Automating solved problems: Crystal Growth Chambers, Mineral Accumulators, Biocondensors (Try Two)
GlyphGryph
USA Join Date: 2015-02-19 Member: 201435Members
USA Join Date: 2015-02-19 Member: 201435Members
Wrote a big long effort post on this that got swallowed by the forum reset, so this one will be a bit shorter.
Intent of suggestion: Encourage and enable both novel exploration and construction by freeing up time spent scavenging in already explored areas for basic resources that are no longer particularly important in favour of pushing the player to spent their time pushing out further or actually building. To provide more opportunities for meaningful base development, and reasons to build additional bases in different locations. This also introduces the possibility for more advanced "decorative" base construction with resource costs that couldn't easily be otherwise justified, like diamond windows or aluminum furniture.
Proposal: Introduce several automation machines that work much like the current water filter, which generates water and salt. These machines will produce resources slowly but passively, meaning players will no longer have to spend hours dealing with the "solved problem" of, say, quartz gathering, even well into the end game, simply so they can build some windows.
Justification: The essential gameplay elements already exist in the forms of farms, fish breeding tanks, and the water filtration system. This merely builds on that base.
Details:
Environmental Analyzer:
This simple handheld device outputs the chemical makeup of the surrounding water, and let's you know how much time it would take to generate a unit of material for the appropriate machine in this area.
Crystal Growth Chamber:
The Crystal Growth Chamber a dedicated machine that generates a seeded type of crystal, generally used for quartz but also potentially used for Aluminum Oxide Crystals and even Uraninite Crystals in appropriate deepwater bases. The machine can only be acquired in the lava zone or lost river, and then must be "seeded" with 6 units of what you wish it to build more of. At this point, it will begin generating resources, averaging one or two per day and dumping them into a fairly large inventory bucket at the base of the machine. Uraninite Crystals will grow slowly, on the order of one every 8 days or so, unless built in an appropriate location.
Diamond Compression Chamber:
Basic biomatter goes in, diamond comes out. Have a surplus of fish or creepvine? Turn those ugly organic life forms into beautiful diamonds! Acquired in the same regions as the Crystal Growth Chamber, and works much the same way except that it occasionally needs to be reloaded with biomatter, doesn't need to be seeded, and the region it's built in does not effect generation rate. Produces a diamond every other day.
Mineral Accumulator:
Much like the Crystal Growth Chamber, except it does not need to be seeded. Produces all types of basic minerals simultaneously, including copper, silver, gold, lead, and crash powder - but the frequency at which each mineral is produced depends on the area, and some won't be produced in certain places at all. If you want to rely on Mineral Accumulators, expect to build a base in each region for the specific minerals you desire, and swing by occasionally to unload the machine.
Biomatter Densifier:
The final suggestion, this is the pinnacle of the farm/fish breeding infrastructure. The Biomatter Condenser produces long-lasting and nutritious energy bars - but the "nutritious" is very condition on what gets loaded into the condenser. Make sure to add a lage variety of fish and plants if you want bars on par with what the Aurora once produced! Figuring out the right balance for the best results is a small game in and of itself, and it encourages players to capture and raise fish they would otherwise ignore, and farm plants they would normally consider below par. Since the Filtration Machine machine and fish breeding area combined with long treks makes fruits largely obsolete for a while, this brings farming back into importance for the final step of the full industrial stack.
Intent of suggestion: Encourage and enable both novel exploration and construction by freeing up time spent scavenging in already explored areas for basic resources that are no longer particularly important in favour of pushing the player to spent their time pushing out further or actually building. To provide more opportunities for meaningful base development, and reasons to build additional bases in different locations. This also introduces the possibility for more advanced "decorative" base construction with resource costs that couldn't easily be otherwise justified, like diamond windows or aluminum furniture.
Proposal: Introduce several automation machines that work much like the current water filter, which generates water and salt. These machines will produce resources slowly but passively, meaning players will no longer have to spend hours dealing with the "solved problem" of, say, quartz gathering, even well into the end game, simply so they can build some windows.
Justification: The essential gameplay elements already exist in the forms of farms, fish breeding tanks, and the water filtration system. This merely builds on that base.
Details:
Environmental Analyzer:
This simple handheld device outputs the chemical makeup of the surrounding water, and let's you know how much time it would take to generate a unit of material for the appropriate machine in this area.
Crystal Growth Chamber:
The Crystal Growth Chamber a dedicated machine that generates a seeded type of crystal, generally used for quartz but also potentially used for Aluminum Oxide Crystals and even Uraninite Crystals in appropriate deepwater bases. The machine can only be acquired in the lava zone or lost river, and then must be "seeded" with 6 units of what you wish it to build more of. At this point, it will begin generating resources, averaging one or two per day and dumping them into a fairly large inventory bucket at the base of the machine. Uraninite Crystals will grow slowly, on the order of one every 8 days or so, unless built in an appropriate location.
Diamond Compression Chamber:
Basic biomatter goes in, diamond comes out. Have a surplus of fish or creepvine? Turn those ugly organic life forms into beautiful diamonds! Acquired in the same regions as the Crystal Growth Chamber, and works much the same way except that it occasionally needs to be reloaded with biomatter, doesn't need to be seeded, and the region it's built in does not effect generation rate. Produces a diamond every other day.
Mineral Accumulator:
Much like the Crystal Growth Chamber, except it does not need to be seeded. Produces all types of basic minerals simultaneously, including copper, silver, gold, lead, and crash powder - but the frequency at which each mineral is produced depends on the area, and some won't be produced in certain places at all. If you want to rely on Mineral Accumulators, expect to build a base in each region for the specific minerals you desire, and swing by occasionally to unload the machine.
Biomatter Densifier:
The final suggestion, this is the pinnacle of the farm/fish breeding infrastructure. The Biomatter Condenser produces long-lasting and nutritious energy bars - but the "nutritious" is very condition on what gets loaded into the condenser. Make sure to add a lage variety of fish and plants if you want bars on par with what the Aurora once produced! Figuring out the right balance for the best results is a small game in and of itself, and it encourages players to capture and raise fish they would otherwise ignore, and farm plants they would normally consider below par. Since the Filtration Machine machine and fish breeding area combined with long treks makes fruits largely obsolete for a while, this brings farming back into importance for the final step of the full industrial stack.
Comments
It'd need to have a spawn cap so you don't fill up an entire sea floor with something accidentally though.