Power tiers progression (solving backpack building)

Hi! I'm new in here, but I kinda have over 2k hrs in SE1 and I'm watching the SE2 development progress, so I think it is best time to share some ideas I have. And it also somewhat resolves the latest 'backpack building debate', IMO.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not saying "OMG Keen PLS PLS make THIS", I am sharing a general idea for the progression system, how it could be reworked to be: fun, easy to understand, felt a little bit more realistic, without completely reinventing the SE1 heritage. And If I am posting this in the wrong place - my apologies, I hope the mods will tell me where to go with it. I also used AI processor to gather my thoughts together, don't worry, these are my own thoughts, just written down with AI in 'typewriter mode', not generated! ESL, please don't be mad.

Instead of limiting blocks or processing capabilities I suggest a new way - power tiers. 3 in total.

Tier 1 – Basic Power

Early survival, planetary engineering.

• Small portable power cells (as we already have)
• Large batteries (also power cell chargers, also present)
• Combustion generators (gas- or LF-powered)
• Wind turbines
• Solar panels

Enables:

• Rovers, basic machinery
• Early flight using jets or chemical rockets
• Basic mining and refining

Tier 2 – Industrial Power

Advanced planetary and orbital engineering.

• Large batteries
• Capacitors
• Simple fission reactors

Enables:

• Heavy VTOLs (power-intensive, dense atmosphere-only)
• Plasma H2 thrusters (high power draw)
• Mass-drivers (metal-consuming ion thruster alternatives)
• Large bases, factories, big ships, early jumpdrives

Tier 3 – High-Energy + Exotic Power

Late-game

• Fusion reactors
• Advanced fission reactors

Enables:

• Endgame thrusters (exotics / power-only type)
• Mega‑ships (dreadnoughts), large stations, extreme industry
• Endgame efficiency boost
  

So the progression is regulated not only by resource needs, but also by power consumption. In SE1 the power is basically infinite as soon as you get a bunch of ice or some uranium. And ion thrusters make most resources practically useless. Here's how to fix that. Again, I'm not saying "AAAA MAKE IT REAL", it's just ideas on how it could work. I mean when it comes to all thrusters needing actual fuel to create thrust - it is that 'PLS make it happen!!!' :P

Thruster types:

1. Jet Thrusters (Atmospheric)Tier: 1 Use: Atmosphere only Fuel: Liquid fuel (kerosene-like), optional oxygen injection Conveyors: No (fuel passes "invisibly" through grid)

Power consumption:almost none

Notes:

• Works in oxygen-rich atmospheres without additional oxygen.
• In oxygen-poor atmospheres, consumes additional O2 from grid tanks.
• Fuel and gas are transferred via grid (like power), no conveyors needed.

2. VTOL Thrusters Tier: 2 Use: Atmosphere only; Fuel: None; Conveyors: No;

Power consumption:high (power tier 2 minimum)

Notes:

• Pure electric lift engines.
• Ideal for planetary cargo transports and large atmospheric ships.
• Consumes lots of energy but no fuel, so grid freedom stays high.

3. Chemical Thrusters (Atmospheric + Space)Tier: 1 → 2 Use: Anywhere (rockets); Fuel: Hydrazine (or similar) + Oxygen (or other oxidizer), Conveyors: Yes (very intense fuel/oxidizer flow)

Power consumption: low

Notes:

• Early orbital escape engine.
• Refuelable.
• Great for early space access but consumes a lot of fuel.

4. Plasma Hydrogen Thrusters (any environment)Tier: 2 Use: Everywhere; Fuel: Hydrogen (general usage) + LN2 coolant for lategame efficiency; Conveyors: No (H2/LN2 via grid tubes logic, same as power and low-flow O2)

Power consumption: high (tier 2 minimum)

Cooling Behavior:

• Fully cooled → maximum thrust, low H2 burn
• Overheated (no LN2) → high thrust, high H2 burn

Notes:

• Basically good old hydrogen thrusters but without conveyors

5. Mass-Driver Thrusters (Ion replacement)Tier: 2 Use: Space only, Fuel: Any refined metal ingots, Conveyors: Optional (manual loading OK, don't use too much metal to force frequent refueling)

Power consumption:high but less than H2 plasma (tier 2 minimum)

Notes:

• Each thruster has its own small inventory (metal ingots).
• Choice of metal affects plume color but not thrust.
• Great efficiency but requires periodic refilling.
• Excellent for large ships; provides long burn times.
• Basically what we have but more grounded (use mass for propulsion instead of power-only), and fun aspect of colorful exhausts (iron=red-orange, copper=green, cobalt=blue etc.).

6. Exotic Thrusters (Tier 3 Optional)Tier: 3 Use: Anywhere; Fuel: Pure power; Conveyors: No

Notes:

• Endgame blocks, like SE1 Prototech.
• Infinite thrust that require enormous power.

Added resources:

1. Liquid Fuel ("LF")

Made from: crude oil or coal or special ore/ice

Used for:



• Jets
• Chemical rockets

2. Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) (optional addition to improve progression)Collected from: atmosphere (if present) or ammonia ice deposits (needs processing anyway, O2H2 generator can simply get an upgrade to become a 'gas processor' to not add more blocks)

Used for:



• Plasma H2 thrusters cooling
• Advanced reactors cooling (T3)
• Cryo chambers

Notes:
• Not used for pressurizing (to not overwhelm progression).
• Purely industrial coolant.

TL:DR THRUSTERS:

Tier 1:

• Jets (liquid fuel+O2 in no-oxygen atmospheres), no conveyors
• Chemical rockets (liquid fuel+O2), mandatory conveyors

Tier 2:

• VTOLs (a lot of power), no conveyors
• Plasma H2 (even MORE power), no conveyors
• Mass-driver (more than VTOLs but less than plasma), optional conveyors

Tier 3:

• Exotic thrusters (insane power consumption), no conveyors
  

Conveyor system changes:

Gases and liquid fuel can travel through grids, like electricity. Exceptions are chemical thrusters, optional mass-drive thrusters refilling, and existing ingame conveyoring - production, storage, air vents etc. Detaching a cryo pod from conveyors is just a realism assumption - since it realistically doesn't need enormous amounts of oxygen/coolant to operate.

I intentionally remove the conveyors as much as possible to give people more building freedom, and 'small tubes carrying gases or liquids' work perfectly fine in SE universe as 'invisible electrical wires'. By keeping conveyors mandatory for only one thruster type (chemical thrust because high fuel flow) and optional for one more (refueling ex-ION thrusters with mass=metal ingots) I tried to fit it in the existing block system.

Main principles behind this design proposition:

• early game gets access to spaceflight although it's based on luck (reachable fuel source) and player skill
• all thrusters (except exotic) use material fuel, a bit more realistic
• thrusters drawing energy and fuel is meant to make survival more interesting - adds maintenance to crafts, instead of using power-only
• best all-rounder thruster in game (H2 plasma, SE1 hydrogen thruster replacement) now doesn't need conveyors but maintenance instead
• ion thrusters become tiny bit more logical and get cool additional visual effects
• power becomes meaningful instead of being infinite non-demanding resource after midgame

How it helps in solving current debate around backpack building:

• all resources remain valuable even at lategame stage
• backpack crafting only allow to create basic power generation and ore/fuel refinery, same mechanics as SK, as intended
• with power tiers being main progression checkpoints, backpack crafting only allows to operate at tier 1 and to build a grid that can reach tier 2 - no skyrocket progress

So the basic progression becomes tied not to blocks or specific resources, but to overall power generation that is maintained with resources and fuel management. Gather simple stuff -> build simple power -> build stuff that produces more power to be able to refine better ores to be able to build better stuff. Nothing is locked or restricted - if a player wants (and knows how) to cheese - let them. It is not a competitive game after all.

FINAL TLDR: make thrusters use fuel (mass) and power - that way no resource will become obsolete lategame and backpack building becomes a safe mechanic to keep.