General rocket confusion

[JonathanHoffman]

Okay ya'll - I'm I guess in the 'late game' of the new DLC in survival mode, and there doesn't seem to be any good in-game info on how spaced out rockets actually work.  The whole delta-v equation with weight vs thrust seems...not to matter?  What the heck is 'module burden'?  What does engine power mean?  The only thing that seems to matter is the range of the engine type, and how many modules that engine type supports. Those ranges seem fixed, regardless of how many modules I use (candy rocket can only travel two hexes, even if there are only 3 modules of the 5 possible).

From what I can gather from trial and error, there are two thrusters, the candy one and the CO2 one...and the CO2 has a 4-hex range and the candy one has a 2-hex range, but the candy one can have 5 modules and the C02 one can have 3.  In my game, only one planetoid (vegetini) is within reach of my big candy rocket. 

I'm struggling with the idea of establishing a base on the two far-flung planetoids (the ice one and the lava one). I can only reach them in a one-way trip using a CO2 rocket as they're 4 hexes out from my nearest planetoid.  The ice planet has nothing whatsoever in the way of oxygen generating resources (no algae, rust, or polluted dirt) - so to establish a base there I'd need to bring a big command module filled with useful resources like food and algae - having a little mini base for my dupes to live in while I build something on the surface to generate enough CO2 to return. 

The only viable path to a base I can think of would be to send 3 CO2 rockets to the same orbit - the first rocket would have a trailblazer module with a small command module, the second rocket would have a orbital cargo module, and the third rocket would have the big command module.  The first dupe lands with the trailblazer, builds a payload opener, opens up a payload from the second rocket with refined metal, builds a landing pad (hopefully before his suit runs out of O2).  Then the big rocket lands, and provides a space for 3 dupes to live and breathe. Then I build a second landing pad for the second rocket to land so dupe 3 doesn't die.

Yikes.  And none of these dupes can return until I somehow create enough CO2 to fill up the rocket again.  That seems insane.

Am I missing something?  The Candy rocket seems almost pointless - I guess you can use it to ferry stuff between the ONLY planetoids that are in range, but it's strange that I can't get it to go further by removing modules.  The scenario I described above would be more viable if I could get a 4-module rocket out to the further asteroids.

I get that this will probably be solved by more advanced rocket engines in later updates, but I'm a bit confused by how bare-bones this is since multi-planetary mechanics are kinda the backbone of the DLC concept.  I'm also baffled by the new rocket mechanics, which doesn't seem to have any meaning. Am I missing something?

[Jann5s]

Yes, you are correct. Fly out with 3 rockets and pray. I use 2x trailblazer and one big “mobile home” rocket. You land the two dupes using the trailblazers, then deconstruct them to get the resources to build a platform to land the third. Watch Francis-John’s latest vid on YouTube to see it done.

 

on the general confusion, I’m pretty sure the current rocket system is pretty far from what’s planned. The game is In alpha stage after all. 

[Sasza22]

Yeah it looks like they dropped the complicated range algorithm from the previous version for a more straightforward fixed range approach. As for now we don`t really know what "power" or "burden" does or if it does anything at the moment. The candy rocket seems to be made for just one purpose and that`s flying in the inner planetoid circle. Since it can travel only 2 hexes it can go to the closer one and back, if i understood properly it doesn`t actually consume fuel for start and landing so it travels 2 hexes with no landing and 1 if it lands there. This also means it can travel to the farther one if it can land there and refuel.

The CO2 one has more range but due to the module limit you can`t take enough stuff to establish a base on the planetoids farther than 2 tiles away (i kinda wish there was another one 2 tiles away without a teleporter so it was more useful). As for now when everything is unfinished and the outer planetoids require a one way trip we need to fully commit with 3 or more rockets and make a base right away.

I imagine that when it`s finished rockets with more range will fix that. The outer planetoids might get some stuff making them easier as well like a pre build landing pad on one (maybe covered in regolith and usable after clearing it with a rover) teleporters between some of them or maybe even a fuel stash not too deep below the surface to allow a quick trip back home.

[JonathanHoffman]

Good to know - thanks for the info.  I might just put it aside and wait for another update before attempting a game that includes bases on outer planetoids.  Now that I've got a feel for what the alpha is doing I know I'll wanna do another full game from the beginning once they've fleshed out all the content.