How do I get more purple cubes? And how do I autoload?

[Wig Bang]

I"m pretty early in the game. I had two extractors.. but thought about it and figured out a much better layout. So I destroyed one of my extractors. It takes FOREVER to grind up the remaining 50% of what was lost in that process. I'm at 460 and now red cubes are spawning and I haven't moved passed 460 purples in a long time (IK need 512)

So how will I ever build that second extraction channel again...?

Also, how do I autoload buildings? I suddenly need 32k reds to build something new. So damnit I need to leave this going overnight for a week or two. I get idle games often have super long time sinks like that.

But I'll need the destabilizers and resonators to autoload for that to be possible. I see no element that facilitates this (other than possibly the 32k reds building which is just insanely expensive)

[darkSol]

You do not need to wait weeks lol, and the game now auto-plays while you're not playing it, but the game isn't capable of sustained full automation anyway so you can't go afk and expect it to keep working (it requires the player to manually feed quite a few things).

Are you using pylons? These will auto-load the machines that surround them. You still have to feed those, but it's one pylon that can feed 8 machines or resource converters, so it's hugely beneficial to use them. Possibly you haven't unlocked them yet. Prior to that you're hand feeding every machine and converter.

The trick to mastering the game is figuring out how to convert the resources you are getting into the ones you need, and the game is pretty balanced if you understand those conversion processes. If you're not seeing the descriptions for the machines, there's a little -/+ icon in the bottom right of the UI that will hide or show that, and you can also hold the alt key when you mouse over any machine to read what it does.

If you need purple (qanetite), you use the charonite sump converter, which takes the black, yellow, and red, and turns them into purple over time. To have enough yellow, you should have some charonite enrichment vats which will produce yellow. To get black you need the beta-pylene oxidizer. If you dig to red, those will all be unlocked.

If you've dug past the point where you're not getting the resources you need to be able to convert them now, you might have to re-position your extractor (use the "e" key). That will restart the drilling depth.

Study the machine descriptions and if necessary refer to the wiki or a steam guide to help you to understand the way the game works. (though most of the fun is in figuring it out yourself).

[Wig Bang]

Originally posted by darkSol:

You do not need to wait weeks lol, and the game now auto-plays while you're not playing it, but the game isn't capable of sustained full automation anyway so you can't go afk and expect it to keep working (it requires the player to manually feed quite a few things).

Are you using pylons? These will auto-load the machines that surround them. You still have to feed those, but it's one pylon that can feed 8 machines or resource converters, so it's hugely beneficial to use them. Possibly you haven't unlocked them yet. Prior to that you're hand feeding every machine and converter.

The trick to mastering the game is figuring out how to convert the resources you are getting into the ones you need, and the game is pretty balanced if you understand those conversion processes. If you're not seeing the descriptions for the machines, there's a little -/+ icon in the bottom right of the UI that will hide or show that, and you can also hold the alt key when you mouse over any machine to read what it does.

If you need purple (qanetite), you use the charonite sump converter, which takes the black, yellow, and red, and turns them into purple over time. To have enough yellow, you should have some charonite enrichment vats which will produce yellow. To get black you need the beta-pylene oxidizer. If you dig to red, those will all be unlocked.

If you've dug past the point where you're not getting the resources you need to be able to convert them now, you might have to re-position your extractor (use the "e" key). That will restart the drilling depth.

Study the machine descriptions and if necessary refer to the wiki or a steam guide to help you to understand the way the game works. (though most of the fun is in figuring it out yourself).

'e' does nothing

also, i don't know why everyone keeps talking about depth. there's no depth lol.

or if there is.. it's not indicated anywhere
'
and if it is... not in any way that was ever explained, even in the most implicit of ways.

as for pylons, i haven't unlocked those yet, but that sounds nice.

[darkSol]

You're right, E key won't let you move extractors, you have to destroy them and then re-build them. Sorry. E key does let you move any other machine though, can be very handy.

If you point your mouse above an extractor it gives you the current mining depth.

Also, I just discovered that there is a form of full automation in the late game. It's nice but some set-ups can't take full advantage due to some placement restrictions. By the time you get the capability, it kind of sucks to find out your build won't accommodate it.

[Wig Bang]

Originally posted by darkSol:

You're right, E key won't let you move extractors, you have to destroy them and then re-build them. Sorry. E key does let you move any other machine though, can be very handy.

If you point your mouse above an extractor it gives you the current mining depth.

Also, I just discovered that there is a form of full automation in the late game. It's nice but some set-ups can't take full advantage due to some placement restrictions. By the time you get the capability, it kind of sucks to find out your build won't accommodate it.

I see.

It's always better to build a new extractor than to destroy and build right?

Only getting half of your resources back is horrendously bad I think.

[darkSol]

Originally posted by Wig Bang:

Originally posted by darkSol:

You're right, E key won't let you move extractors, you have to destroy them and then re-build them. Sorry. E key does let you move any other machine though, can be very handy.

If you point your mouse above an extractor it gives you the current mining depth.

Also, I just discovered that there is a form of full automation in the late game. It's nice but some set-ups can't take full advantage due to some placement restrictions. By the time you get the capability, it kind of sucks to find out your build won't accommodate it.

I see.

It's always better to build a new extractor than to destroy and build right?

Only getting half of your resources back is horrendously bad I think.

There is a one time placement building that you can unlock to get all resources back, even the ones contained in say, a converter which hasn't finished, or whatever. It costs one hellstone to use it, but it's well worth it once you have it. Prior to that it's wasteful to tear down, but when you're learning the game I think it's okay.

[Wig Bang]

Originally posted by darkSol:

Originally posted by Wig Bang:

I see.

It's always better to build a new extractor than to destroy and build right?

Only getting half of your resources back is horrendously bad I think.

There is a one time placement building that you can unlock to get all resources back, even the ones contained in say, a converter which hasn't finished, or whatever. It costs one hellstone to use it, but it's well worth it once you have it. Prior to that it's wasteful to tear down, but when you're learning the game I think it's okay.

Thanks for your brain firing and finger movements. Will be helpful for me directing mine this weekend when I give this game another shot.