Another Engineering Materials Rant.

†L€G€NÐîÿ*D€å†H†

†
So, I've enjoyed this game so far.
Awesome flight controls, neat ships, beautiful sights, good enough mission frameworks, a lot to do and a promising future and what not! All good.
A great space sim!

Until I got to engineering, now not everything is good. Now it feels I'm in an MMORPG and not an space sim.

Now I'm conscious and my ship feels weak knowing it could be inferior to another same ship that has been engineered because I refused to pick up rocks .


I'm a combat pilot, sometimes I just enjoy flying a few meters above the ground of some planet and practice FA off flight, hunt with friends or take photos of my pretty newest ship.
I'm not a rock collector for Raw mats, a Starport scanning tool for Encoded data or a picky scavenger looking for G5 Manufactured pieces.

"It adds hours of gameplay" No, I searched for a guide and now all I got is hours of grind.

"It's a grind if you make it a grind, play naturally and your inventory will fill up itself" No, I played combat naturally and I didn't have any of the required mats. lets not even talk about Raw mats that requires me to "naturally collect rocks", So...Why would I naturally will go to a planet's surface and do something that makes it so I naturally find these rocks? Space Mining? No, I don't like mining.

"Engineer isn't obligatory, don't do it if you don't like how you go about it." Now I'm shooting peas at elite hunts and my friends do all the job, pvp is gated off and I'm conscious my ship would be weak because I refused to pick up rocks or I'm not using the meta engineering build.

How comes nobody in the galaxy made a market out of these things anyway?
Same reason there is no Give Money button I guess. In order to have fun with your friends YOU MUST PICK UP ROCKS! now go! PICK. THEM. UP.

Sure, there are other types of grind, like for a Federal Corvette, but at least there is the excuse that it's a rank within a military body.
What's the excuse on why nobody sells Iron?
Or why another player can't make a bank scanning wakes and selling data to other players at their carriers?

Now I know, if this was really a space sim, then the game should facilitate us to have a experience based on our goals.

But it's an mmorpg, if you want to be on the level than your friends and have a chance at damaging high level enemies you have to follow this set of rules to get the gear needed.
They can't help you, they can't give you rocks. you must go and pick your own rocks.

Doesn't matter if you are here for combat.. now you go for rock picking and Starport scanning.
And the efficient guides for material collecting don't help solve the issue at all, You just concentrate the grind into a Re logging fest. if that is possible, why have a grind at all, it ruins the experience for everyone in the end.


And let's not talk about a galaxy with humanity ever expanding and there is like only 4 guys who decided to read how to tune up your Thrusters and now they call themselves engineers.

If Odyssey adds more gameplay, why not... I don't know... let go a little of this grind? Or Am I going to pick up rocks on foot now?
I'm sorry if I sound fixated on picking up rocks... but hear me here... I'm not here to pick up rocks... I'M NOT HERE TO PICK UP ROCKS!


TL; DR:
Picking up rocks is not my kind of gameplay but I feel gated off from my desired content if I don't pick up rocks. Let me just buy the damn rocks :(
 
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Northpin

Northpin
Welcome to ED.
The only problem with Engineers and material gathering is the fact they are not advertised at all, nor mentioned in the tutorials

IF you knew about materials you could have played in a way that would have guaranteed that you get materials along the way
Still you would have to engage in more than combat to get materials.
And thats another thing: the game kinda pushes you to delve in other areas to unlock engineers and to get materials.

Not at least - ED is a mmorpg, or a career game. You cant really get all the perks in one month of play.

Search some threads, there are plenty of hints regarding getting materials, but the truth is:
you either get them slowly as you play
or
you grind them hard, but risk to burn out and get sick of the game.
 

Northpin

Northpin
Well, guess Odyssey did attracted a lot of returnees and/or new players.
ED being Free on XB Ultimate pass could also be a thing.
 

JTFireblaze

J
To be fair, the "picking up rocks" part of engineering is (probably) the least grindy. There are a bunch of crystal shard locations you can visit as part of an exploration trip and gather a load in one go so that you don't have to continuously grind. I did a loop once and I still haven't had to think about raw materials.

It's the data and the manufactured materials that are a bit of a slog. Relogging at a crash site is not gameplay. Even though that's what every youtuber will tell you to do.

There are a bunch of missions that will give you high level manufactured and data materials, and High Grade Emissions farming is the other way of grinding them out.

The real test will be when people are introduced to the Odyssey grind as well as the Horizons grind. Engineering your suit while engineering your ship too.

You think it's a pain now? Just wait :confused:
 

Brrokk

Brrokk
†L€G€NÐîÿ*D€å†H† said:
So, I've enjoyed this game so far.
Awesome flight controls, neat ships, beautiful sights, good enough mission frameworks, a lot to do and a promising future and what not! All good.
A great space sim!

Until I got to engineering, now not everything is good. Now it feels I'm in an MMORPG and not an space sim.

Now I'm conscious and my ship feels weak knowing it could be inferior to another same ship that has been engineered because I refused to pick up rocks .


I'm a combat pilot, sometimes I just enjoy flying a few meters above the ground of some planet and practice FA off flight, hunt with friends or take photos of my pretty newest ship.
I'm not a rock collector for Raw mats, a Starport scanning tool for Encoded data or a picky scavenger looking for G5 Manufactured pieces.

"It adds hours of gameplay" No, I searched for a guide and now all I got is hours of grind.

"It's a grind if you make it a grind, play naturally and your inventory will fill up itself" No, I played combat naturally and I didn't have any of the required mats. lets not even talk about Raw mats that requires me to "naturally collect rocks", So...Why would I naturally will go to a planet's surface and do something that makes it so I naturally find these rocks? Space Mining? No, I don't like mining.

"Engineer isn't obligatory, don't do it if you don't like how you go about it." Now I'm shooting peas at elite hunts and my friends do all the job, pvp is gated off and I'm conscious my ship would be weak because I refused to pick up rocks or I'm not using the meta engineering build.

How comes nobody in the galaxy made a market out of these things anyway?
Same reason there is no Give Money button I guess. In order to have fun with your friends YOU MUST PICK UP ROCKS! now go! PICK. THEM. UP.

Sure, there are other types of grind, like for a Federal Corvette, but at least there is the excuse that it's a rank within a military body.
What's the excuse on why nobody sells Iron?
Or why another player can't make a bank scanning wakes and selling data to other players at their carriers?

Now I know, if this was really a space sim, then the game should facilitate us to have a experience based on our goals.

But it's an mmorpg, if you want to be on the level than your friends and have a chance at damaging high level enemies you have to follow this set of rules to get the gear needed.
They can't help you, they can't give you rocks. you must go and pick your own rocks.

Doesn't matter if you are here for combat.. now you go for rock picking and Starport scanning.
And the efficient guides for material collecting don't help solve the issue at all, You just concentrate the grind into a Re logging fest. if that is possible, why have a grind at all, it ruins the experience for everyone in the end.


And let's not talk about a galaxy with humanity ever expanding and there is like only 4 guys who decided to read how to tune up your Thrusters and now they call themselves engineers.

If Odyssey adds more gameplay, why not... I don't know... let go a little of this grind? Or Am I going to pick up rocks on foot now?
I'm sorry if I sound fixated on picking up rocks... but hear me here... I'm not here to pick up rocks... I'M NOT HERE TO PICK UP ROCKS!


TL; DR:
Picking up rocks is not my kind of gameplay but I feel gated off from my desired content if I don't pick up rocks. Let me just buy the damn rocks :(
Click to expand...
One question. Does your ship have collector limpets?
Materials are actually among the most valuable things in the game, and any ship without collectors is really crippled in an essential capability, no matter how "combat-ready" it seems.

Here's advice which I've previously compiled from my and others' ideas:-

  • Always carry collector limpets and collect everything left after combat, or be prepared to scoop materials manually. Check the "Contacts" tab to see if any useful materials are nearby.
  • Scan ships whenever entering and leaving a station, and in supercruise when possible. (It used to be the case that Datamined Wake Exceptions could only be got from wake scanning; now you can get them occasionally from ship scans or trade for them instead).
  • Drop in on biological or geological surface sites and collect phloem or crystal clusters, which always yield the planet's grade 5 materials.
  • Get allied and choose missions which give grade 5 materials. Some missions give 5 materials or data, usually Biotech Conductors, Exquisite Focus Crystals or Modified Embedded Firmware.
  • Submit to interdictions and fight pirates rather than running. Delivery missions of precious cargoes from extraction systems can attract pirates which drop grade 5 materials when destroyed.
  • Use traders to even out your stocks, but only to prevent filling up or to get materials you need, not for complete levelling. They don't give good exchange rates.
  • Try out Dav's Hope, crashed Anacondas and Jameson's crashed Cobra; these are special sites which have materials or data available to be collected. Relogging restocks them.
  • Drop in on signal sources when they're nearby, especially high-grade ones.
 

Factabulous

Factabulous
Missed opportunity

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†L€G€NÐîÿ*D€å†H†

†
Brrokk said:
Here's advice which I've previously compiled from my and others' ideas:-
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips!
Yeah, I did start using Collectors when I realized I would need a lot of manufactured materials.

I know I should be open minded and accept that I will have to dedicate a few game sessions to collecting these things but it is still annoying because if I want to be efficient about it it will turn into a relogging galore which tells me those game sessions won't be as fun as just doing my favorite activities.
Thanks again!
 

STARFIRE REVMEUP

STARFIRE REVMEUP
†L€G€NÐîÿ*D€å†H† said:
Thanks for the tips!
Yeah, I did start using Collectors when I realized I would need a lot of manufactured materials.

I know I should be open minded and accept that I will have to dedicate a few game sessions to collecting these things but it is still annoying because if I want to be efficient about it it will turn into a relogging galore which tells me those game sessions won't be as fun as just doing my favorite activities.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...

My raws are all filled to brim...

find planet... read materials list.... oh... polonium it says... note planet has volcanism ... whip out your newly installed surface scanner... map the world... lock onto one of the many geological sites... fly down to surface... land there... lots to pick up.. you will find said stuff more easily. plus, geysers can be cool if active.
 
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here_it_comes

here_it_comes
Copypasta from an older post of mine, from one Combat pilot to another ;)

Mat collection CAN be relatively grindless overall, and I say that as someone who hates grind, knows ED is grindy, yet has plenty of G5 ships and so many engineered modules I have to sell off the ones I don't like somewhat often to make room.

Data Mats: Take missions for Modified Embedded Software and make scanning ships whenever possible a habit. In Supercruise works too.

Raw Mats: Spend one evening at the Crystal Shard sites and be set for months. Look up the Exigeous vid of it on YT.

Manufactured Mats: Blow up NPCs. Don't waste time on collecting Mats lower than G3. I barely even bother with G4, mat trader makes lower grade Mats not worth the time.

I spend 98% of my time doing combat and this keeps me stocked for regular engineering. I recommend avoiding relogging at crashed Anacondas/Dav's Hope/etc. It really sucks and isn't necessary.

On Manufactured Mats and collection for Combat pilots; I personally do not recommend using Collector Limpets unless you're flying a Large ship or a Medium ship that is sluggish. Manually scooping mats is great practice with your vert/lat thrusters, speed control and radar position. Using Collector Limpets sucks up 2 internal slots as well. I only bother with Collectors in my T10 as I can scoop manually very fast in my other ships. The only thing that keeps me from scooping faster is the incredibly dumb collection message that blocks your cargo hatch view.

The real grind is unlocking all the Engineers. Alcohol helps numb the pain, Godspeed. 🍻

o7
 

VR SenseiMatty

VR SenseiMatty
†L€G€NÐîÿ*D€å†H† said:
So, I've enjoyed this game so far.
Awesome flight controls, neat ships, beautiful sights, good enough mission frameworks, a lot to do and a promising future and what not! All good.
A great space sim!

Until I got to engineering, now not everything is good. Now it feels I'm in an MMORPG and not an space sim.

Now I'm conscious and my ship feels weak knowing it could be inferior to another same ship that has been engineered because I refused to pick up rocks .


I'm a combat pilot, sometimes I just enjoy flying a few meters above the ground of some planet and practice FA off flight, hunt with friends or take photos of my pretty newest ship.
I'm not a rock collector for Raw mats, a Starport scanning tool for Encoded data or a picky scavenger looking for G5 Manufactured pieces.

"It adds hours of gameplay" No, I searched for a guide and now all I got is hours of grind.

"It's a grind if you make it a grind, play naturally and your inventory will fill up itself" No, I played combat naturally and I didn't have any of the required mats. lets not even talk about Raw mats that requires me to "naturally collect rocks", So...Why would I naturally will go to a planet's surface and do something that makes it so I naturally find these rocks? Space Mining? No, I don't like mining.

"Engineer isn't obligatory, don't do it if you don't like how you go about it." Now I'm shooting peas at elite hunts and my friends do all the job, pvp is gated off and I'm conscious my ship would be weak because I refused to pick up rocks or I'm not using the meta engineering build.

How comes nobody in the galaxy made a market out of these things anyway?
Same reason there is no Give Money button I guess. In order to have fun with your friends YOU MUST PICK UP ROCKS! now go! PICK. THEM. UP.

Sure, there are other types of grind, like for a Federal Corvette, but at least there is the excuse that it's a rank within a military body.
What's the excuse on why nobody sells Iron?
Or why another player can't make a bank scanning wakes and selling data to other players at their carriers?

Now I know, if this was really a space sim, then the game should facilitate us to have a experience based on our goals.

But it's an mmorpg, if you want to be on the level than your friends and have a chance at damaging high level enemies you have to follow this set of rules to get the gear needed.
They can't help you, they can't give you rocks. you must go and pick your own rocks.

Doesn't matter if you are here for combat.. now you go for rock picking and Starport scanning.
And the efficient guides for material collecting don't help solve the issue at all, You just concentrate the grind into a Re logging fest. if that is possible, why have a grind at all, it ruins the experience for everyone in the end.


And let's not talk about a galaxy with humanity ever expanding and there is like only 4 guys who decided to read how to tune up your Thrusters and now they call themselves engineers.

If Odyssey adds more gameplay, why not... I don't know... let go a little of this grind? Or Am I going to pick up rocks on foot now?
I'm sorry if I sound fixated on picking up rocks... but hear me here... I'm not here to pick up rocks... I'M NOT HERE TO PICK UP ROCKS!


TL; DR:
Picking up rocks is not my kind of gameplay but I feel gated off from my desired content if I don't pick up rocks. Let me just buy the damn rocks :(
Click to expand...
Yep, Engineers is the biggest problem of ED.
First because it's an insult to engineering (yes I'm a real engineer) and second it makes the game unbalanced introducing no fun at all.
 
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