Starbound

Starbound

Frackin' Universe
 This topic has been pinned, so it's probably important
Sayter  [developer] Aug 11, 2016 @ 9:53am
FU Quality of Life thread
Simple: What sorts of things would make life a bit easier / better in FU? Let's hear them ideas.

This is not a "cool stuff" thread, but rather , things to improve what exists.
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Showing 1-15 of 2,281 comments
Snuggly Wuggums! Aug 11, 2016 @ 10:10am 
As a general matter, I feel like removing some of the "Microcrafting" could do wonders.

With 1.0 adding crafting times, having to trudge through crafting components to make more components and waiting is a chore and a half.

So less microcrafting, or maybe there's a way to remove crafting time on components?
Sayter  [developer] Aug 11, 2016 @ 10:26am 
would much rather the reduced crafting time. i keep meaning to do that!
Arc_Empyreus Aug 11, 2016 @ 10:47am 
Originally posted by Snuggly Wuggums:
As a general matter, I feel like removing some of the "Microcrafting" could do wonders.

With 1.0 adding crafting times, having to trudge through crafting components to make more components and waiting is a chore and a half.

So less microcrafting, or maybe there's a way to remove crafting time on components?

unfortunately While this will be a huge undertaking for redoing recipes, I agree.

To craft some of the items I need a notepad just to breakdown and remember exactly what I need to make.

Consider This for a moment:

I needed 3x AI Chips for whatever reason for me and my buddy.

AI CHIP x3
  • x6 Quantum Processors
  • x3 Morphite Bars

MORPHITE BARS x3
  • x6 Morphite

MORPHITE x6
  • x24 Carbon
  • x6 Liquid Protocite
  • x6 Phase Matter
  • x12

PHASE MATTER x6
  • Kill Lots of Spoopy Eye Cats etc.

    or

  • x12 Raw Minerals
  • x12 Moonstone Ore
  • x6 Thorium Rods

THORIUM RODS x6
  • x18 thorium

AI CHIP x3
  • x6Quantum Processor
  • x3 Morphite Bars

QUANTUM PROCESSOR x6
  • x12 Advanced Processor
  • x6 Protocite Bars

PROTOCITE BARS x6
  • x12 Protocite ore

ADVANCED PROCESSOR x12
  • x24 Circuit Board
  • x12 Tungsten Bar

CIRCUIT BOARD x24
  • x48 Silicone
  • x24 Copper Wire

COPPER WIRE x24
  • x3~ Copper Bar (wierd since the Matter assembler gives you x9 each bar)

AI CHIP x3
  • x6Quantum Processor
  • x3 Morphite Bars

Phew...

so We had to consider 11 total recipes Just to make one. That's hard core.


So to prevent you Sayter from having to redo all of it I suggest instead of rebalancing them make a new system:

Discover at the Science Station for new materials/crafting

Create the newly discovered things at the matter assembler.

Holding the item wont unlock the recpie, only crafting the bluepint and and using it will create the easier method.

This solution keeps your current methods while allowing those who put in the extra work an easier life.
Last edited by Arc_Empyreus; Aug 11, 2016 @ 10:48am
Sayter  [developer] Aug 11, 2016 @ 10:54am 
explain. The last bit is vague, and that is the bit that matters. Explain the science station, and the virtues therein.
Arc_Empyreus Aug 11, 2016 @ 11:03am 
Originally posted by Sayter:
explain. The last bit is vague, and that is the bit that matters. Explain the science station, and the virtues therein.

So, The "Science Station" (Name Pending TM) Will allow players, who gather the initial extra resources, a method of simplifying recipes without elimitating the initial progression.

I want AI CHIPS.

When i Craft my first AI chip the traditional method, it unlocks a Recipe in the Science station:

AI CHIP RESEARCH

The research is, in spirit, the player discovering an easier method of crafting this object. Say the research Costs:

  • x2 Regenerative
  • x2 Monkey Spleens
  • x4 Pizza
  • x10000 Pixels

items dont matter in this example but when it's done and the players hold the research notes it unlocks a simpler method of crafting AI Chips with raw materials instead of crafted ones.

  • x3 Densium Bars
  • x300 Pixels

again, items dont matter in the example.

The important thing is that after the extra time spent the player now has a direct method of crafting the AI chips with Raw materials (1 recipe to consider) instead of dealing with 11 recipes.

Did that clear it up? Let me know I can be pretty rambly at times.


Sayter  [developer] Aug 11, 2016 @ 11:05am 
yes, that cleared it up.

All that said....part of the point of FU is to be a bit convoluted and complex. While I'm good with simplification it needs to have it's place. As ideas go, this is one of the better ones on how to deal with the issue that wouldn't actually require extensive rewrites. Just a crapload of duplicated recipes lol
Arc_Empyreus Aug 11, 2016 @ 11:09am 
Originally posted by Sayter:
yes, that cleared it up.

All that said....part of the point of FU is to be a bit convoluted and complex. While I'm good with simplification it needs to have it's place. As ideas go, this is one of the better ones on how to deal with the issue that wouldn't actually require extensive rewrites. Just a crapload of duplicated recipes lol

I agree, I love discovering the parts of FU that are complicated and the best way to make it work. Perhaps consider a Puzzle approach. Where players simply don't know the research and have to conduct it themselves, even if they fail and it consumes the item.

Consider the archeological minigame. If the players fail they only get bones.

Perhaps to keep the complexity you desire, the players could have to play a mini game of sorts to find the right combo of methods to get the research done.

That adds alot of work on your end but I think once players get good at the game they'll feel proud of their accomplishments with it.
Last edited by Arc_Empyreus; Aug 11, 2016 @ 11:10am
Arc_Empyreus Aug 11, 2016 @ 11:26am 
While I'm here I may as well mention my biggest pet-peeve with the game. Power.

oh power you salty tart.

Alright So the very first time I attempted to make battries and such I attempted to make my own little power plant. The problem with that is that in the vanilla game it limits the distance which wires can go.

My solution? Power Conduits.

These can take several forms

  • Simple Wall panels
  • Power Lines
  • Other... Thinggies...

Anyway all they would do would be a aesthetically pleasing object that acts as a middleman for wires to artifically extend their reach.

I do not know how far away from the player the Wires can before they are culled by the engine, but this will allow for making of Power farms and storage.

On another note:

  • More Methods of gathering power such as: Wind turbines, More better solar panels, etc)
  • More objects that utilize power (but that falls under "cool" so I wont get into any details here. I'm going to work up some extra power things to expand and adjust it)
Last edited by Arc_Empyreus; Aug 11, 2016 @ 11:29am
Bob of Mage Aug 11, 2016 @ 11:51am 
I'd like it if there was some place to buy low level augs early on. In the base game you don't get this until you are far into the story. In FU there is even more use for augs since you will be stwiching backpacks so often, and the main story goes foward a bit slower.

I'd also like it if more things unlocked when you have part of what it takes to craft them instead of one key item. I posted an example in another thread about how the magnets unlocks from the coil, and not the EM shielding. You could make the EM shielding and not get a clue about what to do with it.

Another good example is nitrogen being craftable using only plant fibres, yet you won't be able to refine it that way unless you find nitrogen from much rarer soruces.
Bob of Mage Aug 11, 2016 @ 12:02pm 
I'd also like to see more moons and planets per system. As it stands now it feel like you'd have to get lucky a find very many useful worlds in a system. I don't want to have to fly to a whole bunch of systems checking a whole bunch of biomes just to find something the RNG doen't want me to get (CF made this even worse with the requirement for the story quests needing you to scan cretain items).

I've also seen only seen one FU moon with anything on it besides fuel. And even with gas gaints I'm lucky to find more then three moons (half of which also just have more fuel). It'd be nice to see some more moons (they don't have to be "moon" biomes, just orbiting larger worlds) seeing how many there are in our own solar system.

Finally a better explaintion about what effects each armour gives. I've looked most of them up from Github at this point, but I can easily forget since there are so many.
Nekohime Aug 11, 2016 @ 12:51pm 
The Cloning lab could use some work. Some of the leaves and wood are mismatches and don't look right cactus & giant tree for example

Also super dense planets should have abundant densium and be tier 7.
Ultra Aug 11, 2016 @ 1:10pm 
Originally posted by Arc_Empyreus:
Originally posted by Sayter:
explain. The last bit is vague, and that is the bit that matters. Explain the science station, and the virtues therein.

So, The "Science Station" (Name Pending TM) Will allow players, who gather the initial extra resources, a method of simplifying recipes without elimitating the initial progression.

[...]

again, items dont matter in the example.

The important thing is that after the extra time spent the player now has a direct method of crafting the AI chips with Raw materials (1 recipe to consider) instead of dealing with 11 recipes.

Did that clear it up? Let me know I can be pretty rambly at times.


Loved the ideia. I love this mod, but I feel the pain of "grinding" sometimes. This would help a lot.
First time you have to do the full recipe, almost as if discovering it. After that you get a direct recipe to do it. Pretty good tbh
Sayter  [developer] Aug 11, 2016 @ 1:19pm 
Originally posted by Tamamo:
The Cloning lab could use some work. Some of the leaves and wood are mismatches and don't look right cactus & giant tree for example

Also super dense planets should have abundant densium and be tier 7.

Cloning Lab just takes seeds and combines them. It literally changes nothing that isn't already there. It has no need to change, since it does nothing to the vanilla stuff. Some mismatch, yes, but that is entirely up to the player based on what they mix :)


Super Dense planets vary , and are not always tier 7. Likewise, their ore table varies based on the biomes that load within them. This is not slated to change.
Quin Aug 11, 2016 @ 1:45pm 
Would it be possible to add FU plants/foods to the list of items you can sell at teramart shipments? This is the food selling object you can buy and place at your home.

Currently to sell FU foods, you have to make an extra trip to the outpost to find a merchant that will buy everything.
Sayter  [developer] Aug 11, 2016 @ 2:00pm 
its on the schedule, Quintal. It's just crappy and boring so ive been putting it off :)
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