I still think that 2 changes need to be fundamentally made.
1/
A universal location where All recipes and respective factories can be looked up (be it a Databank block or a window). eg. Don't know where to build medical cabinets? Access the data repository, where the medical cabinet entry informs you that you need the advanced factory and displays the recipe - as well as the stats for the block. Doing this will fix much of the moaning regarding recipes being too complex. (not that I don't advocate for some recipe adjustment)
2/
The UI needs a major fix in regards to selecting an item for production or storage filter. This is actually the most critical - it should have been No.1 on my list. I made it bold and bigger just to add emphasis. If we had a better UI then building better factory chains/storage sorters etc. is a viable option and I will be less likely to punch a wall every time I need to set up a storage filter or factory chain (currently I find that the temptation of breaking my fist is approaching the same desirability as setting up appropriate storage filters).
Ok so let us compare crafting in starmade to crafting in other games.
Different types of factories. Well that wouldn't be too bad if you would know what to expect? For example in an RTS barracks most likely produce some sort of meniken fighter guys right? Well starmade feels as haveing 30kish different blocks and what ever i want to produce i hardly have a clue in which factory to look for the recipe, this is annoying....
See point 1 - we need to make the ability to know where to go to do what you want Waaay easier.
...Ok so let us compare crafting in starmade to crafting in other games.
Minecraft: oven bakes/transforms workbench combines potion stand does potions enchanting table makes enchants... no annoyance you get what you expect.
I agree that might be a bit more complicated in a sci-fi setting but still it is avalid point.
Now i love the mechanics the capsule refinery works! everybody gets this concept of refinig ores before you can actually make stuff out of them.
In general i also like the factory ida and haveing mutliple of those but how about instead of spreading all the ites over 3 different increasing levels why not giving the factory purposes... for example a systems factory, a hulls factory, a lights and accessoirs factory.
And then i also would appreciate these haveing levels but i would prefer adding them to the existing stucture as an extension like an upgrade like the factory enhancers do. the more modules/enhancers you add the more powerintense but also more efficient it gets....
Okay This time I have something new to say (I think, well from my mouth atleast). lets jump down the rabbit hole for a sec - I can see this going 2 ways.
1/ A Huge amount of factories, including a "factory factory" just to make all the factories. You end up with similar issues to now but in a different form unless all factories are unique looking (I have 30 different factories - which is my enhancer factory?) . you also lose the utility of having a one stop shop if you are big on time and small on space.
I also have to say that I find the idea of adding enhancers to the factory to move it up a tier detrimental to the idea behind the tier system (also you would need to create yet another UI that's even more dynamic so that it auto updates when enhancers are added or removed.)
2/ we move to a system of 4 types of "factories": the currently well known "Capsule Refinery", change the Micro Assembler to "Micro Smelter", a "Component Foundry" and a "Parts Assembler".
- Capsule Refineries work as they are now you get capsules and basic materials
- Component Foundry - This is where you manufacture the Intermediates, the items that have little use apart from being included in recipes (eg. Glass, Vanhelzing's idea of weapon frames and weapon devices etc)
- Parts Assembler - tiered Basic, Standard, Advanced, they take the parts you make in the foundry and assemble them - if you only need parts from the foundry then the basic assembler is where this happens (eg - hulls might use metal mesh on a Hull Frame from the foundry), need standard armour use the standard assembler (take a hull from the basic and add the Reinforcing Plates from the foundry), need advanced armour use the advanced assembler (take a standard armour from the standard and add the Strengthening Subframe from the foundry) Maybe you can use the advanced assembler to get all the parts from the foundry and make it in one hit (eg advanced armour instead of having to step each part up just add the metal mesh, Hull Frame, Reinforcing Plates, Strengthening Subframe and some capsules for "welding" to the advanced assembler and it's all done in one place.)
- Micro Smelters - tiered Components, Basic, Standard, Advanced, each is able to break down the equivalent level of an assembler (put in advanced armour to an advanced smelter - get standard armour and a Strengthening Subframe , put the same into a standard smelter and get hull, Reinforcing Plates and the Subframe, use a basic smelter and get all the components, use the component smelter and get all the ingredients value back as raw materials.)
This I think is my prefered option of the 2, we get a more WYSIWYG crafting system - you know that you need to get components from the foundry to take to the Assembler, you know that as the blocks are tiered you need to use the right tier of assembler, and the smelter is simply a reverse assembler. This gives us the ability to make more universal components - the Reinforcing plates, they are also found in say Thrusters, or Cannon Barrels etc.
Also I have an Advanced Armour factory - It only takes 15 blocks, no excess components either
I love the thousands of blocks in the game BUT i HATE with all intensity the UI for requesting that we add every single item by hand.
This kills survival for me. i love automatization and the storage sorting and capsules and ... but in a game with so many different blocks get your UI done accordingly. if i say "sys" in the search i want always a multiple entries dialog with everything that contains "sys" including the category Systems.
Well Said Brother (or Sister) see point 2 above. I doubt there is anyone who has ever played Starmade who doesn't agree that this is the most important thing to fix in crafting.
... But there is one thing that definitely needs fixing, there somehow needs to be a way to count blocks. I would suggest either some kind of build queue for factories (produce 3000 hull blocks, then 100 power capacitors, then stop) - this would probably be easy to implement and is accessible even for beginners, or a limit for storages on the amount of blocks they pull out of a factory or other storage. This would allow more flexibility for creating big and complex assembly lines that always have a set amount of blocks ready.
I desperately want this too, so far I have had to resort to a mix of filters and logic circuits to do something that is pretty standard in other games with automated production. (I have been considering posting my factory clock logic system, but I'm trying to upgrade it with a counter)
