One of the recent threads inspired this idea: Instead of having raw materials smelted once and then forged into items, the higher Tier the item is the more intermediate manufacturing processes should go into it. My example in another thread was: Molecular-Dissasembly Beam (Tier 10 Mining Tool): requires 10 units graphene thermoplastic, 4 units nanogel circuits, and 1 unit synthetic sapphire. Each of those three components would be "Third tier" components and have three steps to manufacture. For example, Graphene Thermoplastic: requires 2 units graphene (make from Coal > Coke > Graphene) and 2 units thermoplastic (made from oil > refined hydrocarbons > thermoplastic). So under this system, raw materials would be "Zero-Tier" materials and each crafting step would convert one or more 'N -1' tier items to a single N tier item. A great effect of this would be that you couldn't pack it all into your ship - even with larger ships. You would be forced to either 1) make a factory planet(s) or 2) FIND AN INDUSTRIAL PLANET and buy materials and complete the final steps. Seriously, we need industrial planets - it's weird to wander around the galaxy and not find any.
I think there's a huge amount of scope for building in recipes like this in future releases - I hope the devs will be considering variations on this theme for higher tier stuff (as well as finding uses for stuff like tar, slime etc.)
I don't find this positive gameplay-wise. See, who would actually like having to craft a bazzillion items just for crafting a tool? What you suggest is that we make progress tedious and repetitive. You are throwing stones on your own roof going with So I would have to craft coke, then graphene, then refined hydrocarbons, then thermoplastic, THEN graphene thermoplastic, then obtaining god-knows-how nanogel circuits, if not crafting them like the previous material, and then a synthetic sapphire. Estimate a couple seconds for each step as you do the clicks and search for stuff in the menu (which I'm being generous) and you have that to craft a mining tool you spend 14-16 seconds. I would personally fall asleep mid.crafting and forget what I was about to do. HOWEVER I agree with the part concerning craft-worlds and forge-cities and so on
But we are talking about high level players developing the ultimate in stabby-stabby here. So why not have to craft multiple items and hunt down those rare resources to get the most über of gear? We're talking about something that would take an investment of time and energy by the player sure, but if you make those really high level items worth it, people will do it. Could also think about taking the EVE route, where crafting stuff takes real world time. That's a bit of a different model though, and based on different requirements.
I agree with it should be more than just Iron Bars > Pickaxe, (that's a bad example I know), the hugest HECK NO to the EVE comment though. This is not EVE or a Facebook game, time spend should be finding the materials and making them into something that resemble parts for what you want to build. Not waiting for it to actually be made. Yes, the advanced materials/parts add to the immersion and more sci-fi feel for me. As well as the techno-babble is cool. Polysynthetic whats? Oooooh, shiny. Even if making Coal into coke would be a Coke Oven with the same mechanics as the Furnace/Campfire and turning Coke into Graphene would be a 'Grinder' you made at an earlier tier to crush the Coke into Graphene with the same mechanics as a Furnace, so it is not too tedious, but it's not taking Iron Bars and banging them into a Molecular-Dissasembly Beam.
EVE has a completely different business model - it wasn't the best comparison to make, in retrospect. There are always going to be players who hunt endlessly for every single base material they require and then sit there for five minutes mashing the craft button, but to me that's kinda of missing the point - I'd rather have late tier items have a complex crafting route in order to make them, and have to hunt down the right materials. Make crafting it feel like a milestone.
Yes, the original example was meant to be the equivalent of endgame crafting content - so it should be hard to work for. If you think about Terraria and how long it took you to assemble the various components for Hamdrax? This would be equivalent to that. But instead of hunting disparate components (like Souls in Terraria) down the inclusion of a manufacturing pipeline is more suited to a high-tech Sci-Fi setting. So ultimately, the materials are common, but the techniques are what are hard to acquire - perhaps requiring a research lab system of some type (using rare ingredients for different schematics as a way to level-limit progress like with the current tier system). If one of the major gameplay elements is that we start out at a Stone-age/medieval tech level and progress to intergalactic tech level it should look the part! High-tech civilization production lines can't be packed into a ship the size of a Semi!
Ultimately we just need the ability to create synthetic/hybrid materials. I'm perfectly okay with this not leading to upgraded tools until we get into the post-release updates to Home Planets, Terraforming, etc. At which point having a faster/better personal tool is less important than in-game mass-production. At some point though it almost becomes irrelevant to have some of this in game unless it does lead to more content somehow, doesn't it? That's what I'm worried about. At some point all the cool stuff we want in the game is just content creep. But rather than boot up a future planet editor to do all kinds of things, it would be nice to able to DIY in game with luxury built from a long process of upgrades and trial and error. Just has to be done right.
