Thinking with Portals!

[Spaxx]

First Impressions of the Portals and wrecks (mazes)
they aren't good...
1. it's just a maze with immersion breaking layouts..
2. random maps with random loot in random locations... will inevitably cheapen the experience.
3. Crafting Flares ?
4. the first 4 wrecks i've done (First impressions) had the same 12 assests, walls, halls, debris. Theres no exploration due to time limit, move fast and hope your flashlight doesn't change colour randomly and throw off the map you're trying to draw in your head.

I'd rather 1 really cool story driven ship (maybe a station crashes so it could be huge i dunno) to explore unlocking new deconstruction chips that would allow me to open more doors or secret walls to find new areas...

I'll keep running these wrecks, maybe get lucky (oh thats the other thing it's luck not skill or patients, no creativity.. it's just luck) and see what else is unlocked, see what and or how these wrecks add to the base game.
5. The new Biomes look great but they're empty or sterile, just set dressing between the portal and the entrance to the maze... i feel like there isn't much purpose in exploring them...
I know this is new and being tests.. I'll update this after a week or so of running them

[busters50]

I also believe they're a waste of time. If your at this stage of the game your pretty much at the end game anyways.

[Percale]

Might be a good time to review the original roadmap and features of PC. While there weren't denials, there also does seem to be a general dismissal of time intensity and mazes and labyrinths (of which there are thousands elsewhere in game world). New ideas from the new additions?
While I could care less about "achievements," I eagerly await the howls of exasperation from the folks who do care if portals as described by dev branch folks are included.

[wyldfae28]

I think the portal concept itself isn't a bad one. Kind of fun actually, and I was excited for a new experience. But unfortunately what you find on the other end of the portals is..a let down. Where's the discovery of new and interesting stuff? Yes, there are new quartz crystals, which would be cool if they did anything other than let you go to more portals. If these were also components used in new blueprint chips you could find to make new things we don't have yet..awesome! But no. As far as I know, the flares are the only new thing.

I was also disappointed that there is apparently nothing to find in the new biomes while you search for the wrecks. You would think with all that teeming life there would be a cluster of rare frog eggs, or fish eggs or butterfly larvae, or a new flower or tree seed? The environments are quite pretty. Just meaningless. Has anyone found something outside the wrecks themselves?

I am not a fan of time pressure in a game to begin with. But put me under pressure for no real gain and I'll probably pass. If the devs want this to appeal to players of all levels, they need to provide something for the later game folks besides more of what they already have.

[EmilyHunter]

I think these are brought in preparation for multiplayer. From what I've read these are so big and maze-y that one person alone can't do it within the time limit.
At first I was excited, not so sure anymore. Especially since I haven't even explored all normal wrecks yet... Not in several playthroughs 😳 not a fan of the dark, gloomy atmosphere, and I agree with wyldfae28 on the time pressure thing.

[Blaeu]

Time pressure doesn't seem to sit well within this game, which has always (at least in my experience), been a pretty relaxed and casual affair (food, water and air aside). :)

Perhaps this might work well as some kind exploring in-space wrecks that are passing the planet, but will not crash land. You would therefore need to build the appropriate space tracking hardware, and then teleport to them and explore before they pass out of teleport range. The idea being that you can salvage enough material from these passing wrecks to eventually build your own ship to escape?

Also, I hope that it is not a requirement to have multiple people to fully explore. I like the idea of multiplayer, but for me personally, I will probably play alone, so don't want to be limited in that respect.

[kamspokx]

Originally posted by Blaeu:

You would therefore need to build the appropriate space tracking hardware, and then teleport to them and explore before they pass out of teleport range.

Excellent idea, and it fits in well with the story-line.