What are your main issues with CPU Extenders at the moment?

I think there could be a few more quantum star traders found throughout the game, and the drop rate is still a bit too low in alien containers.

Having a few POIs and patrol vessels equipped with salvageable CPU extenders might help a bit too. I think the price of them is okay, yes they are expensive but body armor sells for a lot. Maybe more difficult and rewarding repeatable non-skippable missions could be added that give money, as well as adding one-time missions that reward optronics (enough so if people do all the missions they could build one T3 SV/HV and one T3 CV/BA).

 

I VOTED YES TO ALL, except the last option ...
Too costly, not easy enough to find, and should also be craftable ...

As a SP only i would like to be able to craft the extenders myself. I am currently playing at level 17 - Haven't yet been to any POI other that Titan. I like to stay in my own area and just build... But these extenders are just ONE BIG PAIN in the ....

Nevermind. I will never get enough cash to buy one. Currently i got ONE gold ore, and i am not really even interested in going to the traders, they need reputation as well...

In my opinion the T3 at least must be craftable ... Dunno if i will ever need the T4 anyway. I build very small ...
And i am kind of stuck now because of my preferred play-style...

 

Definitely that the drop rate is too low. It's the lowest drop from the rarest of loot containers; most of which don't even generate in the majority of small/Medium POIs because the other loot they contain prevents them from being available on easier POIs.
Very Rare and Ultra Rare are those final loot containers found in high-difficulty POIs, Dungeons and Drone bases. I can understand tier 4 components being a bit on the rare side, but not Tier 3.

To test it, I did an impractical "practical test" of POI loot containers (100 Very Rare and 100 Ultra Rare containers) to see how many optronics i'd get.
Please remember that it takes TWO optronic bridges to make a T3 extender and two T3 extenders to get a HV/SV/CV/BA to CPU Tier3; So that's 4 bridges per build.
It's also one T3 Extender + 1 Optronic Matrix to make a T4 extender and it takes 4 T4 extenders to make a ship Tier 4. So that's 8 Optronic bridges and 4 Optronic Matrices to make any build a functional Tier 4 while consuming the T3's you already had.
Additionally, there are two sizes of optronic component, reducing the likliness of getting the correct size at any time by a further 50%.

Total Item Count for a pair of T3 Extenders: 4 Optronic Bridges
Total Item Count for a quad of T4 Extenders: 8 Optronic Bridges and 4 Optronic Matrices
Rough estimate on the number of Very Rare Containers per standard survival game: 50-60
Rough estimate on the number of Ultra Rare Containers per standard survival game: 20-30

Not including any of the other items (which are seriously unbalanced as well. They're not OP, they just suck) the total count of Optronic Components came out as:
Very Rare: 1 Small Optronic Bridge
Ultra Rare: 9 Small Optronic Bridge, 4 Small Optronic Matrix, 6 Large Optronic Bridge, 2 Large Optronic Matrix

Not even enough for a single T4 CV from 3 game's worth of POI loot.
Of course, It no good without being able to repeat it, so I repeated it another 2 times.

Spoiler: 100:100 loot test

VR 2: 3 small optronic bridges, 1 small optronic matrix
UR 2: 8 small optronic bridges, 1 small optronic matrix, 7 large optronic bridges, 1 large optronic maxtrix (10 empty containers)

VR 3: 7 small optronic bridges, 2 small optronic matrix, 1 large optronic bridge
UR 3: 8 small optronic bridges, 2 small optronic matrix, 9 large optronic bridges, 1 large optronic matrix (4 empty containers)

In my opinion, the drop rate of Optronics Bridges (large and small) from Very Rare containers should be equal to that of Laser Rifles and Heavy Armor in the same container (Roughly 20%); and Optronic Matrixes (large and small) equal to Auto-Miner cores from the same container (Roughly 12%).
I'd estimate the current rate at around 1-2% for small optronics and less than 1% for large ones. Which would be fine for Rare Alien Loot Containers, but not for Very Rare. There's simply not enough of them in the entire game to even consider raiding POIs for optronics.

Tl;Dr
Optronic drop rate is far too low.
20% for Optronic Bridges (large and small) from Very Rare containers (equal to heavy armor drop rate)
10% for Optronic Matrix (large and small) from Very Rare containers (equal to autominer cores)

40% for Optronic Bridges (large and small) from Ultra Rare containers. (equal to EM Pulse Rifle drop rate)
20% for Optronic Matrix (large and small) from Ultra Rare containers. (equal to Plasma Rifle drop rate)

The current very rare container's drop rates for optronics added to Rare Alien Loot Containers. There's enough of them in the game that finding one in a rare container would be a welcome miracle. And a miracle it would be.

Unrelated: The drops of all these containers need to be reevaluated at some point. There's so much worthless garbage in alien loot containers that it's not funny. The rarest drop in Ultra Rare containers is a laser weapon upgrade kit that you can pull off any random laser zirax's corpse.

Trade stations are currently the most reliable and easiest way to get optronic components. They're visibly expensive, until you realize that you can manufacture suit upgrades and tools and sell those for vastly more than their component parts.
The current traders are seriously flawed like that, and despite the apparent ease of configuring new or more traders (e.g. Eden Scenario), it hasn't been done. There's even the entire basic system for paid cargo hauling ready to go, requiring nothing more than a few more preconfigurations of traders placed at strategic POIs.

 

Figuratively impossible to get in my playstyle short of me simply wishing them into existence. Too expensive energy-wise to want to use them even if I could get them.

 

There is no such thread....

 

I actually have a different issue with CPU Extenders - when building the higher-level CPU Extenders, there is no "partial progress". For example, on a CV that needs 2.5 million CPU, I have to build all the top tier CPU extenders for the max of 10 million CPU. I can't simply add one or two to reach a mid-range of CPU. Allowing progressive, cumulative CPU growth would be better than the absolute tier system. Likewise, the build-count/limit for Extenders might be worth reconsidering - making the limit 4 level 2's, 2 level 3's and 1 level 4, as well as some changes to the Extender models. 1x1x1 is fine for the level 2, 1x2x1 is fine for the level 3, but 2x2x2 for the level 4 would make more sense, especially if the build limits were reversed, as proposed. Each level should have its own slightly more unique model as well, each progressively more advanced looking, but that's more a longer-term change. What we have right now will work to get the system smoothed out.

I will say that I did vote that the bridge and matrix should be craftable though, as I do think these should be craftable items. We need more craftable items anyways.

 

I voted for all but the last one as well. But for the life of me, I do not understand the whole trader thing. In the context of an SP survival game, why are there traders at all? They do not fit my concept of survival. To that end, I completely ignore them in my SP games. I do see there place in MP games and in specially built scenarios.

With the current drop rates (my results are similar to Vermillion's, posted in their own thread) you might get enough for a tier3 ship between the starter planet and moon but that is highly dependent on good luck with the POI's that spawn and RNGesus of the drops. That is not fun gameplay. This forces a player to use traders. To use the traders you must grind trade goods, grinding is not game content. If I wanted to play a trading game I would not play a survival game. This is not to say that the option should not be there for the players that like it just that it should not be the only way.

 

But they fit in mine, as I, on the other hand, am not interested in fighting my neighbors. Peaceful co-existence is for me the only form how to play this Game in SP.

 

Should be craftable at least t3,

Problem I'm running into is on a t3 CV I'm building if I add them in that means I have to find them if u ever want to build the ship again. And if I'm playing with CPU off it's an annoyance because I don't need them at all. I mean I know this is how things are supposed to work... But this basically means cpu extenders are going to be getting the grow plot treatment, be removed before the blueprint. As I said above it's more of an annoyance. It's probably more of an issue with t3 simply because the cost is lower.

Speaking of cost you can make them cost autominer cores and zascosium alloy that way the drop rate is sheilded with something else already in the game, and getting a matrix drop in a box would still be a good reward.

 

With everything else, you can dump in piles of ingots and the ship gets built. If the blueprint also requires grow plots, then you have to explicitly make them before you can start building the blueprint (because apparently the blueprint factory is an advanced constructor and doesn't have food processor recipes installed). I tend to leave grow plots out of especially starter BAs, because the goal there is rapidly constructing an oxygenated, thermally-controlled shelter, not fumbling around with building grow plots manually.

Extenders should be craftable. Gating CPU levels behind grinding through POIs or being lucky with traders is a very discouraging system (weapon kits have the same issue, which is why I rarely bother to upgrade my handheld weapons).

EDIT: More precisely, all inputs to extenders should be craftable.

I concur. If you want to spawn in a multi-hour blueprint, it's a much better use of time to have the structure already building while you go look for elusive CPU extender components to add in at the end. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if extenders were craftable. . . .

 

I don't do a lot of prefab bases, but the few I have done have places set up for grow plots, lights and vents and all, just no actual plots. Instead there is a 3x3 "hole" in the floor where plots should be placed when made. I say "hole" because these are still sealed base units, with an airtight floor but a section left out for the actual plots. Simple enough.

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The Extenders themselves are craftable, but the high-level components - the bridges and matricies are not, though I agree, they should be.

 

One of the most annoyng stuff is if you lose one the ship just doesnt move. You should do something like this:

Exemple t4 cpu stuff for an SV. 4 Required to do a complete functional ship.

4 - 100% of speed
3 - 75% of speed
2 - 50% of speed
1 - 25% of speed
0 - ship wont move.

Actually you lose one and the ship stops immediately because overshoot cpu by a lot.

Then another annoyance is that the server lag a lot because of calculations that implies the cpu/flight model. Do some calculations easy like this here. So noobs/normal people understand the meaning of cpu and server will benefit too.

And also the cpu stuff related are too rare to find...even legendary. Let em craft with gold ingots... a lot of them... so gold will have a meaning also on vanilla.

 

large amounts of gold are not readily available in vanilla. Homeworld and golden globe are HWS places. The only places I have found gold in SP vanilla are in the oasis biome enough to make an EVA boost. And pink and red loot crates and that puts us right back to the RNGesus issue. Unless I am to travel to the lava planet in my CPU tier1-2 ship to mine the deposit there. I do not think that yields enough to solve the gold availability issue even if it was feasible.

 

They are the developers and they can adjust that too. Actually gold on vanilla has no meaning.
Even in real world cpu connectors and components are made of... gold!
This will solve 2 problems in one. Since gold avaibility is in end game planets normally, also progression is respected.
You can even think to add silver that can be found in medium/hard difficult planets that will be required to craft t3 cpus! And voila a lot of simple but cool ideas that will solve a lot of problems (and easy also to implement and understand) and add longevity to the game.
Maybe you can also need drills that are specific for drilling gold that could be crafted with silver... so these will make obligated passages and people will not skip to last planet to drill instantly gold but they need to find silver first anyway.

I should ask Eleon to hire me as game designer... but for now i give you this ideas for FREE (called also unpaid work)

 

Here ---> [Alpha 11] CPU Points and Tiers - How does it work?

 

the issue isnt necessarily that they are too rare, its that they are too rare for the role they serve

let me explain:
currently the vast majority of ships are forced into t4 in order to function, this means that t4 is the standard for ship size
having a necessary component in a standard ship be extremely rare is an issue as it makes ships far too expensive and discourages players from taking any risks

although making them super cheap would fix the immediate issue of ships being too expensive, fixing the cpu points per tier distribution would make much more sense
if the cpu tiers are balanced around t2 being the "standard" tier, with t3 and t4 being extra tiers, then the components for t3/t4 could be made even more rare/expensive in order to make those extra tiers more valuable
an example of what making t2 the "standard would be (as i stated in the cpu thread on pg 34):
sv/hv: t1 = 50k, t2 = 100k, t3 = 200k, t4 = 400k
cv: t1 = 2.5mil, t2 = 5mil, t3 = 7.5mil, t4 = 10mil
ba: t1 = 250k, t2 = 500k, t3 = 1mil, t4 = 2mil
these values (mainly t2-4, 1 isnt as relevant to what im discussing, and that cv turning from thrust is reverted to what it was before exp version 2708 as even light cvs struggle to turn at 10mil) would mean that the cpu extenders could be used to add endgame pve content to the game as a reward, as empyrion is severely lacking in endgame content, and t3/4 cpu extenders could be used as rewards for challenging endgame pve content that would require players to build better ships and not just throw their sv at it and kill it instantly

tl;dr

t3/t4 are too expensive in their current state, BUT with adjustments to the cpu tiers they could be used to add interesting, challenging endgame content to pve empyrion

 

A seperate issue for the accessibility of CPU Extenders also includes the T2 Extender.
At present all extenders require Flux coils, including the T2 extender; And flux coils are made from Neodymium and Sathium. Neither of these materials are available on the starter planet, but are obtainable from salvaging CV thrusters from wrecks and most importantly (if not simply intended) are common drops from the large cannon drones on the starter planet's moon. Ensuring that at the point you get cobalt for a warp drive for your SV, you also get access to the flux coils for the T2 expander to mount it.
The issue here is that there is no indication to a new player that they can get Flux Coils from large drones on the moon and after looking at the material costs of a T2 extender in their constructor will deem it impossible to build at this stage.

My suggested solution is to replace the Flux Coils in the T2 extender recipe for Energy Matrixes. They're made with Cobalt and Iron, so they're constructed from (cobalt) moon materials. The player map and the constructor info will tell a new player what they need and where to find it from the beginning without any confusion.
Energy Matrix are also "junk" loot from regular cargo containers on POIs (e.g. crashed titan) and rare drops from rocket drones, making them obtainable elsewhere and in the event of losing a T2 extender off-world, repairs are possible by taking out a rocket drone.

 

That actually makes more sense progression wise too.

Tier 1 = iron silicon copper.
Tier 2 = cobalt.
Tier 3 = sathium neodymium and optronics bridge.
Tier 4 = erestrum zascosium and optronics matrix.

Getting a better spread of cpu points among the tiers would help too. Maybe by slightly bumping up tier 2's max CPU and increasing tier 3's as well. Tier 4 should be the end game stuff.