Pulsar Quartz too Easy with Auto-crafter?

[Marvin]

I haven't started a fresh game for the new release so my view might be different to anyone who did...

Is pulsar quartz crafting too easy now we have the auto-crafter?
I've set this up at a T3 Zeolite mine with a couple of gas extractors and lockers with the other ingredients in rod form with a recycler and have more quartz than I can use - 2 large lockers full - and already have 23 fusion generators providing more than 13 MW/h surplus power after 15 T5 drills and 13 T5 heaters

What about requiring the rod forms of uranium, osmium and iridium - considering the pulsar meteors give about 10 items too, that would slow the rate of T5 heaters/drills. Maybe the fusion generators should require the rod form of super-alloy too?

Right now I'm being slowed only by teleporting around the map collecting the ingredients!

[Pesky]

If you just started a fresh game, how come you have an ore extractor T3 ?

[Marvin]

Originally posted by Marvin:

I haven't started a fresh game for the new release so my view might be different to anyone who did...

[Pesky]

Ah, I misread it. Okay, so you put a huge amount of work into getting to the point where you could make an auto-crafter. I don't think that was easy.

[Marvin]

Auto-crafter unlocks before the recipe for pulsar quartz but yeah, a lot of time preceded the latest update.

This was reached with T4 heaters and drills some time ago so, perhaps it's more about the tech tree?

If I'm at the point where I can easily make T5 drills/heaters and unlimited fusion generators then what's the barrier to the next stage when the power barrier is gone, O2 & Biomass?

[Silyon]

Originally posted by PeskyTheTroll:

Ah, I misread it. Okay, so you put a huge amount of work into getting to the point where you could make an auto-crafter. I don't think that was easy.

This. Can't judge the difficulty of getting something without starting a fresh game. After all, those of us that have been playing for several patches now already have a ton of resources and recipes unlocked, most we ever have to do is mild updates to infrastructure and goof around until the next patch. Our microcosm of the endgame state should not be the primary thing the devs take into account when making balancing decisions.

[wizdmalegj]

If it's too easy then throw some away and make it harder. Why would you complain with the attempt to influence the devs and make it harder for everyone else? Seems like an elitist attitude to me.

[Marvin]

Wow!
I ask a question for other peoples' opinion and I get this? Chill out.

At this late stage in the game I'm asking a simple question whether effectively removing the barrier to power supply is unbalanced or not. Don't forget the devs removed crafting for pulsar due to this so it's not unreasonable to ask if it's swung too far the other way.

Perhaps the next gen of machines will be more power hungry and the stages longer. We're not even at fish yet so this might be mid-game on the way to woolly mammoths!

[Dekrosna]

Marvin you're not alone on that idea of certain resources being too easy to obtain now... 10x easier with the tier 3 extractor since... SHOCKER SHOCKER here is something I doubt you guys knew... you can set the ore filter to ANYTHING, like Zeolite, ANYWHERE and it doesn't matter if you are in the Zeolite cave or not you will get zeolite... so guess what that means? with a few tier 3 extractors you can set up a full automated system for auto crafting pulsar quartz right there from the comfort of your main base (going off the premise that you build your base on the plains near the big iridium cave)...

if this is unintended then it needs to get patched out right quick... if it IS intended then it needs to get nerfed HARD imo.

If mining for Zeolite (and other such location specific resources) and you are NOT in their respective location then the gain should be 10x slower than if you were gathering it on site.

If they want to really implement further automation systems I would say that they should add in a resource teleporter or something that will take resources from an inventory (autocrafter, storage locker, extractor) and have it moved to a paired resource teleporter at your main base where it can then be taken by autocrafters or something like a smart locker that lets you filter specific resources/items to be stored in said lockers.

The rest of you are wanting easy handouts of chill mode... if you want that type of game play I'm sure that there is an idle game out there somewhere that you'll enjoy.

[Alcator]

At that point in the game, any "nerf" merely results in a bit more grind. If they say "Outside intended zone, T3 Ore Extractors are 10x slower", all it would mean is people placing ten times the number of extractors to make up for the slowdown.

I believe these devs are trying to make a chill game, which even someone with real life duties could 'finish' / reach a stage where it essentially plays itself.

No-one is forcing you to place so many extractors that Pulsar Quartz are bursting from crates, right? :-)

[Dekrosna]

Originally posted by Alcator:

At that point in the game, any "nerf" merely results in a bit more grind. If they say "Outside intended zone, T3 Ore Extractors are 10x slower", all it would mean is people placing ten times the number of extractors to make up for the slowdown.

I believe these devs are trying to make a chill game, which even someone with real life duties could 'finish' / reach a stage where it essentially plays itself.

No-one is forcing you to place so many extractors that Pulsar Quartz are bursting from crates, right? :-)

True. very true. I just have a problem with the fact that the t3 extractor can do that... As for the pulsar quartz I usually just leave it in the autocrafter till I end up needing it. At current there are not many things that take pulsar quartz so over all it's not like it's a critical issue over all.

I understand that the tier 3 extractor is end game but I do have to wonder what is going to be the road block for us once we get it? more plants? more insects? figuring out how to work with fish? well the plants and insects can take care of itself rather fast with the t3 extractors and their, imo, op ability. and getting the fish stuff going quick and easy would just be a cake walk... granted I know that the tier 3 extractor is to make things much easier (thus it's heavy power drain and rather high resource cost to build) I just think that it needs a nerf if it's to be able to extract all resources from where ever your main base is at... or if that ability is not intended in the first place it needs to be patched since with the other two you have to put them in the respective region of the ore you are after. i.e the iridium cave for iridium.

[starlight78sso]

Personally I think that you should still have to put the t3 in their respective areas, being able to select the specific ore would just mean you dont get all the other ores as well.

[ta1lee]

I think the autocrafting just combats the tedium of running back and forth. Its a good idea, Late game should be a bit easier. Lets you play for fun a bit more and build cool ♥♥♥♥.

[krackzsan]

There could always be difficulty modes in the future if the developers see fit to their game. I'm just over 35 hours in and recently found my first larvae (which am not able to use yet). Despite the long grind, I love this game. It always gives you something new to do. If you get tired shooting rockets into the sky, no worries, because before you know it you'll be using the T2 Miner, and if that gets tiring, you'll be collecting Larvae :)

[MartyS]

Making the T3 extractors only extract certain ores in their designated zones won't really slow things down that much. It wouldn't take long to craft enough material to put down transporters next to each one. Sure you would have to zip back and forth between your extractors and your base to fill up some lockers, but at that point it's not really that much extra work vs. having the extractors back at your base next to the auto-crafter.

We'll have to see how hard they make the fish level, even with automation maybe it will be back to a grind getting to the next level(s).

[Dekrosna]

Originally posted by MartyS:

Making the T3 extractors only extract certain ores in their designated zones won't really slow things down that much. It wouldn't take long to craft enough material to put down transporters next to each one. Sure you would have to zip back and forth between your extractors and your base to fill up some lockers, but at that point it's not really that much extra work vs. having the extractors back at your base next to the auto-crafter.

We'll have to see how hard they make the fish level, even with automation maybe it will be back to a grind getting to the next level(s).

Well that's kinda why I would like to see them expand on the automation system a bit more...

Like a resource teleporter device that can take from the inventories of certain things like autocrafters, lockers, or extractors and teleport them to a paired unit at another location (likely at your main base) along with a "smart" locker that would likely have 2 fewer rows than a normal storage locker but has the ability to take the filtered resource from containers like the resource teleporter and store it for use in auto crafters or otherwise.

I'm just getting tired of seeing games say "we've added automation to the game" and it's barely even 1% of actual automation. I'd like to see the whole automation aspect of things expand further and see if they choose to get crazy with it by allowing the creation of upgrade and logic chips for future machines.