I'll be honest the base building makes this game tedious.

[Kibble]

I haven't played in a long time, base building was certainly not part of the game. I decided to make a fresh save and instead of exploring the galaxy i've just been stuck on a single planet tediously making a base I don't even want. After like 2-3 hours I finally was able to warp somewhere else when I remember that being an affair in the first 10 minutes. Why did they add this?

[Ozwald]

You don't have to build any bases if you don't want to. They are 100% optional, so ignore them if you want to.

Some people love to build bases, stretching the possibilities of what can be done with the stuff we've been given & it's quite impressive. I'm glad those people can enjoy the game like that.

I am NOT a base builder. In fact I got persuaded to try to build one, and I'm absolutely hating it. I got so damn frustrated with my first legit base that I had to take a 6 week hiatus from the game completely. I keep trying & going back to it, but after getting the building built, everything I try to do looks like ♥♥♥♥ or doesn't work.

I've put 10-15 hours into it since finishing the structure, but you'd never know it. It's still perfectly empty & no matter what I do I can't make it work.

It's not for everyone, me included. I wish I never tried, because it did change my overall outlook on the game. It's hard to even get the motivation to play anymore, even ignoring base building.

I'm sticking with my basic, but functional, prefabs from here on out.

[Grimmslayer73]

The game is a bit misleading. The mission log makes you think you have to do the base building missions by constantly harassing you with reminders and jumping from one quest to another. In reality, you don't have too and you can completely ignore it, however the quest log will never shut up about it and there's no way to delete the quest. Improvements to the quest log with the ability to delete unwanted quests have been requested (and equally ignored) for a long time now.

[Nostromo]

Often not mentioned is that you don't need to "build" a complete base.

When it wants, say 4 floor pieces - lay them down then delete them. You still get credit for them.

For "walls"? Just make a 4-high stack (or whatever - I don't remember those specifics), then dismantle it. Same for the rest of it.

Easy-peasy.

[darknight]

built 1, that was enough, now i have it all on my freighter. it goes where i go

[Ozwald]

Originally posted by darknight:

built 1, that was enough, now i have it all on my freighter. it goes where i go

Freighter building is that happy medium between prefabs & classic base building. It's more forgiving & has more options than prefabs, but it's easier than classic since you have a few more restraints.

Mine takes up 6 floors, covering the entire horizontal building area. I enjoyed building & decorating that.

[Tryshard]

Originally posted by Ozwald:

You don't have to build any bases if you don't want to. They are 100% optional, so ignore them if you want to.

Some people love to build bases, stretching the possibilities of what can be done with the stuff we've been given & it's quite impressive. I'm glad those people can enjoy the game like that.

I am NOT a base builder. In fact I got persuaded to try to build one, and I'm absolutely hating it. I got so damn frustrated with my first legit base that I had to take a 6 week hiatus from the game completely. I keep trying & going back to it, but after getting the building built, everything I try to do looks like ♥♥♥♥ or doesn't work.

I've put 10-15 hours into it since finishing the structure, but you'd never know it. It's still perfectly empty & no matter what I do I can't make it work.

It's not for everyone, me included. I wish I never tried, because it did change my overall outlook on the game. It's hard to even get the motivation to play anymore, even ignoring base building.

I'm sticking with my basic, but functional, prefabs from here on out.

Most people don't try to incorporate their first base into a planetary portal.

Maybe just try something simple first.

[Ozwald]

Originally posted by Tryshard:

Most people don't try to incorporate their first base into a planetary portal.

Maybe just try something simple first.

The structure is built around a portal, yes, but it's still just a rectangular building. I tried & tried to make something as simple as a bay window with no success. That's just in the structure.

I've put 10-15 hrs into since your last visit trying to decorate my stupid looking Lego block & it probably looks exactly the same. Everything I try looks stupid & I delete it.

Not everyone is visually creative. I'm glad you're good at it & enjoy it, but I don't & I'm sincerely sorry I tried. If all I can make are stupid looking boxes, I'll save myself the time & use a prefab.

[CatPerson]

Originally posted by Kibble:

I haven't played in a long time, base building was certainly not part of the game. I decided to make a fresh save and instead of exploring the galaxy i've just been stuck on a single planet tediously making a base I don't even want. After like 2-3 hours I finally was able to warp somewhere else when I remember that being an affair in the first 10 minutes. Why did they add this?

You can fault the "Tutorial" aspect of the game for that. Although, really, the entire MQ is like an extended tutorial+lore. It's supposed to help new players I guess, that early stuff, which does make sense. Teach some very rudimentary basics/controls/menus etc.

If you start a "Custom" game (vs. one of the preset difficulty labels), I believe it defaults to all the settings being on "Normal" - but Custom menu lets you start a new game with the tutorial disabled (it's a setting that only shows up when you start a new Custom game - cannot do it after starting). As well as tinker with any other settings away from Normal, if you feel like it.

I really dislike the Tutorial myself and general questing in this game. After the first run, tutorial is always off for me, and after now doing it twice, the MQ/other major quest lines I ignore.

As to base building itself - others covered that. I'm not into it, outside of named markers and basic shelters - but it's there for those that want it. In normal modes I mostly use the Freighter, and in Abandoned Mode I make a single main base, as small as possible for function (garden mostly).

EDIT: oh, some/most of the quests do give you the blueprints for things, vs. EZ "buying" them from the Anomaly station, if one wants that kind of progression feel. And I think there are a few things you can't get without following quests to a certain point, like those NPC science/other quest giver stations.

[BrotherMurus]

I only wish that I could draw the wall/items in orthogonal views, rather than pure 1st person perspectives like in most games. then I could just focus on just drawing/design instead of moving myself in position to snapping points.

[Johnny in the Clouds]

Building is one of many activities in the game. It exists because if you were to explore other worlds it makes fictional sense to use a shelter and it does fit with classic sci-fi themes. Bases are also the only way to add music or sound effects and be able to share and make original songs. The are a few introductory quests but after that it's not essential to be elaborate with bases unless you want to be. Settlements are another way to have a 'base' which actually in other ways can be very lucrative and fun because of the NPCs moving about and can be interacted with. They can look cool too in certain environments.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2607028076

Originally posted by Ozwald:

...Not everyone is visually creative... If all I can make are stupid looking boxes, I'll save myself the time & use a prefab.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3467783470
Prefabs are great. They've been in the game since 2016. An entire room is counted by the game as one object and ideal for a very simple quick base that looks good. Everyone has creativity in them and I'm sure you do too. A box base is not stupid either and they can be very useful just for protection on a severe planet while you spend time doing a mission.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3039659646
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3039489270

Originally posted by BrotherMurus:

I only wish that I could draw the wall/items in orthogonal views, rather than pure 1st person perspectives like in most games. then I could just focus on just drawing/design instead of moving myself in position to snapping points.

The build camera is ideal to move around your base objects while you build freely. Also once you are familiar with the tool commands (labelled in the build menus), objects and parts can be simply copied and duplicated and placed, using the parts already in place, without needing to return to the menu every time to select the same or new part. The build camera mode can be very speedy.

[The Basement Berean]

Truth be told, nothing wrong with Bachelor living, it gets the job done, freighters almost render bases meaningless.

Harvesting resources on planets being the only real advantage really far as I can tell.

I get the same kind of rage with trying to draw anything 3d, I have the image in my head, but somehow I can't draw the lines in A way the makes the picture take the shape it should, it always ends up some squashed amalgam of despair & inability I can't seem to overcome.

So it's well understood man.

But to me the base system is another game in & of itself, it's own rules, requirements & limitations.

What CAN I make it do? what works where & looks good to my eye, I can't tell you how many times I started with an idea, couldn't do it & somehow ended up with Something really special.

So just plan to BUILD one, no style, no flash, if you HAD to spend time there, what would you want & need?

If Freighters didn't work for A month because of an update.

If you can't do style, do utility, I started with the prefab stuff & still love them! they have the Glass rooms that make Sea views astounding 360 degrees that I can't manage any other way that feels or looks right to me, something about the light off of glass.

A large portion of this game is THAT it's essentially A series of smaller games in A cohesive environment, no one really overpowering the other, but nothing really standing out, it's an endless series of fidget widgets, so pick one that works.

[Darth Cervantes]

IMO the base building is the only thing to give the game replay value at this point

[cwmonkey]

Thank you for your honesty.

[Foxglovez]

That first whole questline, well maybe two or three of the questlines are covert attempts to teach you the game in questline form. They revamped it in the last couple years - it used to be even more confusing, convoluted and oddly put together. It's better now, really it is. Just muddle through it, get the extra free bibs and bobs (I play it just for that cuz I'm cheap and like freebies on my new toons). Then be on your merry way across the universe playing the game the way you want.

At some point you might find a fabulous place to build a real base, or not. It's all up to you. Make your own fun. Game is just full of buckets and shovels. You get to figure out what to build from NMS sand.

[Kibble]

Originally posted by Foxglovez:

That first whole questline, well maybe two or three of the questlines are covert attempts to teach you the game in questline form. They revamped it in the last couple years - it used to be even more confusing, convoluted and oddly put together. It's better now, really it is. Just muddle through it, get the extra free bibs and bobs (I play it just for that cuz I'm cheap and like freebies on my new toons). Then be on your merry way across the universe playing the game the way you want.

At some point you might find a fabulous place to build a real base, or not. It's all up to you. Make your own fun. Game is just full of buckets and shovels. You get to figure out what to build from NMS sand.

Its pretty bad though. I'm 5 hours in and i've done almost no exploring and the game doesn't give you any incentive for you to explore at all. Jump to some marked locations, back to your base, grab some materials, back to your base. It feels like the base building IS the game now. Everything I do leads me back to base building more.