Replace all ore building requirements to refined metals

[ZombieDupe]

There is an annoying discrepancy with having some buildings require metal ore and others refined metal. It's more annoying late game than early game especially because if you ran out of metal ore from refining it all, you're gonna have to make some diamond to collect it from locations in space. Having the ability to make buildings that require ore with more refined metals rather than manufactured ones like Steel and Thermium (Niobium being one exception) would work but would also clutter crafting components.

So why not just make all buildings that require metal ore to require refined metal and replace about half of the ore spawned as refined metal. This means you are given some refined metal to use right out of the gate and the player can learn that there is ore which can be refined to more pure metal later on when they start running out of it. I don't really know anything in reality that actually uses any type of metal ore for construction anyway, it's always pure metal or some other material like a plastic, glass, wood or some mineral.

[NeoDeusMachina]

I personally do not see any problem with what you call an annoying discrepancy. I would not even call it a discrepancy at all, since I do not like the underlying assumption that it is illogical/wrong/incoherent to have certain buildings made out of ores and others made out of refined metal. For me, the argument of "this is how things work in reality" will never be solid enough on its own to justify changing things in ONI - it is not a simulation of reality. I don't know of anything "in reality" being built with a funky space gun shooting laser beams either.

ONI is a colony and resource management game and managing ores/metal is part of it. That also means learning that some buildings are made out of ore, so maybe you shouldn't refined all of it in the first place. Ores have different properties than metals, so it might be that you will consider whether you should build something out of ore instead of refined metals, or maybe you will renovate later on and replace some things made out of metal ores with refined metals (e.g., tempshift plates). It opens up options and choices.

Seriously, there is  nothing wrong with having to collect ores from space POI. If everything would be made out of refined metals, there would be no point in mining space POI for metals - volcanoes already produce an insane amount of refined metals. Tbh, when you reach late game, thermium is renewable via tungsten volcanoes and can replace pretty much anything that requires metal ores iirc. Same goes with steel if you set up the proper resource production chain and it is available before thermium. We do have renewable metal ores outside of space POI.

[goboking]

I wouldn't require all buildings to be built from refined metal, but I would allow them to do so.  I see no reason why we can't build a fire pole out of refined iron, for instance.

 

7 hours ago, NeoDeusMachina said:

If everything would be made out of refined metals, there would be no point in mining space POI for metals

Smooth hatches and plug slugs are niches that would still require metal ore.

[NeoDeusMachina]

4 hours ago, goboking said:

Smooth hatches and plug slugs are niches that would still require metal ore.

Oh yeah, plug slugs, forgot about those  

To be fair, you still could mine ores from space and refine it home just because you want to. I count smooth hatches in that category, but they would be obsolete at that point because of their 75% efficiency. And before someone quotes this and goes "actually....", yeah, they still give meat and some special people like me would keep them as pets just because they're cute.

In any case, if they want to allow things to be made out of refined metal as an additional option, sure.. I guess? I would still prefer that they didn't, because of how often ores have forced me to dig more or visit other planets or mine space instead of idling in my base waiting for my volcanoes to spit out more refined goodies. Require everything to be made out of refined metals - still a big no for me personally.

[DolphinWing]

My play style is to not dig too much and keep more nature as possible. So I have to control my refined metal production. But I take it as a challenge to myself because I think I should spend my metal ore and refined metal where it is most needed. When I have tamed one or more metal volcano I will have more than I need and I can replace metal ores building with refined metals like power wires.

Of course it may benefit when we can build everything with refined metal. I just think that if everything has no limit, how can it be fun?