Studying the Electronic Logbook

Hi all,

Your standard “long time lurker, first time poster” deal here, so please be gentle. I brought this topic up in the chat a few days back, but a dev jingled some keys and we all got distracted. So I figured I’d make it my first post instead.

My understanding of the logbook is that it’s a place to catalog information you’ve gathered from scans, and perhaps show recipes for the materials you’ve gathered. I’m inferring that from this line in the announced game features post (which I realize is not at all definitive):

“You can also click a plant (Using your Electronic Logbook) to find/store information about it as well to see if they have any use as materials.”

Assuming the Electronic Logbook exists, I’m curious as to exactly how it functions. I mean, is it basically just like a recipe book, showing us what’s needed to make stuff based on what we have in inventory? Or does it go beyond that? What types of things do you want to see in the logbook, and how should the data be organized and accessed? For instance, here’s what I envision:

• Scanning any object, plant, or creature in the game adds that thing to the logbook
• Shift-right-click (or something similar) of any inventory item open the electronic logbook entry for that item
• Inside the logbook, various organizational menus and sub-menus exist for planets, flora, fauna, materials, tools, weapons, etc
• Information about an item you are viewing in one area has links that go to the other areas of the book pertaining to that item
• Ability to add our own personal notes for any entry, and have those notes be searchable
• Ability to re-name planets, or otherwise bookmark them, so it's easy to find and revisit them later

Example: In our inventory we have a chunk of Tiydium Ore. We open up the logbook entry for this item and see that it is classified in the Materials – Minerals category. Further, it features the flavor text, “A metallic blue, particularly awesome substance, usable in a variety of high end technologies.” ​

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Beneath that is an area called Used In which shows the crafted items that use this substance (if that’s too much information, a link to another page that has this information could suffice, or the recipes could be split into sub-categories such as Alchemy, Tools, Weapons, Housing, etc. that have their own links) ​

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Also included in the entry is an area called Sources, which details the planets where this substance has been encountered. Clicking any one of the planets in this list takes you to the logbook entry for that entire planet, which would of course have an array of associated sub-menus for that world.​

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The idea here is to make this thing much more than just a recipe book. I’d want it to contain a full array of cross-referenced, fully linked information. This is very ambitious, I know. And if the devs haven’t been creating the logbook with this type of thing in mind from the very beginning, then it’s too much to ask at this point. But still, that’s what I see when I think about it, and I’m curious what the rest of you do.

Thanks for reading,

TFGoose

 

I think we've all just been blown away by your first post. I know I have. Thanks for such a well thought out, and laid out post.

I agree that what you've described is the ideal log book. We've all got high hopes and much belief in the developers, but even so probably a 'stretch target', I think this is too much to hope for in the initial release.

If not in initial release, perhaps something along these lines will be introduced by the modding community. Hell Mr/Ms TFGoose, make it happen.

 

tiydium ore should definitvely be in-game

 

I'm impressed by the really thought-out conceptualization here. Here's hoping at least a little bit of this influences what the logbook or its equivalent is like in the game. I enjoy collecting information, a lot, and this seems like a great way to do it!

 

It would indeed be quite nice if the Logbook were to work similarly to how you've described, a sort of Starbound's "Pip-Boy".

Having said that, it could also be interesting to have personal statistics (number of monsters killed, most used weapon, highest enemy killed, etc.) and accomplishments (Completed X quest-chain, etc.) available to be checked in this device.

 

Having more numbers to look at satisfies my strange, alien desires. Love numbers. In retrospect, the first thing I likened this to was the new habitat feature in the pokemon black/white 2 pokedexes. Which, by the way, is something I appreciate immensely.

 

Thanks for the compliments folks, I'm glad the idea has at least some merit. I guess until the devs enlighten us a little more though as to the true functions of the logbook, we won't know for sure if any of this will see the light of day. But it doesn't hurt to speculate, right? As we've said, even if this kind of thing doesn't make initial release, there's nothing saying it couldn't get in later (perhaps even by modding, as Westy suggested).

I also like the idea of having the personal statistics in the logbook. There could be a section off of the "main page" of the book where all of this is detailed, and I think a link from each creature's page showing all the personal details associated with it would be cool as well. Actually, you could end up getting extremely granular with this sort of thing, extending the details down to minerals, plants, and all manner of other categories. For instance, it could show just how many tools, weapons, or items in general that have been made from our Tydium Ore. Or perhaps even how many times we've employed the use of Molly's Hatchet ? Or even just how often we've crafted the Ghostar Pendant, Rho-Gain Fertilizer, or the Omni Oblitoblaster ?

Okay, so I like naming things, lol.

 

fantastic idea and description of a log book good sir
personally im not sure if the log book will that in-depth, but im hoping at least some of what you mentioned will be available in-game. it would be pretty awesome

 

Perhaps we should compile a Logbook menu, with the several categories and such, just for fun?

 

This all sounds about right, it should be a very useful tool. I'm suspecting though that this is one of those topics that Chucklefish is going to keep secret until release, so we may not get any confirmation.

 

I'm game, how's this for starters? Of course, criticism/suggestions/additions welcome for all entries, just trying to get our brains going on this:

- Electronic Logbook -

Core Menu

• Planets
• NPCs/Factions
• Fauna
• Flora
• Materials
• Furniture
• Tools
• Armor
• Weapons
• Equipment
• Personal

Sub-Menus

Planets - alphabetical/by date (user-selectable) listing of all visited worlds - clicking on a planet shows coordinates, gravity, weather, and links to fauna, flora, and materials discovered on that world. An items link can also be included here that could show the entirety of weapons, armor, and other things discovered in chests on this world.

NPCs/Factions - sortable listing of all encountered NPCs and known factions, also helpful would be a "relation index" of some kind, whereby the player could determine what their relations are with the specified NPC/Faction at a glance. Color-coding of some kind here is one simple solution. (credit to Keeper for this entry)

Fauna - split into sub-categories of space-faring (ie. player races), wild, passive, and aggressive - could also include a section for known drops, and clicking on any of these drops could link to recipes which include it.

Flora - sub-categories for seeds, plants, and food (seed or plant items that can be used in food recipes, or for food themselves)

Materials - sub-cats for common (dirt, stone, sand, etc.), minerals, and gems - of course clicking on any shows all recipes that can be created with those items, as well as links to the planets where those items have been seen (may need to limit this to certain materials, as some derivative of dirt is likely to be on every world)

Furniture - sub-cats for decorative and functional, with functional meaning "machines and devices that can be placed" - clicking on any piece shows recipes for that item, and clicking on any recipe component takes you to the corresponding entry for that component

Tools - sub-cats for mining, farming, and construction/demolition - possibility here for further sub-categorization within each one of these

Armor - sub-cats for each armor type, however they end up designating them, with clicks again going to the recipes for those items

Weapons - sub-cats for melee and ranged - secondary categories under each such as edged, blunt, one-handed, two-handed, gun, bow, crossbow, energy-based, ammo-based.

Equipment - everything that's usable by the player that isn't a weapon, tool, or piece of armor (jetpack, compass, depth meter, breathing mask, etc.)

Personal - the area of the logbook dedicated to personal stats, such as playtime, achievements, worlds visited, homeworlds established, creatures defeated/captured/cataloged, and all manner of other data that we can speculate on here.

Search Engine

Enter a search term, and a list of the categories and sub-category entries where your term gets a hit is displayed. Valid search terms include actual names of things as well as flavor text descriptions or player-entered notes (assuming player notes are possible on anything). For example, searching for "Tydium" displays links for Planets (where the ore has been found), Fauna that drop it, Materials for the ore itself, as well as Tools, Armor, Weapons, and Equipment where it is used as a component. If the user continues to type so that the search box reads "Tydium Teleporter", then the list of links refines down to just one for Equipment, where that item can be found. Of course, a user clicking that link and examining the item itself will see all associated links pertaining to that item.

That's all I have for now!

TFGoose

 

Fantastic. Great work.

What about another section dedicated to relevant NPCs / Companions and so forth that the player has managed to acquire?

Since we're at suggesting, what about a section dedicated to factions/villages relations between them and the player? ^^

 

Ooo, ya I like that. That would probably work as one combined menu on the front page for NPCs/Factions, also fully searchable of course. I wonder if factions change over time, and if so are we aware of any allegiance shifts before encountering the NPC again directly? Hmm, topic for another time perhaps. For now, I'll add your suggestion to the post above.

 

I'm getting Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy vibes from this. Good vibes.

 

Materials: Dirt
Description: Mostly harmless.

 

I think Tiyurium ore sounds better...

 

I could use a bestiary. I always like those things in games.

 

Did you just call humans dirt?

 

he said dirt was mostly harmless, humans are totally harmfull.

so no he did not call humans dirt.