The stone picaxe is an upgreade over high tech lazer miner thing just fiels wierd. Why don't we put into that descripton of the matter manipulator, that it was made for "carving" purposes rather than mining? Because of that it isn't very fficient when mining big clumbs of matter. Is this something that could work? It just kinda gives me more the feeling of "grab whatever you can and run" while you fled from your home planet. And it sorta explains how you manage to make a decent pickaxe without much tools.
Nothing about the description of the matter manipulator says "This is the ultimate mining tool, and obviously outclasses a horrid stone pickaxe". It says "Manipulates anything that matters". You can manipulate, free of charge, at a slow and steady rate. Also, the suggestion forum would likely be the best place for you to post suggestions, mate!
1.Yeah the suggestions forum is the way to go. Sorry I forgot! 2.But people aseume so because it has lazers and mines, it being less efficient then a stone pickaxe just feels wierd. Putting this in the desc would clear that up for a lot of people.
The matter manipulator is like a swiss army knife. Yes, it may have a sawblade, but using it to cut down a big tree would take a long, long time. The way I see it, mm is a low-power multi-tool for item placement and emergency use. It has great range, but not much oomph.
It's not very important (I think) but it is extremely weird that a device that apperantly is able to manipulate matter at what seems to be molecular levels would be worse at shaping/breaking rock than a pickaxe made of stone. Pickaxes are actually pretty horrible mining tools and are mostly usefull for digging thrue hard dirt, not rock.
Perhaps, but instead of "carving", it might be better to have it say some flavor text (different for each race) such as "It'll get the job done, but just barely." or "Stonic: we do what we must because we can.".
But "It'll get the job done, but just barely." still doesn't imply it wasn't made for mining. And that was kinda my point, that it should say it wasn't made for mining, because otherwise why would it be so advanced yet so bad?
Then it also needs to say that it wasn't made for sexual gratification of squids, as it wasn't designed for that, and because it is such an advanced piece of technology it really should be obvious that it should do that, right? I don't think the devs need to add labels to everything to tell people what things don't do. I think when you first play through the game, and think "Wow, it takes FOREVER to cut down a tree with this thing!", and then you make yourself a nice stone axe and it happens quickly, you make the conclusion that, hey, the matter manipulator is NOT really a tree-felling device. Or at least, I made that conclusion rapidly and without the confusion and suffering it seems most other people have had. Perhaps I'm a glitch, as it were?
Changing the description does nothing for the item. You assume a moron would continue to use the matter manipulator to mine because there is no "caution" sign, if you will. I think people can figure it out by using it.
Maybe we should rename it: Low gravity field generator. Rather then matter manipulator. Seem to imply a more.. Slowly pulling trees out of the ground and objects, but can't generate enough force to break stone quickly. It can lift heavy objects, but they aren't rooted to the earth itself. People might get the idea easier that it isn't a perfect tool for causing structural damage to harvest material.
The matter manipulator's primary functionality is to displace and accurately position heavy objects. It's more literally a gravity gun first and foremost. The fact that it can break apart things is probably an unintended but still useful feature of the tool that people use in emergency survival situations, or to prune their garden. Hacking down trees and sawing through rock isn't beyond it's capacity, it's just not its intended function. We'd probably be carrying a rifle/bazooka sized matter manipulator if it was. As for describing this to newbs, I'm pretty sure curiosity will strike them pretty darn hard when they see a stone pick axe crafting option.
Darn I got my squid all worked up for nothing! I have to agree though, once people see that their are other tools that do the job better they should naturally know that the mm is not the best for something just kind of good at everything.
I do believe what you say is true and should honestly be logical to everyone, but I don't think it translates on the average human. Take the "there is no excuse for this" thread for example. Most people don't make this assumption.
People sooner think "high-tech = wonder tool" and don't realize how illogical that is, so perhaps the description should say something to steer players clear from that thought. Something like... "Your trusty multi-tool. Works on a pinch, but don't expect much from it." I guess the fundamental problem, the ultimate source of this misconception, is that we're talking about an entirely science-fictional item with a too grandiose name: MATTER MANIPULATOR! Surely it must do great things. But no, that was likely but a marketing ploy from the shrewd manufacturer.
Yup, I was straight up mad when I started the game and realized I had to use stone age tools in a space age game. Got over it, but there's gotta be some more backstory to get people to suspend the disbelief.
I'd like to see an upgradeable matter manipulator. pickaxes are so last millenium! or, the other way round, the matter manipulator should be the highest tier of tool for mining and stuff so one has to start with stone pickaxe, then drills and sticky (aimable) explosives, going to mechs for really hard mining and then the matter manipulator for extended range and epicness ! I mean, I've never seen a teleporting, lasergun and spacesuit using pickaxe miner ..
