The rocketry systems needs a few QoL changes to be less annoying

[Nebbie]

The rocket system as it is currently is pretty good, as long gone are the days of being able to exploit it like crazy, and a lot of convenience has been added with extra modules...however, there's just a few things I'm finding quite annoying with trying to use the interiors of rockets:

1. The control station requires dupe use regularly for a fairly long task...even when the rocket is just sitting in space to do research. Currently, the workaround is to disable it until it's needed, but this is silly micromanagement. I suggest it only needing dupe interaction if the rocket isn't stationary.
2. It is currently impossible to directly vent things from the rocket. This means waste gases accumulate, or oxygen can easily overpressure, with no way to deal with it...despite vacuum a few tiles over. I suggest the bottom floor of the Spacefarer and Solo Spacefarer modules contain three input ports just like what's on the teleporter things and Interplanetary Launcher, that simply eject all input to the "outside" (if grounded, this would mean dumping in the world, if in space, it would just vanish).
3. There is no way to easily drop solids down from a rocket's interior while in orbit, and dupes can't just be told to grab something on their way into their Trailblazer modules. This means that the current "easy" way to colonize a new asteroid involves sending one double Trailblazer rocket, so the dupes can quickly deconstruct their landers to make a platform, and then a main rocket with living quarters to land there. I suggest that for the above suggestion, ejected solids while in orbit would land on the surface of the planetoid orbited, allowing for delivering cargo to the surface for building platforms once a single dupe comes in a Trailblazer.
4. Ranges on early engines are too confining. 4 tiles is barely anything, and makes it very hard to make rockets that can ferry duplicants to newly-colonized nearby planetoids. I suggest giving a range bonus in steps of 25% based on unused engine power (25% more range with at least 25%, same for 50% and 75%). This way, simple ferrying rockets with minimal modules could go further, and thus a simple Solo Spacefarer + Carbon Dioxide Engine setup could go 6 tiles.
5. Scout Rovers are just trash, in the very literal sense, as they can't be recharged and their corpses are just an annoyance. Additionally, compared to the above double Trailblazer strategy, they seem rather pointless. I suggest giving them solar panels to recharge, making their corpses deconstructible, and removing Basic Farming and Decor as research nodes (make all their buildings just buildable from the start), allowing Scout Rovers to build starter bases that are at least halfway decentish in preparation of dupes. Rather big change I know, so it might be best for Algae Terraria and Mess Tables to swap tech positions as well (keep from overloading a starting player's oxygen options, and make it so a Mess Hall is obtainable right away).

[sakura_sk]

19 minutes ago, Nebbie said:

There is no way to drop solids down from a rocket's interior while in orbit.

It's called "orbital cargo module" 

19 minutes ago, Nebbie said:

I suggest giving a range bonus in steps of 25% based on unused engine power

But... there is no "unused engine power". Engine power translates to speed depended on burden. If that is changed then every rocket will have fixed speed and not being able to launch if burden reaches engine power.

[Nebbie]

40 minutes ago, sakura_sk said:

It's called "orbital cargo module" 

But... there is no "unused engine power". Engine power translates to speed depended on burden. If that is changed then every rocket will have fixed speed and not being able to launch if burden reaches engine power.

Ah, I had overlooked that among cargo modules. Still seems a bit...bulky for the purpose.

There would be the speed as well. A rocket with low burden relative to its engine power would be both fast and able to go further.

[Sasza22]

1. Agree, no reason to waste time while remaining still. Unless they add a drift mechanic or something to adress stranded rockets.

2. It`s better than it used to be but still a vent would be really useful especially for the early rockets that need to be compact.

3. Orbital cargo module as mentioned before. Works nice along with a rover. While the rover can`t build a landing pad it can open the cargo payloads (requires manually clicking on each but still) and deliver the resources to the pad.

4. The early engines are meant for the 3 "inner cluster" planetoids. Realistically you`d be only using them to get to the closest planetoid so i don`t think they need extra range.

5. Imo rovers should be an item build at the crafting station and delivered to the rover module. There could also be a recharge station to keep them working or an option to disassemble them. Sweepy should work similarly to that.

[JaxckLl]

@Nebbie Agree on 1 & 2, the other three have kind of already been addressed. What makes the most sense to my mind would be to add Vents as a 1x1 tile building that can replace wall tiles.

I really like Sasza22's suggestion for how to deal with Rovers & Sweepies. Could even add a new skill tree, Roboticist, which is required for Mechatronics. Would be more natural skill progression than using Carrying.

 

[Nebbie]

On 6/16/2021 at 4:24 PM, Sasza22 said:

1. Agree, no reason to waste time while remaining still. Unless they add a drift mechanic or something to adress stranded rockets.

2. It`s better than it used to be but still a vent would be really useful especially for the early rockets that need to be compact.

3. Orbital cargo module as mentioned before. Works nice along with a rover. While the rover can`t build a landing pad it can open the cargo payloads (requires manually clicking on each but still) and deliver the resources to the pad.

4. The early engines are meant for the 3 "inner cluster" planetoids. Realistically you`d be only using them to get to the closest planetoid so i don`t think they need extra range.

5. Imo rovers should be an item build at the crafting station and delivered to the rover module. There could also be a recharge station to keep them working or an option to disassemble them. Sweepy should work similarly to that.

To elaborate a little on the early engines, I have been using them for the inner cluster, but I'm just not liking how they tend to be 1-way trips with it and that means setting up a whole way to refuel them at the lesser bases. My biggest problem with this is that there's simply no good way to get an easy-to-refuel "shuttle" between these asteroids, which leaves me using the teleporter instead for the oil asteroid and having to install a big CO2 pump on the irradiated swamp asteroid.
Kind of hilariously, I'm wishing dupes breathed out more CO2. Yes, I've been playing with ethanol power too much, but it really is ridiculous trying to get a decent amount of the stuff on a small base.

I like the idea of rovers built at crafting stations and having recharge stations a lot. It's kind of weird we only use it for oxygen masks.

[crbd115]

16 minutes ago, Nebbie said:

but I'm just not liking how they tend to be 1-way trips with it and that means setting up a whole way to refuel them at the lesser bases. My biggest problem with this is that there's simply no good way to get an easy-to-refuel "shuttle" between these asteroids, which leaves me using the teleporter instead for the oil asteroid

Yea this is why i have asked on multiple occasions for them to move the oil planetoid one space closer so its the same distance as the radiated one. Right now I modded it myself to have it work this way but i keep seeing other people bring it up. Best i can say is ask for it specifically in the suggestions or like and comment on the suggestions already there so the devs see it and see there’s people asking for it.