(blue meteors). Neither are really Necessary per se, as I get tons of both from my extractors, but you get the idea.

Also it stops being necessary to hunt ice at all at some point, which is good because it all goes poof at one point. Well, Most of it, if you REALLY want some, it's in the zeolite cave, but I digress. Instead, you'll be pulling water bottles from various different water generators, and later on, you'll make a Filter, which lets you just drink water straight from a lake source whenever you want.

[ejaksetic]

I like this game. But it's not a game for everyone. Different players have different likes and dislikes, different playing styles, different preferences in games, and different reasons for playing games. There is no game that is perfect and satisfying to every player.

Planet Crafter is a survival game that's a marathon, not a sprint. Given the premise --- the player is exiled to a barren planet with minimal tools and sentenced to terraform the planet or die in exile--- it shouldn't be easy for the player to find and develop the necessary resources and cruise to a quick terraforming victory.

Don't get this game if you want (1) a fast paced run and gun game; (2) a game that allows for an easy and quick victory; (3) a game with plentiful resources that are easy to find and gather; or (4) a game that make survival and success a certainty instead of a challenge.

[Taonath]

Originally posted by ejaksetic:

I like this game. But it's not a game for everyone. Different players have different likes and dislikes, different playing styles, different preferences in games, and different reasons for playing games. There is no game that is perfect and satisfying to every player.

Planet Crafter is a survival game that's a marathon, not a sprint. Given the premise --- the player is exiled to a barren planet with minimal tools and sentenced to terraform the planet or die in exile--- it shouldn't be easy for the player to find and develop the necessary resources and cruise to a quick terraforming victory.

Don't get this game if you want (1) a fast paced run and gun game; (2) a game that allows for an easy and quick victory; (3) a game with plentiful resources that are easy to find and gather; or (4) a game that make survival and success a certainty instead of a challenge.

In my opinion only 1 is a valid point, while 2-4 the game clearly offers in it's current state.

[Fishbits]

Originally posted by Taonath:

Originally posted by ejaksetic:

I like this game. But it's not a game for everyone. Different players have different likes and dislikes, different playing styles, different preferences in games, and different reasons for playing games. There is no game that is perfect and satisfying to every player.

Planet Crafter is a survival game that's a marathon, not a sprint. Given the premise --- the player is exiled to a barren planet with minimal tools and sentenced to terraform the planet or die in exile--- it shouldn't be easy for the player to find and develop the necessary resources and cruise to a quick terraforming victory.

Don't get this game if you want (1) a fast paced run and gun game; (2) a game that allows for an easy and quick victory; (3) a game with plentiful resources that are easy to find and gather; or (4) a game that make survival and success a certainty instead of a challenge.

In my opinion only 1 is a valid point, while 2-4 the game clearly offers in it's current state.

I mean, an easy and quick victory is.... no? The game's not done yet. There's no end-state, so no "victory" to be found yet. I will say that resources are extremely easy to find, especially as you progress, giving a relatively natural curve to the game aside from in a couple spots here and there, and depending on your game mode, survival is pretty much guaranteed(Seriously, set it to the mode where you keep inventory on death and death becomes a way to quick-travel, it's great).

[Taonath]

Originally posted by Fishbits:

Originally posted by Taonath:

In my opinion only 1 is a valid point, while 2-4 the game clearly offers in it's current state.

I mean, an easy and quick victory is.... no? The game's not done yet. There's no end-state, so no "victory" to be found yet. I will say that resources are extremely easy to find, especially as you progress, giving a relatively natural curve to the game aside from in a couple spots here and there, and depending on your game mode, survival is pretty much guaranteed(Seriously, set it to the mode where you keep inventory on death and death becomes a way to quick-travel, it's great).

More comprehensive reading required .

Originally posted by Taonath:

In my opinion only 1 is a valid point, while 2-4 the game clearly offers in it's current state.

And being done with the current state in only a few hours of /played is quick victory.

Resources are never scarce as you can duplicate everything with current game mechanics.

And being able to copy a savegame makes the game easily survivable even in hardcore mode.

[madsgrandad]

Let me preface my comments by saying I like the game, have enjoyed all phases of the game so far and am still playing it daily after a year or so.
Its addictive, relaxing, easy to play, and frustrating only if you make it so.
I'm talking about those who try to terraform faster than necessary, trying to acquire and build everything faster than necessary.

Survival Game...not really. Because its so easy to 'survive', and even if you black out, you respawn and continue on from right where you 'died'.
If you make no attempt to terraform the planet, nothing bad happens...things just move along a lot slower.
Yes, most of the game involves searching for and picking up various Ores, and building the next piece of tech that becomes available.

Most players in my opinion enjoy the base building aspect of the game, along with the searching for rewards and prize caches, those elusive rarer ores,
and discovering all the hidden and mysterious locations within a limited, but expanding map world.

The base building components are a bit limited, but the game has undergone many improvement and changes and is still in Early Access phase.
It seems like base building and rebuilding seems to become the primary focus when you run out of other things to do,
or just get sick of running around picking up resources from the ground.

Theres a ton to nit pick about...and if you expect perfect Science, you are in for a disappointment.
Like most video games, you must suspend belief and accept that its not real life.
The physics are often silly, the science and tech often unexplainable, and the terraforming is weird...but then again, its an alien planet.
There are still many many areas that need improvement, with a lot that has already been improved.

Its not a cheap game, but its not expensive either.
Many, like myself, bought the Early Access game as a show of support for a small Dev team that gave us a fun game for free,
and have kept trying to make it better and better.
They've also listened to everything the community has asked for and complained about, and 90% of that has been implemented into or out of the game.
So thats another reason to support them.

[pure.pearl]

One other thing to mention, this game is being developed by two people. And what they have done so far is really good. Also, why not try the demo, for a while? there really is a lot of the game in the demo and it should help you decide if the game is for you or not. :)