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Just as a starting out kind of thing, hey everyone!

Now I know this is a bit of a strange question, but is there a way to have something equipped to (or naturally on) the colonist able to have nutrients drained from it? As in being able to have food that is snacked on as the colonist goes around (Represented by the nutrients in the food going down instead of the person's food need). And is there a way to have someone carry something without it strictly counting as a job or equipment that doesn't result in them dropping it as soon as they get another job (In the form of some kind of mobile storage or pockets, suck as being able to have your medic(s) carry a few medpacks at all times) that still allows the colonists to access or drop the item(s) at will?

Just curious, as I am feeling like messing around and making a mod or two.

(I'm just picturing a scientist getting hit once from a M24, dropping his weapon and running for it. While the Commisar beside him stands firm with his pistol firing non-stop despite the overwhelming odds...)

And taking a moment to shoot the fleeing scientist, yelling something about some distant world's god-emperor..

As for incapacitating/capturing raiders, I agree a bit that you should be able to do it if you're careful about it or use the right kind of weapon. If only because it makes things slightly more even in the fight.

Well, what it could be is that those tradeships aren't actually crewed - No sense sending people into the deep unknowns of space if you can help it. I mean, that doesn't say a lot about slave traders, but it's a thought.

I mentioned this before, but it would be nice to have something akin to a 'Patrol' job - You set the zones for them to patrol, and those with the job enabled would go do that, complete with seeking the best available cover if something hostile shows up in their range.

Putting my vote in for Ikea tech, but with a light spattering of high-end sci-fi stuff for Really End-Game.

I mean, it would make sense - Since things are bound to break, and there generally isn't going to be a supplier down the street in stellar terms, you want things to be modular and to have those modules able to be made fairly easily.

You would have to buy/research blueprints for things to build them, but you start off with the basics - Beds, walls, lights, solar panels, a stockpile, growing areas, dumping grounds, some way to get water when implemented, a food dispenser, a comms console, some form of flooring, a low-level research bench, and batteries. That, to me, seems like something that would be standard in a escape pod's survival kit - In addition to food, water, picks, and some metal, it would have blueprints stored to allow survivors to make the basic things to, well, survive. As you encounter vessels, you can barter and trade for blueprints (or research them yourself for a good amount of time) to make things, or you can outright buy the items (Which would show up as limited stock).
There could also be a reverse-engineering thing where you get an item and break it down as carefully as one can manage to get X points towards the research on it (Or a % boost to researching it) at the cost of the item.
I don't think you should be able to make some of the higher-end weapons (R-4, M-16, M-24) yourself, but I can see Pistols, Lee Enfields, and Molotovs being things that you can make (just to keep people armed).

I dunno, just my thoughts on the matter.

Honestly, by not giving them any cover within range, I have found a way to completely break the sniper squads. They can't find cover (or if they do, it's just plants), so they end up walking around a bit in the open getting shot at (Granted, by my guys who also have sniper rifles..). I've actually had times where the most dangerous raiders to my group had pistols. As in, those with pistols have a better chance of taking my guys out than the ones with sniper rifles.


That, and a (sort of) waffle for my troops. Basically just an open square surrounded by sandbags. Works well enough for an early defense. Plus, it is more or less unflankable (cover on all sides) and it allows for easyish re-positioning when someone with grenades comes along to spoil the fun.

Just a strange idea from me - What if you had to research the turrets you have now, and the initial ones are just a few servos and a gun strapped in in a 1x1 area? Would certainly give the massive amount of guns laying about a use. Perhaps having to research different mountings (Grenade Launcher, High-Stability Mounting [for M-24s]) and be able to upgrade the turret armor in a 'Quick, patch this on' kind of way. Gun Turret Cooling, then, could give, say, a 10% decrease in fire time, the High-Stability Mounting would increase accuracy for all weapons.. There could be a Camo Sheet upgrade that lets you make it so the turrets are harder for the raiders to see (They need to get closer). The turrets wouldn't get as good as someone with a 15 in shooting, but they would be some help.
Then, once you research everything, you get the turrets that are here now, or possibly something different - Able to mount two weapons? Either way, that's when you'd have the turrets that run the risk of the bigger explosion, jamming (Could be a Fun event to have happen), or just plain draw more power. Or perhaps they can only mount heavy weapons that you would have to either buy from a weapons supplier or get from a Heavy Weapons Squad of raiders. (Colonists could use these too, but they would have to grab them whenever drafted and would move slower when carrying them).

Just my thoughts on the matter. Also, the Heavy Turrets would cost.. I dunno, 600-700 metal to build? Where the Light Turrets would cost the same as they do now, with a grenade's explosion radius when they get blown up.

Maybe the different things for the turrets (Armor, camo, etc) would simply be different bases for the turret.

Would make sense to have it, you could have a system like how the power lines are now for it, possibly having it integrated into the walls by default. For outdoor growing, you can go without it (Naturally moist soil, rain can take care of it), but you need it for hydroponics, aeroponics and, to a partial extent, colonists (Maybe the nutrient paste has a good bit of water in it?). It could be used for automatic firefighting systems, as well as something that can be hooked up to a turret to make it have better cooling (Up to 7/8 shots instead of five, and it won't explode if damaged to a certain amount, just stop firing).

If a water line breaks in a wall, you could say that it is sealed automatically, whereas outside lines could end up with a pool of water on the ground for a bit.

Perhaps even add a recreational structure (Pool/Hot Tub) that is great for happiness, but takes up a lot of water and a good amount of space (If you have it built in a zone fashion, it needs x tiles per colonist for use, more than that and it increases a benefit).

Also, coffee. That is a must, if possible. Space coffee.

Hmm..

Artillery Emplacement - Large (like 4x4 or something, maybe have a smaller version as well), needs open sky, and fires large shells with a mining charge-type explosion. Would need someone or something to spot for it (If that's not too hard to do), and can't fire within a certain range. Would cost a lot of metal and have a large power draw, and wouldn't be terribly accurate.
Also, as an idea (Even though it's not cheap, time-wise), perhaps it could be set to fire on pods (and other things) entering the atmosphere. Wouldn't be the best at it, but it still could take out, say, 15-25% of a raiding party at best, which could mean something. As a downside, it would prevent you from trading due to shooting down the drop pods full of stuff.

Manned Turret - Lesser power draw, about the same metal cost, and needs to have a drafted colonist to man it. Would pull from the skill of the person. Perhaps have it act as partial cover, too - The turret or the person manning it can be hit.

Defense/Safety Zones - Set like a Home Zone, these would still have colonists fighting fires (More urgently in the Safety Zone), but in the case of a raid, colonists assigned to a defense zone (Or with the 'Defense' job/setting active) will man their stations, taking the best cover they can, manning turrets, etc. If raiders make it into the Home Zone(s) (or just get into the Defense Zone, former might be better), all colonists will attempt to either retreat to the Safety Zone (And block the doors up) or, in the case of a 'Normal' mode (Thinking it could be something toggling between 'Defender', 'Normal', and 'Non-Combatant') act like those set to defend would. It would be a way to be able to set up defenses without having to worry about drafting people all the time. They would (hopefully) be smart enough to avoid grenades, and if the metal is available, the colonists that are building would try to re-build defenses (Or just sandbags/walls) after the attack. The way I see it, it's using the Raider's combat AI and limiting it to a zone.

Herbivore Inertial Generator - Just a treadmill that colonists would drag Muffalos onto, keep them fed, and it would generate some power more or less continuously. You could use a re-named variant of the 'Prisoner Treatment' menu thing to set how well they treat it and how much power it makes. Downside is that if that muffalo gets free and angry.. Well, it's probably close to things that can be blown up.

Mass Grave - The same size as a dumping ground (or maybe just 2x2), can hold a larger number of corpses. Can possibly also be used as a fall trap, but that'd probably be a bit expensive.

Food Dispenser Upgrade - Takes a bit of research, makes the dispenser use more food per meal (possibly), as well as some spices (A different thing for a growing zone), but it's a cheapish way to make a standard level of food that people don't complain about nearly as much (if at all). Produces Ration Paste ("Some spices have been added. It is now mostly edible."), adds a production option in all Nutrient Paste Dispensers.

Item Transport Tube/Item Transport Receptacle - A cross between a stockpile and power lines, only bulky. Have a 2x2 area where colonists can put collected items which, if connected to a pump (For the tubes to have suction), the pump is powered, and there's a tube leading through the pump to the Stockpile, it will quickly transport the item there. Perhaps there could be a range limit on the pumps (Maybe not), and even a slight need to have the Stockpile and Food Dispenser connected by pipe to keep it topped off.
Can then lead to 'Fun' storyteller events ("A boomrat was in the wrong place at the right time and was sucked into your stockpile! It gorged itself on the food within." -15 food, "One of your item pumps has become clogged, and it sounds like a Muffalo is stuck inside." Damage/shutdown of the pumps along a line, won't re-activate until the blockage is cleared.)

Rock Crusher - Has a 3x3 storage area for rocks (is 5x3), destroys the rocks or turns them into a very small amount of metal/other resource or gravel. If gravel, then that could be a tile that you could put down. Slightly faster movement (?), makes a nice crunchy shifty noise. Possibly even using gravel as a resource for an alternate sandbag?

Organic Material Reconstitutionalizer -  Can be used to 'store' corpses in, alternate food dispenser. Dispenses 'Green Goop ("It doesn't smell that bad.. But there's something that feels off about it. Food's food, though.", causes a happiness loss between raw food and nutrient paste, slight fear increase).

That's all I've got for now..

But it (probably) is so much fun, going Boomrat hunting with a belt of frags!

I can see the 'building it on the ground by putting the parts in place' thing being a little fiddly..
Perhaps one could set a 'Garage' zone (Or 'Workshop'), which would then enable vehicle construction (And other things with a Workshop). You then would be able to go into a separate 'Vehicle Designer' view where you would then do the 'build by block' thing. It would give you vehicle stats (Can it cross rough terrain, cargo capacity, cost, speed, hitpoints, passenger capacity, weapons, size, endurance, etc) and you would need a large enough Garage/Workshop to build it, in addition to a good amount of metal and the right parts researched, as well as the guns to mount in the turrets/hardpoints.

Would make it a little tougher to get vehicles, but at the same time it would give you something to do with all those guns laying around. Maybe something grid-based, but similar to Gimbal's ship builder, in some way.

I would vote against air vehicles, personally, if only because of the issues with going out of the X-Y plane, but if there is something to build a starship to get people off-world (Even if it means making cargo shuttles to ferry materials and parts for orbital construction), this system could be used for that - The bigger and better the ship, the more it would cost in a reasonable, built-up way.


Also, if you do end up making things that can go out of the atmosphere, perhaps one could have the option of attacking/boarding the trading ships that pass by. Upside is that you can get the stuff easily enough, downside is that you might get mercenaries landing and attacking in retaliation. That, and the ships would eventually have escorts, as well as charging more (Or less, depending on the situation) or just stop coming at all.
..Also, it would be a very bad idea to try to raid a weapons trader. But that's beside the point.
What it could mean also is that if you can manage to get something up to keep an eye out for pirates or keep an eye on the planet's weather, it could offer some warning or, in the case of pirates, a reduced (or wounded) raiding party because you had defenses in space.

Hmm.. I am suddenly thinking of a gamemode in Sword of the Stars - Where every X turns, you need to have a fleet ready to move to a new map.

Could have it be something like that - Just a 'Nomads' mode where you build up resources for a trip and have some basic equipment in reserve (Some metal, food, etc.) when you get there. And, in this case, it could possibly keep track of what was left behind so that you could, if wanted or needed, send people back. And at that point, it'd be up to the Storyteller to say what happened - Did it get ransacked? Did a herd of muffalo move in? Maybe some raiders came by and destroyed everything - Or worse, moved in!

..Which brings me to another idea of possibly having some form of AI settlement cropping up, using buildings in accessible ways. Would give a good reason for Steam Workshop integration, if that's anywhere down the line.

Hey, I'd be fore it. Might help to cut down on the number of threads asking the same questions, especially since people tend to not use the search function, from my experience, and locked threads end up drifting down into the sea of pages.. 634 of 782, for example.

I dunno, I'm no moderator, but it might make sense..
Might also make sense to make a Newbie FAQ sticky thread with pictures. I'd offer to make it, but I don't have a copy to do so with.

Yeah.. Sorry, it just didn't occur to me that you didn't have anything actually generating the power you were trying to use. >.<

EDIT:

moved to support

if solved ill close it

I think the idea was that this would be a place where people could look up issues they are having that aren't actually bugs. Just my pennies.

Oh.. Wow. You have no power generation. Get some solar panels up outside and wired up ASAP!
That's the problem - You have a battery, but no way to actually generate the power to charge it.