Architect Archive
Thread: How to make resource quality, experimentation, and experience count for architects
I've read several posts saying thatthey need a way to make experimentation count, and that they need to make it so a more experienced architect can produce a better house than a less experienced one. Just a thought, might want to put it on a list sometime for suggestion to devs:
1. Lower maintenance costs. Buy a well-crafted small house, expect lower maintenance costs. Buy a shoddily built one made from bad materials, expect to pay more in maintenance. They probably don't want to do this with harvesters, but for houses at least it makes sense, and perhaps for factories as well.
2. Allow better architects to make buildings that can be placed on rougher terrain. Not sure if it's terrain roughness or what, assume so, that prevents me from placing buildings in some open areas.
3. OK, silly, and I read it was put on the correspondant's list as a personal aside, but... make colour choices an option at some point in the skill tree. I find it annoying that with my house now set in a long row of houses I need a waypoint to figure out which is mine easily. If mine was the yellow one it'd be easier. Not saying I want a fuschia house, but SOME variation for houses within the realm of good taste wouldn't throw off the atmosphere and would probably improve it.
I learned early - keep the good ore for weapons and armour where it actually matters, throw the garbage into the houses.
- Airlik, who's not holding his breath but can't wait to be able to do his 'harvester farming' on a speeder bike
This same thing has been discussed over and over already, and we haven't really reached a concensus on the idea of better efficiency. Some people say it would give you too much of an advantage over others, some say "so what?" to that. There are other arguments on both sides. I guess all we can do is wait for the devs to respond to it, since it's been submitted by the correspondent.
As for the rougher terrain option, it's good idea, but unlikely to be possible, due to the nature of the way the engine stores terrain data. In order to avoid floating/buried structures (more than we already have them I mean), they have to limit where you can place something. Like when you place a camp on a hillside, the terrain flattens out temporarily.
But since harvesters tend to end up in big clumps, what would happen is a bunch of cheap harvesters go up, leaving a big spot where no one could place anything. Then you come along with your uber-harvester and can place it there. The terrain deforms, and that buries the harvester just downhill, because you have to have a flat place to put the thing.
And if you limit the "rough" terrain to somewhere not near other harvesters, then you limit that function's usefulness a lot and make it worthless anyway.
FYI - you can already increase storage capacity through experimentation, at least theoretically. It's the only thing except on power generators. They can experiment two other things.
Some people say it would give you too much of an advantage over others, some say "so what?" to that.
I don't understand how this is any different than someone who takes the time to get good materials, and the ability to experiment on a gun. I've seen some huge differences on experimented guns. Do these same people just want to take experimentation away period?
FYI - you can already increase storage capacity through experimentation, at least theoretically. It's the only thing except on power generators. They can experiment two other things.
I understand that you can experiment them, I've made several 80% storage and 80% effeciency increased harvesters. They do not change the stats at all. I mean, make it so the experimentation actually means something.
OK, I knew it could increase holder capacity, but frankly I find that meaningless when I think (haven't risked the cash to test) that if you got a GREAT spot and left it until the resource disappeared a week later, it just MAY be full. After a day away I typically see 4%-10% full depending on resource density. So increased output hopper is pretty useless.
I see what you mean about rough terrain. I had a harvester buried on the beach by a spawned creature camp - annoying. I figured they could do what I see houses do - have vertical wall-like bits rising to meet the level concrete (or whatever) platform the building actually rests on - so they seem to take up their area only.
The other suggestions I think still stand - I'd read complaints that things didn't differentiate with experience, so I suggested a couple I hadn't seen. I'd really like to have reduced maintenance on things with better construction quality.
As for unfair advantage to better crafters... not really - there's always a market for low end, as long as the maintenance difference isn't TOO large. When I buy a weapon for instance, I always get a so-so scout blaster, for instance, long before I can afford top end. And hey - economies of scale and all apply as well, the big guy DOES have an advantage over the little guy. The little guy needs to compete on price per quality, and with the nice way they've made things so that the 'big guys' don't bother with the little things I scrape by a living in the meantime.