I get that hydroponics needed a bit of a buff. 25 metal to build such an advanced apparatus is a teeny bit unrealistic. That being said, i wouldn't have minded them costing 50 or 75 metal, but 150? That's way too much, especially considering how many of them you need to make in order to feed your colony.
My point: please decrease the amount of metal hydroponics tables cost to 50 or 75 please
The point of them is to be a end game thing, you dont just start out with them :P
Why must they be end game? They are immediately researchable, with a low research cost, and in some cases are a nessesary first research. Seems like early game stuff to me.
well early game your not going to have to have 20+ hydroponics to feed everyone you can rely on outdoor crops, later on when you need the extra food then it might be a feasible option
that's my opinion anyways :)
I can build you a hydroponics system that will hold 8 to 10 strawberry plants easily out of a 6 foot long piece of 6 inch pvc tubing. Or even easier, a 5 gallon rubbermaid tub will hold 6 to 8 strawberry plants. Hydroponic farming is actually the easiest thing you can do to grow lots of food in a limited space. The fact that more people aren't growing their own food hydroponically IRL is kinda amazing to me. And the fact that you can even grow food hydroponically with no electricity (as long as you add fish into the water reservoir) means it should be one of the easiest ways to farm in the game. But as it stands I only see a purpose for it if my map choice forces me into a mountain, which I prefer not to do. It is barely any faster than soil farming and it is more susceptible to power outages.
Hydroponics is a pot with a plant in it. Not a super advanced grow it now box.
Also, they are not game ending, if you spawn in an area with no growing period, you're screwed unless you get hydroponics up fast. And they are expensive energy wise.
Quote from: Fruit loops on December 18, 2014, 01:32:53 AM
well early game your not going to have to have 20+ hydroponics to feed everyone you can rely on outdoor crops, later on when you need the extra food then it might be a feasible option
that's my opinion anyways :)
You only start with 3 people. It only takes 3 or so hydro set ups to feed them.
Quote from: Igabod on December 18, 2014, 01:58:34 AM
I can build you a hydroponics system that will hold 8 to 10 strawberry plants easily out of a 6 foot long piece of 6 inch pvc tubing. Or even easier, a 5 gallon rubbermaid tub will hold 6 to 8 strawberry plants. Hydroponic farming is actually the easiest thing you can do to grow lots of food in a limited space. The fact that more people aren't growing their own food hydroponically IRL is kinda amazing to me. And the fact that you can even grow food hydroponically with no electricity (as long as you add fish into the water reservoir) means it should be one of the easiest ways to farm in the game. But as it stands I only see a purpose for it if my map choice forces me into a mountain, which I prefer not to do. It is barely any faster than soil farming and it is more susceptible to power outages.
Fish? I love growing my own stuff. Plz explain da fish.
Quote from: Vas on December 18, 2014, 02:13:13 AM
Hydroponics is a pot with a planet in it. Not a super advanced grow it now box.
That sounds pretty advanced to me. Is it an inhabitable planet with plants on it? That
would be a convenient way to grow plants in a small space.
:P
I'd also like to address another concern. Their power requirement seems to have gone up to 70W. Not sure if it was nerfed this Alpha, but the Sun lamp already drains 700 watts, so it really shouldn't require that much to power the Hydroponics.
Quote from: Cyclops on December 18, 2014, 03:58:55 AM
I'd also like to address another concern. Their power requirement seems to have gone up to 70W. Not sure if it was nerfed this Alpha, but the Sun lamp already drains 700 watts, so it really shouldn't require that much to power the Hydroponics.
In real life industrial sized hydroponics labs the electricity costs are highest for lighting and temperature control. The actual hydroponics basins only use a small fish pump to introduce fresh oxygen into the solution. So I definitely agree with this point.
i'm also interested in the irl hydroponics setup. do you have recommended links and further tips? maintenance, setup, etc?
Honestly i wouldnt even use them right now. They cost way to much to feed my 30+ person colony. Like the power and metal and space it takes is not worth it at all. Just make a big room with pumps and grow them traditionally.
Quote from: Cimanyd on December 18, 2014, 03:41:52 AM
Quote from: Vas on December 18, 2014, 02:13:13 AM
Hydroponics is a pot with a plant in it. Not a super advanced grow it now box.
That sounds pretty advanced to me. Is it an inhabitable planet with plants on it? That would be a convenient way to grow plants in a small space.
What typo where? I don't see one. :|
Quote from: Cyclops on December 18, 2014, 03:58:55 AM
I'd also like to address another concern. Their power requirement seems to have gone up to 70W. Not sure if it was nerfed this Alpha, but the Sun lamp already drains 700 watts, so it really shouldn't require that much to power the Hydroponics.
It went up? Before it was 40 watts and 600 watts for sun lamp. Now I'm never going to use hydroponics. I used to before, now I refuse to. Hydroponics is totally useless at this point, way too much of a hindrance.
1. Plants still only grow during day light.
2. Plants still require sun lamp, even though hydroponics are supposed to have EVERYTHING a plant needs.
3. Dirt and dirt holder cost apparently 70 watts to run now.
4. Everything dies if the power goes out for a tiny period of time.
5. Not sure if this one is still relevant, but you can't mass select them all to tell them to grow the same thing.
Nope. Not gonna use Hydroponics anymore, ever again.
In real life the cost of hydroponics is a way to slowly pump the water in a little nutrients then the light and heat sun lamp should keep its current power requirement hydroponics should cost 10 watts, at least till fish are added
Quote from: skullywag on December 18, 2014, 03:39:05 AM
Fish? I love growing my own stuff. Plz explain da fish.
The fish exhale carbon dioxide which the plants soak up and convert into oxygen. This keeps the water aerated and also keeps algae from forming in the reservoir. You'll need to not use chemical fertilizers for this method, but organic fertilizers work just as good from my experience. Putting fish into a water storage barrel that you keep outside is also a good way to keep mosquitoes from laying eggs in it.
[edit to add] and by fish, I mean something like Goldfish or Koi or something. You don't need to go catch a trout and throw it in your water reservoir or anything. Just a few goldfish from the pet shop for 25 cents each or something will do fine. I think you need at least 1 goldfish per 5 gallons if I'm not mistaken. 2 per 5 would be better though and the fish still have plenty of room.
So if hydroponics don't grow faster, don't grow at night, and essentially just suck up massive amounts of power..
Then what is the point of hydroponics?
When I play boreal forest I just build a big rectangular building (Wooden) with no floor and then I put my growing zone inside with a sun lamp and a heater, job done no need for hydroponics and uses less electricity :-)
Quote from: Mathenaut on December 19, 2014, 03:41:20 AM
So if hydroponics don't grow faster
Where are you getting that from? Did that change in A8? I haven't actually used any hydroponics in A8 yet (they're expensive and I don't need them) but hydroponics were growing plants much faster than soil in A7.
It seems Vas has solved some problems discussed here. check out Modular Hydroponics (https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=8349)
Try this out if you don't like current hydroponics. :P
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=8349.0
I aggree with this. Hydroponics are pretty garbage as they are right now. The power cost, great metal cost and the problems with power outakes are just not worth the tiny increase in growing speed. Too bad Tynan seems to want to force us to use them anyway since he removed the fertilizer pump.