Running out of project ideas

[michaeljhuman]

This game burned brightly in my life. I put in so many wasted or loving hours, depending on your point of view since fall 2020. But I ran out of interesting projects. I did try to figure out the mechanics behind building belt limiters out of combiners and splitters. But the feedback becomes unpredictable, as splitters have their outputs blocked, and it starts to overflow onto the wrong belt. So after a fair number of hours, I gave up on that as being unpredictable. Of course splitting with no feedback into combiners works mathematically, again, as long as splitters are not blocking. So splitting to some multiple is not a problem. I am not architecturally creative, so am not into building those beautiful enclosed factories I see online. So now it would be just...more. Like more rocket engines for more tickets for some statues :) I really want to clean up my conveyer runs, which are sometimes a bit of a rats nest. But my best idea is running multiplexed belts, which always ends in a lot of waste, because unless I run a complete loop, at some point I have to sink all the unused materials. My buddy did run a full loop, and I admit it was elegant. But he ran belts EVERYWHERE, no tractors, trucks, trains or drones. I guess I could consider a train loop, but I don't like trains due to all their restrictions. They are really nice for shipping a lot of stuff point to point at high speed though. Maybe I just wait until update 6, or general release. This is not a knock on the game, it's one of the most fun games I have played in almost 50 years of gaming ( as I am 56, and pong came out in 1972.)

[Pan Darius Cassandra]

I've barely touched this game. Tried it once. I'm waiting for them to add some kind of goal or pressure to actually build stuff. As far as I can tell, there's no actual reason to do anything in the game yet.

[michaeljhuman]

There's lots of goals. The tiers where you unlock stuff. And the phases where you prove you can build a lot of specific stuff. There's not really a reason to do anything in a video game ever, but there are definitely goals. Just lacking a story line, which is planned.

[lpnlizard27]

Your next project should you choose to accept it...

Is building a docking terminal at one of the giant manta locations for easy ride access.

[michaeljhuman]

I kind of did that, lpnlizard. I have a factory whose top floor is right underneath the manta's path. I did go for a few rides. It was very cool. But that's only one location. I could build a network of hypertubes linking to platforms along manta routes.

[nfgman]

I don't understand. How do you get from one corner of the map to the other without trains. Walk? Hypertube cannons? If you're not around the map, there's tons of projects to do.
Let me guess that you have one turbomotor and one supercomputer manufacturer because that's all you really need. Try 8 or 9 or 16. That will keep you busy for a while.

Don't get me wrong. I'm in a similar position, not because of lack of possibilities but running low on resources for the end game.

[Twelvefield]

Beta-test and try to break the game. Swamp the devs with reports. That's the most helpful thing you could do in my opinion.

Other than that, I guess just wait. The in-game economy, the tiers and their goals, and whatnot are almost certain to get changed from major updates.

Play left-handed?

[Arch]

My current project is to create a warehouse that holds all the items in the game I'd want to have available for manual construction, and supply that warehouse entirely using drones. That's turning out to be a decently large project, requires lots of battery production, and a good amount of power/space for all the drone ports. No particular reason for this project, just something I wanted to do -- so it may be an idea for you, as well.

[LazerRay]

That is part of the idea, come up with your own projects while you wait on other machines to fill up containers for larger tasks.

I tend to tweak a tune my supply lines to better organize them and make it easier to split off new lines if I need those parts for another machine, cleaning up my cables is another thing so I can trace my power and lighting grids more easily, constructing buildings around major areas, adding lights, or just redoing platforms to improve the looks of my factory is another thing I do, and every so often I go out to slug hunt or search for crash sites.

I constructed a building dedicated for a bunch of power storage units, that took a while to finish, but now I can run my entire factory of batteries for at least an hour if my power generators get accidentally disconnected (I have a few remote locations for these).

My last project was to finally get all of my coal generators onto a single platform, instead of my original split level design, that took some figuring on how to move half of those generators and adjust the platform itself to clean up that area.

You just have to find or com up with something to do while major production lines are running, and there is any number of possible things to kill time, its just up to you how to do it.

[EntreNous]

Also 56 here, Pong was my first game too. I have nearly 800 hours in this game. Definitely one of my favorite games of all-time but I haven't played it in months.

I completed the game (twice I think), got my golden coffee cup, then spent many more hours tweaking and putting the finishing touches on my world. Then I stood there trying to figure out what to do next........ That's when I realized there was nothing left for me to do here in this beautiful world I created. So I just left.

I still keep up with the game on a daily basis and hopefully one day I will be drawn back into it.

[Rymorea]

Wow so many middle age like me. I am 55 also. I touched to start keyboard with commodore vic 20 with 1.5 KByte of ram so much memories of that time in gameing area. When I found this game just searching new games without combat. Start wright away and now nearly 600 hours. I am a bit of perfectionist so no rush, and like to solve without wiki so till 5-6 tier almost do targets handcraft. nearly reach 300 hours to read wikis and watch youtube and I see I am a noob at this game. Start mass deconstract all put them at storages get some paper for plans open excell. Now reach tier 9 not start nuclear yet. So I ahve a some thing to do. But this game really needs story some side targets / quests. I don't like big / mega factories so for one item one factory. A lot of conveyor / tractor / drones not much train.
This game keep me busy 3-4 hours a day, but last mounts not playing much instead watching youtube twichtv gaming sessions. Like so much their insperations design style ideas, I hope some day devs say ok this is ver 1.0 then I start from the beginning till then just check forums.

[❤ Sly Succubus ❤]

I did a fun challenge recently and note it served almost no use till I completed it. My idea was to make a rail that went around the map. Now context here: I dont mean on land, I literally took a rail system into the sea and painstakingly dragging it from the northern oil field over to near the forest via the ocean, to the western desert still via platforms over the ocean to the islands, down to the waterfall area, to the fields, over the void to the crater, to the abyssal cliffs, to the swamp and then had to go ALL THE WAY AROUND NORTHERN EASTERN DESERT OVER THE VOID then back to the field.

The reason I did this was just to originally see if I could but once I had it operational (or rather just completed the loop) I then went over the void near the fields and made a base over it and hooked it to the railline and basically discovered I had accidently invented train travel over the entire map out of a joke challenge.

Here's something else I did, exploring underwater. The way you can glitch the game is by going to a nearby body of water and building a single latter then jumping into the water. Before you surface, grab onto the latter and climb down to the water floor and jump off and you'll discover that water no longer understands floating, I used this to explore some glitched out areas or rather hard to access caves, heck I even did this in the doggo cave just to walk on the bottom of the dark caverns floor.

[kLuns]

Try compact build chalenges and run out of the spawn areas.

I'm trying to make a hardcore 3x3 with materials entering at one layer
with the goal making anything non radioactive that fits inside,
I started in the dune desert and run off to a nice island on the spire coast.

I'm still overthinking if I permit myself to make 3x4 exceptions for buildings which are too tall
(coal generator for example). I might allow belts and pipes on the outside with refineries and manufacturers because there is probaly no other way.
It's a headsache sometimes but I like the pain somehow :P

In this game you are supposed to chalenge yourself, not to complete a chalenge the game gives you.

I have started a new game to start this compact tower on a resource node chalenge, it's a fun thing to try out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBZEGmyJpxs

[michaeljhuman]

Enjoyed all the comments!