Restore a Real Crafting Loop to Backpack Building (Ores, Ingots, Components)
The problem with backpack building:
The current backpack building system skips too many steps. Letting players mine raw materials and instantly weld blocks cheapens the experience, oversimplifies the game, and removes the engineering feel.
My suggestion and solution:
To restore depth, ores should be fully re-implemented across the board. The backpack should then follow a simple but meaningful crafting loop. After mining, the player selects a priority ore, and the backpack slowly refines it into ingots (but only for basic ores).
Using those ingots, players can queue (only basic parts) such as plates or tubes, etc, which the backpack slowly crafts before they can be used for welding.
This system also opens the door to meaningful upgrades. As players progress, backpack enhancements could improve refining speed, expand which ores can be processed, and allow slightly more advanced parts to be made on the fly while still remaining far slower and more limited than a proper refinery and assembler setup.
This brings back the true mine → refine → craft → build process that made SE1 great. It also keeps things straight forward for new players, and it makes construction feel like real engineering rather than just mining and instant assembly.
TL;DR: Reintroduce ores and add a simple backpack crafting loop where you slowly refine basic ores into ingots and craft basic parts before welding. This restores real engineering and keeps backpack building useful but balanced.
I like this feedback
There is nothing wrong with being able to smelt and craft on the fly while welding simple blocks. That part is actually fine. What we are missing is a proper crafting UI for the backpack, just like we have for other production blocks.
Instead of auto-refining/crafting in the background with no control, the player should ALSO be able to open the backpack production UI and set how many ingots or components they want. If you queue components, the system should automatically resolve the dependencies and queue the correct amount of ingots needed to produce them. This is useful for many reasons, more about it later.
The same logic should apply to complex production chains in production blocks. If you order high tier components, all dependencies should be resolved automatically, taking into account the most ready items you already have, whether they are ingots or lower tier components. After placing item in production, you should be able to select it instead of insatantly removing from the queue when clicked. Once selected you can perform certain actions like changing amount or remvong, AND the information about dependencies. This information UI shows you all required items and amounts all the way down to raw ore, so you know exactly what is needed and can prepare the stockpile. If you increase or decrease the quantity, the dependent queues in other production blocks should update accordingly. If you deliver new items into the inventory system or removing some, the queued items and their dependencies should automatically update. That does not happen for new itemns being created within the inventory system by production blocks. If multiple production blocks are connected to the same inventory system, the workload should be split evenly between them. When you open UI for a production block, you can enqueue new items, but if there are already "dependent" items in queue, you CANNOT remove them, only change the priority order, select it and there should also be a clear link to the production block responsible for each dependent queue.
On a higher level, you should even be able to queue an entire blueprint. This could be done in some advanced production block or a projection table. This way, you manage everything from the top level, where you can see all dependencies, queued amounts, and missing resources. If something cannot be fulfilled, the UI should clearly state why. If ore is missing, it should show which ore and how much. If you have ore but no smelter, it should warn about missing production capability. If you already have enough ingots in stock, no extra smelting should be queued.
The same concept applies to the backpack, just in a much simpler form. Most likely, there would be only one dependency layer. When you queue components, ingots are automatically queued behind them. This also teaches players how larger production chains work. The UI should be consistent across backpack and production blocks, only the number and complexity of dependency layers changes.
When you hold the welder on a block, you are already enqueuing dependencies under the hood. When you release the button, the temporary queue is cleared. What we need is the option to also do this manually. There are additional good reasons to have this starting from the backpack, besides learning the production mechanics. You can produce items while sitting in a cockpit, while your suit is charging, or waiting out bad weather. You will also prepare ingots for the Gearforge.
Later, a proper build planner can expand this further. When you have blocks in the planner, you should see a dedicated UI with a clear list of all required items. As you mine or withdraw resources, the list should update automatically, showing what you have and what is still missing, possibly with subtle sounds or animations to draw attention. There should be a clear hint to open the G menu to manage the planner, including a quick way to clear it. Blocks could be added automatically when you attempt to weld them, even with an area welder. Most of the time, you care about total required items, not individual blocks.
In early game, you mostly mine and use backpack building. Once you build a Gearforge, you might use the backpack to smelt basic ingots to feed into it. That creates a natural incentive to build your first proper smelter and power it. Mass-producing dense ingots like iron makes backpack building more efficient. You will need a good number of ingots and that will allow you to produce all kinds of basic components on the fly much faster. Either by withdrawing them manually, which would be much easier as you will need mostly one item — iron ingots, and occasionally some nickel and silicon. Or by using the build planner, which would withdraw necessary amounts of the most ready items.
In conclusion, pointing the welder and crafting components on the fly is not a bad idea. But it needs explicit, visible underlying mechanics that can also be used manually at any scale. Auto-resolving dependencies is likely the only practical way to deal with complex production chains. With all the technology available, the player should not have to manually calculate proportions and exact amounts in a complicated production graph.
There is still plenty of room for interesting gameplay in designing production systems, deciding how many production blocks you need, and how to optimize them with modules. New players should be guided to think top-down from the beginning, starting with the backpack.
There is nothing wrong with being able to smelt and craft on the fly while welding simple blocks. That part is actually fine. What we are missing is a proper crafting UI for the backpack, just like we have for other production blocks.
Instead of auto-refining/crafting in the background with no control, the player should ALSO be able to open the backpack production UI and set how many ingots or components they want. If you queue components, the system should automatically resolve the dependencies and queue the correct amount of ingots needed to produce them. This is useful for many reasons, more about it later.
The same logic should apply to complex production chains in production blocks. If you order high tier components, all dependencies should be resolved automatically, taking into account the most ready items you already have, whether they are ingots or lower tier components. After placing item in production, you should be able to select it instead of insatantly removing from the queue when clicked. Once selected you can perform certain actions like changing amount or remvong, AND the information about dependencies. This information UI shows you all required items and amounts all the way down to raw ore, so you know exactly what is needed and can prepare the stockpile. If you increase or decrease the quantity, the dependent queues in other production blocks should update accordingly. If you deliver new items into the inventory system or removing some, the queued items and their dependencies should automatically update. That does not happen for new itemns being created within the inventory system by production blocks. If multiple production blocks are connected to the same inventory system, the workload should be split evenly between them. When you open UI for a production block, you can enqueue new items, but if there are already "dependent" items in queue, you CANNOT remove them, only change the priority order, select it and there should also be a clear link to the production block responsible for each dependent queue.
On a higher level, you should even be able to queue an entire blueprint. This could be done in some advanced production block or a projection table. This way, you manage everything from the top level, where you can see all dependencies, queued amounts, and missing resources. If something cannot be fulfilled, the UI should clearly state why. If ore is missing, it should show which ore and how much. If you have ore but no smelter, it should warn about missing production capability. If you already have enough ingots in stock, no extra smelting should be queued.
The same concept applies to the backpack, just in a much simpler form. Most likely, there would be only one dependency layer. When you queue components, ingots are automatically queued behind them. This also teaches players how larger production chains work. The UI should be consistent across backpack and production blocks, only the number and complexity of dependency layers changes.
When you hold the welder on a block, you are already enqueuing dependencies under the hood. When you release the button, the temporary queue is cleared. What we need is the option to also do this manually. There are additional good reasons to have this starting from the backpack, besides learning the production mechanics. You can produce items while sitting in a cockpit, while your suit is charging, or waiting out bad weather. You will also prepare ingots for the Gearforge.
Later, a proper build planner can expand this further. When you have blocks in the planner, you should see a dedicated UI with a clear list of all required items. As you mine or withdraw resources, the list should update automatically, showing what you have and what is still missing, possibly with subtle sounds or animations to draw attention. There should be a clear hint to open the G menu to manage the planner, including a quick way to clear it. Blocks could be added automatically when you attempt to weld them, even with an area welder. Most of the time, you care about total required items, not individual blocks.
In early game, you mostly mine and use backpack building. Once you build a Gearforge, you might use the backpack to smelt basic ingots to feed into it. That creates a natural incentive to build your first proper smelter and power it. Mass-producing dense ingots like iron makes backpack building more efficient. You will need a good number of ingots and that will allow you to produce all kinds of basic components on the fly much faster. Either by withdrawing them manually, which would be much easier as you will need mostly one item — iron ingots, and occasionally some nickel and silicon. Or by using the build planner, which would withdraw necessary amounts of the most ready items.
In conclusion, pointing the welder and crafting components on the fly is not a bad idea. But it needs explicit, visible underlying mechanics that can also be used manually at any scale. Auto-resolving dependencies is likely the only practical way to deal with complex production chains. With all the technology available, the player should not have to manually calculate proportions and exact amounts in a complicated production graph.
There is still plenty of room for interesting gameplay in designing production systems, deciding how many production blocks you need, and how to optimize them with modules. New players should be guided to think top-down from the beginning, starting with the backpack.
i think they should just keep it to how se1 has it.
the whole No Mans Sky backpack crafting is ruining it big time
i think they should just keep it to how se1 has it.
the whole No Mans Sky backpack crafting is ruining it big time
There is nothing wrong with being able to smelt and craft on the fly while welding simple blocks. That part is actually fine. What we are missing is a proper crafting UI for the backpack, just like we have for other production blocks.
Instead of auto-refining/crafting in the background with no control, the player should ALSO be able to open the backpack production UI and set how many ingots or components they want. If you queue components, the system should automatically resolve the dependencies and queue the correct amount of ingots needed to produce them. This is useful for many reasons, more about it later.
The same logic should apply to complex production chains in production blocks. If you order high tier components, all dependencies should be resolved automatically, taking into account the most ready items you already have, whether they are ingots or lower tier components. After placing item in production, you should be able to select it instead of insatantly removing from the queue when clicked. Once selected you can perform certain actions like changing amount or remvong, AND the information about dependencies. This information UI shows you all required items and amounts all the way down to raw ore, so you know exactly what is needed and can prepare the stockpile. If you increase or decrease the quantity, the dependent queues in other production blocks should update accordingly. If you deliver new items into the inventory system or removing some, the queued items and their dependencies should automatically update. That does not happen for new itemns being created within the inventory system by production blocks. If multiple production blocks are connected to the same inventory system, the workload should be split evenly between them. When you open UI for a production block, you can enqueue new items, but if there are already "dependent" items in queue, you CANNOT remove them, only change the priority order, select it and there should also be a clear link to the production block responsible for each dependent queue.
On a higher level, you should even be able to queue an entire blueprint. This could be done in some advanced production block or a projection table. This way, you manage everything from the top level, where you can see all dependencies, queued amounts, and missing resources. If something cannot be fulfilled, the UI should clearly state why. If ore is missing, it should show which ore and how much. If you have ore but no smelter, it should warn about missing production capability. If you already have enough ingots in stock, no extra smelting should be queued.
The same concept applies to the backpack, just in a much simpler form. Most likely, there would be only one dependency layer. When you queue components, ingots are automatically queued behind them. This also teaches players how larger production chains work. The UI should be consistent across backpack and production blocks, only the number and complexity of dependency layers changes.
When you hold the welder on a block, you are already enqueuing dependencies under the hood. When you release the button, the temporary queue is cleared. What we need is the option to also do this manually. There are additional good reasons to have this starting from the backpack, besides learning the production mechanics. You can produce items while sitting in a cockpit, while your suit is charging, or waiting out bad weather. You will also prepare ingots for the Gearforge.
Later, a proper build planner can expand this further. When you have blocks in the planner, you should see a dedicated UI with a clear list of all required items. As you mine or withdraw resources, the list should update automatically, showing what you have and what is still missing, possibly with subtle sounds or animations to draw attention. There should be a clear hint to open the G menu to manage the planner, including a quick way to clear it. Blocks could be added automatically when you attempt to weld them, even with an area welder. Most of the time, you care about total required items, not individual blocks.
In early game, you mostly mine and use backpack building. Once you build a Gearforge, you might use the backpack to smelt basic ingots to feed into it. That creates a natural incentive to build your first proper smelter and power it. Mass-producing dense ingots like iron makes backpack building more efficient. You will need a good number of ingots and that will allow you to produce all kinds of basic components on the fly much faster. Either by withdrawing them manually, which would be much easier as you will need mostly one item — iron ingots, and occasionally some nickel and silicon. Or by using the build planner, which would withdraw necessary amounts of the most ready items.
In conclusion, pointing the welder and crafting components on the fly is not a bad idea. But it needs explicit, visible underlying mechanics that can also be used manually at any scale. Auto-resolving dependencies is likely the only practical way to deal with complex production chains. With all the technology available, the player should not have to manually calculate proportions and exact amounts in a complicated production graph.
There is still plenty of room for interesting gameplay in designing production systems, deciding how many production blocks you need, and how to optimize them with modules. New players should be guided to think top-down from the beginning, starting with the backpack.
There is nothing wrong with being able to smelt and craft on the fly while welding simple blocks. That part is actually fine. What we are missing is a proper crafting UI for the backpack, just like we have for other production blocks.
Instead of auto-refining/crafting in the background with no control, the player should ALSO be able to open the backpack production UI and set how many ingots or components they want. If you queue components, the system should automatically resolve the dependencies and queue the correct amount of ingots needed to produce them. This is useful for many reasons, more about it later.
The same logic should apply to complex production chains in production blocks. If you order high tier components, all dependencies should be resolved automatically, taking into account the most ready items you already have, whether they are ingots or lower tier components. After placing item in production, you should be able to select it instead of insatantly removing from the queue when clicked. Once selected you can perform certain actions like changing amount or remvong, AND the information about dependencies. This information UI shows you all required items and amounts all the way down to raw ore, so you know exactly what is needed and can prepare the stockpile. If you increase or decrease the quantity, the dependent queues in other production blocks should update accordingly. If you deliver new items into the inventory system or removing some, the queued items and their dependencies should automatically update. That does not happen for new itemns being created within the inventory system by production blocks. If multiple production blocks are connected to the same inventory system, the workload should be split evenly between them. When you open UI for a production block, you can enqueue new items, but if there are already "dependent" items in queue, you CANNOT remove them, only change the priority order, select it and there should also be a clear link to the production block responsible for each dependent queue.
On a higher level, you should even be able to queue an entire blueprint. This could be done in some advanced production block or a projection table. This way, you manage everything from the top level, where you can see all dependencies, queued amounts, and missing resources. If something cannot be fulfilled, the UI should clearly state why. If ore is missing, it should show which ore and how much. If you have ore but no smelter, it should warn about missing production capability. If you already have enough ingots in stock, no extra smelting should be queued.
The same concept applies to the backpack, just in a much simpler form. Most likely, there would be only one dependency layer. When you queue components, ingots are automatically queued behind them. This also teaches players how larger production chains work. The UI should be consistent across backpack and production blocks, only the number and complexity of dependency layers changes.
When you hold the welder on a block, you are already enqueuing dependencies under the hood. When you release the button, the temporary queue is cleared. What we need is the option to also do this manually. There are additional good reasons to have this starting from the backpack, besides learning the production mechanics. You can produce items while sitting in a cockpit, while your suit is charging, or waiting out bad weather. You will also prepare ingots for the Gearforge.
Later, a proper build planner can expand this further. When you have blocks in the planner, you should see a dedicated UI with a clear list of all required items. As you mine or withdraw resources, the list should update automatically, showing what you have and what is still missing, possibly with subtle sounds or animations to draw attention. There should be a clear hint to open the G menu to manage the planner, including a quick way to clear it. Blocks could be added automatically when you attempt to weld them, even with an area welder. Most of the time, you care about total required items, not individual blocks.
In early game, you mostly mine and use backpack building. Once you build a Gearforge, you might use the backpack to smelt basic ingots to feed into it. That creates a natural incentive to build your first proper smelter and power it. Mass-producing dense ingots like iron makes backpack building more efficient. You will need a good number of ingots and that will allow you to produce all kinds of basic components on the fly much faster. Either by withdrawing them manually, which would be much easier as you will need mostly one item — iron ingots, and occasionally some nickel and silicon. Or by using the build planner, which would withdraw necessary amounts of the most ready items.
In conclusion, pointing the welder and crafting components on the fly is not a bad idea. But it needs explicit, visible underlying mechanics that can also be used manually at any scale. Auto-resolving dependencies is likely the only practical way to deal with complex production chains. With all the technology available, the player should not have to manually calculate proportions and exact amounts in a complicated production graph.
There is still plenty of room for interesting gameplay in designing production systems, deciding how many production blocks you need, and how to optimize them with modules. New players should be guided to think top-down from the beginning, starting with the backpack.
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