Fabricators and Transfer Links

[Daeromont]

Hi folks! I'm finally getting into some outpost building and I have two questions. Once I get all the basics down, I'll start a new game and do it all fresh and clean, so to speak.

1. My fabricators don't seem to be working. I have excess power at my base, and I have them wired directly for power as well, although I admittedly don't understand that power requirement. I also have plenty of Helium 3. All supplies are being fed to them directly via links from single-source storage units. Any thoughts on what I may be doing wrong?

2. Cargo/Transfer Links: I seem to be having problems in one outpost that is transferring cargo to another outpost in the same system. The second outpost has a separate cargo transfer out of the system. The products are moving between planets successfully but not between systems. I have a Inter-system cargo link on both planets, both powered and with Helium 3. All of my other links seem to be functioning well.

thanks,
Daer

[Daeromont]

Nevermind on #1. I have NO idea why...but when I just now reloaded the game, they were all running. that part is good. The items coming between systems is still an issue...and just to be more specific, I have no problems sending items from one system to another. It seems to only be a problem where I am first sending it from a planet within the same system to another and then to another system from the 2nd planet.

[Aberdeen Pig Farm Official]

So... those outposts... I need to farm Aluminum, Iron, Helium, everything, build containers, power, storage, cargo links cargo intelinks, missing reactive gauge, missing this, missing that, can not even to set up basic stuff like extracting 1 resource and then shipping it to another outpost, nowhere to even buy, went on New Atlatntis checked 2 stores, no reactive gauge, and even if I find it the very next time when I try to build something I will miss debilium or something, whoever came up with this outpost system obviously wanted this game to fail badly. It feels like super boring, super tiring job, can not set up even 1 simple outpost with 1-2 resources. Always missing something to build. Not to mention the fact that I can not store all those materials that I collect exploring in 1 infinite storage box in my outpost. At level 17 I bought Econohaul because of the cargo storage, but even 2660 cargo is not enough because you have to collect everything cos you never know which resource you will miss next time when you try to build something in outposts. And I haven't even gotten to the part where I'll have to deal with connecting different outposts for which you need a course and a few weeks of study. This whole outpost building system seems like a NIGHTMARE and it gives me headaches. I don't understand why Bethesda hasn't fixed this outpost nightmare after a long time since the release of the game.

[chipartist]

Originally posted by Aberdeen Pig Farm Official:

So... those outposts...
...[edited rant out]...

The game tells you everything you need to know to build things from the very first hour of the game. The crafting tables in the Lodge -- and in pardticular the Industrial Crafting Station -- list all the resources you need to make other resources (like the Reactive Gauge), limited to the kind you have the skills to make. More Skill Points into the relevant categories means more kinds of resources you can fabricate, but you start simple, making common stuff from common resources.

Take the Reactive Gauge from your rant. Two ingredients, Aluminum and Copper, both common resources you can gather from day one using a Cutter from the mine on Vectera, the first planet that you start out on. 15 minutes cutting nuggets on Vectera and you have some Aluminum to start with. Three of the planets in that system have Copper deposits you can use the Cutter on -- scan the planets from orbit to find where to land and use the Scan mode to highlight the nuggets on the ground. The Frontier doesn't have great storage but enough to get started. Dump it all in the Lodge, go to the basement, use the Industrial Crafting Station, make Reactive Gauges. Rinse and repeat for other manufactured resources. You'll know what you need when you go to make something, the HUD shows you a parts list with missing items highlighted in red. As you advance your skills, more options are available. Always gotta start simple, but even basic outposts are easily made productive. But you do have to put time into obtaining the resource materials needed.

Most vendors sell a few or many resources, and two specialize in them, one in Akila City and the other in Neon, both easy to find if you keep your eyes open for the words Mining and Minerals. Doing planetary surveys is a good way to become familiar with how resources can be distributed among the planets, and surveys pay well if you sell the data to Victor in the Eye or the Lodge.

Starfield outposts are not rocket science, and only slightly more advanced than Legos, but you do have to pay attention to what the game is telling you.

[chipartist]

Originally posted by Daeromont:

Nevermind on #1. I have NO idea why...but when I just now reloaded the game, they were all running. that part is good. The items coming between systems is still an issue...and just to be more specific, I have no problems sending items from one system to another. It seems to only be a problem where I am first sending it from a planet within the same system to another and then to another system from the 2nd planet.

How many resources are you trying to send at once via a single cargo link regardless of type? My experience is that three is the most and not have problems. and two is even more reliable. One resource per link is ultra-safe. If you are feeding many resources into a single inter-system link, it is likely choking on them.

Helium 3 can also choke up a link network. I have found that providing too much to remote outposts from a central source can lead to it clogging up the Incoming and Outgoing crates on the Cargo Links -- it seems to "leak" if there is too much at any one outpost -- max seems to be 600 units. I also found that if you try to provide a continuous He3 feed via the cargo links, sooner or later it always gets clogged up with the fuel. Better news is that it seems only one end of an inter-system link actually needs an He3 fuel source. I've stopped sending the gas out to "refuel" the remote outposts and the links still work fine as long as I keep the tanks for my receiving hub links filled. I guess the fuel cost is for a round trip. If you do want to supply the remote outposts, you can send it out in fairly large lots, like 300-600 units, in discrete shipments (not continuous feed), but even then it can clog if you "overfill" the tank on the remote end. You can end up seeing He3 in all the crates connected to the links, and it can crowd out the target resources.

Hope this helps.

[Raven]

Originally posted by Daeromont:

Hi folks! I'm finally getting into some outpost building and I have two questions. Once I get all the basics down, I'll start a new game and do it all fresh and clean, so to speak.

1. My fabricators don't seem to be working. I have excess power at my base, and I have them wired directly for power as well, although I admittedly don't understand that power requirement. I also have plenty of Helium 3. All supplies are being fed to them directly via links from single-source storage units. Any thoughts on what I may be doing wrong?

2. Cargo/Transfer Links: I seem to be having problems in one outpost that is transferring cargo to another outpost in the same system. The second outpost has a separate cargo transfer out of the system. The products are moving between planets successfully but not between systems. I have a Inter-system cargo link on both planets, both powered and with Helium 3. All of my other links seem to be functioning well.

thanks,
Daer

#1 Are you're using powered generators?

If so, try just walking up to it, interact, and as long as you’ve got Helium-3 in your inventory, you can fill the generator and activate it.

[Daeromont]

Thanks for the help! I was trying to move 3 different resources via one link, even though I really only needed one. (I was planning for future development) And the Helium 3 was definitely causing a clog. It would be nice if we could set outgoing and incoming min/max amounts. That said, despite someone else's rant above, I thoroughly am enjoying the outpost building aspect. Still figuring some things out (e.g. I will only keep dedicated containers going-forward rather than allow multiple items to be stored in 1 container). Lots to learn yet here, but I truly enjoy taking some time away from base building, running a mission or 3 and back to base building and exploration. Awesome game.

[chipartist]

Originally posted by Daeromont:

Thanks for the help! I was trying to move 3 different resources via one link, even though I really only needed one. (I was planning for future development) And the Helium 3 was definitely causing a clog. It would be nice if we could set outgoing and incoming min/max amounts. That said, despite someone else's rant above, I thoroughly am enjoying the outpost building aspect. Still figuring some things out (e.g. I will only keep dedicated containers going-forward rather than allow multiple items to be stored in 1 container). Lots to learn yet here, but I truly enjoy taking some time away from base building, running a mission or 3 and back to base building and exploration. Awesome game.

Good to hear you are sticking with it. I've now built two 24-outpost networks (NG+3 and NG+4) and am still learning some of the ins and outs, but as I learn, getting things working and occasional troubleshooting becomes a lot less confusing. I'm running four of each type of fabricator (Builders) and have placed over 90,000 units from nearly all resource types into my capacity-enhanced (via console command) Transfer Container, and about 15k - 16k on board my ship for use in the field. I have a store of over 30,000 units of He3, feeding six Cargo links that vary between in-system and inter-system as needed. While it sounds like a full-time job, while building to this capability I also captured or hijacked about a dozen ships (am working on a new design in Shipbuilder based on the UC Vista III), surveyed over a dozen planets, and completed the UC/Terrormorph side quest. My outposts are now filling in some of the emptier resource reserves, as I have completed my main project of fabricating a bunch of components for extractors and power sources used in the field.

Having been touched by the tinkerer's Muse (or just plain touched, if you prefer lol) I am also enjoying setting up the networks, it's like trying to assemble an inter-stellar 3D puzzle without really knowing what the final result should look like. Challenging.