\/ Long post ahead \/
Hello this is my first time posting on one of this game's discussion boards.
This mod is awesome, but i do have a bunch of ideas i want to throw around for possible ways to improve the mod.
NOTE: I'm playing this mod without Panglia installed, so i don't know how much Panglia adds to -or changes- the tech tree. Additionally, I'm also playing with a bunch of other planet mods installed, and I'm also not sure how much they change Moshine's tech tree. I'm just judging this mod solely based off what i saw.
First, here are some problems i have:
A. AI Research doesn't amount to that much in the late game. IE once you get your improved solar panels, accumulators, substations, and long stack inserters, then aside from Quantum Processor productivity (which is alright i guess), there is absolutely nothing else to use AI research for.
B. Power on Moshine is a bit too trivial in my opinion. Not necessarily that its too easy to get, but rather that its very easy to get so much power that you never need to think about it ever again (i'll expand on this point later).
So, here are some ideas i have on how to fix those problems, plus some other suggestions:
1. Move some new stuff deeper into the tech tree. For example, the neodymium rails & maglev trains can become techs unlocked with AI research. I think all of the "cool stuff" that this mod offers should only be unlocked after getting into AI research. Likewise i think the solar panels & accumulators are a bit powerful & maybe should be moved further down the tree.
2. Add at least one more repeatable tech, maybe after getting the final AI core tech. I'm thinking -in line with the somewhat focus on electric power- perhaps superconductor and/or supercapacitor productivity?
3. Make power a more key focus of the planet. After all, AI development is very costly in regards to electric & cooling. Perhaps power should remain easily accessible, but make buildings such as the AI trainer cost a lot more power to maintain. Players could then tackle this problem either with having to spam more steam turbines (which may be tedious), use efficiency modules elsewhere, or work towards getting the Hypercell solar panels & accumulators.
4. Maybe reduce the number of tiers for AI cores, but make it harder to reach the higher tiers. I just think there's too many tiers of them, and that they don't really have any substantial difference besides the obvious speed-up. Therefore, try to make that speedup more impactful going from one tier to the next.
5. The equation datacells are kinda in an awkward spot, in that they're only used for 2 techs and are otherwise kinda disconnected from the main AI stuff. I was thinking maybe have it so that they're required for the new normal items in place of AI datacells. IE the AI datacells are used just for unlocking higher tier AI cores, and the equation datacells are for unlocking those associated items.
6. On the topic of cooling, if you thought about adding a liquid cooling system i have some suggestions: maybe initially it can be water-based cooling that gets turned to steam. This may not be efficient b.c. Steam condensation turns 1k Steam to 90 Water, but once you get the cryogenic plant from Aquilo you can unlock Fluoroketone cooling which does 1:1 hot to cold fluoroketone. Maybe this fluoroketone-based recipe could also be made quicker. I generally thought that vanilla Space Age lacked much direct benefits that certain planet techs had on other planets (aside from items/buildings that are useful everywhere, not any planet specifically).
7. The "Data Archeology" tech seems weird in that its the only tech that uses the blank white datacells. Maybe change it's recipe to use something else, like a crafting-base unlock or just vanilla science packs. Alternatively, it would also makes sense that the data receiver & optical fiber -for transmitting data- be unlocked alongside the data processor. Otherwise there is a slight gap between when you can make the data processor & when you can practically use them in your base.
That's about it from me for now, feel free to use any of these suggestions or comment on them. Keep up the great work on this awesome mod.
EDIT: One additional note/question, Whats the point of the Sulfuric petroleum synthesis recipe? The player already has coal liquefaction at this point (required to travel to Moshine), so they can get petroleum gas via that & oil cracking. If they wanted the carbon, then they can get it via the normal recipe (which was also from Vulcanus).
EDIT 2: changed my idea #5 a bit
EDIT 3: Ok after a bit more testing with the solar panels & accumulators i don't think they're so OP anymore (offset by the size of the things), removed it from problem C. but still think they should be unlocked a bit further in the tech tree
