some suggestions

[Leprochaun]

Hey I love the game and thought I'd throw some suggestions out for potential future additions. These are just some thoughts. I will be happy with any additions you make to the game whether they be these or not. These aren't really in any particular order either.

1(more rods?): Rods for obsidian and zeolite and maybe even sulfur. Both can be used in future recipes and for storage condensing. Could go even further and add a rod/item that is a combination of all the rods.

2(drones): instead of just having a t2 drone that increases speed, do something similar to the vehicle station where you craft chip-like upgrades and get applied to the drone station itself. Could have stuff like station upgrade capacity, total drone capacity, drone speed, drone carry amount, etc. I think drones are also too good for how cheap they are to make. I think ideally you would have to find drone parts in the world. On Humble you could tie a lot of drone upgrades to the fallen drones you pull chips out of. Perhaps you unlock certain drone recipes when you collect a certain amount of drone logs. Treat it as its own research and progression tree perhaps. If you take this drone parts idea I think you can then move the drone station to be a much earlier unlock (also the drone station should be a low flat power cost+ a power cost per drone- rather than just a high flat power cost. This also means you could do a power cost reduction per drone station upgrade). The reason you can unlock it earlier is because you could control the exact amount of drones are available to the player until two breakpoints. The first being behind fusion reactor doors which I would suggest always having at least one drone part to find past that. The other breakpoint being the portal generator which just opens the floodgates and lets players get however many they want.

3(vehicles): I think the vehicle needs a hover-type upgrade. It's way too clunky currently. Just being able to float over water/ditches/rocks would help it a lot. Other vehicle improvements might be to let me craft a microchip to summon a vehicle to my location. This would still use the vehicle summon cooldown but would allow me to go through a teleporter and summon it on the other side rather than having to drive out from the base every time. A small (atv sized) vehicle that unlocks earlier (perhaps replace the double bed unlock with this and make the double bed just a microchip unlock) The current vehicle station can stay where it is, it could just be made into t2 vehicle station and the t1 vehicle station would have a smaller footprint and only be able to make the small vehicle.

4(player chips): More player microchips/upgrades. Perhaps you could add a recycler microchip so I could do it from my inventory. Maybe a "treasure finder" that beeps when you're close to a special chest(and perhaps on that note a rocket that marks them on the map?), a map microchip upgrade that lets me put a waypoint down and a further upgrade that lets me put multiple down. A microchip that lets me clear meteor debris would be incredibly nice. A construction upgrade that lets you use materials from storage would be really nice. A smaller segmented storage that lets you manage certain items separately would be helpful so I could dump my backpack storage while keeping some food/explosives/keys on me.

5(dna automation): A way to automate certain machines such as the incubator, genetic synthesizer, dna manipulator, etc. I would probably just say to make a t2 version of them but there's definitely other ways to go about it.

6(rockets): A rocket rework. I never really enjoyed the playstyle of continually sending up the same rockets to increase your multiplier. It's better now than it was in early access because you also have the machine optimizers but I think I would still like it to change. I would much prefer it if there were t1, t2, t3, etc rockets of each type. Perhaps instead of building just a rocket, you have to build different pieces of it and put those together to send it. The resource cost would be a lot higher and in exchange so would the multiplier. I think this method would make rockets have a more significant feeling to them. In addition to this, you could still keep the iridium and uranium shower rockets as repeatable rockets you can send up- they just don't add a multiplier. You could even have repeatable rockets for each meteor shower type as future unlocks. In a similar fashion to the drones this also lets you, the developer, tightly control how much global multiplier the player has access to at different terraformation stages and balance the game around that rather than an estimation/expectation of multiplier/rockets sent.

7(ETC): It would be nice to have a storage information screen that let me look through my entire storage and see at a glance how much of each thing I have. A recipe for smart fabric, and a station that let me custom design my spacesuit colors rather than just using the suits you find in wrecks. The foundation not being the same size as the 1x1 living compartment bugs me and I would really like them to fit perfectly on each other.

Anyways that's all I'll leave you with for now, thanks for reading it.

[flint74]

Some thoughts/observations.

1: Sounds like an interesting idea, giving more crafting options for existing and possible future machine recipes and upgrades.

2: The next logical upgrade for the drones would be a T3 drone that has the same speed of a T2 drone but with a slightly larger inventory space, e.g. maybe 3-5 items.

Beyond that, perhaps a T4 drone that has the inventory of the T3 but is slightly faster.

As for finding machine 'parts' that could be used to craft machines and upgrades, at that point you're heading way deep into Subnautica territory, which is something the devs have been quite careful to avoid doing thus far, which makes sense because while the two games do already get compared on some level because of the basic storyline similarity (getting abandoned on an alien planet) and the whole farming basic resources to make more advanced things gameplay, they do have some key differences that set them apart.

Actually, thinking about it some more, we already have something of an analog to Subnautica's machine parts in TPC, that being the blueprint microchips...

3: While the game already has a perfectly good example of a flying vehicle model that would need only small modifications to make it an excellent upgrade/alternative to the existing Rover, the devs have apparently already said no to player-controlled "spaceships", which presumably includes small hover or flying vehicles.

That being said, and to be fair, while a flying vehicle could be an interesting addition, I'm really not sure the current map sizes are large enough to warrant anything more than the existing jetpack and Rover options. Now if the maps were e.g. 4x the size (i.e. double width x double length) or even larger then maybe it'd make more sense to consider a flying vehicle, but for now, not so much - also, presumably map size constraints are a limitation of the game engine, map complexity, and available dev. team resources to make larger/more detailed maps?

4: You can already set waypoints that appear on the map - using the beacon object. :D

As for more quickly clearing meteor debris, maybe that could be a function of the T3 deconstructor chip which currently really only serves as being a faster version of the T2 chip. An expansion of this idea might even be the ability to remove small-to-medium sized rocks from the ground in order to make placement of objects like foundation grids, living quarters, and rocket platforms a bit easier.

The segmented storage concept is an interesting one that could be handled with a simple logistics chip (kinda like the one used in the Rover) that could be added to the players tool inventory thereby unlocking access to the drone system so that you could specify which items you want the drones to collect directly from you, or even what you want them to bring to you (imagine you had run out of food in the middle of nowhere and could quickly set a temporary Demand tag on your inventory and have a drone bring you a spacefood or some eggplants). This would probably require the whole logistics system be updated to allow two-way traffic from any inventory - though that might also be very useful for anyone trying to fully automate their base/world.

5: Automating machines in the way suggested goes back to the previous point about updating the logistics system to allow two-way traffic from any inventory. In this case it would allow not only dropping the ingredients into a machine, but also retrieving the crafted item too, which is currently where automation falls down because you can only handle one side of the process or the other, not both.

6: The effectiveness of the existing rockets depends entirely upon the quantity and efficiency of the machinery that has been built in the world, thus rockets already kinda act as a tiered system, e.g. if all you've placed are a single T1 drill and T1 heater, and you send up a single heat and pressure rocket each, then those rockets aren't gonna do much of anything to boost the terraformation stats.

But if you've built a whole bunch of T4 drills and T5 heaters, and then you've sent up a handful each of heat and pressure rockets, each of those rockets are going to increasingly boost those two stats to the moon.

For example, even 3 T5 heaters and 10 heat rockets can easily produce tens of millions of Pk of heat per second, but in that case the boost factor scales up as if each rocket was tiered because they each boost according to the current stat value not the initial base value.

7: Some context - There's a Minecraft automation/storage mod that acts like a computer system with a terminal screen that allows you to view at a glance all of the items in the system, it even allows you to put items into, and remove items from, the system either manually or via other connected machinery. The mod even includes a remote viewer terminal that you could carry with you. Now the larger/fuller the system was, the more power demand it had, this really was its primary downside because if the power went out you had almost no access to the system, but other than that this was a fantastic mod that quickly became one of the 'must haves' in any modpack.

Now something like this in TPC would definitely be a very interesting and useful addition I'm sure, my only concern would be whether the game could safely and efficiently process the data stored in the games .json save file system to display the required information on an in-game screen upon request without it causing massive lag or other problems. But I guess that's a question/concern only the dev. team can really answer.

Also, Smart Fabric already has a recipe, it unlocks and can then be accessed in the Biolab screen next to the recipe for regular fabric.

Finally, keep in mind that a 3x3 of 9 small living quarters, or a single 3x3 living quarters module, take up almost the exact same area as a 4x4 of foundation grids. From this it should be fairly easy to arrange a base that almost perfectly fits on a grid. Fortunately the living quarters are now a lot easier to precisely place aligned to the grids than they used to be, where it does get tricky is trying to place grids underneath living quarters modules - thus it's better to build your grid first, leaving enough space for possible future expansion, and then build your base upon it.

Hope some of this is useful. :D

[Leprochaun]

Thank you for reading and providing your feedback, flint74.
Certain things might not have been clear on my end but I'd like to clarify certain things to help create a better understanding of what I was asking for and/or my reasoning for it.
2: The reasoning behind my thoughts of using drone parts to craft drones is to allow players to have access to them much earlier but limited in number. The reasoning behind having them upgrade via a microchip like system in the drone station rather than upgrade from t1 to t2 is for multiple reasons. One because it breaks it up into far more upgrades that can be spread across different acquisition methods(random microchips, terraformation breakpoints, etc) Two because the upgrades can be spread across a wider lifetime gamestate, and three because I would just personally find it more interesting.
3: I really only want the vehicle to hover a little so it can more easily navigate the terrain. I'm not asking for a flying one. Even if it just went over water that would be a significant improvement.
4: I know the beacon exists. What I'm asking for is to be able to open the map, press a button to mark something and have a waypoint appear there. If I look at the map and say to myself "I want to explore over here" the beacon doesn't really help with that because I haven't gone there yet. Beacons are useful as permanent waypoints, but not quick, temporary ones.
The meteor debris being locked behind the t3 deconstructor doesn't logistically make sense to me. That unlocks it far too late, when you probably want it to unlock a little after you unlock the launch platform.
I'm not sure where you thought I asked for drones to interact with player inventory. It's an interesting idea I'm just not sure where it came from.
5: Does it? Why can't it just act like an autocrafter? I'm not sure I see why the logistics system needs to be updated for this to work.
6: I understand how rockets work. I'm saying I'm not a fan of the gameplay of it. Sending up rocket after rocket after rocket is not, and has never been, a fun gameplay loop for me. What I was suggesting was an alternative, mutli-layered project, that achieves the same end result of a global multiplier. So instead of building a rocket using like 6 things and getting 1000x mult, you instead would build rocket part A with like 6 things, rocket part B with 6 things, etc. You would then put rocket parts together and I dunno maybe you get 5000x mult for t1, and then t2 is 10000x or something. The biggest negative of this is that it's not as streamlined, but I do think it would ultimately feel a lot better. Some quick positives about this would be that it can demand a larger variety of resources, it is a unique gameplay loop rather than a monotonous one, and the t1/t2/etc system provides continual gameplay/value/unlocks over time.
7: Yeah I'm not sure how feasible it would be to add a system that let me view my storage would be. If it doesn't get added it's not a big deal.
I looked everywhere for the smart fabric recipe except the trade rocket. This is my fault.
I think it's crazy to say if you just use the 3x3 on a 4x4 grid you can get a base that almost perfectly fits. Why shouldn't the 1x1 living quarters just fit perfectly on the 1x1 grid? Wouldn't it look and feel better if it snapped to perfectly align with it?

[Amrak]

Originally posted by flint74:

Some thoughts/observations.

2: The next logical upgrade for the drones would be a T3 drone that has the same speed of a T2 drone but with a slightly larger inventory space, e.g. maybe 3-5 items.

How about either T3 or T4 drones use a teleportation pad? One that we have to install at locations for faster travel?

[Robirda]

I'm not a stickler for perfection, so I don't really tend to think much about most of the kinds of changes you're discussing here - by and large I tend to just work with what I've got, and go from there.

BUT, it would be very handy to have the drones able to pick up larvae as they drop, and put them into designated storage. They will do it for algae and veggies, so why not larvae too? Hmmm...

[flint74]

Originally posted by Leprochaun:

Thank you for reading and providing your feedback, flint74.

You're very welcome. :D

Originally posted by Leprochaun:

2: The reasoning behind my thoughts of using drone parts to craft drones is to allow players to have access to them much earlier but limited in number. The reasoning behind having them upgrade via a microchip like system in the drone station rather than upgrade from t1 to t2 is for multiple reasons. One because it breaks it up into far more upgrades that can be spread across different acquisition methods(random microchips, terraformation breakpoints, etc) Two because the upgrades can be spread across a wider lifetime gamestate, and three because I would just personally find it more interesting.

In other words, treat the drone station (and thus the drones) the same as the Rover, whereby we can install upgrade chips into the rovers upgrades inventory for more/better functionality?

I guess if it were handled in that manner that would work. I mean it would be a familiar system to the playerbase, though it wouldn't need as many types of upgrades as the Rover, in fact you could get away with just 'Speed' and 'Inventory' upgrades, but that could be offset with more tiers of upgrade per type, and then the drone station just needs 2 upgrade slots added to it somewhere.

Originally posted by Leprochaun:

3: I really only want the vehicle to hover a little so it can more easily navigate the terrain. I'm not asking for a flying one. Even if it just went over water that would be a significant improvement.

That's why we have the jetpack. And if you need an expanded storage while using the jetpack, put your rover in your inventory and carry it to your destination, and then teleport the rover back to its garage when you're done.

But if you need 'more' than the jetpack, there's always 'F4'. :D

Originally posted by Leprochaun:

4: I know the beacon exists. What I'm asking for is to be able to open the map, press a button to mark something and have a waypoint appear there. If I look at the map and say to myself "I want to explore over here" the beacon doesn't really help with that because I haven't gone there yet. Beacons are useful as permanent waypoints, but not quick, temporary ones.
The meteor debris being locked behind the t3 deconstructor doesn't logistically make sense to me. That unlocks it far too late, when you probably want it to unlock a little after you unlock the launch platform.
I'm not sure where you thought I asked for drones to interact with player inventory. It's an interesting idea I'm just not sure where it came from.

The main issue with being able to set 'temporary' waypoints without exploring and building physical beacons is that quite simply most folks would simply rely on the temporary waypoints and never build another beacon ever again because there's already something of a complaint/observation among parts of the playerbase that too many beacon icons makes the place look untidy...

The way to counter that though would obviously be to have a timer on each temporary waypoint so it automatically disappeared after a certain amount of time; but given how easy it can be to get sidetracked on other tasks, chances are kinda good that you'd set a waypoint for one task, quickly get sucked into something else that was more immediately important, and in the meantime the waypoint would vanish leaving you with no reminder of that original task... so it's a tricky question and balancing act for sure.

Also, I guess debris removal could be made a function of the T2 deconstructor, I just figured to remove something as large as a boulder the size of a living quarters it might need the speed/power of the T3 for authenticity. :)

And you didn't say anything about drones, I simply suggested using them as a way to easily achieve your 'segmented storage' suggestion by using something the playerbase is mostly already familiar with - the logistics system. :D

Originally posted by Leprochaun:

5: Does it? Why can't it just act like an autocrafter? I'm not sure I see why the logistics system needs to be updated for this to work.

As I pointed out above, for most/all devices the logistics system apparently can currently only handle one-way traffic, i.e. you can only Supply OR Demand items from/to each device. Thus in order to fully automate devices like the Incubator or DNA Manipulator the logistics system would need to be updated to allow two-way traffic so that you can set Supply AND Demand tags on any device for different resources at the same time.

If the Autocrafter can already handle two-way traffic then that's fine, but crafting trees and insects is not what the Autocrafter is there for, because if it were then we wouldn't need the Incubator and DNA Manipulator, etc.

Originally posted by Leprochaun:

7: Yeah I'm not sure how feasible it would be to add a system that let me view my storage would be. If it doesn't get added it's not a big deal.
I looked everywhere for the smart fabric recipe except the trade rocket. This is my fault.
I think it's crazy to say if you just use the 3x3 on a 4x4 grid you can get a base that almost perfectly fits. Why shouldn't the 1x1 living quarters just fit perfectly on the 1x1 grid? Wouldn't it look and feel better if it snapped to perfectly align with it?

It dare say it probably would look better, and it'd probably also make everyone's life easier and also answer a whole lot of complaints about the size mismatch on here too. But really, once you understand the 3x3 module to 4x4 grid ratio, it's actually quite easy and straight forward to plan out a grid large enough to cater to pretty much any size of base - it just requires a little bit of patience, thought, and careful planning.

Critically though, and I suspect a big part of the reasoning behind the devs not changing this (yet) despite all the requests, the mismatch also requires us to find and use more resources to build the base of our dreams, which kinda makes it a hidden, but actually rather clever, part of the challenge of this game.

[flint74]

Originally posted by Amrak:

How about either T3 or T4 drones use a teleportation pad? One that we have to install at locations for faster travel?

If the devs can figure out how to get the drones to reliably interact with the terminal screen in the teleporter so that they could warp to/from distant places faster then I guess that could be a very interesting addition to the game for sure.

Originally posted by Robirda:

BUT, it would be very handy to have the drones able to pick up larvae as they drop, and put them into designated storage. They will do it for algae and veggies, so why not larvae too? Hmmm...

Algae and vegetables are collected from devices that you have to build and place. Fortunately there is a device that you can build that generates the basic larvae - the Ecosystem, the bonus with the Ecosystem is that it also generates bee and butterfly larvae too, and because it's connected to the logistics system you can control how the drones handle each larvae species.

Also, drones being able to collect any/all resources straight off the ground would only serve to make the game become ultra easy mode regardless of which gamemode you'd actually set the world to at the start, thus it'd most likely quickly become very boring for most foiks and completely defeat the purpose of having the harder difficulty options. :)

[Amrak]

Originally posted by flint74:

Originally posted by Amrak:

How about either T3 or T4 drones use a teleportation pad? One that we have to install at locations for faster travel?

If the devs can figure out how to get the drones to reliably interact with the terminal screen in the teleporter so that they could warp to/from distant places faster then I guess that could be a very interesting addition to the game for sure.

Maybe when we place the teleporter, say at a ore miner at the SA beach (humble) and we have the main one at our warehouse, we link the teleporter pad. Or we place a pad in a central locations say to the north and any drone can go to it then teleport to the warehouse. again we manually connect the teleporters to go to a desired place such as the warehouses teleporter pad.

Add; A supply and demand type of connection between pads.

[Robirda]

Originally posted by flint74:

Algae and vegetables are collected from devices that you have to build and place. Fortunately there is a device that you can build that generates the basic larvae - the Ecosystem, the bonus with the Ecosystem is that it also generates bee and butterfly larvae too, and because it's connected to the logistics system you can control how the drones handle each larvae species.

Also, drones being able to collect any/all resources straight off the ground would only serve to make the game become ultra easy mode regardless of which gamemode you'd actually set the world to at the start, thus it'd most likely quickly become very boring for most foiks and completely defeat the purpose of having the harder difficulty options. :)

I hear you, and it does explain a lot - but I personally find the endless picking up of larvae to be the ultra boring part, and it would be nice to have some way to get around it besides the ecosystem or making your own.

Yes, it does spawn a few larvae usable for critter food, but not anywhere near enough even if you start early, compared to the literal heaps of butterflies and such that I don't need that many of and that take up far too much time and storage to deal with, yes, even if I have them sent to the shredder on overflow.

Similarly, constructing them to try to automate the process is FAR too resource-intensive, needing fairly rare resources, all of which rather slows results - and those results don't come anywhere close to closing the gap between production and the speed at which the food disappears from the feeders.

It all gets far too time-consuming and, yes, boring, and very often that's the point where I generally get fed up with all the repetition and rather than dragging on to the end, more often than not I just drop the game and start over again...

SO, not sure what the solution would be, but it would be nice if there was one!