Feedback Required EXP v1.9 - New Game Start: ASHON

Feeling stuck in Ashon storyline wise, or maybe I'm done here and should warp away into the sunset... or maybe its not finished yet?
In the new tutorial, I have all bullet points finished except these three:
https://i.imgur.com/43SBgnR.png
Gamestart Ashon: Console Used (Visitors)
Gamestart Ashon: Purge Core TSO
Gamestart Ashon: Explorer Token Reset

No idea how/what they are, all the Ashon steps are lacking any details in them...
I assume the Console step was the busted CV computer, I'm pretty sure I went through all of its prompts.
Purge core, I saw the switch but didn't have permission to use it I assume this is for blowing up the space station? Not sure why I'd want to do that to those nice folks.

I do like the Ashon start, skips a lot of the hunter/gatherer and puts you fixing up a busted CV right from the start.

 

Just finished it. This sort of setup isn't my usual thing, but it was alright. I played on medium with mass/volume, CPU, and increased spawns.

I went to the moon first for food and supplies. I managed to do a controlled decent way up north after skipping over some POIs. First I farmed then fuel and food. Then I put a CV detector together. The only real roadblock was my material restrictions in the face of robust POIs. I didn't have enough of anything to take the nearby Supply POI head on. Neither were there resources withing range that could change this. Only option I saw was to build a combat excavator. So I stuck four 15 mm rotary guns on a simple HV mining chassis. I shot up the defenses from underneath, cored the POI, and finally got access to the neodymium deposit it was sitting on. This let me build enough thrusters to restore the Scout to full maneuverability.

Compared to the moon, the lava planet itself was a cakewalk. Fly around, drone mine some ore, loot some submerged tanks. I had a warp core together shortly thereafter. I scraped up enough pentaxid to reach the Ellyon system and Omicron, and that was that. I actually went to Crown right after that, since it's got a lot a useful resources and not much danger. My next move would probably be to dismantle the Scout and replace it with a CV of my own. I mean... the thing doesn't even have a toilet.

I dunno whether I'd say it was challenging or easy. Like I said, this isn't my usual thing. I simply identified what I needed, what was in my way, and what capabilities I had to reach it. Got to use a few rare tricks, like powering down to brake a ship and heading into a polar region to avoid hazardous weather. I'm not entirely happy about undermining a POI, but it was the only feasible route forward. I had no medicine or ammunition reserves to sustain me in extended close combat, and no means of getting more. Above ground H/SVs would've taken too much unrepairable damage trying to crack open the Supply POI. The Scout couldn't be made combat capable, either. So I guess I'm not too sad about doing what was necessary.

A different player for whom survival scenarios like this are their bread and butter could probably tell you something more relevant. For me, it was alright. An interesting thing to try. I'll probably stick to Ningues starts for the cobalt, though.

 

I took the Scout. By moving the last remaining thruster rearwards off the center lines, I gained enough yaw and pitch control to reach the station. Getting the control seat was the only really difficult part. I had to warm back up after freezing by standing on the thruster. Unfortunately, the trade station didn't sell anything I needed. Didn't actually have EVA boosts in stock. Nor did they offer fuel through station services.

So here I am with this crippled Scout. It's got some grow plots, food processor, clone chamber, and small constructor. What it doesn't have is a detector, planetary flight capability, or much fuel. If I took it to the lava planet, I'd be stuck wherever I landed without supplies or resource information. On the moon, I could at least breathe, explore on foot, maybe find some food plants. I also hoped that warlords meant drones, and drones meant fuel. The grow plots and nearby biofilm kept me fed. My fiber plants meant I had shotgun shells and rifle bullets. Surface rocks provided my initial raw materials. You can get a heck of a lot done with reliable fuel and food supplies, some rocks, some fiber plants, and a small CV constructor.

The only real snag was having to attack that POI from underground. Honestly, that's really just an aesthetic hangup. We call it cheesy, but it's a perfectly valid approach, especially under these circumstances. Coming up with an HV in survival mode with only basic resources, able to dig and maneuver freely through the ground and mount useful firepower and ammo capacity, that was plenty challenging. The frequently hazardous weather certainly made using a vessel a more appealing option than digging half a kilometer on foot.

 

I would dispute that, don't need to do any digging to get to a poi

 

Do you have an alternative to suggest?

 

This wasn't some turret brick HV, mind you. My weapons were four fixed 15 mm guns. I had to be careful how I moved and where I dug to identify and dismantle the POI's defenses. Troopers and robots were constantly dropping down holes to attack me. I had to keep my orientation in mind as I wheeled around to engage, lest I get stuck and shot up. Undermining this POI in this way was a challenging, engaging, and probably the only feasible method of overcoming it. It was somehow a test of skill rather than the usual attrition race.

If I had gone in with an SV, I'd have been shot down by 30 mm shells, flak shells, and alien turret bolts in seconds. Neither was there a viable overland approach through the smooth, barren terrain. I didn't bypass the fight. I just chose ground for it I could win on.

In the end, I had do to things I hadn't done before and build things I hadn't built before. What more could I possibly ask?

 

Elevator block is not working well after switching off gravity gen to save fuel.
It mixed up the control axes relative to the avatar, I was pressing C to go forwards and space to go back at one point.
Suggest control axes should always relate to the avatar not the elevator block environment the avatar is in.
Unplayable so I salvaged the elevator blocks, fixed!

FYI unable to visit the external cargo boxes without major freezing injury, this is with max temp insulation for the medium armor on high temperature & RA sensitivity in start settings. Requires jiggery pokery of building corridor extension and pre-heating the avatar with the thruster just to get to those within 100m. Toasty! But uses up lots of food due to overheating and freezing. Even with this you cannot reach distant small vessel 300m or the distant cargo 600m without dying, even using the hot beverages.

Why can't you shift+[action key] to open the containers like you can everything else? You have to press the little arrow every time, slows you down when you are counting the milliseconds.

Found multitool in cargo but on replay this was not there then re-replay and it was back, plus cobalt, clearly RND. IMHO multitool is too critical to be RND either there is no multitool or its always there, otherwise not fair and just encourages players to RND save scum as the RND is on opening the cargo.

Auto Gamma adjustment is out of whack. e.g. bright reflection on glass makes the whole scene pitch black.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2893634174

Medium suit light obscures field of view. Does not play well.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2893705722

Same obscures sniper rifle scope view. First has fog from light, second is with suit light off.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2893754929
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2893754951

Thermal device lighting is foggy on Ashon. Doesnt look good.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2893754978

Avatar animation for bike reverts to standing when bike is slipping and moving on placement.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2893754961

Testing continues.

EDIT to add the horrible reflections (outisde in the suit) and foggy light from Portable Work Light 2 on Ashon.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2893782372
link fixed

 

You're not able to visit all of them in one sitting no but you can grab one, go back and warm up, grab another and return etc. This is what I do on Hard difficulty and yes I get cold but then I warm myself up on the generator. It's actually judged quite well

In regards to reaching the small vessel without dying, you can certainly do so if but yes you will get through certain supplies which you have a very limited number of. I assure you, it's definitely possible

In regards to the multi tool, you can actually make one so yes you can get one as RND but it's also not too much of an issue to make one and a few charges. So yes I guess you could restart multiple times until you get a multi tool....but you can also make one

 

Well that is not my experience on high "Temperature / Radioactivity Impact" setting, under life stats. Hard inventory does not have any effect on heat sensitivity.

 

Apologies if that's not your experience but I assure you it's possible, if you start a new survival and change the settings to hard (without changing anything) those are the settings I've played on (for your reference). With those settings I can do all that I specified.

 

This is beta testing so I will discuss *spoilers*.

OK you could use meds, I didn't try that and it was close enough it would make the difference.

I just flew normally and died. Did not have time to stop and think.

On hard you would have to know what you were looking for and whether it was worth it, speculative exploration would not be feasible.

It struck me as much more viable for medium than for hard. Which is what I am trying to convey.

 

First up I liked that I had to think to get things done. There are several solutions
Warming to over hot by the generator became the simplest, I could get the cockpit which is furtherest away on just 1 hot drink. The console says the cockpit is in cpb1 but it is realy in cpeh1
I finally managed to get to level 5 by taking the sv to the moon, then had to come back to build thrusters as I had drones on high and there was a lot.
What would be helpful, is, if once the containers have been looted and removed with the multi tool (I made my own) the markers would disappear. I kept forgetting which ones I had already looted and removed.

 

The containers aren't hard to reach. You just need to keep an eye on your temperature and gauge your endurance. If you've done Subnautica or Breathedge, you've done this before.

The elevator thing isn't a big deal. Once you have the control seat, you can align the ship to the sector horizon with the O key.

 

That is the difference between high impact temps and normal. which is the point I was trying to raise for the devs consideration. High impact the trip to the SV wreck will kill you without meds even if you turn around immediately, certainly no time to inspect it.

IMHO the elevator snafu is wrong on principle because control axes should always relate to the avatar, workarounds shouldnt be needed.

Anyone in their right mind will go to the moon as the planet is a hellhole. But when you have no other choice it is doable and a fun challenge.

I like the way you can wait on the orbit to land in a mountain area rather than a lava lake.

 

Wings are not working well on Ashon, maybe its the new gravity and the planet gravity of >2g but with atmo > 1kg/m^3, a well winged SV should still glide surely and it doesnt, it drops like a brick.

This example is using the single wings rather than segments. Its a minimal SV for getting around with one engine and RCS, because it is so mountainous an HV is bound to come to grief. Engineered for lowest weight but only slightly less droppy than having zero wings.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2894127827

 

The suit visor reflections have improved overnight, was that a ninja update?

 

That just means you need to put the thruster on the bottom instead of the rear and fly it like a helicopter.