Is Automation good or pointless?

[Pink Ranger]

Not being mean, I genuinely mean this question: Is it an update for update's sake or is it actually meaningful? The game's economy doesn't strike me as something like Factorio's or Satisfactory's, so does this update hold value?

If someone has tried it, what's your thoughts? Where does it help the most? What applications does it have in practice?

[Mr. Fibble]

It's good if it removes or reduces the amount of faff required to make an item or to unload vehicles. If they work for scrapping and trade stations then thats a very good thing.

Not entirely convinced the costings make it worthwhile, although being a sandbox where you have no defined "endgame" the costs are very subjective from player to player.

Moving stuff between platforms was something in the original trailer. The arms are how they've decided to make it happen rather than resource blobs dancing around.

[Mharr]

I haven't looked at it properly yet, but the single item storage 'barrels' it allows look like a perfect solution to mid game resource clutter, including frame rate and server performance, and I've been wanting a backup generator that doesn't waste fuel since version nothing.

[MrGrudge]

I'm liking it: it took a bit of setting up but now I have an automatic hydrazine factory near one of my bases keeps running when I'm elsewhere and the extractors can get a lot more resources out of the ground than the drill did so less need for strip mining. It's also been a boon for resources that seemed to always been in short supply like Lithium, now I have a nice stockpile building all of the time so don't have to stop progress and go hunting for a new deposit every time I need to make more batteries or RTGs.

The new resource barrels let me transport a lot more resources back to base without having to mess around with annoying rover trains and such which is a big plus. Even the medium ones hold 32 items and you can fit several on a single large rover.

[Zordah]

I think it is good. I set up a simple mining operation here

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2145202859

Now I can go off and do something else while it works for me and just come back later to collect the results.

Resource cost wise its OK cause you can package it all up and move it elsewhere so you aren't really losing anything.

[Pink Ranger]

Nice, sounds good! I guess I was doubtful because until now my gameplay loop was build one megabase on starting planet, climb tech tree till I get to the biggest shuttle, RTG and rover with drills, and then just package that and a few basics up and fly planet to planet, digging to the cores. I never felt like "Man, I wish I had another 200 resin I'll never touch", which is why I asked my initial question. I might restart the game, see how it affects the initial progression curve, or maybe inspire me to make more bases on other planets

[Zordah]

I have it there more for the compound that is there as well. I need a heap of that for the exo trade platform event milestone

[Pahbi]

So far automation seems kinda neat.

I was able to use an auto arm to transfer scrap to the trade platform, then use another arm to transfer materials from the trade platform to a storage container. Way fewer clicks.

I was also able to use auto arms to transfer materials from Soil Centrifuge to a container. I'm pretty sure I can automate the soil centrifuge to come on when the container gets low on material, but its easier to just go over and push the button every so often.

- P

[[BRE] Vauquelin]

I started playing the game just now after automation update, and from what I understand resource silos and arms are new. (among other things ofcourse) auto arms are the most useful thing ever lol I feel bad for literally everyone who had to play the game without arms, doing everything manually.

[Lystent]

I have canisters laying around of aluminium alloy for making solid fuel jetpacks with. I used automation to fill them. Also, theoretically, canisters could act as fuel tanks for generators, as long as they are on the same platform, etc.

[Zordah]

Originally posted by Lystent:

I have canisters laying around of aluminium alloy for making solid fuel jetpacks with. I used automation to fill them. Also, theoretically, canisters could act as fuel tanks for generators, as long as they are on the same platform, etc.

This is exactly what I did to fuel my generator on Atrox powering my helium extractor. Put the canister containing carbon on the same platform as the generator with the canister set to enable output. It automatically drains and puts the carbon onto the empty slots on the platform which the generator automatically pulls new carbon pieces from :)

[BugIord]

has nobody mentioned the re-spawning research items? arms can move those into labs, giving a longer term passive research income

[[BRE] Vauquelin]

Originally posted by BugIord:

has nobody mentioned the re-spawning research items? arms can move those into labs, giving a longer term passive research income

This idea is brilliant

[HEADRAT]

Originally posted by BugIord:

has nobody mentioned the re-spawning research items? arms can move those into labs, giving a longer term passive research income

But to what end, I've unlocked everything so there is now no point in research?

I love the game, now have outposts on all the planets etc, unlocked all the research items. Don';t get me wrong I do like the automation update but "what's the point" with no further goals or missions etc?

[Hal9000]

it would be good if it worked, it works when testing on the beginning, on small base, but once you get your planets developed, its starts bug like hell, literally every production line stops working in seconds, you need to turn off and on each arm constantly, so sadly it is completely pointless and old good mining is the only way what works

[LexXxich]

It's a nice addition and it looks cool, but it's solving a problem most players do not have since the introduction of Creative Mode. I.e. if someone wants to build a huge project which would normally use a lot of resources, they can switch to Creative and get right to building, bypassing hours of prospecting and mining the veins/soil.

On the other hand, some problems it could solve weren't. Like, you can't automate printing Small modules and putting them on Medium Silos. Medium Silos full of Small Wind Turbines and/or Small Batteries are a huge upgrade over Medium Storages of the same and work super well with Automated Extractors' need for compact energy generation before you can afford many RTGs. Additional point for how a single Medium Battery can't feed an extractor to full capacity due to 3U/s output, but Medium Storage of Small Batteries can because of 8U/s output.

Indeed, I feel that while automation update gave more uses to underappreciated Zinc, it in general took away more usefulness from Medium energy-related modules. Their only point previously was that they use less resources, which are now much less of a problem.