Drone Problem

[picklegreen]

I'm just starting out in the game and i've been trying to follow the in game guide under 'getting started' it goes well until i build my base, i'm careful NOT to stand on top of the base or push Y on it but as soon as place all the pieces for my base (e.g generator, large constructor..) i get a warning that drones are on the way to attack my base and I only have a little pistol which seems to have no effect.
the drone just keeps hunting me down and killing me before i can get anywhere in the game :-(
HELP?

[picklegreen]

it's really frustrating me, how am I supposed to achieve anything in this game with this stupid drone following me around, I've started a new game 3 times now and the same thing happens everytime, I build a base, a drone comes, i spend the rest of the game running away and being killed. STUPID GAME!

[Viking]

Try to get all you need to make 1 or more turrent before you start up your new base,, best way to keep your base safe

[Cthalpa]

Huh, we didn't have that problem when me and my friend started out, but our base was inside of one of the pieces of the crashed titan, so I guess we were safe? Best option is probably plop the survival constructor down, get some ammo, then level up once or twice to unlock the big constructor and assault rifle, then go nuts on those silly drones

[Viking]

If you have water close, you can hide in it and drones cant see you, easy to take them out if they cant see you:)

[ArnMan]

Use your little pistol and charge the drones. Get very close. Here is my advice. Do not build a base until you are level 3 (planet Akua). Find a magnesium ore deposit not too close to an alien base, especially the drone base, if you can. Mine the magnesium (don't bury yourself) and go up a level or two if you can. Build the base near the magnesium once you are level 3 and build an assualt rifle. Assault rifle kills drones at about 130m range. OK, what if you only have the little pistol - try to hide behind the rock and come out enough to get their attention so they come to you. Then charge them and shoot with the little pistol. It helps if you can get directly under them as they can't aim at you and have to wiggle around giving you time.

...and what he said below :)

[CouchRiot]

Starting pistol takes about 2 to 2 and a half clips to down a drone...just get under it and shoot up. As far as the base goes? have the components you need for a turret, ammo box and ammo ready to toss into your constructor once it is down and active. While it is crafting build a roof or tower to put the turret on. You can find what you need to make it in your tech tree. Just make sure you are high enough level to place everything before putting the base down. Get your turret up, make sure to activate it by touching it, go to your power management and set it for whatever targets you want to hit...after that you should be golden.

[CouchRiot]

Originally posted by ArnMan:

Use your little pistol and charge the drones. Get very close. Here is my advice. Do not build a base until you are level 3 (planet Akua). Find a magnesium ore deposit not too close to an alien base, especially the drone base, if you can. Mine the magnesium (don't bury yourself) and go up a level or two if you can. Build the base near the magnesium once you are level 3 and build an assualt rifle. Assault rifle kills drones at about 130m range. OK, what if you only have the little pistol - try to hide behind the rock and come out enough to get their attention so they come to you. Then charge them and shoot with the little pistol. It helps if you can get directly under them as they can't aim at you and have to wiggle around giving you time.

lol....what he said.

[GlassDeviant]

The first thing you need to do is abandon the idea of starting a base the moment you hit the ground, especially with the interim tech tree.

You don't have to plant your Survival Constructor right away, but I try to find a site I'd like to start my base at immediately if I can and set the SC near that location so I can dump all the crap from the escape pod in it (except what I will need for running around). If you are not on Akua, you should also plant your O2 Generator in the water nearby (you definitely want to be near water, you have three intermediate products and innumerable end products that come from this resource).

Make note of where you put your Survival Constructor as it is NOT marked on the map or minimap, so if you can't find it again you are totally fubared, game over man.

Queue up a few things you will soon need in your Survival Constructor: about 20 job lots each of Metal Plates and Metal Pieces, 42 lots of Metal Components, 39 Electronics, 16 Control Devices and 22 cables. This will all be needed pretty soon so you might as well have them ready.

Now...run around like an idiot collecting everything that isn't moving under its own power, as this gets you XP to level up, which gives you RP to unlock items in the tech tree (O). You will want to keep everything that stacks, plus a few Corn Dogs (don't ask) and one or two of those tube-shaped groupings. Corn Dogs are food and the other thing is a small heal item. The rest are throwaway items as they will perish (rot) very quickly and you haven't a fridge to put them in yet.

Once you have enough XP and levels to unlock the Assault Rifle in the tech tree (level 3 minimum iirc), unlock it and head to your Survival Constructor. Queue up at least 200 rouinds of 5.8mm ammo (that is 8 job lots, as there are 25 rounds in each lot) and look at what you will need to build a Base Starter Block, Small Generator, Small Fuel Tank and Large Constructor. ALso make about 20-40 Hull Blocks to get started on your base and shield those critical components. This is where some of that stuff you made earlier will come in handy. There may be a few intermediate parts you need to make to get those items built. Make few lights too, it gets really dark at night.

Once you get that Base Starter Block in place, the drones will start coming (it used to be when you powered up your generator, I don't know why this has been changed), so you want that Large Constructor up and building your Assault Rifle right away, and grab the 5.8mm ammo from the Survival Constructor that you had previously made.

[Larkspur]

Make sure you start on Akua, its a lot easier. Select a nice spot for your base - it's good to have both iron and magnesium nearby as you will need these for ammo. The pistol can kill drones just fine but obviously it's a lot weaker than other weapons (don't forget to press 'r' to reload). When making your base - the best thing to do is to build a cannon turret ASAP to defend your base - don't forget that you can use the turret manually. Have the materials ready to make a turret and ammo as soon as you start your base. If you can get at least one turret up, it should take care of the drones. Don't forget to build an ammo box for it and put the proper type of ammo in the ammo box otherwise it won't have ammo and the turret will be useless. Repair your base after every attack. Load up on pixie stalks (a plant resource) and/or use medpacks to heal yourself. Avoid going away from your base at night since there are nasty creatures out there. Try to do your mining during the day until you are able to build a hover vessel (HV) or small vessel (SV) that can help defend you. HVs can have automated turrets. I know it can be frustrating but once you get a decent base going and get some good weapons and plenty of ammo, you'll be all set.

[Larkspur]

Also - Backup your save often! That way if something horrible happens you can revert back to an older save point. Horrible things definitely happen :)

[Knightmare]

build your base, just dont power it on until you are ready to fight a drone as powering it on is what summons them, I usually just build the starter and a few cargo boxes until I am ready for some drones then I place the generator and fuel tank and power them on when I got enough ammo ready.

[picklegreen]

ok so i couldn't seem to get to level 3 without building the base, so i just quickly placed some blocks over as a roof and hid underneath, when the drones were low enough I managed to shoot them with the pistol (which leveled me up to 3 lol) thanks for the help guys.

[GlassDeviant]

Here is a good starting seed for Akua planet: 105801. Almost all minerals are within detection range of the pod landing site, those that aren't can be found by walking to the Iron deposit.

[ArnMan]

Originally posted by Knightmare:

build your base, just dont power it on until you are ready to fight a drone as powering it on is what summons them, I usually just build the starter and a few cargo boxes until I am ready for some drones then I place the generator and fuel tank and power them on when I got enough ammo ready.

Power on means no difference, the drones attack even if not powered on now - tested it a few times and they attack a core, generator, fuel tank that has never been powered on.

[crgzero]

Build over water, when drones come jump in the water and shoot them. Depending on your accuracy one clip will kill most drones. Loot the goodies which at that stage is a godsend and continue on your way. It's RARE that the drones will attack anything but you at that stage of the game. So just get in the water.