Forums » Suggestions
Manufacturing needs improvements
I'm sure this has been suggested before. Don't care.
Firstly, manufacturing needs to happen from station inventory rather than ship docking. I'm sure there was some reason for this when the system was set up, but it is absurd- particularly now that trident manufacturing is here and requires so many of the same items be produced- which leads to the second improvement.
The manufacturing system needs to analyzed station inventory and offer the player an option of how many widgets they wish to manufacture based on complete sets of required items.
Now obviously this should wait if it's going to require a complete reworking of the system in order to complete more the more pressing matters of economy and faction redux.
Firstly, manufacturing needs to happen from station inventory rather than ship docking. I'm sure there was some reason for this when the system was set up, but it is absurd- particularly now that trident manufacturing is here and requires so many of the same items be produced- which leads to the second improvement.
The manufacturing system needs to analyzed station inventory and offer the player an option of how many widgets they wish to manufacture based on complete sets of required items.
Now obviously this should wait if it's going to require a complete reworking of the system in order to complete more the more pressing matters of economy and faction redux.
Manufacturing needs improvements
Duh. :p +1
Duh. :p +1
+10
+1
Using missions for manufacturing has always felt like a shortcut that was hastily implemented. A proper tab for managing manufacturing would be a welcome addition, and would solve some of the shortcomings of the current system, such as:
1) having to manually load cargo and redock with the station
2) being limited to building one unit at a time
3) losing the items already consumed if you have to abort the mission mid-way through for some reason
4) having to leave your group in order to manufacture
Not to mention the whole process is time consuming. The first manufacturing I did was creating 20 units of FFSS. After I had brought all the resources I needed to the station, I thought I was almost done. It ended up taking me 20 minutes to go through the mission 20 times, manually loading the cargo needed each time. 1258 manufacturing missions need to be taken to build the Trident M, and at one minute per mission is nearly 21 hours clicking the load button, the launch button and redocking over and over again (probably more than that considering some missions require multiple loads).
That experience is what inspired me to write MfgAide, which certainly helps improve the manufacturing process a bit, but I still look forward to the day that a proper manufacturing interface is implemented and MfgAide goes obsolete.
A proper manufacturing interface would also allow for some cool new features, such as checking inventory levels before/after, seeing at a glance which items are missing, and possibly even support for things like blueprints that can be earned/collected/researched, etc.
Using missions for manufacturing has always felt like a shortcut that was hastily implemented. A proper tab for managing manufacturing would be a welcome addition, and would solve some of the shortcomings of the current system, such as:
1) having to manually load cargo and redock with the station
2) being limited to building one unit at a time
3) losing the items already consumed if you have to abort the mission mid-way through for some reason
4) having to leave your group in order to manufacture
Not to mention the whole process is time consuming. The first manufacturing I did was creating 20 units of FFSS. After I had brought all the resources I needed to the station, I thought I was almost done. It ended up taking me 20 minutes to go through the mission 20 times, manually loading the cargo needed each time. 1258 manufacturing missions need to be taken to build the Trident M, and at one minute per mission is nearly 21 hours clicking the load button, the launch button and redocking over and over again (probably more than that considering some missions require multiple loads).
That experience is what inspired me to write MfgAide, which certainly helps improve the manufacturing process a bit, but I still look forward to the day that a proper manufacturing interface is implemented and MfgAide goes obsolete.
A proper manufacturing interface would also allow for some cool new features, such as checking inventory levels before/after, seeing at a glance which items are missing, and possibly even support for things like blueprints that can be earned/collected/researched, etc.
There's actually nothing wrong with the Trident building process we have at the moment EXCEPT the ridiculous tedium with which you have to dock and undock 1,000,000,000 times just to make stuff that could easily be queued up and made in the background from station inventory.
Let's not even talk about the 45minutes (yes, I timed it) of straight logging on and off that you have to do in order to build a trident. 45 MINUTES of typing your password over and over. LOL
Despite these criticisms, I don't actually think these changes should be given top priority per se. First, fix the tridents. Give them shields, capgauss and a lending system. Make them something that people want to build, THEN fix the manufacturing system to make them easier to build.
Plenty of people are undertaking the building process, but so many more don't see what the point of them is in the first-place if they are just "big floating behemoths with docking bays".
The same goes for manufacturable weapons etc.. etc.. Give us something worth making, new types of flares? lenbs? new blasters? SOMETHING that makes people go "hey, instead of hauling gats I might make some of those cool x that everybody wants"
+1 to The Fluffy..for being fluffy
+1 to meridian and +1000 to MfgAide which I was privileged enough to be able to beta test.
Let's not even talk about the 45minutes (yes, I timed it) of straight logging on and off that you have to do in order to build a trident. 45 MINUTES of typing your password over and over. LOL
Despite these criticisms, I don't actually think these changes should be given top priority per se. First, fix the tridents. Give them shields, capgauss and a lending system. Make them something that people want to build, THEN fix the manufacturing system to make them easier to build.
Plenty of people are undertaking the building process, but so many more don't see what the point of them is in the first-place if they are just "big floating behemoths with docking bays".
The same goes for manufacturable weapons etc.. etc.. Give us something worth making, new types of flares? lenbs? new blasters? SOMETHING that makes people go "hey, instead of hauling gats I might make some of those cool x that everybody wants"
+1 to The Fluffy..for being fluffy
+1 to meridian and +1000 to MfgAide which I was privileged enough to be able to beta test.
For some items, a continuously running process (assembly line) that will produce a given item for you so long as you keep it fed with the raw materials necessary. This approach would dramatically shorten some construction times, as well as properly simulate what really happens. This would allow those guilds which want to specialize in manufacturing the ability to create proper supply lines for setting up and feeding those assembly lines.
45 minutes of logging off and on? Why was that necessary? Transferring goods between alts?
Not sure I like the idea of an assembly line, which implies significant delays. I don't think we need that level of realism. This is a fast twitchy game. A short several second delay for the sake of appearances would be acceptable, but nothing more than that.
It would be neat if the system were smart enough to let you build higher-level parts and automatically construct the sub components if the required goods are available, and if that station can build them.
When checking part availability and telling you about any missing bits, it could also check your various station inventories to let you know if you have them in stock somewhere else. Maybe color-code or sort it by distance.
Not sure I like the idea of an assembly line, which implies significant delays. I don't think we need that level of realism. This is a fast twitchy game. A short several second delay for the sake of appearances would be acceptable, but nothing more than that.
It would be neat if the system were smart enough to let you build higher-level parts and automatically construct the sub components if the required goods are available, and if that station can build them.
When checking part availability and telling you about any missing bits, it could also check your various station inventories to let you know if you have them in stock somewhere else. Maybe color-code or sort it by distance.
The same goes for manufacturable weapons etc.. etc.. Give us something worth making, new types of flares? lenbs? new blasters?
I think Concussion Railguns are pretty cool.
I think Concussion Railguns are pretty cool.
45 minutes of logging off and on? Why was that necessary? Transferring goods between alts?
Yeah it's the fastest and most convenient way to complete the trident mission. Because the station entrance and exit points are 16,000m away from each other and the list of ingredients, especially while being manufactured, is way too big to be kept at i8 after manufacture. So you end up moving all the stuff to m7. So then you can either A) undock from m7 and fly 16,000m roughly and redock x100 or just log off and log back on so that the mission accepts your inventory. The result is 45minutes of straight logging to complete the trident mission.
I think Concussion Railguns are pretty cool.
Conceptually, they are awesome. But having a weapon that nobody uses because you can't reload it is an insult to the attempt at a new skill. You want manufacturing to become something people REALLY want to do? Make weapons that people want to put on valkryies, warthogs and skyproms in competitive configurations, not just novelty weapons that have niche uses.
Yeah it's the fastest and most convenient way to complete the trident mission. Because the station entrance and exit points are 16,000m away from each other and the list of ingredients, especially while being manufactured, is way too big to be kept at i8 after manufacture. So you end up moving all the stuff to m7. So then you can either A) undock from m7 and fly 16,000m roughly and redock x100 or just log off and log back on so that the mission accepts your inventory. The result is 45minutes of straight logging to complete the trident mission.
I think Concussion Railguns are pretty cool.
Conceptually, they are awesome. But having a weapon that nobody uses because you can't reload it is an insult to the attempt at a new skill. You want manufacturing to become something people REALLY want to do? Make weapons that people want to put on valkryies, warthogs and skyproms in competitive configurations, not just novelty weapons that have niche uses.
So you mean logging in has the same effect as docking? Did you try a ReloadInterface() to see if it did the same thing?
ya know I didn't, lol. not gonna build another one just to find out LOL
Ryan, what you're describing with the station automatically building certain subassemblies when the parts are available? THAT's an assembly line. ;)
I'm not ryan. And what I was objecting to was the idea of having it set up to say, eat 400 ore per hour and spit out 3 widgets per hour, which would involve non-instantaneous crafting.
Having a checkbox to have it automatically construct things when resources are dropped off, instead of requiring you to manually initiate the construction, would be just fine. If that's what you meant, then +1.
There could also be a way to create a hopper that could accept materials from anybody (but not allow withdrawals). This way you could have multiple people feeding the factory without having to manually collect the ingredients from them, or worry about access keys or anything. Since nobody would be allowed to withdraw from it (not even the owner), there isn't a need to restrict access.
That would go a very long way toward making group and guild efforts more effective, and without requiring proper shared inventories or in-station trading. Not that those are necessarily bad things, and they could certainly make this even better (e.g. linking the output to guild-storage), but since they aren't requirements, it makes the idea that much more feasible.
Having a checkbox to have it automatically construct things when resources are dropped off, instead of requiring you to manually initiate the construction, would be just fine. If that's what you meant, then +1.
There could also be a way to create a hopper that could accept materials from anybody (but not allow withdrawals). This way you could have multiple people feeding the factory without having to manually collect the ingredients from them, or worry about access keys or anything. Since nobody would be allowed to withdraw from it (not even the owner), there isn't a need to restrict access.
That would go a very long way toward making group and guild efforts more effective, and without requiring proper shared inventories or in-station trading. Not that those are necessarily bad things, and they could certainly make this even better (e.g. linking the output to guild-storage), but since they aren't requirements, it makes the idea that much more feasible.
Sorry, Rin. The dangers of typing when asleep I guess. At least I got the R part right. ;)
What you're describing is as close as an assembly line as we're likely to expect in VO and really IS what I'm trying to describe. My deepest hope is that eventually all items in stations are generated by some kind of manufacturing process; they just don't have to be player initiated. Stations could post missions for materials they need to continue manufacturing of something (e.g. weapons, ships, commercial items) and continue producing them as long as the raw materials are available. In lieu of proper pricing changes due to availability, this would produce real shortages of stuff, and allow for actual interdiction of stations. An automated process which fires if A) the player selects it or B) the item is of a more mundane nature and runs whenever the materials are available is exactly what I'm trying to describe and what we really need.
This approach should produce a much higher ratio of traders moving freight. Like it or not, if there are too few traders for those who would prey upon them, the long term effect on the game is negative.
What you're describing is as close as an assembly line as we're likely to expect in VO and really IS what I'm trying to describe. My deepest hope is that eventually all items in stations are generated by some kind of manufacturing process; they just don't have to be player initiated. Stations could post missions for materials they need to continue manufacturing of something (e.g. weapons, ships, commercial items) and continue producing them as long as the raw materials are available. In lieu of proper pricing changes due to availability, this would produce real shortages of stuff, and allow for actual interdiction of stations. An automated process which fires if A) the player selects it or B) the item is of a more mundane nature and runs whenever the materials are available is exactly what I'm trying to describe and what we really need.
This approach should produce a much higher ratio of traders moving freight. Like it or not, if there are too few traders for those who would prey upon them, the long term effect on the game is negative.
+ 1 to assembly line group / guild manufacturing.
As a solo player, I still prefer to dictate when and how much of widget X the station produces for me.
As a solo player, I still prefer to dictate when and how much of widget X the station produces for me.
We are unlikely to get new weapons for an increased number of manufacturing missions anytime soon, and merely creating missions to craft existing weapons isn't going to be very exciting since the weapons are already extremely inexpensive as it is. One idea that I have toyed with is removing one addon variation in a series from station inventories and making them manufactured instead. So the Plasma HX, Gauss mk3, and Neutron mk3 could be made craftable with this approach. O