Portal explorations suck

[issssk]

I was so looking forward to getting my portal generator...hours of keeping the game running, tabbing back every ten minutes to make my character drink and eat (why can't he do that automatically?), waiting for the agonizingly slow Ti numbers to climb up. All that in order to finally be able to explore again.
And then I finally get a portal...and it sucks. Big time. Some boring desert world with no navigation tools. Running around aimlessly for 20 minutes till finally stumbling over a wreck and a few crates. Still wondering how to get the loot from the few crates back (another thing I'm not a fan of, the constant inventory size problems). But that doesn't matter, since I can't find my way back to the portal that's so well hidden among the rocks and flowers.

So I'm probably gonna give up now. The idea of exploring portals was what kept me going, the game has been too much of a chore lately. I never ever liked mazes in any games, and this is no exception.

Good game up until that point though, but this was a downer.

[wyldfae28]

Oh, don't give up. :) It gets easier as you get more familiar. Not everyone enjoys the portals, and I'm not a fan of mazes either. The only reason I even run them is for the new blueprints, trees, frogs, fish, and TT. If you keep in mind that the areas are small, it helps you find the portal fairly easily. Just go high up and fly all around the perimeter and you should see the portal somewhere in the middle usually. The only environment I find it difficult to keep track of the portal is the coral area.

You can make multiple trips back through the portal to haul back your loot. Take note of the direction of the portal from the entrance to the wreck. I usually clear the wreck and then come back to gather up all the chest loot I want. Also once you are far enough along in terraforming, your final backpack upgrade helps a lot. If you mark out the passages in the wreck with flares or uranium/irridum rods, getting back out and in again is manageable as well. It's mostly a matter of getting a routine down that works for you.

[Vortimous]

Why are you checking back every ten minutes to feed and drink? Just dont have anything in your inventory and let him die. Then again, I guess it depends on what setting you are playing on... You can let it run for hours (i have left it run all night) to let your planet grow. It takes so long anyway.... Again, it depends on what setting you selected.. but if you dont have too bad of a death penalty (hence dont carry any items on your person) it would save you alot of time coming back to your PC every 10 minutes or so....

[Balsover]

If your numbers are going up too slow, then that's your clue to build more.

If you are standing around waiting, then start building instead.

[archmag]

Originally posted by Balsover:

If your numbers are going up too slow, then that's your clue to build more.

If you are standing around waiting, then start building instead.

I agree. So much time wasted. Why not send more rockets, automate some production, explore, do something else instead of not-playing a game while the game plays itself very slowly all the time being hooked to it having to switch back to eat and drink. Either leave the game on and do something else without switching back constantly not being able to focus on anything else or just play the game and do something in it.

[trevorkrause]

Originally posted by issssk:

I was so looking forward to getting my portal generator...hours of keeping the game running, tabbing back every ten minutes to make my character drink and eat (why can't he do that automatically?), waiting for the agonizingly slow Ti numbers to climb up. All that in order to finally be able to explore again.
And then I finally get a portal...and it sucks. Big time. Some boring desert world with no navigation tools. Running around aimlessly for 20 minutes till finally stumbling over a wreck and a few crates. Still wondering how to get the loot from the few crates back (another thing I'm not a fan of, the constant inventory size problems). But that doesn't matter, since I can't find my way back to the portal that's so well hidden among the rocks and flowers.

So I'm probably gonna give up now. The idea of exploring portals was what kept me going, the game has been too much of a chore lately. I never ever liked mazes in any games, and this is no exception.

Good game up until that point though, but this was a downer.

Portals ships are awesome fun and lots rare loot. Learn how to pick a good site.
Even a 1 1 site can yield goodies.
Take flares and keys and drop a flare on the ships when the corridors are many on the one that leads out each level. You will never get lost again. Remember that there could be more than 1 ship each level.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3224527299

[DMM]

Originally posted by issssk:

I was so looking forward to getting my portal generator...hours of keeping the game running, tabbing back every ten minutes to make my character drink and eat (why can't he do that automatically?), waiting for the agonizingly slow Ti numbers to climb up. All that in order to finally be able to explore again.
And then I finally get a portal...and it sucks. Big time. Some boring desert world with no navigation tools. Running around aimlessly for 20 minutes till finally stumbling over a wreck and a few crates. Still wondering how to get the loot from the few crates back (another thing I'm not a fan of, the constant inventory size problems). But that doesn't matter, since I can't find my way back to the portal that's so well hidden among the rocks and flowers.

So I'm probably gonna give up now. The idea of exploring portals was what kept me going, the game has been too much of a chore lately. I never ever liked mazes in any games, and this is no exception.

Good game up until that point though, but this was a downer.

I agree, wasn't too bad the first few runs considering the loot, but it just eventually got too boring and repetitive

[1]

Originally posted by Balsover:

If your numbers are going up too slow, then that's your clue to build more.

If you are standing around waiting, then start building instead.

This! Why are there so many voices in this forum complaining about the speed the numbers go up when said speed is entirely inside of their control? Utterly baffling.

[Thiesen]

Originally posted by Vortimous:

Why are you checking back every ten minutes to feed and drink? Just dont have anything in your inventory and let him die. Then again, I guess it depends on what setting you are playing on... You can let it run for hours (i have left it run all night) to let your planet grow. It takes so long anyway.... Again, it depends on what setting you selected.. but if you dont have too bad of a death penalty (hence dont carry any items on your person) it would save you alot of time coming back to your PC every 10 minutes or so....

Ever heard of permadeath?

If he plays on permadeath he might want to keep his character alive...

[DMM]

Originally posted by Thiesen:

Originally posted by Vortimous:

Why are you checking back every ten minutes to feed and drink? Just dont have anything in your inventory and let him die. Then again, I guess it depends on what setting you are playing on... You can let it run for hours (i have left it run all night) to let your planet grow. It takes so long anyway.... Again, it depends on what setting you selected.. but if you dont have too bad of a death penalty (hence dont carry any items on your person) it would save you alot of time coming back to your PC every 10 minutes or so....

Ever heard of permadeath?

If he plays on permadeath he might want to keep his character alive...

Until they at least add a way to sustain yourself and afk, i personally don't believe permadeath belongs in this game. A good survival game that I love playing permadeath on is subnautica because it flops the ratio of automation and exploring compared to this game.

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

I have thoroughly enjoyed the exploration through the portals. I did not start doing them until I was nearly done with my first play through, but things would have been a lot easier had I done so. The loot from these runs is intense. I so many gold statues that four display cases are full, multiples displayed about, and I still have another 10+ in storage.

I use flares to remind me of the path that I have taken, changing the color of the flare for branching, using white for the main path back and forth.

[son-goku]

Reading the OPs post, I'll make a note of packing the materials to build a beacon before going through a portal ^^

[Coops]

Originally posted by son-goku:

Reading the OPs post, I'll make a note of packing the materials to build a beacon before going through a portal ^^

You cannot build anything on the other side of the portal.

[trevorkrause]

Well some of my portals have been bad due to game issues but alas almost sorted.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3225366154

[Silvver]

For me, the biggest problem are the mazes in the wrecks. They don't make any sense and are there just to take more time and be annoying.

Flares are one thing, but a chip for mapping the wrecks would be cool.

[trevorkrause]

Originally posted by Silvver:

For me, the biggest problem are the mazes in the wrecks. They don't make any sense and are there just to take more time and be annoying.

Flares are one thing, but a chip for mapping the wrecks would be cool.

Sadly the entire game mapping system here is garbage and also player id and general map info all so badly done.