Sandbox mode will do fine

[Jqualine]

Alright listen up, i've spent 20 years in the simulation genre and yet everything in this game feels tedious as hell. That is, if you rely on those little chipmunks which is why, from now on, I will only be playing this nonetheless-interesting game in sandbox mode. Here is the list of things i abhor:

-Sweeping takes way too much time, mainly for two reasons: storage in this game is a thing, while they could ignore it completely and make your resources store themselves automatically (except for maybe special elements such as polluted dirt, slime, etc. that interact with your base/environment); second reason: the dupes can't carry more than 200kg (i believe), which is still a lot for a man irl right, but imo there shouldn't even be any limit, probably because there shouldn't be any storage to start with, hence nothing to carry.

-Water is too scarce. Yes, you shouldn't have more than 8 dudes or so, but even then you can't think about a new project that your people are already starving to death. Maybe implement a way to recycle piss/sweat, or just lower the requirements for food/algae/electrolyzer.

- My dudes are retarded. This is the main reason why this game always makes me mad at some point, even when i try to start over positively, being optimistic about things to come. I mean there is always that dude that you called aaron on purpose and that just. won't. come when you ask him to build a simple tile. I'm like "where are you? where is aaron right now? no aaron huh? well you better be sick, dead or mute aaron" until i realize that he is stuck in his loop of "eating/pissing/generator/sweeping/cooking" and that there is no room for another chore. Or that perhaps there will be one, in like 5 cycles, which is not ok.

-Also i'm tired to set my priorities to 9 whenever i want to create stuff, it wouldn't be necessary if they could take care of the other stuff quickly.

 

Hence my suggestions:

- Remove storage or rethink it. Adds too much time to do anything, too much running back and forth, and in the end you don't spend your time doing interesting stuff.

- Increase the mass of resource the NPCs can carry. It is always ten times longer to sweep the tunnel than to dig it.

- Improve AI/ priority management. NPCs get sometimes stuck when they build "sophisticated stuff" (which means, i have to follow what they are doing but even then i have to demolish stuff, but then it's not reachable anymore, then my hydrogen is leaking in the base oh god, well nevermind sandbox mode where're you at)

- Overall reduce the time required to perform any actions, such as digging, sweeping, mopping, eating, etc.

 

TL;DR: Enhance the QoL and don't try to make the game too realistic, because if it was your main motivation then you should ask yourself why the dupes are always falling "down" to start with? Especially if they start in the center of the asteroid. (Yeah it could be revolving around some planet but even if it was the case, it wouldn't be alone (the planet would be saturn-like and the asteroid would then occasionally collides others thus killing the dupes, at last))

 

 

[abud]

39 minutes ago, Jqualine said:

the dupes can't carry more than 200kg (i believe)

Thankfully Jean a bit better. Did you know carry capacity related to strength and job?

Notice that she have 0 base strength. Some people train their dupe strength, like @Kabrute train them with mopping for example

58 minutes ago, Jqualine said:

Maybe implement a way to recycle piss/sweat

Umm, water sieve didn't count?

59 minutes ago, Jqualine said:

My dudes are retarded

They dropping anything they carry when they need to eat/piss! Come on dude, put that things in storage then you can do your business. This behavior make me mad at them at beginning of my game. After some time, I laugh every time they did it. "You're going to hamster wheel dupe".

I think this behavior should be changed

1 hour ago, Jqualine said:

It is always ten times longer to sweep the tunnel than to dig it

You don't have to bring everything back to base, unless you really want to. Have specialized compactor and think how much you want to hold that specific material at your base, this will do as your primary material storage. I build many extra compactors with priority 3 that holds many things at once, and my dupe fill it when they had nothing better to do. Leave debris in the wild if you didn't need them. Later if you want to build something just see what debris lying around it. It will save much time.

Small tips if you want to bring everything. Build few compactors around the debris, then use it high priority sweep only. After floor clean, you can deconstruct them and sweep them to base. But seriously, I usually just change it to priority 1 and let them bring back to base whenever they like.

[Kabrute]

I have multiple tutorials that will help players get through the game.  As a shortcut just check this save out.  Its cosmic preview, didn't use sandbox
 

Mesopotamia.sav

[Morzy]

My Tidy dude has bonuses of +300kg and +800, and I'm only on 40 or so. It does take a while, but if you get people to do each specific job needed (I have eight) and manage your priorities, you should be fine.

[Ambaire]

7 hours ago, Jqualine said:

second reason: the dupes can't carry more than 200kg

Do you never train dupes in the supply jobs? I have dedicated couriers that carry 1500kg+, and after a dupe gets trained in the job I need them to do, I go up the gofer -> courier tree for them, as well.

 

That being said, yes, the dupes are mentally retarded. I wish they were slightly more intelligent.. Namely, finish the current job before eating/sleeping/bathroom. Finish stowing the thing, finish eating, etc.

[vtx]

Yeah thanks for sandbox mode!!

This game is counter intuitive for a GOD like game.  Naturally in any game like that you want thing build/explore faster ( and at some point you MUST do that ) then you simply add  minions.

Now because of the rule #1 a.k.a Keep a low population untill you can sustain more... but be sure of not overpopulate it.

The start of the game is painfully slow. It's more like an idle game, plan your design, watch TV while waiting. Check sometime that you have enought ressource ( food, algeae, water,coal ) for them to finish, if not stop what they are doing ( remove priority 9 ) and place this over the required ressources.

By the time I have setup electrolyser around cycle 100, I get bored of the game and don't see a reason to go beyond that as it's seem the only reason to continue is to setup a new power method before coal run out.

...

Now with sandbox mode I found the game a lot more enjoyable and I play far beyond electrolyser.

 

 

[Smuch]

Not that I necessarily disagree with some of the raised point about counter intuitiveness, sweepng taking forece (yes strength capacity is tied to strength but at the stat o the game unless you got dclously lucky or specific with sta shuffle you won't get that mch dupicant with strength compred to the qultitiesof matter to transport.transport automatisation is very ate ame (mostly cause it require the oh so elusive plastics) Some carrying multipliers, be they the oh so suggested bagpacks, mule or sweepin drones, hell even wheelbarrows, why not, would make the early to mid game so much soother on that front) and Duplicant AI but I thnk the good old "It's early acces,,still work in progress" still apply here.

Also I definitvely think comparing this to a mobile game is harsh, there's stilll way more going  there.

That said, man, sometime i whish I could slap my duplicants dungeon keeper style.

[Yoma_Nosme]

AAAARROOOOONN!!!

[Ambaire]

4 hours ago, Smuch said:

That said, man, sometime i whish I could slap my duplicants dungeon keeper style.

I've ended at least two games by teleporting all my dupes into lava after a bout of especially egregious duplicant stupidity.