Is Tholins 2 and Tholins 3 meant to be Utility Science?

[Zanthra]

I got started with utility science, and I am starting some of the researches. Looking at the Tholins tech, I remember I kept looking at it as an option for some of the more troublesome gases, but certainly at Tholins 1 there is little point to sending up space capsules for Hydrogen, Nitrogen, or Carbon Dioxide (probably more power, space, and logistic infrastructure to make any of those three out of tholins). It feels strange now that I do have access to it, but my production from other sources has scaled up enough that it's not really as interesting a tech, although I do like the idea of launching rockets as part of the production cycle.

Looking closer:

Tholins 1 is Automation, Logistic, and Chemical
Tholins 2 is Automation, Logistic, Chemical, and Utility
Tholins 3 is Py, Automation, Logistic, Chemical, and Utility
Tholins 4 is Py, Automation, Logistic, Chemical, Production, and Utility

This is out of line with standard tech progression, which generally goes:

Automation, Logistic, (Chemical/Py), Production, Utility

If Utility was replaced in the line with Production (besides Tholins 4), the research requirements would be more in line with tech progression, and provide some useful recipes that can be used not too long after unlocking rocket silos and the LDS to make them prior to late game.

I am not sure if this very late useful Tholins restriction was intended, or whether it was perhaps just the wrong science packs added as requirements for the tech.

PS: Some numbers regarding the only three Tholins recipes before Utility science:

Hydrogen 1k/s:
20 Electrolyzers at 16MW
OR 125 Tholin atmospheric extractors, 150 Tholins plants, and assorted other machinery for making the vessels, at 220MW

Nitrogen 1k/s:
250 Destructive Distillation Column and 250 Pressure Pump at 113 MW (There are lower power ways to doing nitrogen, still materially cheaper than Tholins capsules).
OR 250 Tholin atmospheric extractors, and 300 Tholins plants at 440MW.

CO2 1k/s:
15 High Pressure Furnace, 8 Composters, 7 Moss Farms, 6 Soil Separators, 6 Soil Extractors, and 5 Burners (for the sand if no other use for it) at a total of 10.9MW
OR 125 Tholin Atmospheric Extractors, and 150 Tholins plants at 220MW

[kingarthur]

tholins is currently the unloved stepchild of the mod pack.

to put simply it was somewhat intentionally made to be bad as to fix an issue with it being the go to meta for a lot of things instead of the more involved options. currently its where its meant to be but the rest of the game play meant to go with it is unfinished.

[Zanthra]

What do you mean by the rest of the gameplay meant to go with it is unfinished? I am aware of how they worked before you had to send them to space, just power for chemicals, (and the space launch requirement I think is a really cool solution!), but is there meant to be more to it than even that?

[immortal_sniper1]

well as i interpret it from king he made it a endgame thing , and not a great one , anyway it is low in the rework/balance list

also it is not needed t finish the game
think of it as a super bad alternative to makeing X

[Zanthra]

That's fine. I would not have thought much of it if it didn't have the strange pseudo tech progression with the latter two levels adding Py science and production science, but not really progression because the latter 3 are all utility science, and the Chemical -> Utility jump from Tholins 1 to Tholins 2. I just wanted to check that it was as intended (and as you say it is) given the strange science pack configuration, and not just a mistake adding the wrong science pack.