Getting annoyed by prometheum

[GAMING_Alligator]

So I see three options for collecting and processing Prometheum, neither of which I'm loving:

1. Just store the asteroid chunks on the platform and process them into science back at Nauvis (Edit: I mean, in orbit). Kind of brute force, since you basically need to store them on long snaking belts for the kind of volume you need to make a reasonable amount of science, but ok, I guess it works.

2. Take the eggs along towards the Shattered Planet and process the chunks into science in real-time. This doesn't seem practical, since the eggs only last for 30 minutes, and that includes the time spent in the solar system even getting to beyond the system edge. Meanwhile, the platform itself is effectively speed limited once you get far enough out, since if you go too fast it gets quickly shredded, so this limits the amount of science you can collect per trip.

3. Option 2, but up-cycle the eggs into something else, store that on the platform, and recycle it into eggs as needed. This just feels hacky.

Somehow I feel like there's something missing in terms of game mechanics to reduce friction with endgame science. As it stands, there doesn't seem to be a clean solution to making it work (or am I missing something?). I guess at this point the game is technically "over", so it's really bonus endgame content that most players will never even see, but it would have been nice for it to be given a bit more TLC.

[argrond]

1. You cannot craft prometium bottles outside of space platform, zero gravity required.
3. You cannot get eggs from anything except artificial biter pool. And that pool cannot be placed on the platform.

So the only option is obvious.

[Fel]

Originally posted by argrond:

3. You cannot get eggs from anything except artificial biter pool. And that pool cannot be placed on the platform.

OP is talking about about making things like "Overgrowth jellynut soil" or "Overgrowth yumako soil" with the eggs (which takes 10 each and stack to 100) since those do not spoil.
You can then recycle them for 2-3 eggs each, so a stack of 100 would give you enough for about 25 (on average) cycles of promethium science packs.

You can definitely do that, not sure why you are so certain that it's not possible to get eggs that way.

[argrond]

Originally posted by Fel:

Originally posted by argrond:

3. You cannot get eggs from anything except artificial biter pool. And that pool cannot be placed on the platform.

OP is talking about about making things like "Overgrowth jellynut soil" or "Overgrowth yumako soil" with the eggs (which takes 10 each and stack to 100) since those do not spoil.
You can then recycle them for 2-3 eggs each, so a stack of 100 would give you enough for about 25 (on average) cycles of promethium science packs.

You can definitely do that, not sure why you are so certain that it's not possible to get eggs that way.

Does not make much sense tbh, both soils, prod modules 3 and other biter-egged products are costly and demand too much of backward recycle to have a chance to get some eggs you can simply send to space and put some defences around just in case. What will OP do with by-components? Send back to Nauvis for re-use? Demands additional transporting from already overloaded landing pod.
Nah, feels like too much work for too little profit. Fusion reactors will provide with enough power to supply 10-12 teslas in space, since fusion cells are dirt cheap and 1 rocket can carry 50, not 10 like nuclear cells.

[RiO]

Option 4:
You can load up the prometheum chunks into cryo plants fabricating the science bottles, then manually recipe switch them to anything else. The prometheum ends up in output trash slots. Then you switch the recipe back to the science bottles and lo and behold; new empty input slot.

Repeat as necessary.

Sadly only works manually, but you can literally store millions upon millions of chunks inside the trash slots of one cryo plant.

Originally posted by argrond:

What will OP do with by-components? Send back to Nauvis for re-use?

No- you'd just chuck them overboard, because in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter anymore.

[Fel]

You can dump the seeds into space (their stack size is too small), the soil can either be kept and used to make more when you reach Nauvis to drop the science packs and make more.

The soils are not that costly if you have a proper setup, but it's not so much about the cost and more about the fact that it is possible, unlike your earlier claim.
We are talking about end-game setups here, costs are not necessarily the main concern anymore at that point.

No matter what you end up picking as a solution you will need to do relatively complex stuff and funny enough recycling for eggs might end up being better than transporting the non-stackable asteroid chunks all the way back to at least Nauvis and either send them down then up on a different platform or get the eggs up.

With the soil, you can do the exchange on Aquillo, stockpile the soils there, get the science packs (and possibly other items to make the soils from recycling) and send the platform back to farm the asteroids from the shattered planet's route way sooner.

If you feel that it's not worth the cost, nothing is forcing you from doing it that way, but there are pros for doing it.

[Fel]

Originally posted by RiO:

Option 4:
You can load up the prometheum chunks into cryo plants fabricating the science bottles, then manually recipe switch them to anything else. The prometheum ends up in output trash slots. Then you switch the recipe back to the science bottles and lo and behold; new empty input slot.

Doesn't the machine require the output slots to be emptied before being able to accept a new recipe?

[argrond]

Originally posted by Fel:

You can dump the seeds into space (their stack size is too small), the soil can either be kept and used to make more when you reach Nauvis to drop the science packs and make more.

The soils are not that costly if you have a proper setup, but it's not so much about the cost and more about the fact that it is possible, unlike your earlier claim.
We are talking about end-game setups here, costs are not necessarily the main concern anymore at that point.

No matter what you end up picking as a solution you will need to do relatively complex stuff and funny enough recycling for eggs might end up being better than transporting the non-stackable asteroid chunks all the way back to at least Nauvis and either send them down then up on a different platform or get the eggs up.

With the soil, you can do the exchange on Aquillo, stockpile the soils there, get the science packs (and possibly other items to make the soils from recycling) and send the platform back to farm the asteroids from the shattered planet's route way sooner.

If you feel that it's not worth the cost, nothing is forcing you from doing it that way, but there are pros for doing it.

Nah, I thought he wanted to place bio matters on platform, that's why the answer.
Still trying to get why complicate simple matters.
If cost does not matter as you say, why not place 200 teslas/lasers throughout the platfrom to ensure its safety? Prom chunks are collected in space, quantum is better to be done in space since you exclude Aquilo exchange (only getting lithium plates from it), only natural to just send the 3rd needed ingredient there and just do it (taking in accout that prom bottle can be done exclusively on platform). It's not like eggs are hatching at the same time altogether, I'm sure any end-game platform can survive 5-7 hatched eggs per shot.

[Fel]

Originally posted by argrond:

Nah, I thought he wanted to place bio matters on platform, that's why the answer.

He specifically said "upcycle" and "recycle it into eggs" though.

It's not really about safety either, it's about the fact that eggs spoil so there is a hard limit to the time you have (30 minutes from when they are produced).
Nauvis being kind of far from the edge, it would greatly limit the amount of time that could be spent farming asteroids.

The whole point of that "3" from OP is to try to maximize the time spent farming for the asteroids while trying to not just transport the chunks back since they don't stack and would end up taking a lot more space.

[knighttemplar1960]

Its end game. You have every thing and pretty much an endless supply of materials. Build multiple platforms and just keep cycling them.

[RiO]

Originally posted by Fel:

Originally posted by RiO:

Option 4:
You can load up the prometheum chunks into cryo plants fabricating the science bottles, then manually recipe switch them to anything else. The prometheum ends up in output trash slots. Then you switch the recipe back to the science bottles and lo and behold; new empty input slot.

Doesn't the machine require the output slots to be emptied before being able to accept a new recipe?

Only if you automate things via the set recipe circuit support.
Not if you do it manually.

If you do it manually from remote view, everything in the inputs just moves into trash slots.

[Fel]

Oh, that's good to know and pretty helpful, thanks.

[oyssoyss]

only practical way is store them in all types of underground belts weaved together. remember to fill both side. one trip I could make more than 20k science.

[info]

Use this one: https://factorioprints.com/view/-OFyau26gxLZCqpNqc-V

Works like magic!

[knighttemplar1960]

Originally posted by info:

Use this one: https://factorioprints.com/view/-OFyau26gxLZCqpNqc-V

Works like magic!

Why not design your own? This is just paying to let someone else play the game for you. I went with an extremely wide platforms so it moves slowly and I can pack it full of weapons so it takes little damage. I have 2 separate sets of engines so that it boosts quickly until it reaches Aquillo and then shuts off one set of engines until it gets back to Aquillo and the other set of engines kicks back on again to speed it to Nauvis.

Nested underground belts for promethium storage on platform. It gets enough eggs that it can travel for 30 minutes making science and when it runs out of eggs it turns around and collects promethium on the way back. When it reaches Nauvis it dumps the science it made on the way out and receives more eggs. It processes all the promethium stored on the belts, ships that science back down, gets a full fresh shipment of eggs, and heads back out again.

2 identical platforms means there's always one in orbit shipping science down.

[MAX]

It's possible for a space platform to run at top speed (above 400 km/s without stacking thrusters) between the Solar System Edge and Shattered Planet, you just need quality rail gun and rocket turrets, and a huge factory for producing explosive rockets. At this speed, eggs spoiling really isn't a concern.

For reference, the distance between Nauvis and the Solar System Edge is 145,000 km. At 410 km/s speed, it will take less than 6 minutes to travel that distance. The eggs will still have about 24 minutes left before being turned into science packs.

If you want to go faster, try stacking the thrusters. You can get over 700km/s speed with 3 rows of thrusters, and even faster with more rows.