I would like to see the Matter Manipulator operate on some kind of battery that (at the weakest level) works slowly and ineffectively, but when fully charged can rip through most things rather quickly. Having it charge wirelessly in the ship would be nice. So you could carry around batteries and manually recharge it, or hang out on your ship for a few minutes and recharge it that way.
I like crafting....crafting crafting crafting. Could I please ask Mr nice devs for 'blueprint drops' that lets you still craft pickaxes. They don't have to drop higher-than-current tier, they could only drop for a tier lower than you're currently at so they don't mess up with your manipulator progress. But it'd be nice to still craft them. Call it a 'crafting methadone'. Scientists need their fixes too
There are many interesting opinions here but I think criticisms aren't required for this one. The thematic appeal of using the MM is something that will improve the experience for anyone buying the game at release. Those jaded to lose the iconic pickaxe of our pixel-sandbox generation are just grieving, and it will pass. The choice to implement the axes as one-off rare drops builds upon the release experience as well, as a fanservice and homage to the games that inspired Starbound. Well thought out guys. Keep it up.
the MM vaporizes blocks and the pickaxe harvest ores. i like this and it makes sense. Just because the MM is high tech, doesnt mean its perfect and can separate resources from stone....but i dont think switching back and forth would be popular with the ADD crowd.[DOUBLEPOST=1411578144][/DOUBLEPOST] no its not. We still use a hammer today, even though we have jackhammers and the tech to make something advanced. Sometimes simple just works.
Is this the right time to shamefully admit that I never knew pickaxes were repairable until much later on...? I'd often just craft a new one, or keep using the atrociously slow damaged ones. So for me this works. Err... anyway nice work. Keep it going.
Holy crap. I have an idea. It's brilliant. Final upgrade for the MM makes it blue and is called Overcharged Matter Manipulator. (And maybe just for kicks make it able to hurt enemys. You know. Because this is a HL2 Overcharged Gravity Gun Reference)
Yes, like pneumatic and hydraulic tools. But we rarely use the simple hammer for anything but simple jobs. As Garatgh pointed out, the pickaxe would be primitive compared to a matter manipulator for the task of separating ore from surrounding stone or mineral. If you have a pneumatic jackhammer and you're tasked with the upheaval of a parking lot, would you bring your "simple" hammer?
The only reason someone would use a hammer is if they didn't own a nailgun or other advanced technology which replaces the hammer in the circumstances you'd need them in. There are a few instances when smaller or simpler tools work better, but that's usually because the job itself is very simple and creating a tool to make it easier has minimal or non-existent gains. Which correlates perfectly with what others are talking about - why use a more primitive technology when you've got something more advanced?
Please tell us that the manip will be changed back to starting out mining 4x4. 1x1 is way too tedious and annoying.
Going off this and what Maxwell Demonic said, you have power batteries for the manipulator and the prize for beating your race's respective mission (or whatever the final tier boss thing is) could possibly be the materials to build the overcharge battery for it, which would pretty much give you free reign to screw everything up. After all, why not? It'd give you something to do after the mission part of the game is over before you get bored and move on to your next character. I need to stop all this speculation, fun though it is. But all this does make me wonder... what's up with those locked slots on the toolbar in the nightlies? Maybe they are thinking about doing something like what we're talking about. Who knows, I'll just have to wait for 1.0 and see for myself. (edited for proper quote)
I think this is good, but I agree that I might like to see drills stay in the game, as a high tier alternative with less range or accuracy. And a mining laser would be cool. I would also really like to see explosives used in mining. I've had no use for any of the dynamite I've found, but making it good at clearing large numbers of blocks, or harder blocks might be nice. Maybe increasing the blast radius and making it a low tech crafting item could help facilitate this. It would have to be rebalanced, so perhaps the fuse time could be increased or damage against monsters decreased to keep it from being too good in combat. But if there is something it should be good at, it should be clearing dense blocks quickly. Another trade off could be that it might destroy certain types of ore, while being a good way to mine other types.[DOUBLEPOST=1411588169][/DOUBLEPOST]Also, would picks stay in the game? I see no reason they should be deleted, even if the MM is better. After all, a lot of native NPCs would still be using lower tech tools. And some people might prefer picks. I mean, the game is full of swords, bows, and axes, so a pick really isn't that out of place.
Perhaps we are making this too complicated. Perhaps make the mater manipulator a complex device that requires certain components to keep it operable ( it eats drills and pickaxes *wink* *wink*) Or perhaps a polymorphic material enables the manipulator to re-arrange internal components and materials to make a buzzsaw *(axe) or a jackhammer (pickaxe)
Yeah, I'm not sure why there's a lot of scrambling and over-complicating mechanics in order to keep pickaxes, a thematically redundant and overused visual element in games involving digging, as a major part of this game's digging mechanic, other than "it's how it was before". I mean, the Matter Manipulator, Starbound's unique-looking digging tool, will do the pickaxe's job, only with better range. You'll still get pickaxes (and probably drills) for potential short-term strength boosts, but really, the tool progression should start and end with the Matter Manipulator, and go back to the MM at several points along the journey. I really feel like the MM should be the digging mechanic's focal point, your ever-reliable tool that's always there for you. Sure, you can use other things from time to time, and at that point maybe they move material quicker... but they're not as good all-around as the MM. Those other tools break, or don't have the range, or risk catching you in an explosion. But not that MM. You can rely on that MM. Keeping the tool focus on the MM is a small but significant part of helping Starbound stand out. I bought into this game over others because I was interested in the "universe" it presented. I like the weird races and their quirks. I like the odd backstories. And I'm especially fond of the idea that my backwoods Floran has stumbled upon a Matter Manipulator, perhaps some piece of amazing technology from a lost advanced race, and thus propelling them into shenanigans. I don't get why one would want to prioritize lower-tech tools, especially when in the end it's LARGELY cosmetic anyway. I'm reminded of Patton Oswalt on the MP3 player: "It's a miracle and no-one cares!"
I want a high level upgrade for the MM that turns it into a screen-clearing plasma cannon..............
However, it needs at least 50 ingots of everything from Start to the "Tentacular" endgame sectors, and one Legendary item that can turn that MM into a feared device against the Tentacles.
In addition to requiring the matter manipulator to be charged via a battery or have an energy bar, You could make certain materials too volatile and dangerous to mine with the matter manipulator, That would require you to carry traditional tools for certain materials and help them remain useful in mid to late game mining even though they are slower than the matter manipulator. I haven't seen a Glitchen for years.. Go team Groddle.
How i would like it to work: Basic MM Picks Upgraded MM Drills Advanced upgraded MM Laser/Plasma what have you energy driller Ultimate upgraded MM This way you keep the picks useful early game, keep the MM relevant, and have progression for both. In the end you can have the MM for area mining, and the Laser/Plasma driller/cutter whatever you wanna call it, be for speedy/precision mining.
I love to see pickaxes going away as main gathering too. It didn't make sense sense to have them for too long. The problem with having pickaxes like that is the "Too Awesome to Use" paradigm. You may want to consider something that either forces to use the thing, or encourages using it. For example: * Make them work like Stars in Super Mario or the Hammer in Donkey Kong. You pick one, the effect is applied on pick up, you star mining extra fast, and can go crazy on those blocks. * Make them perishable over time. They "rust" if left in an inventory or chest for too long after they drop. * Make them buffs on your own tool that last for X hits. Or made them salvageable into materials usable for such buffs. * Introduce random and very rare higher grade blocks you would take ages to mine until the next tier. These dropped mining tools would be usable on those to get some early materials you can save for later as a head start when you reach the next tier.
Still dislike this: To me the matter manipulator was for things that weren't bound to the ground. It was for manipulating, not DIGGING. Digging with a pickaxe was satisfying - it shows that even though your character was clearly raised with high technology, they're more than willing to get their hands dirty, and smart enough to supply themselves. I recognize my voice is just one tiny voice in the wind, but I still miss that idea. I also liked the drill - to me that was fun and futeristic and hardcore, you know? Gritty. This is a glowy ball of light that does everything for you. It's not visceral or interactive. It's just sort of a let down.
Just throwing this here... What if you could choose which one you want to use and they all have different mining style. Pickaxe mine 3x3 Drill mine 2x4 but faster than pickaxe Matter Manipulator can switch to different mining size but slower
