What are the most time-consuming operations?

[ssilk]

With speedup I mean, that the game should be about 4-6 times faster than now. You can make it slower afterwards if you need it. But it should be possible to shorten the way.

With faster you mean what? The game-mechanics ( e.g. belt-speed) or the player-progression during game?

Faster progression. Not faster simulation-speed.

I made a list of actions, which - in my eyes - costs much time when I play the game. Maybe I should eventually sit down and stop the time, which action needs how much time, because this list is only what I feel that it costs. It would be interesting, if others have about the same feeling or if not. But first of all I need good categories.

This list is about the first 2-3 hours of the sandbox-game to make it a little bit compareable (in the later game the focus changes a little bit, you don't craft so much yourself)

1. Crafting myself (waiting until it is ready, because not much else can be done then)
2. Fetching resources (hacking, getting from a belt, getting from a chest)
3. Running around to the needed resources
4. Looking around and searching for optimization in item-flow
5. renewing mines/gaining new resources
6. Running zoomed out over already discovered map, as replacement for a big map view
7. Creepers
8. Building
8.1 belts
8.2 power poles
8.3 furnaces
8.4 assemblies
8.5 mines
8.6 power plants etc.
9. Lookup in research-tree or built-requester what what is needed to build what
10. planing and discovering

Again: I think this is more or less in the order I feel it. I haven't measured it.

And I won't discuss it now and how to improve this, I just want to see, if others have more or less the same feeling about what are the "time-takers".

[tonberrytoby]

I think that the only parts of the game that feel slow are:

1. Hunting for Alien gear. ( Bascially fixed by the new larger Alien bases)
2. The real beginning until you have all your mines linked to your furnaces. ( Could be fixed by giving the player starting resources )
3. Hunting for more basic resources by foot. ( partially fixed by the new starting area special code, Could be fixed by moving the car to a lower tech level or faster walking speed )
4. Waiting for resources to gather for a larger build project. ( Could be fixed by a speed up mode )

In short I don't actually think that the game is too long.
And introducing adjustable starting resources and and simulation speed controls would fix almost all the problems.

[ssilk]

[quote="tonberrytoby"]In short I don't actually think that the game is too long.[quote]
Well. Maybe. Currently I try to be neutral. I want to have the whole picture before.

[ficolas]

1. Crafting myself (waiting until it is ready, because not much else can be done then)
2. Fetching resources (hacking, getting from a belt, getting from a chest)
3. Running around to the needed resources
4. Looking around and searching for optimization in item-flow
5. renewing mines/gaining new resources
6. Running zoomed out over already discovered map, as replacement for a big map view
7. Creepers
8. Building
8.1 belts
8.2 power poles
8.3 furnaces
8.4 assemblies
8.5 mines
8.6 power plants etc.
9. Lookup in research-tree or built-requester what what is needed to build what
10. planing and discovering

1- Its true, but that is only at the begining, and it needs to be that way, or making factories to craft for you would make no sense
2- I dont think that is so time consuming
3- Map generation will change for 0.6 cube is working on it
4- What?
5- True, but I think that it needs to be that way
6- That is time consuming?
7- Totally agree
8- You said you played on sandbox didnt you? So why those buildings make you consume time?
9- I dont think that consumes much time, but how would you do it? I like it that way
10- Lol that is the best thing in the game

[slpwnd]

As for 1 I think the ability to put things in the queue and then go off and do something else saves a lot of time.

Some other things will be improved in the 0.6.0. Number 2 and 6 for sure.

The new map generation might not help with 3, however there is a "starting circle" concept already in 0.5.2+ I believe. This makes sure that some basic resources are to be found close to your starting position. I think we can still tune some numbers in there.

[drs9999]

IMO the simulation speed and progression are fine how they are right now.

Maybe it is just for me, but "consuming" have a bad connotation for me.
I would rather say I spend time with them.

The only point I would agree that it "consumes" time are creeper-attack especially in late-game, but I turned them off in nearly all games I played, so I do not care about it

[ssilk]

v
1. Crafting myself (waiting until it is ready, because not much else can be done then)
2. Fetching resources (hacking, getting from a belt, getting from a chest)
3. Running around to the needed resources
4. Looking around and searching for optimization in item-flow
5. renewing mines/gaining new resources
6. Running zoomed out over already discovered map, as replacement for a big map view
7. Creepers
8. Building
8.1 belts
8.2 power poles
8.3 furnaces
8.4 assemblies
8.5 mines
8.6 power plants etc.
9. Lookup in research-tree or built-requester what what is needed to build what
10. planing and discovering

1- Its true, but that is only at the begining, and it needs to be that way, or making factories to craft for you would make no sense

My critics is, that this part is time consuming but not too interesting. Making 50 belts is just boring and I don't know,what I can do in that time, because I haven't enough other resources left to built, everything works perfect etc. I would like make more discovering, more other stuff... I would like to have game mechanics, which speeds this up (already made some suggestions).

2- I dont think that is so time consuming

I made some small measures: from 2 hours of play this takes the first 10-20 minutes! Not to forget the time you need to cut wood to make place for other things. I didn't say it is good or bad, but it takes realy much time!

3- Map generation will change for 0.6 cube is working on it
4- What?

I mean watching. Seeing the things moving. I saw that I'm standing and watching onto a belt for 5 minutes or so, just to see, how the item-flow performs and if it could be improved and how. Now this isn't so much anymore, but in the beginning this was extreme, cause it takes time to understand.

5- True, but I think that it needs to be that way

yes, but I try to be neutral. It takes time. Dot.

6- That is time consuming?

Well, yes. I played a map with less resources and what I found here was, that it is difficult to orientate for long distances. I built a very long belt and missed my camp for one screen-width. For the next time I walked back and forth many time to be sure to hit the camp at the right point. (I think for laser poles, with selectable laser-color, which fire long orientation lasers in one of eight directions...). And I found me walking around zoomed out in fear of the creepers. I wish something like a warning, radar, time-alarm etc. and more overview.

7- Totally agree
8- You said you played on sandbox didnt you? So why those buildings make you consume time?

It takes time to built them, depending on the numbers you built of them.

9- I dont think that consumes much time, but how would you do it? I like it that way

Hm. I don't like that it is not clear what is needed first. Every time I play I choose another order and I didn't found any way, that is obviously smarter than another.

10- Lol that is the best thing in the game

Perhaps time consuming has a negative touch for you, but I try to be neutral. And if it is the best thing in the game, why is it at place 10?

[ssilk]

IMO the simulation speed and progression are fine how they are right now.

I don't mean simulation speed, I mean progression, game-flow, balancing. For example it is a big difference if the car is researchable after 3 hours or after 1.

Maybe it is just for me, but "consuming" have a bad connotation for me.
I would rather say I spend time with them.

Bad German translation. Spending time is much better.

The only point I would agree that it "consumes" time are creeper-attack especially in late-game, but I turned them off in nearly all games I played, so I do not care about it

So you turned off the most challenging thing in this game? btw. Playing it with many creepers is in my eyes more interesting, but hard and the first things you must built is gun turrets and ammo. MANY ammo. And walls.

Hmm. Maybe I want something like a better balancing but this is also very political, because everyone seems to have found "his/hers" play-mode and don't want to have changes in it.

The question I wanted to have answered here (badly expressed) was, how do the most players play the game... one method to see that is by counting the time take for some action. I think that this should enable finding the most useful play-modes and for that the game should be optimized.

[drs9999]

So you turned off the most challenging thing in this game?

I see no challenge there right know. You just have to protect your labs (+ train-stations, if you use them later in the game) and you are fine. And for your protection, just run in circle and use your flame-thrower every now an then This is no big deal in lets say the first couple of hours, but there comes the point where the time you spend on defeating becomes bigger than the time you have for building/maintaining, etc. From there on it is just annoying IMO.

Anyway that just reflects how it works right now and I am pretty sure that we will see a complete reworked enemy-concept sooner than later.