Most of their base defenses are plasma cannons, which I believe are the most powerful weapons in the game. If I had had steel armor, as opposed to carbon fiber, it would've absorbed most of the damage, sparing the modular storage in the center. If the ship had been empty, it would've been fast enough to get out of range before they got off more than a few shots. Combine both, and it was like flying a clay target through a shooting range.
All in all, it was a very poor decision to continue scouting after I'd mined load of cobalt.
In my experience, though, in the "survival" game, there's so few enemies that you really don't have to worry much about it. It's the scenarios, and of course PvP servers, where this becomes an issue.
It's been a busy week at work and at home. But I finally finished the next round of Space Engineers - Sidewinder Edition! Episode 18... Life Support.
The round started out by connecting the cockpit to the proverbial plumbing.
That's when I had the absolutely brilliant decision to install the life support systems (Oxygen Tank, O2/H2 Generator, and Survival Kit) in that space between the landing gear and the cockpit. This required removing the blocks I'd placed there to ensure that the ship's atmosphere wouldn't leak out through that space in the first place. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Soon enough, the life support systems were installed:
Life support in place, it was time to finish the hull. And for that, I'd need another load of iron.
The installing the top of the hull didn't take too long. I even decided to install a few windows where the crew cabin is going to be.
With the hull finally installed, it was time to depressurize the ship, to ensure that the ship was airtight. I made my way to the cockpit, and drained the ship of air. At first, all seemed well. The cockpit cabin depressurized like it was supposed to.
I then opened the cockpit door, and fresh air came pouring in.
I spent the rest of the round getting increasingly frustrated by my inability to diagnose and fix the problem. In a previous game of EGS, I managed to fix a similar problem quite quickly, because that game provides you with all the information you need to do so in the game itself. In SE, on the other hand, I had to consult a hopefully up to date wiki, and then try to guess where the holes in the hull were.
First thing I did was move the life support systems to a new location, and seal the breach in the hull I'd created. I then spent the rest of the round putting in armor patches around the rest of obvious leaks, but the rest of the ship stubbornly refused to remain airtight.
Now that I had a chance to sleep on it, I've realized that there's two potential solutions to my problem:
The first is to tear out all the functional stuff I've installed already (H2 tanks, all the thrusters, battery banks, etc.) and double up the hull of the ship. Apparently, SE is rather "fiddly" when it comes to space worthiness, and some block alignments that look airtight actually aren't. This will increase the ship’s mass by a lot. It already masses twice as much as the MAV thrusters can lift under earth gravity, and its only going to get worse. What I wouldn’t give for a “light weight armor” equivalent.
The second is to seal off the most likely “leaky sections,” leaving the cargobay the only area on the bottom deck that has atmosphere.
Guess what I’m going to do.
But first... Episode One of Empyrion: Galactic Survival - Sidewinder Edition II. It’s hot. It’s arid. There’s no forests for convenient sources of carbon. There’s no oxygen to breathe, and the local fauna are probably deadly.
One of the most important traits I look for in a survival game is it’s replay value. I prefer to play survival games Ironman, so my reaction to getting killed should be, “Yes! I get to start a new game!” Which was my reaction when I got killed in EGS:SE1. I was disappointed that I didn’t finish the Sidewinder, but by that point I’d realized that there were several flaws to my initial design I was dissatisfied with, that could only be fixed by rebuilding half of the ship. My Space Engineers Sidewinder definitely benefited from the mistakes I made during my first EGS:SE attempt. Now I get to see how it affects this game, especially at a higher difficulty.
Yes, besides starting on a harsher planet, I’m also bumping up the difficulty to hard. Which means no picking fights with the Zirax until after that Sidewinder is fully operational.
No matter how much they deserve it.
As always, the game began with me plummeting down to the surface in an escape pod. I used what little maneuverability I had to aim for the very visible wreck near my landing zone.
Upon landing, out of instinct, I started up what I thought was the Robinson Protocol. It wasn’t. Elean must be redoing the text of their main story, because it took me a bit to recognize that I was reading through the initial chapter of the main story. Which is not a good thing to do when you’ve got very limited air.
^^^
I started out with a full tank!!!
The crash site seemed remarkably “temperate”... by which I mean that the light environmental suit I was wearing was able handle the heat. There was sufficient food nearby, and even a few trees to cut down for fuel to power my oxygen/water extractors. So far, most of the indicators for survival were in the green.
Time it takes to die...
3 Minutes without oxygen -
3 Hours without shelter in extreme weather -
3 Days without water -
3 Weeks without food -
Despite not having the Robinson Protocol available, the old familiar starting wrecks were there. I gathered up my base starting kit, and set up temporary camp next to the wreck of a hoverbike.
As I’m gathering supplies, I stopped to admire the setting sun. As I did so, I spotted something I hadn’t seen before on the horizon.
The next day, I continue working on getting ready to move north. Since my portable constructor queue was full, I went scouting. In particular, I checked out the biome that surrounded most of the crash site. It was truly a hot and desolate place.
Concerned about my O2 Supply, I decided to use some of the water I’d gathered to produce emergency oxygen. Looking back, I shouldn't have bothered. I would've been better off saving that water for farming.
As the day wore on, I noticed this world's moon, peeking through the clouds.
I wonder what it looks like up close...
The third day, after mining some of the nearby ore and starting the smelting process, I went scouting to the north, looking for water. What I found was a lot of sand, and the occasional wreck, which I’d love to salvage when I have the opportunity.
Eventually, far to the north, I saw signs of abundant plant life.
At the center, was a large pool of liquid water.
It was surprisingly on the cold side, though. Cold I could deal with, if it meant access to a source of water, wood, and food. I found natural sweeteners, spices, and buds, all near my chosen construction site.
I was still getting the lay of the land, when some unwelcome company decided to show up.
Thankfully, I knew of a place where I could seek shelter: the wreck of the Heidelberg. I raced across the barren dunes, watching my radiation levels increase. Finally, I found a niche in the wreckage that provided me some shelter against the radioactive particles blowing through the air.
While I waited for the danger to pass, I checked the map, and was surprised by how far north I had gotten. That Hoverbike could cover a lot of ground if there wasn’t anything in the way, like trees and open water.
While there, I found out that while the ship may never fly again, at least the some things still worked. I took a quick shower to get rid of the radioactive contamination, before retiring to my base camp.
The fourth day, I gathered up what I'd refined, and set out for my new base.
Rather than head straight there, I decided to skirt the edge of Talon territory to the east. Along the way, I noticed that the Polaris corporation had laid claim to a small lake. While my little oasis may be a lot farther north than I'd prefer, the surrounding land here wasn't nearly as lush. Even if it hadn't been claimed by someone who I'd prefer to ally with, it wasn't worth staying around.
I eventually made it back to my future home, just as a frigid fog rolled in from the north. And here I thought it was cold before.
Just as the sun was setting, another radioactive fog rolled in...
I briefly debated making a run back south to the Heidelburt, but then a wild idea, born of desperation, came to me. Survival tents weren't quite tents in the traditional sense. They were more like very small, portable habitat modules, capable of supplying those who slept within a pressurized environment ideally suited for human life. Maybe it was sealed enough to keep radioactive fog particles out. I slipped into the tent, and noticed an immediate drop in radiation levels on my suit's readouts.
Next time on Empyrion: Galactic Survival - Sidewinder Edition 2... laying the foundations of my base. This time, I'm not going to build a cube!!!
But first, Space Engineers - Sidewinder Edition... Episode 19 - Sealing the Sidewinder.
I've been catching up on Dual Universe gameplay videos since the NDA lifted, and I'm not impressed... Graphically, it's no better than EGS (in fact I think it's worse from what I've seen), and I'm not seeing any compelling MMO gameplay yet. It's supposedly in beta, but it feels (again, based on other people's videos) like an alpha. It definitely doesn't live up to the promo videos. So I'm removing DU from my hype list.
I'm not so hot on ironman modes. I usually don't activate it. Sometimes a playthrough gets a good thrashing and I simply restart anyway. The only "ironman" like playthroughs I do are in "The Long Dark" but that is survival just up my alley. It's just done right. No RNG (mostly, loot drops are distributed for replayability, weather and animal routes, but they don't spawn on top of you), your choices really matter. I used to play 2nd difficulty, the hardest diff is really good.
Also - I can fish in Long Dark.
It's a shame, because the promo videos made it look so much better. I haven't given up hope on Starbase yet, but I am tempering expectations based on DU's release. At least I'll always have Space Engineers!
ps - EGS probably can breath a sigh of relief, because I doubt now that DU will eat its lunch as first feared.
Welcome to Space Engineers - Episode 19: Sealing the Sidewinder!
Generally, when I finish a round, I look through the screenshots I took and ask myself, "Why did I take this one?" or "Is this one in any way relevant?" When I got to the end of this round, I asked myself, "Why didn't I take any screenshots during the more interesting portions of the round?" I'd taken a grand total of eight screenshots this round, one of which was a duplicate.
Before the round started, I took @CMDR Dizzy's suggestion, and installed the BuildInfo mod. When I started playing, the first thing I did was take a look around the ship's hull. The first thing I discovered was that it appears that only completely square surfaces appeared to be air-tight. The second was that I appeared to have covered all my bases, except for the batteries, which should've been against air-tight blocks.
Guess where the air was escaping ?
So this is the point where I really wish I’d thought of taking screen shots.
The first thing I did was redo the plumbing in my future engineering bays. The initial pipes were basically at waist heigh: too low to crawl under, too high to jump onto. I moved the pipes main pipes so that they’d be at head height, others so they hugged the wall, and made room for a human being where there was none previously. It’s a pity that I didn’t take a picture before sealing the engineering bay.
[Proverbial Plumbing Picture Placeholder]
The second thing I did was seal in the bay along the centerline of the Hydrogen tank. In theory, it should’ve worked. In practice, the hydrogen tank allowed air through it. I really wish I’d taken a picture of the “air” escaping through the tank.
One if the interesting differences between SE and EGS is how they handle their doors. In EGS, a door module is just the door. The door will slide into whatever block is adjacent. In SE, that wall is built into the door. Version One of the Engineering Bay used the “Sci-Fi” door, which is offset, which left some unused space forward of the door.
When I built Version Two of the Engineering Bay, I was able to use that wall as part of the airtight bulkhead. In a moment of serendipity, there was just enough room between the ladder that leads to the cabin, and the hydrogen tank, that I was able to eliminate that wasted space.
Once I’d confirmed that the escaping air was flowing to the other side of the ship, I mirrored the Engineering Bay design. I was so relieved to see that the cargo bay was airtight, I remembered to take a screenshot... of the air vent control panel.
I let the ship depressurize, and then noticed I’d be able to install a door leading to the cabin. I’d be able to seal off that room as well. Safety for the win!
With the ship no longer leaking air, I started working on the . I had just moved the Survival Kit to the cabin, when I noticed the time in real life. I went to the cockpit to check the time of day, and saw this.
I took a few screenshots of what I’d completed, and called it a day.
Cargo Bay “Hatch,” with signs. Alas, there’s no small grid jump drive that I can put in there.
At the time, I thought I had a screenshot of the interior, so I didn’t take one.
And that’s it for Episode Nineteen of SE-Squared. Coming up next on SE, completing the cabin.
But first, EGS:SE2, episode two... base building! This time, it won’t be a big cube!
I know life's been kind of hectic for me lately, but that's rather of raw. Part of the problem is that my new iPad tries to be more "helpful" than my old one, by guessing at what I'm trying to do.
It isn't very good at it.
At any rate, here's hoping I have the time to proof read this post before I post it. But no promises.
And now, Emyprion: Galactic Survival - Sidewinder Edition Two - Base Building, part one.
One of the first things I did when starting this base, was try a new idea I'd had: let's put the core below ground, so I don't have to waste resources moving it later.
What happened was that I forgot to grab some concrete blocks to put on top of it, and when I returned, I'd forgotten where I'd placed it! After tearing up most of the terrain where I thought I'd placed it, it occurred to me that I could just turn on the base's waypoint. I found it right away. Thankfully, this area is where I'll be putting the Sidewinder's landing pad.
Construction plans back on track, I installed the necessary components to start extremely limited construction, as well as food production and preservation. Since these won’t be forward facing, I put them in my future basement.
This may be an arid world, but where I chose to settle is turning out to be rather cold instead. This is turning out to be a case of "Did not do all your research." I must've initially visited this site on one of the rare warm weather days.
Despite the cold, and the occasionally forgetting to top off my suit's oxygen tank, I continued soldiering on. By sunset, I had laid the foundation of the hub of my base: the workshop. I even placed the small constructor, so that once the small solar panels had soaked up enough power, I could start producing the critical components of my base that the portable constructor can't build.
In retrospect, I would've been better off with minimal foundations for this part of my base, and started construction of my greenhouse ASAP. Because when I got up in the morning, I was rather hungry. And when I went to prepare breakfast, I noticed that I was running rather short on food! Just enough to last a couple of days. Especially the way the cold weather increased my need for food.
And here's another area where my failure to fully scout out this location: there wasn't any actual food nearby. Sure, there were a lot of herbs and spices nearby, like sweeteners, spices, and buds... but there weren't any vegetables or plant protein in the area, and those (along with grains) are what form the foundation of every meal. This wouldn't do, so I started to move south, back towards the crash site.
At first, I'd hoped to find the protein sources I needed in the savanna that surrounded the oasis. And while there were some fruit trees, protein was few and far between.
Eventually, I found a potential source of protein.
Problem was that there wasn't much meat on them bones, and they had a tendency to fight back if you failed to drop them on your first shot. I wasted two of my remaining bandages on them. Then another potential source of protein jumped me. I managed to kill it, but repairing the damage it inflicted used up the rest of my bandages. It also wasn't very edible.
At the crash site, I loaded up my hoverbike’s cooler with as much plant protein and vegetables as I could find before sunset, while enjoying all the space oranges I could eat. Some of the veggies were fed into my suit’s synthesizer, to replace my bandages.
As it got closer to sunset, I left the crash site to go scouting to the north and west, chasing the sun and looking for resources. Again, I marveled at how fast a hovercraft could move when there wasn’t stuff in its wsy
I’d timed my return pretty well, getting there just before sunset. I popped a few of my insect steaks on the portable constructor, and started working on the greenhouse while they cooked.
The next day, as I worked on the greenhouse, I realized I could use some temporary shelter... just in case. So I built the passage between my base’s hub, and the greenhouse. The concrete is purely temporary. Once I get a good supply of silicon, I’ll replace the concrete with glass.
The situation with the greenhouse is similar. Scarcity of resources means that the first greenhouse will be cruder than I’d prefer.
As I’m working, another radioactive fog rolled in. The good news is that I could take shelter in the passageway I’d built, and use the drone to place blocks. The bad news was that my camp, including my portable constructors, were way over there.
I took about half the maximum safe dose of radiation darting between that passage and my camp. By the time the sun set, the greenhouse was almost done. All it needed was three more glass panels. I ordered their construction, then turned in for the night.
Before ending the round, I naturally installed those window panels, and took a picture of the completed structure.
Next time on EGS:SE2, planting crops, and returning to the Heidelberg to scavenge for supplies and a decontaminating shower.
And now, Space Engineers: Sidewinder Edition - Episode Twenty... Interior Design, laying out the optional interior module locations... and installing the docking ports!
When last we left our stranded space engineer, she was working on the crew quarters of her ship. Finishing off the crew quarters wasn't all that complex. It was, after all, basically an oddly shaped box, that followed the contours of the extension above the top of the ship. It was around noon when I finally finished its construction, and more importantly tested how airtight it was. First thing I did after finishing was see how much the ship currently massed:
The crew quarters is a rather simple affair: a bed, a "food synthesizer" (aka the survival kit), and a fold out desk and chair. I would've actually built a desk and chair in this space, but between the paucity of blocks, and the limited choices for decorating them, my initial attempts to do so looked like crap. EGS offers so many more options in this area, even if they don't include furniture for small scale ships.
At least the bed looks bed-like.
The door on the left leads to the "refreshing station." It is, sadly, an empty room, much for the same reasons as the lack of other furniture. Just use your imagination.
The ladder well between the two decks of the ship includes a vent, so it can be used as an airlock in case of emergencies.
Since I was confident that I'd identified the air leak, I moved the life support systems back to the center of the ship, above the front landing gear. The cargo bay remained airtight in this configuration.
Next came planning out where the optional interior modules where going to go. I took inspiration for this step from thesetwo video series, and based their size on the "cargo hatch" I'd faked out. Size two modules are 3.5m x 3.5m x 2.0m. Size one modules are 1.5m x 1.5m x 2.0m. I even included proverbial plumbing attachment points. Needless to say, they aren't installed at this time.
Taking the time to rewatch part of the original modularity video, I just realized that I'd made the cargo hatch too small by about one meter on each side. Thankfully, there's still plenty of wiggle room between the modules, so it'll still work.
I was just starting to plan out the exterior connection points, for recharging and refueling the ship, when I realized why air was leaking out from behind the batteries. I removed one of the back maneuvering thrusters, and lo and behold, there was one of the culprets: a small conveyor tube that fed the thruster. Combined with the thruster, it allowed air to leak out of the ship. I replaced all four small conveyor tubes leading to these external thrusters with conveyor junctions, and now even the engineering bays were airtight!
Given how much the ship weighs, I'm going to remove the engineering bays. I like the look, but now that they're unnecessary to maintain an atmosphere in the cargo bay, I might as well save myself some weight.
Mystery solved, I moved on to installing the exterior connection points. I had an idea on where I wanted to put them, which is on the two lower bulges by the landging gear. It was a very tight fit, but there was just enough room to put them there. I was returning from another parts run when the false dawn bug heralded the approach of morning.
The sky was lightening by the time I'd installed both connection points.
Connecting exterior port to the rest of the proverbial plumbing ate up much of what little space remained in the engineering bays. I'm tempted to drain two of the batteries into the others so I can move the them above this space. There should be room for one between the hydrogen tank, the hull, and the conduits leading to the maneuvering thruster cluster.
Before ending the round, I decided to see how far I would have to move the ship to get it connected to the base's power grid. It turned out not very far... assuming I could find some way of installing the base's connector within the space provided.
My plan is to install the connector on a piston. I've always wanted to do something like this for my smaller vehicles. Not only would it make docking them easier, but it would also allow me to raise them up to do repair work or improvements. It's just that the effort to install it seems far in excess of the savings provided. Given that the effort required to fuel this ship would mean moving tons of ice by hand, this is a concept whose time has come.
Finally, I took a peek at the alignment of my solar panels. They're a little bit behind the sun now. I still haven't taken the time to adjust their speed settings.
And that's it for Episode Twenty of Space Engineers: Sidewinder Edition! Coming up next time on SE-Squared... a bit of interior demolishing, some relocation of batteries, and connecting the Sidewinder to the Base's power grid. Not necessarily in that order.
But first... Episode Three of Empyion: Galactic Survival - Sidewinder Edition 2! Base Building part two, and some salvage work.
The heaviest small ship grid I have launched from a 1G planet so far has been 80,000kg in survival. I did this with 1 large and 2 small hydrogen thrusters on the rear and 4 directional hydrogen thrusters. Plus I run 10 small atmospheric for lift and 8 for directional control to allow me to start from a horizontal position and land/dock to a connector on return to a planet with atmosphere.
I originally started with a single hydrogen tank design and 2 batteries. I have since moved onto a 2 hydrogen tank and 3 batteries design to give me longer space time. I have had to spent a lot of time surveying asteroids to find uranium and platinum as it really is rare and the sky above my base is littered with GPS bookmarks
And now... Empyrion: Galactic Survival - Sidewinder Edition 2!
Episode 3 - Base Building part 2.
The day started out by planting my crops. There was just one problem: it turns out that they need an Earth-like atmosphere to grow. It took about half the day to realize my mistake, but eventually I fixed the problem.
Of course, oxygen production requires a source. Which was where water purifiers come in. When placed in standing water, they produce water containers, which can be processed into purified water (necessary to produce the calorie-dense foods) and of course oxygen. Which is a big part of why I chose to settle where I did. It just took longer than necessary to get them up and running. Thank goodness I had salvaged some oxygen from the Heidelberg earlier.
Of course, these water purifiers require energy to do their work, and at present my only source of portable energy is biofuel. And that would require cutting down trees. The polar regions are rather cold, requiring me to stay near a portable heater/cooler, which can get annoying at time. Which meant I was rather surprised when a heat wave rolled in, and the temperature became downright pleasant. If only I'd paid attention to the "heat wave" part, and not the nice weather part...
Before turning in for the night, I checked my crops. The wheat was growing well, and my tomato plants were flowering. Hopefully, I'd be able to harvest the wheat in the morning.
As expected, the wheat was ready for harvest, which meant I could make some proper food. Which at this stage of the game means cheeseburgers. Granted, the burger patties were either ground insect or vegetarian, and the cheese was also plant-based, but it has proper bread, and it tastes far better than what the portable constructor can produce... thanks to the ketchup made from my tomatoes. Ketchup makes everything taste better.
Belly full, I hopped into my Hoverbike, and returned to the Heidelberg, in search of salvage. Sadly, I made a mistake that would precipitate the disaster that would define the third day of this round: I left the oven on. Seriously, I hadn't set up my "smart base" yet, which really helps save power. Accidentally leaving the power on to idle producers meant my limited solar power was wasted on devices doing nothing.
I also took the opportunity to start a repeating mission for the Talon: kill predatory animals. Along the way, I saw signs of desert worms.
I wasn't familiar with these creatures, so I went hunting. Ah... science in video games... find something unknown, and shoot it.
It turned out that they're not considered predatory, but they are consistent sources of protein. Problem is that they hang out in nasty territory, so I won't be munching on worm burgers very often. Soon enough, I arrived at the wreck of the Heidelberg, and the temperature was near 50˚C. And so my salvage work was interrupted, quite frequently, by the needs to cool off near my portable heater/cooler.
As I searched through the containers, I began to worry, but eventually I found the device I was hoping to find: a powered multi-tool. I would've found it sooner if I'd placed the processing core I'd brought right from the start. Sadly, I waited until after I found multi-tool. At any rate, armed with a better tool, I salvaged the components my Hoverbike would be able to carry, in particular all the furniture I could find on board.
I'd return for the Large Constructor once I had a hovercraft capable of carrying it. Once I returned to base, I finished my living quarters, and installed my furniture: toilet, shower, bed, and table. Once I'd gotten it installed, I noticed a flaw in my living quarters: I couldn't put my furniture against the walls. I'll fix the problem once I find a source of Promethium.
Feeling secure, I turned in for the night
I was rudely awakened by alarms, gasping for breath and fumbling for my suit's helmet. My base's solar capacitor had run out of power over the night, which meant that the base wasn't being oxygenated. I hurriedly shut down all power consumers in my base, except the fridge (I thankfully lost no food to spoilage), the ventilator in the greenhouse, and the plant lights. Thankfully, it was enough allow the capacitor to charge again.
I then turned to my portable constructors for my solution. I didn't want to build new small solar panels, and I realized I would also need a backup generator, so I started production on a generator and fuel tank.
There was just one problem: I was out of copper.
And so, just as a heat wave rolled in, I hopped onto my hoverbike and moved south to the only source of copper I knew: the crash site.
Think about that for a second: There was a heat wave, and I traveled south out of the arctic.
The dune sea was a scorching 70˚C, so I moved through it as fast as possible. It was a tense journey, as I watched my internal heat rise. Especially once I gained the "too hot" status, and it started to sap my stamina. The loss of stamina would speed up hunger... and once I was starving, I would lose health health. As soon as I entered the crash site, I set up my portable heater/cooler, and cooled off.
The temperature was nearly 50˚C. My portable H/AC unit (I assume it actually plugs into my suit) was barely sufficient to cool me off. It didn't take long for my temperature to rise, which would lead to the "too hot" status... which could trigger the negative feedback loop described above.
Which meant no scavenging for food... and the only food I had left was my only pack of emergency rations. Fortunately, my drone would be able to harvest ore remotely, so I could stay by my portable H/AC unit while mining. I gathered up the copper I needed, but as much iron as my drone could reach, since that deposit was just outside the crash site biome.
I then headed back to base. Without pausing at the northern edge of the crash site to cool off. I was about halfway across the dune sea when heat stroke set it.
At that point, I placed my P.H/AC unit, and tried to cool off... unsuccessfully. And my stamina had bottomed out, and that was draining my hunger bar. So I made a beeline back towards base, where it was cooler... and a supply of food. As soon as I reached a cooler climate, I placed my P.H/AC unit and got my temperature down, eyeing my emergency rations hungrily. If necessary, I would eat it... but only to keep myself from dying. These things are extremely expensive to make, and I didn't want to "waste" it.
As soon as I could, moved out again, my meal bar nearly depleted.
Weak from hunger, I stumbled into my base. I opened the door to my fridge, basking in its cold air, and ate my last bug burger. Never before had a bug burger tasted so good!
Immediate crisis averted, I placed my hard-earned copper ore into my portable constructor, and ordered up the parts I needed. As soon as I could, I installed my backup generator, and fueled it up with the powerpacks salvaged from the Heidelberg.
The power supply for my base secured, I powered up the remaining life support systems, ordered up a few more burgers, harvested the crops that had matured, and turned in for the night.
Next time on EGS:SE2... Building a better Hovercraft. Having a sealed cockpit could've averted this whole ordeal.
But first, on Space Engineers: Sidewinder Edition... Episode Twenty-One... Building the Hydrogen Infrastructure!
When last we left our stranded space heroine, Cmdr. Inga Stevenson had just completed phase one of her Sidewinder's construction: space worthiness. Except for the gyros necessary to actually turn the ship, it was ready to operate in space!!!
There was just one problem: it wouldn't be able to actually get off the ground on a planet. There wasn't enough downward thrust to get off the ground, there was no hydrogen gas to power the thrusters anyways, and the onboard batteries were nearly depleted, since it had no on-board generator.
Thankfully, the latter two problems were easy to address.
And so... welcome to Space Engineers: Sidewinder Edition - Episode Twenty One: Providing Power to the Sidewinder.
I had a plan to connect the Sidewinder to the the rest of my base. It required attaching a Connector to a piston, which would in turn would be attached to the conveyor system. The first step, of course, was cutting a whole in the deck:
Next came digging a tunnel from the hole, to the rest of the base. Thankfully, I didn't have to dig too far, since I had thought ahead (for once) and actually build part of the infrastructure necessary, under the ramp that lead from my workshop to the hanger. Installing the conveyors and piston was rather trivial after that.
I was working on the connector itself when I ran out of iron.
So I hopped into my Firefly, to collect more iron from that outcrop.
As I left the base, I sneaked a peek at the Sidewinder in its hanger.
Soon enough, everything was in place. I even installed a control panel. I pressed the button, and...
Nothing happened. The darn thing just stood there. I walked over for a closer look.
I decided that despite being attached to the piston, there wasn't enough room the connector to move. I removed the connector, and sure enough, the piston raised up.
Problem diagnosed, I decided to use bulkhead blocks to give the piston enough room to move. Sure enough, it worked like a charm. The piston rose, and then I pressed the "connector lock" button. The results were... predictable.
I'd never turned the thrusters off after building them, because there was no hydrogen in the tanks. As soon as I connected it to the grid, they ignited, since the ship technically isn’t docked. Naturally, I unlocked the connector, but the Sidewinder was connected to the grid long enough to consume half my limited supply of ice!
Needless to say, I'd need more.
After turning off all the thrusters, I reconnected the Sidewinder to the base, and went in search of ice. Naturally, I went to the one source of ice I'd bookmarked.
There was one teeny, tiny problem...
I tried digging towards it, but I didn't even get half way down before the Firefly was full of stone. Not one to waste resources, I headed back to base, and decided to seek a better source.
I allowed my momentum to carry me inline with the Firefly’s docking bay.
Firefly safely docked, while I waited for it to charge fully, I started some of the Sidewinder’s detail work, starting with the “Cooling System.” One of the paints from “Sparks of the Future” worked well for that.
Batteries fully charged, I piloted the Firefly into the mountains. I soon found snow.
I ended up making two trips into the mountains to get the snow. One of the advantages of a hillside base is that I can take advantage of momentum to slide into position without worrying about hitting anything.
It turned out the second trip wasn’t strictly necessary. By the time I’d unloaded, both tanks were full.
The rest of the round was spent reducing the Sidewinder’s mass by removing the unnecessary bulkheads. Including the “interior” airlock. This brought the mass of the ship below 100 tons. When I removed the last superfluous block and went to check the ship’s mass, I was surprised to see daylight.
The cargo bay feels much roomier without the extra bulkheads in the way. There’s one problem, though: Since Space Engineers paints the entire block one texture, exterior details bleed into the interior. It’s a pity there’s no equivalent to carbon fiber armor in SE, otherwise I might be tempted to hide this kind of thing.
Next time on SE-Squared, installing the lifting thrusters and gyros.
But first, on EGS:SE2, episode four... Building a better Hovercraft! And of course, working on my base. It’s time to stop living hand to mouth... power wise, of course.
With your miner you can add the drills to your tool bar via G and Block Tools. Now you can select that tool bar slot number and the left and right mouse button should work on the drill. This way you can right button (drill without collecting) down to your ore seam.
A second option is to add sorters and ejector to you mining ship and white list stone in the sorter. How quickly it dumps the stone depends on the number of sorters and ejectors you added. Sometimes you have to stop mining for a bit to let the stone clear out.
With your miner you can add the drills to your tool bar via G and Block Tools. Now you can select that tool bar slot number and the left and right mouse button should work on the drill. This way you can right button (drill without collecting) down to your ore seam.
A second option is to add sorters and ejector to you mining ship and white list stone in the sorter. How quickly it dumps the stone depends on the number of sorters and ejectors you added. Sometimes you have to stop mining for a bit to let the stone clear out.
Today, on Empyrion: Galactic Survival - Sidewinder Edition 2...
We've got the exciting tranfromation of the Hoverbike to the Hovertruck!
We've got Exploration!
We've got Solar Panel Installation... all this and more on EGS:SE2 - Episode Four!!!
I started the day off by basically removing every single component from the Hoverbike, leaving only the core behind.
I then laid down a strip of the functional components of the Hovertruck, and attached a cockpit that I thought might work well. I could tell right away that I'd made a mistake.
I removed the incorrect cockpit, and after a period of contemplation, replaced it with something more suitable.
From there, installing the cargo blocks was child's play. I also installed an armor locker and oxygen station, to help support me when I perform EVAs. Right now, I don't have enough experience to unlock ramps, but once I do, their location will make accessing them easier.
I then started working on protective/decorative parts of the ship. It didn't take me long to realize I'd forgotten to monitor my suit's oxygen supply, what with the whole gasping for breath thing. Thankfully, there's two oxygenated environments nearby. As always, I underestimated how many blocks I'm going to need, but the sun was dipping towards the horizon by the time I'd finished. I debated on whether covering the EVA support units with carbon fiber blocks was a good idea, since I'd be replacing them with ramps ASAP, but I decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
I then moved on to painting the Hovertruck. I wasn't really satisfied with my first attempt, though. Especially with the rounded corners of the proverbial air skirt. Determined to find something better, I tended my garden and went to bed. Fun fact: not only do different materials offer different textures, but apparently they also offer different color pallets.
I started the day shooting paint at the rounded corners from the climate controlled safety of door to my living quarters. Eventually, I found one I liked.
It didn't take too long to paint the rest of the "air skirt" to my satisfaction. And since the vehicle is now finished, it was time for that fine EGS tradition of mine:
Hovertruck complete, it was time to return to the Heidelberg, and retrieve that Large Constructor. Despite the wind dropping effective temperatures in the artic to below freezing, it was a scorching 48 degrees on the Dune Sea. Thankfully, I no longer had to be exposed to that environment, all thanks to a proper sealed cockpit.
It didn't take long for me to salvage that large constructor... and as I write this, I just realized I could've salvaged a lot more than that, particularly the glass panels.
As always, I took the scenic route on the way back home. While doing so, I found something that might be worth exploring at a later date. When I'm much better armed, armored, and equipped.
I eventually made it back home. What was left of the day was spent tending my garden, and since I now had a good supply of grain on hand, diversifying my crops. The best foods require "herbs and spices," and of course there were the plant-based pharmaceuticals to consider. Bandages work for minor encounters, but eventually I'll want to tackle something more dangerous, in search of rarer materials.
In the morning, I checked my base's statistics, in particular the battery level and my AI's assessment of the threat the Zirax posed to my base. Everything looked good so far, even if the power levels are low.
After looking at the remaining charges of my Multi-Tool, I realized that it was time to go scouting for promethium if I wanted to construct replacement power cells. Also I needed the experience of discovering POIs. And so, I hopped into the Hovertank, and scouted eastward, along the proverbial arctic circle. I've noticed that promethium frequently has a weird effect on local life, since it irradiates everything nearby. I was going to keep an eye out for signs of twisted, glowing plants. If I found a zone of those, there might be promethium nearby.
I'd found several wrecks, and two deposits of copper, before I noticed a likely sign of promethium on the horizon. I moved in for a closer look, and saw a potential resource marker on my scanner.
Sure enough, it was a deposit of promethium. It was time to risk radiation exposure. Hopefully, nothing too dangerous was nearby. At least it was still daylight!
It turned out that I had found prometium almost half way around the world. Now, any reasonable person would've crossed the north pole and gone straight home with their precious load. Me? I kept on scouting. Why do I tempt fate like this??? Thankfully, the worst thing that happened was I was rather ravenous by the time I returned. My emergency rations remained untouched.
Upon returning, I used what little light remained to do something I should've done before I departed: installed a bank of large solar panels.
Curse you wanderlust!!!
When I woke up in the morning, I checked the base's statistics again. The small solar panels were sufficient to keep the base powered, along side minor construction. With these larger solar panels installed, and proper power management, they should be able to provide some real power, with more than enough to spare!
Next time on EGS:SE2... Episode Five... Salvage Work!
But coming up next: SE-Squared, Episode 22... First Flight???
Space Engineers: Sidewinder Edition... Episode Twenty-Two: First Flight!!!
The round started off by installing eight gyroscopes in the ship for maneuverability. I put them close to the "maneuvering thruster clusters," even though I could've easily put them anywhere.
I then installed the lifting thrusters. Once again, I found myself really wishing that this game modeled the effects of torque for its space ships. EGS does it. Kerbal Space Program does it really well. This game? Not so much. Nether the less, I did try to distribute all twelve additional hydrogen thrusters as if torque was modeled. It just would've been nice to determine how well I'd done my job.
After a quick testfire to ensure they could lift the Sidewinder off the ground, I was about to take the Sidewinder out for a short flight, when it occurred to me that I'd better test the landing gear one more time. I'd done a lot of work near the back landing gear in particular, so I wanted to make sure they worked. Plus, I wanted to set up as few action groups as possible to extend or retract the landing gear.
Purely on a whim, I extended the piston which connected the Sidewinder to the main base. It lifted the ship straight up. Turned out that I had to remove the ends of the back landing gear to get them to fold correctly. While removing the unnecessary bulkheads, I had accidentially "replaced" blocks that I'd removed to get them to work the first time. Not a big deal, since those ends were purely cosmetic.
All systems appeared to be go, so I crossed my fingers, held my breath, and launched the ship. You can see the results of the ship's first flight below.
You'll have to forgive me for making the next couple of pictures sound like something went wrong.
It took some doing, but I managed to get the ship back onto the docking connector.
The damage wasn't too bad...
... to the unfinished hanger floor. Which was caused by the hydrogen thrusters while returning the ship to its hanger. The ship itself was unscratched.
It's at this point, I decided that it was time to finish the hanger and ramp to the workshop. And for that, I'd need more iron!
I still can't believe how much iron was in that nearby outcrop!
I was maneuvering to pass into the Firefly's docking cradle, when I noticed the moon o'clock, as well as the solar panels. I then remembered that I still hadn't fixed the rotor speeds on the solar panels.
... so I decided to get the rotation speed correct! And, of course, get them better aligned with each other. With that done, I went to work on finishing the current portions of my base. I was almost done with the welding, when I got reminded of the time.
Before the sun came up, I decided to get two more things done: install additional sorters to the conveyor system, and excavate the base a little. It was time to add some purely cosmetic living quarters. I ordered up a pair of sorters from the assembler, and passed the time for the parts to be built doing a little excavation. Thankfully, there was room to fly the Firefly in the base...
And of course, there's a literal crawl space under the deck....
With the sorters installed, I went to greet the sun. Ah, good old "one more turn" syndrome.
Next time on SE-Squared: Episode Twenty-Three - Expanding the base and preparing to go into Space!
But coming up first: EGS:SE episode five: Salvage Work
Part of the problem is that my new iPad tries to be more "helpful" than my old one, by guessing at what I'm trying to do.
