Let me start by saying how much I love the general idea of the mod.
'Space Age' gave us four new planets with unique themes. Vulcanus with its endless source of metals and territorial worms, Fulgora with its upside-down approach to manufacturing, Gleba with its decaying bioengineered products and finally the frozen Aquilo (my least favourite, as keeping all the mashinery warm is definitely the least disruptive approach).
Honestly, I couldn't imagine anyone else coming up with anything as unique.
You did!
Castra's enemy-driven resource system is fundamentally different from any other planet's "economy".
I love the new approach!
I wonder what your plans are for the future of the mod. How do you want to develop the mod, what direction will it take?
Also a shout out to @hurricane. The machines look stunning and capture the Factorio art style perfectly!
Of course, I'm not the owner of the mod. I have no say in the direction you take it.
However, after all the initial praise (which is well deserved), the mod isn't exactly what I expected.
Let me explain:
What I was hoping for was some sort of "tower defence" game on Castra:
Endless streams of (initially easy to defeat) enemies that would drop "loot" when defeated. This loot would then be picked up by drones as the basis for production chains (or used immediately, e.g. ammunition drops). Basically, exactly what you are doing with those mashines (sorry, I forget what you called them), but much more dynamic.
Those mashines are actually a great starting point as they are, and surface-based resources are necessary as well, I guess. But a very large emphasis on these "spoils of war" would really make the Castra experience stand out.
Having constantly attacking combat drones from the start would also have prepared me for the appearance of those 'tanks of doom', which took me completely by surprise and forced me to restart my game with a fresh Castra landing. I hope I will be better prepared for what is to come. We'll see if the perimeter I've set up is enough to stop them.
As I said, I would have liked these tanks to drop especially valuable material, as they seem to be very powerful enemies. Defeating them should grant a nice "reward". (I suspect that balancing the combat capabilities of the enemies is a thing for later development stages of the mod. I am not sure, if the current relation of spawn-frequency and enemy power is sustainable. Constant upgrades through automatic research is an interesting idea. However, at some point it will become frustrating for the player. I am not sure if this line has already been crossed.)
The graphics:
As I am apparently spoiled by what the base game achieved with the planetary surfaces, I find the current planetary surface a bit lacking.
Creating new and unique tile sets is obviously only a secondary goal. Game mechanics first!
Are you planning to improve the surface visuals? (The light oil bodies of non-water don't blend well with the surroundings. There is no vegetation, which might be OK since the planet is devastated).
But what about scattered ruined machinery, shattered solar panels and toppled electricity pylons? These graphics already exist, and would help paint the picture of a battle-scarred planet (that is not decayed to the state of Fulgora).
Please don't take my criticism as an insult.
As I said, Planet Castra is a surprisingly unique mod and has the potential to be outstanding.
I will definitely follow your constant updates and just wish that factorio would support steam mods, which would make staying up to date so much easier.
Kind regards,
Hias_G