Working on a block explorer tool.

[Hexane]

Working on a block explorer tool. Trying to run a server the incetivises using manufacturing and trying build something that helps people visualize the production trees.



its available here for now: http://starmade.timelessname.com/

 

[Sortin]

I\'m looking into the factory mechanic, but it\'s quite daunting. What you\'ve made looks like an excellent resource.

So far it looks like the production trees are there, but it doesn\'t say which factory unit to use for each step. That\'d make it more complete, for sure.

Unfortunately the only in-game resource for recipes is located at the shop, which is exactly where you wouldn\'t be to use them. The information for blocks needs to be available from within the inventory.

 

[Hexane]

The factory that makes them is there, you have to mouse over it and a little box will show up with it. I think I am going to color code the boxes by factory.

 

[Sortin]

Oh I see, yes, that\'s convenient enough. It wasn\'t obvious at first. Unfortunately the factories are difficult to differentiate in-game for the first-time user.

A server with an emphasis on manufacturing would be nice. I think we\'ve seen that people can build server-crashing planet-sized ships. But take away the exponential credit gain and ability to buy saved ships, and how would the game play out? That would lead to a reason to go mine, a reason to build a station, claim a planet, etc. Currently salvaging is used to strip stations of their glass, mine ice crystals, and then dump them at a shop until you have enough to buy a pre-designed mega-ship. Surely that\'s not how the game is going to end up working...it\'d just devolve into who can design the bigger ship offline.

 

[Axebane]

I was literally about to write down a ton of notes on index cards to start doing manufacturing on your server, Hexane. This tool will be really useful for figuring out what I need in order to manufacture specific items!

Also, I know this is kinda off-topic, but after playing on the server for a couple days, I\'ve found that one of the best ways to earn credits is just to strip an abandoned station of it\'s hull blocks and sell them. Basically I\'ve switched from mining ice crystal to mining hull, and It\'s even easier to mine hull because of the lack of gravity and the massive amounts of it on each abandoned station. I was thinking, what if grey hull and black hull (possibly yellow hull also, due to pyramids) were reduced to about 50-75 credits in cost? This would make it less profitable to harvest a station. Obviously it also makes it cheaper to buy those colors, but having a lot of basic hull pieces isn\'t really that much of an advantage.

Anyway, nice work on the block explorer! This should make manufacturing a much smoother and more enjoyable proccess.

 

[Hexane]

Axebane,


The problem with making them cheap means people can buy them cheap and make huge game breaking (in more than one way) ships. Right now the Sell and Buy price are tied and the limit you can sell to a station fixed at ~10,000. With out being able to configure those I dont know if there is a good solution.



Additionally I am looking in to making stations spawn as a different blueprint that is much smaller.

 

[Axebane]

Oh, awesome! I figured the abandoned stations were hard-coded and wouldn\'t be able to be reduced in quantity or size. I hope you are able to find a way to do that, as it would fix the last remaining \"get rich quick\" scheme that I can see from my limited time playing the game. Right now it just feels wrong that salvaging a station is more profitable than mining ice crystal.

I really hope a future update allows sell and buy prices to be different. That alone would alleviate a ton of issues with wealth generation. It could even mean that pirate/chest loot could be brought back, if the sell prices were balanced accordingly.

 

[Sortin]

Considering you can use any cheap (1c each) block equally effectively as hull blocks, I don\'t think making hull blocks cheaper would be game breaking.

 

[Stormclouf3]

Looks amazing! The only problem I found would be that it doesn\'t show the amount of the item needed. If its already there, please tell me, because I will be using this in the future.

 

[Hexane]

oh yea! I was going to add the quantities later and completely forgot about it :P

 

[BloodravenD]

Your server seems nice, but it doesn\'t make sense to make almost everything more expensive, except for the minerals. It makes mining almost useless.

 

[Hexane]

BloodravenD, you are supposed to mine and then manufacture items from it or get someone else to manufacture for you.