Renewable source of rust

[Pproy]

I believe a renewable source of rust could be interesting as an alternative way to produce oxygen in the late game instead of always having to make an electrolyser set-up. Currently, rust serve the same purpose as algae, in other way, it is a mean to an end.

A new starting asteroid could be made where we would have a source of renewable rust, more chlorine gas vent than usual to make salt farm and fewer water vent, so while we could have some water for research and farm, using it for oxygen production would strain water reserve a lot. Basically, a resource loop, based on chlorine, would have to be established to survive on such asteroids. In addition, in the late game, if we have an excess of rust, we could build a rust smelter as a late game build project.

The renewable rush source could take different form. For example, perhaps a new morph of pokeshell, a "rustshell", could be introduced or even a new critter entirely (something with a clever name I imagine, a rusty snail?). Otherwise, a plant that produce rust instead of food could also be neat.

 

[Henlikuoth]

While I like the electrolyzer setup, I agree that there should be at least one more renewable oxygen production.

It would add some variety and an alternative option.

[pether]

There could be some critter that sheads rust

Or some strange plant, don't ask me how plants can grow rust, but this one might be able to do that

[Primalflower]

Worth noting that rust already exists renewably from space asteroid fields. but i absolutely would like  to see more ways to create it. Maybe some kind of an oxidization station where one can rust iron? Or maybe on a larger scale, metal debris repeatedly taken in and out of water would begin to rust.

[Pproy]

4 hours ago, pether said:

There could be some critter that sheads rust

Or some strange plant, don't ask me how plants can grow rust, but this one might be able to do that

Well, it would need to be a plant that required a sustained amount of iron... And Halloween is coming up....

[Pproy]

On a more serious note, I would like suggestions on which resource we could use to ranch/farm rust. I know that a water base irrigation just makes it so its a more convoluted water->oxygen loop (although an argument could be made for scalable iron/steel production). On the other hand, I wouldn't want a resource that is too hard to get since it should feel like a valid alternative to an electrolyser setup and not just a way to complicate oxygen production for nothing.

I was thinking (and I’ll admit it's probably me trying to shoehorn other neglected game mechanic and have Little Shop of Horror in mind) that a diet of shine-bug could be interesting? Basically, the plant could catch the bugs like a frog and produce rust this way? In Space Out! it would be an indirect nerf to exuberant strain of the plant, since light would stifle it, making other mutation interesting. I'll also admit I have no idea how hard it would be to code and implement such thing an if it would be balanced or not.

Edited October 11 by Pproy
grammar...

[Sasza22]

Maybe there could be a story trait that provides extra rust. Like a scrapyard or something. You would have to clear the thing up which would provide a lot of rust, some iron and a little steel and then you could use it to revert refined metals into ores which would provide rust as well (the rust would fall of the machine).

[Pproy]

Since we need salt to deoxidize rust, which would mean either we farm dasha salt vine (meaning a map would require a chlorine vent for it to be sustainable) or would require a salt water/brine geyser, would a molten salt geyser (or vent) be something that player be interested in? Their use would be quite niche, but I would rather see that kind of geyser/vent instead of any CO2 one.

[cyberwarlord]

Rusty version of dreckos? Crabs?