Well the day finally came - my home base on earth has been discovered and infiltrated! I knew something was wrong when the main door was open and other doors broken. I was then killed by my own defense turrets!
UPDATE - It appears my old "friend" who compromised my asteroid base somehow found my earth base as well, the "I tried to steal your ship, sorry for the damage!" guy. The good news is that he's not messed with my asteroid base since, so I my earth base may be okay since I've retaken it. That said, I'll be spending time modifying my space station as a backup base just in case. I'll also be fortifying my earth base with better defenses in case this dufus returns, and I've offloaded all my valuable ores and ingots (like uranium) to a safer place.
pity we can't transfer our inventory/assets between private and public servers on the fly.
Anyways this was a good learning XP in building security design. For your base and you both
I'm debating whether or not I should just decommission my earth base. The main advantage of scrapping it is that it would free up a bunch of PCU. The main disadvantage is that I put a lot of work into it, and like an actual home, there are a lot of memories. It is also a good backup if my starship and / or space station are ever compromised. I guess I'll wait and see if the vandals return or not. If the location of this base is truly compromised, then decommissioning it is the best option. I'll then build a very simple remote outpost with the basics somewhere as my backup base.
I confess my amazement that so few Elite Dangerous fans are interested in Space Engineers. I'm late to this game because I only recently learned about it. Part of my reason for maintaining this thread is to show how much SE has in common with ED. It's not just a space-themed Minecraft like I first assumed when I heard about it. It have many of the elements of Elite along with many things ED is currently lacking. The main "negative" is that people think ships look like they are made out of Legos, but there are many nice ships in the Workshop that feel like stereotypical SciFi ships, especially if you consider more practical "realistic" SciFi like The Expanse.
Anyway, it's too bad, because I think this game is amazing and has pretty much replaced ED as my #1 favorite space game. Maybe it's time I find a forum dedicated to SE..
IMO I think there is high potential interest there. But many seem put off by the level of effort they believe may be necessary to acquire/fly ships. Or in the Sims like base building.
In other words, it seems many of the PvE minded ED players are creatively challenged and/or too lazy to building vehicles/stuff. They would rather grind or RP their way via missions to buy their ships. Then use NPCs to engineer/improve their ships. Instead of foraging/exploring mats to build/design their ships from scratch (could be wrong here but seems a lot of ppl simply lack the patience and time resource to build their own ship from scratch).
Same for PvP minded players who couldn't care less about the creative building end. They're more plug and play minded e.g. instantaneous gratification acquisition from PvP attack/steal so they can buy their way into acquiring/engineering the best ship ASAP.
There is also the game world design aesthetic:
ED fundamentally incorporates curvature/contour geometry by default of its realism based space vehicle design.
SE fundamentally does not based on the physical design limitations of its voxel based geometric design.
IMO a good number ED fan base don't play SE because
they don't know about SE. Or if they do,
they're realism gamers who prefer graphics over game play functionality/substance. And so don't care for the voxel/Minecraft based design aesthetic. Or if that isn't the issue, then
they don't care because survival game mechanic elements (regardless of how light) in their game play is a turn off. Or
they still don't care because they're either too lazy, impatient, and/or not as creative/diligent in designing their own space/air/land craft. Or perhaps a combination of all these
I also suspect there are quite a few players who would be interested in SE if it were less sandbox i.e. had more game mechanics structures like lore, quest/achievement based, and had a dynamic BGS. All game play features which ED currently has and does well to date. For these folks, playing a creative PvE mindset and player driven, emergent game play sandbox makes them feel lost as they have no guiding quest markers/missions to accomplish i.e. they're less creative minded and more achievement/goal oriented mindset gamers. But you've proved the lack of this game play is quite achievable through all the emergent game play you've encountered in your engineer diary to date.
And yet another example of such emergent game play was showcased in the official SE Wasteland DLC trailer below. Where it's clear the (literal 6 or so ??) new voxel blocs and 2-3 specialized curvature functional blocks (the wheels etc.) added by this DLC created the possibility for a drag race.
A player inspired emergent game play event with even greater emergent game play from player agency (eg other players being able to bet/gamble real time on said drag race). Which is now possible given the prior player to player/player to NPC trade interactions that were added by the Economy update DLC. Not to mention other limitless emergent game play possibilities (e.g. designing land vehicle builds for a SAR squadron on public servers, a platoon to engage other player orgs in PvP land battles etc. etc):
So I suspect more ED players would play SE if it were for these 3 things:
First. Keen dev expanding the SE universe scope. From limited scenarios/set galaxy in a set sky box on private/public servers, to a realistic/dynamic proc gen universe. With functional NPC AI in diverse roles. Which in turn, would finally put SE on par with ED and Empyrion Galactic.
Second, the cosmetic/superficial. This is down to personal preference i.e. making SE more realistic looking in its visual aesthetic. What's most jarring for me by means of immersion, is fact the human models and planetary world models are not voxel based. SE graphics lies somewhere between the low res of Empyrion Galactic and HD standard of ED. But they're still as realistic as any medium res 3D game on the market. And yet still all buildings and vehicles are Minecraft based by default of their fundamental Voxel based bloc design. Unfortunately, the voxel aesthetic is a permanent, non negotiable design game limitation. But one that DOES have work arounds i.e. adding numerous blocs to approach a smoother contour design aesthetic. Which introduces a trade off in terms of game performance for the added memory/graphics requirement
Third, actual game mechanics design. If Keen dev went more the route of Eleon Games Studios. Similar to FDev, Eleon added a weak MQ and structured/associated side quest elements to Empyrion Galactic Survival. And are currently in process of updating this to date. SE lacks these RP elements by default of its nature as a creative sandbox. So it's really up to the player to create emergent game play modes the way you did with that other rogue player
Ironically, emergent sandbox game play WILL become a significant game play mechanic in ED once Odyssey is released this year. So it will be interesting to see how SE fares for the more emergent game play minded ED fan base.
I'm debating whether or not I should just decommission my earth base. The main advantage of scrapping it is that it would free up a bunch of PCU. The main disadvantage is that I put a lot of work into it, and like an actual home, there are a lot of memories. It is also a good backup if my starship and / or space station are ever compromised. I guess I'll wait and see if the vandals return or not. If the location of this base is truly compromised, then decommissioning it is the best option. I'll then build a very simple remote outpost with the basics somewhere as my backup base.
Oh that's a real agonizing decision to make. Have you considered the alternative of building 100% of it underground? Guard the single entrance (small footprint) with a shield block only accessible to you and/or the friends in your org. Now you see why I don't over invest my time in TLC building things in SE. I would become too attached to them.
Anyways, there is hope and a solution to your dilemma. Turns out Keen decided to listen to the fan base from one of the many suggestions players kept harassing them on. You need to use the blueprint feature as explained by Splisie below. Works the same for base building as it does for ships/vehicles:
Using a blueprint of your base will save you hours of having to rebuild the original structure. You should be able to rebuild your entire base within mins with this utility as long as you have the appropriate amount of materials and/or money in your inventory.
Using a blueprint of your base will save you hours of having to rebuild the original structure. You should be able to rebuild your entire base within mins with this utility as long as you have the appropriate amount of materials and/or money in your inventory.
Also, there is no need to forever lose one's work, thanks to blueprints. I blueprint anything I build that is worth keeping, and I can easily reproduce it in solo creative mode anytime I want. Or conversely, I'll prototype a build in creative mode, like my new underground rocket silo, and then use a projector to place it in the live server and build it that way. Either way, I always have a copy of my hard work and clever designs.
^^
O.K. Professor Smarty Pants. So you mentioned that back on-----
........POST #21 ON PAGE 2/8 in this thread. Now why didn't my sorry ADHD think of scrolling back that far?
Now I'm confused. If you blueprinted everything that wots the problem? Still can't see why you're so adverse to building 100% underground. That less of a security entry point migraine.
Disclaimer: I don't normally read N posts between the OP first post and last page
Now I'm confused. If you blueprinted everything that wots the problem? Still can't see why you're so adverse to building 100% underground. That less of a security entry point migraine.
My first [invited] visitor! I suspect it may be a few weeks before we meet again, as the alien planet is far away and my ship wasn't designed for high G. Though I do think I could skydive down and then "beam" back up to the ship, but I'll wait for you to have a base of your own first. Good news is it sounds like you'll be left unharnessed on that planet.
Regarding underground, there's a glitch on the servers that lets you see through the ground at altitude, something I learned after-the-fact, so my base is easier to spot from further up because it's not under a lot of dirt. My next base will be WAY underground and hopefully immune to this effect. I really wish Keen would fix this. Still, one has to really be looking to spot my base during a flyover.
The server I've been on has been mighty busy lately... Can't get in tonight. It has me considering making the move to another server with a higher player cap, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger just yet. In the meantime I've got RDO to occupy my "Server Full" hours.
"Why does this always happen to me?" Commander Inga Stevenson wondered aloud as she ejected from the doomed Krait Phantom. "Everything was going well, and then 'bam,' some weird time-space phenomenon ruins your life... again."
The good news was that this system was inhabited. The bad news was that the planet she was dropping towards wasn't. The best news that was Commander @Old Duck, a friend of hers, was in the system. The badder news was that his signal was from a completely different planet than the one she was on. The worst news that there were apparently quite a few pirates, thieves, and cuthroats living in the system, based on the warning messages she'd gotten, as well as potentially friendly faces.
The better news? Well... two out of three is pretty good in her book.
At any rate, the escape had survived entry into the atmosphere, and was descending towards a verdant, though thoroughly alien, plain below:
The temperature of this ammonia world was quite frigid, which was sure to stress Remlock's enviromental capacity to its limit. The atmosphere was think, almost soupy at times, but with trace amounts of oxygen... assuming that one had the equipment to extract it. At least the gravity was a comfortable 1.1 gravities: not nearly as high as her home world Emerald, but still familiar enough not to drive her batty.
Still, time was of the essence, so it was best to get her starting base up and running as soon as possible. She quickly cannibalized parts of the escape pod to rig up an oxygen extractor, so she wouldn't waste the survival pod's limited supplies on oxygen production. She then started setting up her base. Between salvaging some parts from the survival pod, and using its limited fabrication capabilities for others, along with a couple of "emergency pods" that landed nearby, she soon had a primitive assembler up and running, along with a windmill to supply it power.
She was using her jet pack's limited supply of fuel to return from another salvage trip when the Phenomenon struck for the first time. Her world went, for want of a better term, wonky. She lost fine motor control, and the world seemed somehow stuttery, as if she was seeing it through a fast slide show.
She also ran into a tree about 500 meters from her new home. Somehow, despite the pain and the bizarreness of the Phenomenon, she staggered back to camp. And that was when she realized that the Phenomenon wasn't just affecting her, but her survival pod as well. In particular, the pod's power system.
"Fusion cells damaged... two hours to containment failure." The pod helpfully informed her.
It wasn't as bad as it sounded... a containment failure could easily be avoided by simply discharging the cells into the ground. But that would mean she would lose all their stored power, and it was a lot. Power she wanted to use to get her base up and running, and ideally transfer into a more secure storage.
On the other hand, a containment failure would completely destroy what was left of the pod. And she wasn't sure that the Phenomenon wouldn't do more damage to her, or the pod's fusion cells.
It was time for plan "B": try to salvage what she could. First, she removed the survival kit from the pod, and attached it to her new base. No matter what else happened, that piece of kit was the most important. It would take some of her precious metal grids, but she added some cargo capacity to her base. She ripped out the gas generator next, and used the parts to create an oxygen extractor instead, and put what was left into storage.
As she was tearing out more parts of the survival pod, the Phenomenon passed.
"Fusion cells damaged... forty minutes to containment failure."
Unfortunately, the effects still lingered. Despite only fifteen minutes passing, her survival pod wasn't long for this world. Still, there were problems to solve, so she'd better start solving them. Starting with installing a primitive refinery, which would then feed her assembler the material she needed to construct the last key component of her starting base: a battery for energy storage. It was a long cycle of mining, refining, and assembling, but eventually both vital pieces of equipment had been installed.
"Fusion cells damaged... 20 minutes to containment failure."
Okay... she might not be able to salvage every kilo-watt-hour of energy remaining in the battery, she should be able to salvage most. She hurriedly attached a connecter and sledge to the battery, and added another to the base.
She stepped behind the sledge, and with her Remlock's artificial muscles assisting her own Heavyworlder physique, she starting shoving it closer to the base.
"Fusion cells damaged... 10 minutes to containment failure"
It didn't budge at all. The effects of the Phenomenon still lingered. She reluctantly discharged the cells, and salvaged what was left for parts.
Completely exhausted, as well as battered and bruised, she attached her Remlock to the survival kit, and allowed sleep to claim her.
She had survived the crash.
Tomorrow, she vowed to thrive.
Thanks to work, even on my days off I'm up well before the sun. So I planned on getting as much of my starting base up and running as possible before it got busy on the server. I'd rehearsed my opening gambit a couple of times this after work, in anticipation of this morning.
The one thing I didn't anticipate was the massive lag spike that struck about 7am. As I told Old Duck when it happened, it was Star Citizen levels of jankiness, which lasted around fifteen minutes. I would've logged out, I would've lost all the progress I'd made to that point. While I'm sure Comcast's "wonderful" broadband was probably a contributor to the problem, 40 minutes later Keen restarted the server.
Okay... she might not be able to salvage every kilo-watt-hour of energy remaining in the battery, she should be able to salvage most. She hurriedly attached a connecter and sledge to the battery, and added another to the base.
Are you able to build windmills on the alien planet? A windmill is a component-cheap and reliable power source. As for using the two connectors, had you build them in relative proximity, and had both been connected, the magnetic attraction should have pulled them together. Another option that might have worked would be to cut one of the atmospheric thrusters from the escape pod and attach it to the bottom of your sled pushing forward, and slowly dial up the thrust override until you can move the sled by pushing it with your body, careful not to overdrive the thruster (don't want to have battery flying down the field out of control). Though a cheap timer block could be used to turn off thruster after a couple of seconds just in case sled did get away from you.
You'll have to send me your GPS coordinates. I'm not going to land on the planet right away, as I don't know if I'd be able to return to my ship, but I can fly overhead in orbit and turn on my beacon, and then you can look up in the sky and see that Old Duck is up there waiting for you to join him in the heavens someday. I can even drop a care package if you're ever desperate for unobtainable supplies.
Are you able to build windmills on the alien planet? A windmill is a component-cheap and reliable power source. As for using the two connectors, had you build them in relative proximity, and had both been connected, the magnetic attraction should have pulled them together. Another option that might have worked would be to cut one of the atmospheric thrusters from the escape pod and attach it to the bottom of your sled pushing forward, and slowly dial up the thrust override until you can move the sled by pushing it with your body, careful not to overdrive the thruster (don't want to have battery flying down the field out of control). Though a cheap timer block could be used to turn off thruster after a couple of seconds just in case sled did get away from you.
You'll have to send me your GPS coordinates. I'm not going to land on the planet right away, as I don't know if I'd be able to return to my ship, but I can fly overhead in orbit and turn on my beacon, and then you can look up in the sky and see that Old Duck is up there waiting for you to join him in the heavens someday. I can even drop a care package if you're ever desperate for unobtainable supplies.
Windmills are actually more efficient on the alien planet than earth is. Mine's able to produce nearly 500, vs the 350 they can produce on earth.
As for the sledge... it wasn't that far, and it was moving a bit, but I think the lag I was experiencing was causing problems. In my test runs, I was able to push it around very easily. If it wasn't for the server reset, I would've attached small wheels and moved it that way, but sadly it takes about 20 minutes to transfer the energy. I opted to go for the salvage instead, especially since a survival pod dropped nearby. It was one of those annoying ones that would fly away when you get too close, so I snagged another metal grid. Where I landed is nice and flat, so I can use a buggy to explore my surroundings, but I've now got enough grid for six small thrusters!
Next time I have a chance to log in, I'll check my coordinates and send them to you. It's definitely not going to be my first proper base. It's more of an emergency shelter. That's going to be built near supplies of nickel, iron, and/or cobalt. Which I have to find first. I did find a deposit of silver, though, so once I find cobalt, I'll be able to build a cryo-pod.
Here's my favorite ship from the show, designed, created, and flown by CMDR Vii. I must admit it makes me feel a bit inferior in my little flying shoebox after seeing this masterpiece! They say competition is good as it forces us to improve, so I guess I'll be working on a nicer looking ship to take to the next dance, as time allows of course.
Just so you know, a server reset won't reset your progress or even your character. You'll be disconnected briefly (a minute or two) and then you'll log right back in where you left off. I don't know about your first respawn pod, however...
The one time server resets are dangerous are if they happen when the server is full, as someone might end up grabbing your slot during the relog phase, in which case your character may die.
Just so you know, a server reset won't reset your progress or even your character. You'll be disconnected briefly (a minute or two) and then you'll log right back in where you left off. I don't know about your first respawn pod, however...
The one time server resets are dangerous are if they happen when the server is full, as someone might end up grabbing your slot during the relog phase, in which case your character may die.
Given how difficult it can be find time to play games, I'm going to assume that I'll lose my spot the next time I log in. Which means everything into storage when I log out. Which is exactly what I did when they announced the server was going to be rebooted again.
Bad news is that I feel like I just got on...
Good news is that I managed to build this in the mean time:
Also found cobalt while chasing supply pods. Still no nickel, though, no good clusters of minerals for a more permanent base.
Given how difficult it can be find time to play games, I'm going to assume that I'll lose my spot the next time I log in. Which means everything into storage when I log out.
Yes your personal inventory will be wiped if you log out for any length of time, UNTIL you build a cryo chamber. Then you just climb into your pod before you log out, and your character is "saved" in suspended animation until you log back in again.
The good news is that as long as a survival kit or med bay is active, even if you die, you'll respawn back at your base / ship. You work will persist as long as it's powered and you log in once every couple of weeks (and as long as nobody else finds it).
Yes your personal inventory will be wiped if you log out for any length of time, UNTIL you build a cryo chamber. Then you just climb into your pod before you log out, and your character is "saved" in suspended animation until you log back in again.
The good news is that as long as a survival kit or med bay is active, even if you die, you'll respawn back at your base / ship. You work will persist as long as it's powered and you log in once every couple of weeks (and as long as nobody else finds it).
Good to hear that my understanding is correct. I'm also assuming that an antenna set to "share with faction" won't attract unwanted information. I sent you my starting base's coordinates before I logged out. Hopefully it's in a format you can use.
Good to hear that my understanding is correct. I'm also assuming that an antenna set to "share with faction" won't attract unwanted information. I sent you my starting base's coordinates before I logged out. Hopefully it's in a format you can use.
Antennas can be seen by anyone unless you are using a laser antenna, so I don't recommend them unless you keep them at short range (or use them from a mobile location like a ship). As for coordinates, PM me a copy here like I sent you, because I didn't get anything in the game. I can then C&P them into GPS. Speaking of, just set a GPS coordinate for your base, "Copy to clipboard", then paste in forum PM.
ps - the evil Kusto has a base on the alien planet (he has bases on most planets IIRC), so you definitely want to keep a low profile!
Unfortunately, the voxel aesthetic is a permanent, non negotiable design game limitation. But one that DOES have work arounds i.e. adding numerous blocs to approach a smoother contour design aesthetic. Which introduces a trade off in terms of game performance for the added memory/graphics requirement
