What would YOU recycle?

[QuantumAnomaly]

*Activate old-timey sales voice and soapbox subroutines*

Have you ever accidentally make 500 computers and run out of rammet to make shields with? Are you tired of loot piñatas giving you green hazard tetras by the thousands? Do you have more red paint than you’ll ever use but still want to get rid of all that cinnabar? Are rock, lava, and planet terrain blocks filling up precious cargo space? Is you micro-assembler just collecting dust, or worse just a block ID in a list you'll never even see? Is there no one left with the credits or cargo space to buy all of your junk? Then you my friend need…..A RECYCLER!

*End sales subroutine*

I know it’s been suggested (Last in September of this year), but we need to show support for the little quality-of-life things that will make the game so much better. A recycler is a simple factory block with a lot of uses. With cargo updates and limited storage space soon to drop, recycling would make an even bigger impact on inventory management. This also helps address the issue of ore/crystal rarity (especially for making shields) by giving a few different ways to generate raw materials.

· Replace/Re-purpose the micro assembler: Since all it’s really good for is managing scrap composite and metal in the very early game when salvaging derelicts, why not expand on its use, or rename it entirely, breathing new life in to the mid and late game use of this factory device.

· Break it down: Computers, modules, and decorative blocks are recycled back in to the components used to make them. Even if the return is only 50%. This makes piracy for parts a viable option, since you can recoup capsules from anything you dump in. It also gives you something to do with all of those spare warp gate computers once the local shops are too tired or broke from buying them.

· Uses for planetary terrain: Rock, Lava, planet blocks, and even plants could be recycled to some benefit. Anything from a 10% chance of a random ore/crystal type to the potential of future integration in to things like fertilizer for food.

· Ice to water and back again: Sometimes you just want one or the other, even if it’s at a 2-1 loss ratio.

· Asteroid Terrain for ore chance: if you already have a few million paint capsules hanging around, why not recycle the leftover asteroid terrain for a chance of the ore or crystal that asteroid provides to get sifted out?

· Environmentally Friendly: Reduce planet mining by providing an alternate means to gathering resources.

· Carbon Credits: Don’t want capsules, fertilizer, or whatnot? Why not crush your stuff in to raw credits, so you can go buy filled blueprints from your faction neighbors!

· More ways to buy: Shops always sold out of shields? Now you can buy those much more expensive computers to break them down for parts. Not the best way of doing business, but sometimes you’re willing to spend money to make shields.

· BONUS – Ideas from this and prior threads:
o Ingots are just compressed forms of capsules, to take up less space. Higher conversion rates (up to full refunds) for ingot blocks to capsules.
o The ability to turn shaped blocks (wedges, tetras, etc) back in to standard cubes for re-purposing.

What are some things YOU think could be done with the micro-assembler to make it more purposeful?

 

[Edymnion]

I'd be happy if it could turn special shaped hull/armor like wedges and tetras back into cubes.

 

[QuantumAnomaly]

I'd be happy if it could turn special shaped hull/armor like wedges and tetras back into cubes.

Added to the main post

 

[Edymnion]

I like the idea of condensing capsules into ingots for storage, then breaking it back down when you want to build with it. That's a good one.

 

[BDLS]

I've always been down with recycling or condensing junk materials into worthwhile stuff. Something like .5% of rocks recycled would turn into a random ore.

 

[kiraen]

I don't know about the random ore or the credits, but the rest can all be done by editing the config file. I agree the recipes need adjustment, but we are a long way from bothering with that. First we have to get all the stuff we need to build, then we have to get all the stuff we build out of.

 

[NeonSturm]

Re-program computers!

A computer needs just 3-4 elements: Store-Bit + (and/or + not)or(Nand/Nor) + a clock-cycle.
I am tired of computers not adapting to what they actually control (effect, weapons, etc).

Put in a cannon-block and any computer and you should get a cannon + cannon-computer.

 

[Raisinbat]

I don't like the idea of recycling anything into anything else equivalent exchange style; you make all the different resources irrelevant. Everything just ends up with 1 unifying value (How much sertise does this turn into?)

Put in a cannon-block and any computer and you should get a cannon + cannon-computer.

So instead of spending Hylat (Rare material) to make cannon systems, you just use something else, like bastyn to make Damage pulse computers, then convert them at 1/20th the price in hylat? If anything can be made out of anything you eliminate ore diversity. Not that it doesn't need to be worked on, but this is a terrible idea.

There's no fun in finding a rare material if its just +200 points, and the much more frequent materials give +50 points; its just a waste of time looking for the big, valuable loads and you end up grinding the path of least resistance for the same outcome.

If it should be recyclable at least limit it to base materials; alloys and circuits.

I've always been down with recycling or condensing junk materials into worthwhile stuff. Something like .5% of rocks recycled would turn into a random ore.

There needs to be worthless junk items, not everything is worth gathering.

 

[NeonSturm]

I don't like the idea of recycling anything into anything else equivalent exchange style; you make all the different resources irrelevant. Everything just ends up with 1 unifying value (How much sertise does this turn into?)

No. Just computers.
Because I hate the clutter in shops and that shops have modules without computer for them or vice versa.

 

[QuantumAnomaly]

I don't like the idea of recycling anything into anything else equivalent exchange style; you make all the different resources irrelevant. Everything just ends up with 1 unifying value (How much sertise does this turn into?)



So instead of spending Hylat (Rare material) to make cannon systems, you just use something else, like bastyn to make Damage pulse computers, then convert them at 1/20th the price in hylat? If anything can be made out of anything you eliminate ore diversity. Not that it doesn't need to be worked on, but this is a terrible idea.

There's no fun in finding a rare material if its just +200 points, and the much more frequent materials give +50 points; its just a waste of time looking for the big, valuable loads and you end up grinding the path of least resistance for the same outcome.

If it should be recyclable at least limit it to base materials; alloys and circuits.



There needs to be worthless junk items, not everything is worth gathering.

I see where you're going with this, and I guess the biggest issues come in that I feel everything should be useful to some degree, even if it's only a little bit. Currently, rock has no purpose, glass isnt made out of sand, and you cant get water from ice. I know we arent minecraft, but everything in minecraft had purpose. Useless junk items here and there are one thing, but literal billions of rock and planet stuff terrain is going to be a big pain once cargo updates come out, but many people are anxious about getting rid of them due to changes that could come with the fauna and crew updates (ie food and whatnot).

The other issue is that it's not that sertise isnt just rare, it's so unbelievably uncommon that the systems I've found to have the most abundance are ones that are literally glitched systems where the star doesnt spawn in the center. It's not just that ore density "needs work" its been broken so long that everyone has just gotten used to how broken it is.

I'd be OK if you couldnt get "random" crystals from recycling, but if you recycle a computer that uses that ore or crystal u should get some back. So many times have pirate loot clouds dropped warp gate computers by the boat-load. I'd rather have half their weight in minerals thanks.

 

[NeonSturm]

Perhaps there could be A-grade and B-grade items. B-grade can be recycled. They are scavenger-items.
A-grade equipment can NOT be recycled with full pay-back, but is better (high-tech).

Spoiler: Also : tech-levels.

A-grade:

• rare materials
• The captain's shuttle
• A Flagship
• Military ship's engine room.

B-grade

• common materials
• All the civilian ships that shouldn't provide expensive loot
• Some 1000 nameless combat drones from a suicide-combat-ship.
• Turrets which easily get shot down.

OK, you can make hull out of rock+glass, but then it will only be a decoration (for stations, signs, etc).
True strong hull for big ships could be colour-less, expensive and too heavy to spread it on deck floors.

Now everybody is happy?

 

[BDLS]

"There needs to be worthless junk items"

Why have an unnecessary annoying aspect in the game. That makes zero sense. It makes sense that one could refine rock and soil and find trace amounts of ores and crystals anyway, especially since you're pulling large veins of X ore right next to the junk materials. Otherwise people are just going to dump all their rocks and soil by dragging it out of their cargo inventory while mining. There should be something to salvage from large amounts of rock, dirt, etc.

 

[QuantumAnomaly]

Generally I'm against adding more complication where it isnt needed, but I do understand the "I dont want equivalent exchange (EE)" mentality. The only other thing I could think to offer would be to add an item that has value as credits and nothing more, something like a fossil, or "organic matter" or whathaveyou, that could be sifted out from rock, dirt, and planet terrain at a really low %, but could only be exchanged for credits at a trade station. Something with value, adding a reason to use dirt and rock, without directly giving back minerals. Although, this basically means that there's an extra step between selling said fossils for credits then just buying the ores you want from a trade station, which all told brings us back to basically having EE. Is there another way around this to maintain balance?

 

[NeonSturm]

Perhaps there could be stuff that is automatically dumped back to the planet.

Dirt bag ships (AI required) could pull these blocks out of your storage and dump it on another planet surface.
The downside would be that there is a dirt hill covering more valuable parts beneath.

Perhaps this would give a reason for a acid/desert/water/endless-snow planet-face to exist. To dump all your mining waste there.

 

[Jaybeanstalk]

Maybe you could refine a specific type of rock into "Acid" or "Solvent" This would be used when you process "Scrap" items. It would also give you glowing green blocks! (green conduit that actually dumps stuff out?)

 

[Benevolent27]

I vote yes for a recycler. Perhaps call it a Disassembler. Though I think you should get scrap from it and maybe a chance at getting some capsules back which were used to make it. The more expensive type of item you place into it, the more scrap you get and capsules you get back. There should never be a reason to actually throw away items, but at the same time, shields are supposed to be hard to get. We wouldn't want to make it too easy.