Feedback Required Update 1.8 - Carbon Update + new rock resources

4 new starts and can't find any carbon substrate. This makes it difficult to really engage with the game.

 

they are rocks on the ground just like other resource nodes like copper silicone and iron. they are dark gray/black

 

So I have read, but they are not appearing on any new starts for me. Unless they are incredibly rare and I have just not come across them. Have tried using GM to cover larger areas, but still no sign.

*Edit*
Have just started a new survival game and I had misread the references to Akua and thought I had to try on the scenario menu.

 

Promethium deposits on Skillon

I've seen wildly different yields on various peoples videos and livestreams (including my own) - far, far different than the difficulty settings alone should provide.

E.g. I started on Skillon and only had one Promethium deposit - I drone mined it and found only one chunk in it (6 ore total), I had to make up for it by drilling the Promethium stones in the southern sink hole pits (at least I got Pentaxid at the same time). Spanj on his video went to one of two Promethium deposits, on his Skillon, and got 150 ore total.

Something not right there - we were both on singleplayer games. My difficulty settings were the same as his, but different game seed.

 

Rich resources but low number of deposits - resources per deposit should have been high like his, but with fewer deposits to find.

It's in here somewhere -

 

the rocks texture/model are good. the recipe changes need balancing esp for the early game.

the constructor recipe should be adjusted upwards. i think more in the stone dust direction, aka so that 1 crushed stone gives you multiple carbon. not sure on the excat number, but if you change other block recipes to carbon too, then close to the stone dust number probably, since after that later blueprints will then need a ton of carbon stuff too by default.

current situation: (akua start)
early game getting the 40ish for a hover is okay. you run around for a bunch of rocks in the crash site, which is fine. then you want an sv/base/bigger hv etc. + other things like armor that need it too etc. a new vessel/base needs 300 carbon roughly. getting that amount with the starter area rocks is a pain and all options to get that amount feel very dissatisfying. mining double the amount as crushed stone in the current conversion rate is simply painfull with the survial tool. you can dedicate yourself to the 1000 hp rocks with your weak survival tool or you can run around getting the rocks for like forever. you are not level 7 for a drill at this point. so your only option is a survival tool.
compared to the previous wood/fibre route, which required you to get a chainsaw+fuel and go find trees (aka some sort of building/progression/exploration was involved here) - the current path feels very inactive and backwards and unrewarding, not sure how to describe it. you do not "upgrade" anything for the ressource aquisition(like aquiring a new tool - chainsaw before). you are forced to use your (sub-par) starting tool, even tho you might already be level 3/5 and have acess to better things in theory (but no drill for carbon). every way to get a decent amount (200+) of this for your first real blueprint seems tedious or unintended. (as a new player seeing a 1000 hp rock, my first thought would NOT be, yes i need to break this down with my starting tool. it would more be: take the lower hp rocks, which the tutorial showed me. this 1000 hp rock is probably not intended to be broken down ever or yet with my tools.)

few things i find confusing about the carbon changes:
-Should this be a starting/basic ressource like iron/copper/silicon or not? if yes then the starting planet might need an early deposit of this i think + some way to get it easier then right now.
-Compared to concrete as a base starter ressource, concrete wins out every time (higher block hp, easier to make, better conversion rate from stone dust - only downside are the textures really). This situation is very unbalanced - to put it slightly. not even sure why i would build a carbon base at this point (questionable in general due to low hp, but the availability gave it a niche in the past)
-Carbon was/is a go to ressource on early vessels and you do not need a small amount for those - mainly due to weight + availability. In my mind it was on par with stone dust in terms of role/place in the ressource "hierachy", meaning you can easily make a ton + it is incredibly simple to aquire (even easier then the 3 basic ones iron/copper/silicon) - somewhat a "throwaway" ressource where you have to much of. the current recipe+changes+way to get carbon suggest a bit that it should not have this place beside stonedust, but how the blocks work and are aquired/used it still has that place/standing? (Meaning it has the lowest hp, so is supposed to be a "first tier" building block on vessels by default, but aquisition is even harder then the 3 basics iron/copper/silicon. On bases i would argue it has an even lower tier then stonedust, aka lower hp, suggesting a higher availability, but with the current changes it is way rarer, which makes no sense at all.)

other solutions/suggestion:
(assuming carbon should be rarer then stone dust)
- if possible reduce the amount you need per carbon block so overall blueprints would need a bit less carbon
- add carbon or some carbon rich items to a the looting table for crates/boxes (early on you mostly get your ressources through these, currently you get components, which is nice, but those have mainly the 3 basic ressources iron/copper/silicon and no carbon), maybe even add something similar to (lower tier) alien loot crates. if it is already added to loot table, maybe increase that a tiny bit.
-some other "magic"/innovative solution for more carbon/ressources (aka new gameplay mechanic). meaning the main problem is the player needs carbon currently more then the 3 basic ones. the only way to get ressource is over ressource rocks, deposits or loot (or salvage). without changing this basic gameplay loop the only other option would be to add another mechanic (or enemy or avenue) to aquire either ressources in general or just carbon specifially, aka extend the loop. to be honest not sure what that could be but could be worth some brain storming.