Coal: A not so abundant resource.

So I find that, early game, after I defeat the UFO, I need Coal more than ever. My playstyle is more based in "Build my base so that it looks like someone is actually living there," and "Immerse yourself as if the guy you're playing as is you." Or as it's more well known, "RPing." Through this, I found a world I love so much, that I wrote down it's coordinates in case I lose it. It is now my main character's homeworld, and other than a minor cultist presence and a Floran prison, it's relatively untouched, and has so much natural beauty. But with the economy on smelting wood, and the few coal deposits I've located, I find that I'm spoiling my world a lot more than I want to.

Which brings me to my main point. Using ten logs to make one small piece of coal that can fit in your hand is really taxing, especially when you like staying in your home system, and not being a nomad. Given that you use coal for fuel and construction of torches and steel, I find that it's simply not plentiful enough. I really want there to be a more reasonable way to get coal, perhaps making coal production more of a 1:1 ratio instead of 10:1. Not only does this make the game more immersive, but it also prevents those who find their favorite planet from being boned out of resources.

Also, just as a sidenote, while we're on the subject of permanent homes, I'd like a function to rename my planet. i'm getting tired of calling it "Alpha Gamma Del 018 I a."

 

I do think 10:1 is a little heavy for how little fuel you're given. I know some people might say you can effortlessly gain 1000+ wood in less than 5 minutes, but I'm not really in the habit of mass deforestation, especially since for the moment there's no way to fix the now tree-less planet you just made for your travel needs. I'd think anywhere from 1:1 to 3:1 would be better.

 

Conversion would have technically been 1:1 at the beginning as wood could be used as fuel. If you just dig down coal becomes pretty abundant. I too didn't like cutting trees down on my planet as I wanted to keep it as pristine as I could (that is until my friends start hacking them down ).

 

I'd agree on a min. 5:1 wood to coal ratio, as you need coal for pretty much any metalmaking.

 

I do agree that its no fun nor immersive to deforest planets just for a few pieces of coal.
I think it should be increased in abundance just a little bit. and the wood to coal ratio should be perhaps 6 wood = 1 coal

 

You mean 2:1, as wood was worth 1 fuel, coal is worth 2 fuel.

Anyways, I'm fine with the 10:1 ratio, dropping it down to 8:1 or 6:1 is fine too. I'm rarely low on wood or coal, it takes moments to get 20-30 wood from a tall tree, so I just chop down the tallest trees I see while I explore.

 

From playing a lot, I think a 5:1 ratio would be good. Double the amount of coal you get from wood. Right now for every 100 logs, you get 10 coal. Make it so you 20 coal for 100 logs. 500 logs would get you 100 coal and one space flight to another planet.

That being said, Tiy has already talked about implementing an instant teleport to your homeworld, so this might not even be a problem in the long run.

 

Depends on the space flight, inside the same system it is pretty damn cheap. Which allows a player who planets hops with in a system to very very readily amass large amounts of coal and wood, add to that once you start getting the other fuel types you become less reliant on coal. As it stands right now I have found little need to deforest a planet to be able to continue, let alone use the wood to coal process.

 

It's not about Teleporting away from my homeworld. That's fine for the return, but I still want to see what's around my homeworld, as well.

I'm using Light Metal to construct my home, and I can never seem to find enough Apex Labs to raid in order to complete it. It's really a problem, and it makes me consume fuel pretty often.

 

Seems kind of alright to me at 10:1, but 5:1 wouldn't be a bad rate either.

I've mostly had to use it for steel refining because I normally dump coal right into my fueltank as its constantly empty. Took a bit to get the personal upgrades and then work on the botparts. Bit of a grind. It wouldn't have been but..

.. its a game about exploring. I enjoy switching planets often and finding weird stuff so, endup punished for it. I mine once in awhile but even then usually ended up using the wood I had onhand eventually just for fuel or coal. I think a better system might be to pump how much fuel each piece of coal gives us. Just bump it upwards a couple of notches so it adds up over a few pieces.

 

I agree, It should be 5:1 for now, considering how much trees you need to destroy.
10:1 seems more like a ratio that would fit if trees respawned, which they don't currently.

 

some planets have lots of coal some have a little coal just make sure when you move systems you are picking one with 5 planets. One of them will have a good amount of coal and to travel from planet in system only costs 1 fuel.

 

dude just move ur damn ass to planet T10 u can mine uranium which is like x 10 of fuel
and even more is there solarium which is like 100 x of coal , u need ~100 solarium for 1000 fuel tank

it takes like 5 minutes to get around 250~1k solarium on T10 planets , posting over and over same thing is waste of time

 

^Rather pointless post considering (I presume) that the OP is talking specifically about early to mid game when one does not have access to T10 planets etc etc etc.

 

I really have trouble seeing how you can't find enough coal to planet hop. 1 planet in system and like 50 in the same cluster.

 

Thank you for actually reading my post, unlike some people.

I'm seeing a lot of people throw around a 5:1 ratio. That may be a bit better, but the problem with that ratio is that it still causes unnecessary deforestation for those of us that like having a large amount of trees on the planet. That ratio wouldn't be so worrisome if trees respawned, which they eventually will, but if they can't code that in right away, they should at least give more coal.

A 3:1 ratio seems like a good and reasonable compromise.

When you consider that a portion of that coal, during early game, needs to go to the creation of Steel and Torches, you'll hopefully see that coal isn't nearly as abundant as it should be.

 

I agree completely. My last character started in a single world system, with almost no trees and no coal. It took me AAAAAAGEEES to get enough coal to leave that system.

On the up side, I had so much of the other ores I had no issues building anything after than

 

The main problem is that, when this happens to you, by the time you have enough coal, you have so much of everything else, that moving from your starter world seems pointless. You have so much ore you can do pretty much anything, until you need steel