Finding Resources

[Viper_607]

Now, thanks to my own stupidity (or lack of wanting to spend the rest of my life trying to figure this out on my own) I have turned to you, great spirit of the forums, to answer the following question:

Is it possible to use some sort of list to pick out exact resources?

I know of the expansion planner, so let me clarify:

I know that there's a resource that I lack, and that I will need it soon to be able to build a certain ship type. However, there's from what I can see, no actual list of All known celestials and their resources, so that I can simply pick which one suits my need. Instead, I need to create a large enough spike in demand for the game to consider it a resource priority. That's all fine and dandy, but I prefer to obtain the resources before I start needing them.


As an example, Say that I'm going to switch over to hydrogen based reactors, and I have next to no sources of hydrogen. Unless it's a galactic or empire demand for it, I have to go around looking for it Manually, which is a pain in the ass. Especially if you look at some of the rarer and harder to find resources required for later game tech.

Have I missed a butan somewhere, or is this simply a lack of a feature?

[Bingeling]

Filtering the expansion planner on "resource by galaxy priority" or something like that, should allow you to filter the resource you want. If you use your empire priority you may not find the resource since you don't actually have a need for it yet.

I don't do this apart form resources in my systems, however, since it is hard to figure out where they actually are.

Another option is to open the galaxy map and change the pulldown to "known resources" and then the one you are interested in. Nice, yellow dots will appear (as long as you have some known sources), and you can click them to see more info.

If you are looking for butan, I think you have to look long and hard, because that was not a resource in this game last time I checked.

The galaxy map thing should work for things like the ultra rares, which only have a couple of sources per galaxy. In some cases the yellow dot can be a bit hard to spot, though, so if I only see 1 source for a rare, I am never quite sure if I miss it, or if it is not discovered...

[Viper_607]

The thing is, the galaxy doesn't always want that resource either, and whilst the galaxy needs does work often, it just doesn't allow me to go through every single resource source of a particular resource that I might be interested in. I understand that this mostly just applies to the earliest stages of the game, (mad scramble to find one of each strategic resource to avoid failcascade).

I'm not looking for butan as a resource, I simply misspelled button on purpose. I was simply curious as to if there's a magic button somewhere that leads to the land of the space fairy that would show the list like I want it :3

[Bingeling]

There are only some resources that are a problem, and the galaxy map works well for those. You have to go one resource at a time, but that is not much of a problem if you only look for a few.

Your example of hydrogen is a scenario where I can use the galaxy map to get a quick overview of good sources in an area.

[Sirian]

There is a dropdown on the right of the resources by galaxy priority tab that lets you specify exactly what resource you are looking for. This saves you from traversing the list to your funs death... Works fine for me when I desperatly search carbon fibre, the only problem is that opening the by-galaxy-priority-list takes ages...

[Bingeling]

How do you figure out where that carbon fiber source is, though? Using the galaxy map gives a better overview for me. The planner works OK if it is common sources, and you got them in your area, tough. Since empire systems are marked...

[Jeeves]

The expansion planner mini-map has a dot for the location of the selected item...

Lonnie Courtney Clay

[Bingeling]

Indeed. I guess I got an excuse for not using it, though.

Probably because I run automated constructors, and when I hunt stuff manually I am interested in location, and the galaxy map is handy.

[Spacecadet]

I generally use the Expansion Planner and sort it by either Sources or Your Stockpile depending on the situation.

These views should help you to quickly identify which resources you are short or tight on.

With this info in hand, use the Galaxy Map and select Known Resources and then the resource you need.

After that, I'll just grab a Constructor in the area and send it off, or just tag the resource to have a Mine built (Left-Click & Build at ...).

[Sirian]

ORIGINAL: Bingeling

How do you figure out where that carbon fiber source is, though? Using the galaxy map gives a better overview for me. The planner works OK if it is common sources, and you got them in your area, tough. Since empire systems are marked...

If you click on the source, there is a small galaxy map where a light blue cross appears showing you the location. It is not the worlds best indication device but it is more than nothing. I do use the galaxy map also when looking for resources, especially fuels, but sometimes I just can't find what I am looking for, then I pilgrimage to the expansion planner.

[Pawsy]

also green highlighted ones are in your space yellow near by

[Darkspire]

ORIGINAL: starbuck310

also green highlighted ones are in your space yellow near by

Yellow systems in the expansion planner are inhabited by space monsters or pirates and does not mean near by (send a fleet to clear the yellow text system first before sending a colony or constructor class ship).

Darkspire

[HectorOfTroy]

Also one important thing to remember when it comes to resources (at least in my experience) is to remember that distance plays a big factor as well.

So I'm playing my latest game and i have more then plenty of all strategic resources (steel, aculon, gold, etc). But, my far flung colonies are slow to receive any of them due to distance and new orders coming in.

So I always make sure to build a mine or two in my new colony clusters even though I have heaps of strategic resources.

[justmax]

ORIGINAL: HectorOfTroy

So I always make sure to build a mine or two in my new colony clusters even though I have heaps of strategic resources.

This is especially true in the early game, and particularly if you're playing with a large map. There isn't enough freight capacity to get resources to distant points in your empire in a timely fashion, so it really helps if you un-automate the constructors and send at least one into new colony systems to start building mines as soon as you colonize, or even prior if possible.

You don't need to micromanage the constructor; just tell it to manually build a mine on, say, the outermost planet, then when it's done pause the game, tell it to build on the next planet in line, then queue everything else in the system while paused. Everything will stack on that one constructor which'll then develop the system even though it isn't running automatically. When it's done with the system either return it to automatic development or send it someplace else to rinse and repeat. Those mines will then ship to the nearest spaceport, which happens to be your new colony rather than half-way across the empire.