As for now every player is equiped with a replicator that allows to build stuff, and you never get to see it either, it's only in your interface. C'mon devs, give us a real factory to build things and give the player some task to build it too, don't make it so simple.
I had a thought about replacing the factory a long time ago, while I wish the devs would consider it I admit that it would be a major code change. https://empyriononline.com/threads/suggestion-base-repair-drone.34597/#post-285210
Factory? BP? Whats that? Do you mean Player do not build every time they are starting a new game their Bases and Vessel in their Survival Games? Joke aside... A 'factoring' of a Vessel like it is done in Subnautica would be a nice change
I second that suggestion. It would bring more immersion to the game because the factory right now feels like some kind of wishing-well that grants you wishes by putting in coins. xD
Yeah, and foremost: where does this virtual factory come from when you start the game? I can imagine some sort of nanotechnology that you can start with some interface always carrying it with you - even when you crash-land somewhere, but oh my...c'mon...such a tech would be thousands of years ahead of us, not very well suiting in EGS that may only be 200-300 years ahead. Factories still need to be built before we can use them, like everything else, that should remain common sense for a good time to come. And even the Startrek 'replicator': at least you get to SEE it working
In 2074 humanity was contacted by an extradimensional race call "The Builders" who are not in a position to acquire resources. They communicate using devices based on a technology called an interociter that uses quantum entangled photons to communicate instantaneously across any distance. Combined with teleporter tech this allows The Builders to contract with various species in our dimension to provide them with material that they need to build things and in return they then project that matter into our reality. No one really understands what motivates them as it seems to be a basically net zero transaction from our perspective. Some presume they just enjoy the process of doing stuff which leads to their more colloquial identification...
^^ Nice picture & nice story too, congrats. But I hope you understand that I'd like to actually hear or see these guys in the game, for example when they do build my stuff, ok? Maybe they could also build the factory for me...with some credits or ressource incentives...They look as if they would like Titanium rods, a nightmare in RE
I get it- it makes no sense that you can "create" a fully equipped ship out of whole cloth that contains devices that you don't know how, via the tech tree, to build simply because you've reached the level where you could learn how. At the same time the Empyrion workshop and the ability to spawn blueprints designed by other players has been a major factor in the success of the game. It lowers the barriers to entry for new players (compare to SE for example) and has demonstrably been a significant factor in the creation of a community in the game- the recent thread on poverty builds and the idea sharing that goes on behind it is a good example, the ad hoc "pick the blueprints I'll use in my live stream" sorts of stuff, the recognition of people who've developed real artistry around throwing their virtual Lego™ together all would be nerfed by killing that basic idea. The game does support having varying difficulty of play so making it so that, for example, a BP could be built and spawned in at any level but only those devices you knew how to build would be included and carbon fiber versions of the device models with a "isDummy" property set used to replace those you couldn't would make things seem more like you were doing the build out. I don't see a lot of advantage to creating teams of animated UCH Seabees to appear and disappear- that sort of thing would break immersion more than the current magic method does (for me anyway) and it also would imply that your build would be at risk throughout the process.
I think every player who reaches 100-150 hours in the game (some much less) will know well that there is a 'console' which allows for example to spawn everything with sbp, to finish the factory work presto with finishbp, to get every item with im + h etc. Therefore the difficulty curve by introducing a real factory wouldn't be diminished by a iota, and there is still the creative game mode for serious and lazy builders. Overall the *SP survival* game is still too easy - a real factory is just a good start to make things more tricky, and I don't think there's a lot of work for introducing it: A real factory would work like the repair bay to spawn builds based on entered ressources, this mechanic has not to be added, it's actually in the game, suffice to add some nice visual effects. Maybe add some NPCs at the factory (and in the space stations) who sell entire ships - e.g. the stock ships that you find in the BP menu, plus what you've added from the workshop. And foremost: You can still do everything yourself of course, have the ressources, build from A-Z if you want; however certain players prefer to use these 'blueprints' in the game, we need to move from these abstract building plans (blueprints) towards effective work done when building - thus: A real factory.
I think this topic ranks between #2 and #5 after "walk on a moving ship" and among "fluid water", "pistons & conveyors" and "full automation". These topics were discussed quite a few times now, and pop up regularly as "fresh ideas" to a point I wonder if players read the forums at all. Besides that, I believe some players are impervious to the notion of programmation complexity (nothwistanding animation/ modeling and the whole conceptualization) involved is some features, as if everything was just a matter of throwing in some lines of code and "the game" will just "digest all" like nothing has relations to nothing, all parts being independant and separate in operation. In terms of "what would this bring more to gameplay" well this obviously falls into the "contemplative" category : players want to have a drink while watching something "do the work" like we can do in micro-management games. Same for talks about having societies and species developing independently from the player, with full politics/ economic systems running in the background in parallel to player activities, to "make the universe look alive". At this point, it's just talking for talking, because there is no game I know of that can achieve to seamlessly integrate so many different genres under one working mass of code. And from what we see now, extrapolating as to how such a monster would operate leaves no doubt in my mind that not a lot of things would work bug-free anymore. That is so far from the truth. Most beginners are totally lost, and even when they follow tutorial and missions they get lost somewhere along the way. Most players lingering on the forum want the devs to fine-tune the game to their likings because they are now far beyond the beginner's standpoint where they still have to learn everything. We forget way too easily how much we know now compared to when we started, and the game is even more complex than when we started. Edit : the word "factory" works quite well in a quick search when on the "suggestions" forum section ( search in titles only ) : https://empyriononline.com/threads/factory-overhaul-suggestion.97592/ https://empyriononline.com/threads/make-factory-a-device.96801/ https://empyriononline.com/threads/the-factory-of-the-future.95907/ https://empyriononline.com/threads/nanoframes-structures-and-building.92858/ https://empyriononline.com/threads/factory-block-idea.92757/ https://empyriononline.com/threads/...print-factory-and-creative-in-survival.47093/ If someone had the courage to do it, a comprehensive consolidation of all factory-related suggestions could be done to show all the different ideas/ flavors of the factory, visuals and mechanics, that were proposed by various players. Lots of nice ideas in there, but all sprinkled in a ton of different threads...
@Kassonnade, yes, maybe I'm overestimating the feasability of some complex features, still I'm not sure that this applies for a 'nice-looking sort of repair bay' that would act like a factory, same green highlighted work area in its active state if you so want, this time maybe semi-transparent with the shape of a ship (take the preview grafic for spawned ships). This is doable. Then a factory would also have a fine extra feature, this time very easy to implement: I notice that some guys have difficulties building things in gravity conditions planetside. Such a factory would provide ramps that would allow e.g. HVs to be accessed from below, a thing that still is cumbersome to do without a 'tool' like a good underground - say a factory. In the extreme, I think that even one of the existing POIs could be used - I don't recall the exact name, I think it's a 'abandoned factory' with cranes, big platforms (and lots of Legacy enemies to defeat first in its underground). [EDIT] Thank you for providing your links above, I will not miss reading them to see others ideas and wishes even if most likely few can be realized in a reasonable time line.
You can do the search yourself, you will find tons more threads than just the few ones I linked here. There is already one step taken now, the "base required to spawn blueprint". Going from there they could surely add some transluscent volume where the ship would eventually spawn, and this would still be light on performance hit. Where I have problems is when I see suggestions of elaborate teams of minions/ micro-robots floating around the semi-transparent ship, which would require far more work, while knowing the player avatar and already existing NPCs could benefit from the same kind of work (mainly : animation love) and impact gameplay in all combat, trading and roleplaying situations. I would be surprised to see such an elaborate system with cute animations for a feature we use sparringly during gameplay, and still being stuck with the same basic set of animations for player and NPCs.
It may be frustrating but here, like most places on the internets, the ongoing discussions are basically stateless. People start reading where they start. If you decided to read everything that has ever been written before you open your mouth (or were here when the words were first uttered) your perspective may be different but I think this falls into the same bucket as your "Most beginners are totally lost" comment above and requires grace 'n slack. The reality is that the search function on this forum really sucks and the index taxonomy and 50+ page long conversational threads really don't lend themselves to easy reading for the ADHD reality of the generalized gang who enjoy playing EGS. 8^) Using a repair bay as a device driven mechanism to create a BP based on a core and template is cool- can't remember who (or find via searching for the thread where they described it) but somebody did it not too long ago.
Your comment makes no logical sense. How are drones simulating the building of your ship break immersion? Fact, it doesn't. It actually brings immersion and thereby it should be added to simulate the building a ship or structure. Remember, we already have personal drones in Empryion to help us build our ships and structures so this is just the logical extension of that idea but in a more advanced way. An example of how this could work: You build a factory by hand that has the tools to build you the ship. Of course if your just starting off you'll only be able to build a very small factory to build a very small ship which at the same time will help you get the resources faster to build a larger factory to build a larger ship or structure. And the very big capital ships you can only build in space because of the tremendous size of the ship. This example would really add more depth and immersion to Empryion in almost every level of the game.
Oh, sure sure. But. You don't have to do everything at once. Step 1: Simply add a new device block to the game, and move the current Factory interface from the player's info screens to that device. Nothing else. Everything else can remain as it is for this "step 1". That would be quite good in itself. You can continue to develop the rest later.
Just my humble opinion. Instead of doing this, lets fix the many issues and bugs in the game already. If you did this then it could be destroyed and you would lose all your resources. It ain't broke so let's not try to fix it!
That was actually the reason, or one of them, I want the Factory as a real object in the game... 1) It instantly gains strategic importance. You need to defend it. Other benefits and why I think it's good even as just a device block: 2) It has a well defined place in the game world map. You can no longer have a CV in your back pocket to be pulled out anywhere and anytime you need. You must go to your base, or wherever you have the device where you input the resources, and spawn the CV there. 3) No "looting directly to Factory". I mean, let's face it, that's an exploit or at best very cheesy... With the Factory as a device, if you dismantle a POI, you need to *transport* the stuff to your base to put them into the Factory. Hah, now transport vessels are actually useful and important! 4) No magic transfer of stuff across the galaxy aka "put it in the Factory on planet A and spawn on planet B". Your stuff is on the device on planet A. If you want them on planet B then better build a transport vessel and carry them there! And the unavoidable "yeah but what about spawning a base?": No problem. Just go to the place where you want your base and build a small base with power and the Factory device. Then build and spawn. Which actually makes even sense: you're building a construction site to build the actual structure. And again: you also need to defend that construction site while it's doing the build... With the simple change of making the Factory into a real game object you've created lots of strategic depth to the game. That's surely a low-hanging fruit there!
Well, we can leave away the workers and only see cranes and machines working (this depends on some animations put in the game, the fundamental of the repair bay mechanic would work the same); at least the player should install a minimum of infrastructure to get things built, barring very simple constructions in light materials. Ressources need to be melted, formed with sorts of advanced 3D printers, they must be lifted with cranes or hydraulic elevators if heavy; you may be 1000 years ahead with your replicator tech but I guess you still won't be able to lift tons of weight with your avatar, eh? Or give the player a device that howers all these weights with a forcefield, a device that for sure the player cannot carry with him all the time. All reasons to first have an installed real factory to place the necessary tools and to build bigger objects like CVs or armored vehicles. Wooden or concrete constructions, or small HVs or SVs without armored compounds would not need factories. And about what you call the "build at risk": Fine, this is welcome, isn't this a survival game where you are supposed to do something against threats? If you wanted a 'toy' environment you can move into creative mode (or even another game mode, I forgot the name). Just to avoid confusion: The simple vehicle or base 'spawning' in the game is surely comfortable and it should remain in the game for multiple purposes of complex building creations and the handling of them, I don't want to put stones in the way of players who get into serious object building, how dare I... So, with my suggestion I'm not saying that by introducing factories the blueprint spawning has to go away, no. If factories were introduced, the current object spawning would still be available in Creative, but in a survival game you would need a minimal factory to be able to complete larger constructions or armored components. For using the 'simple spawn' in Survival you'd need to use console commands, so if you really hate factories you could still bypass them.
If you're going to remove cheese from the table it really starts with the personal constructor, survival tool, and the drone. These all use magical short range teleportation, hammer space, and infinite energy/materials in order to function. Not dissing your basic idea but I think embracing teleportation and stream material storage (teleporter in a loop = hammer space) tech as a given could simplify the solution in a consistent fashion- the logistics of cranes and machines performing discrete manufacturing requires lots of moving parts (read: potential buggy code) that as @Kassonnade rightly points out doesn't really add much to the players experience beyond the visual. Having a drone controller (read: swarm of UCH Seebees) as a placed device that is effectively a "factory" by combining the abilities of existing devices in an overall build (containers, constructors, etc.) sounds like an easier lift with all the same interesting game play implications (need to transport materials to site, defend the build, etc.) ... The solution @Pembroke describes of using a factory device (either a cheap variant of a repair bay or as a stand alone placeable device) as a projector is simpler still but personally I'd rather see the backlog of bugs and UX induced pain points like navigation addressed first. Just an opinion.
