Suggestion for the Planning Mode

[ThePyro]

Currently, Planning Mode acts primarily as a pause function—allowing players to look around and make short-term assessments. What if we could expand it into a more powerful tool, one that is especially beneficial for cooperative multiplayer?

Perhaps players could be given the ability to sketch out complex construction layouts without spending resources. These sketches would appear as ghost blueprints visible to other players. This could turn construction into a truly collaborative effort! An Engineer-focused player might lay out the blueprint, a Miner with a powerful pickaxe could swiftly clear the designated area, and a Manufacturer could bring the required components to assemble everything. Naturally, these roles are flexible and anyone could perform any task, but this would add a significant layer of depth specifically for multiplayer sessions.

To maintain game balance, the Planning Mode could retain its standard field of view, while gaining some additional utility. For example, a new research could be added to the Cartography branch. This would unlock either a new structure or a dedicated "Projects" button within the existing Cartographer interface. Any player at the base could then access this to see which blueprints currently exist, where structures are planned, and exactly which components are still required to complete the active projects.

It would be great if multiple projects could be active simultaneously. To prevent indiscriminate spamming of sketches across the entire map, perhaps each active project could require a small power draw—say, 5W per project. Not a prohibitive cost, but enough to encourage thoughtful planning.

[Lisgen]

I feel the same way. Just like in Oxygen Not Included, we could allocate the required materials in advance, place a blueprint, and then carry out deconstruction, construction, and replacement in sequence. The main real challenge is figuring out a way to transfer building materials to the blueprint in a way that feels logical and consistent with the game’s mechanics.