I crafted the terraform machines, I powered them and they poop out cells, canisters and samples. But the cells/canisters/etc, don't really seem to do anything. Looking at factoriopedia, there also seems to be no use for them other than launching them via rockets, but that's an optional tech.

How am I supposed to actually do anything?

yer sorry slight oversight i'm working on a fix now

I'm confused, how was the mod supposed to function before 1.1?

You're right to ask that.

Before 1.1, the intended loop was that running the terraform machines would effectively drive the planet stats, while the cells / canisters / samples were mostly acting as intermediate outputs and future payload materials. In practice, that made them feel pointless, because they didn't have a strong direct use in the actual progression loop.

That was a design mistake on my part.

1.1 changes that by making those outputs the real terraform resources:
- Heat Cells -> Thermal Injector
- Pressure Canisters -> Pressure Array
- Oxygen Canisters -> Oxygen Distributor
- Biomass Samples -> Biosphere Seeder

So the proper loop now is:
produce materials -> transport them -> consume them -> gain planetary progress

Before that patch, the mod's progression idea was there, but the resource-purpose step was too weak, and your post pointed that out correctly. Thanks for calling it out.

Since we're on the subject, how are you supposed to actually know the planet's stats if there's no UI? Like there's a heating machine but the planet is a barren desert, should I be heating it more? Am I supposed to be aiming for specific terraformation ratios or just run all machiens at full blast at all times?

That’s a fair criticism.

Right now, the honest answer is: the mod does not explain that well enough in-game yet, and you shouldn’t have to guess.

There is supposed to be a dashboard/UI for tracking the planet, but if that isn’t obvious or available enough during normal play, that’s on me. I need to surface it better and make the progression readable from the start.

As for how you’re meant to play it:

• you are not currently meant to hit exact terraforming ratios
• the intended idea is not “perfect balance puzzle” yet

• the intended loop is more:

• build all four terraforming lines

• keep them all progressing
• expand the one that is bottlenecking your next milestone or survival problem

So in the current version, “run all machines at full blast if you can support them” is honestly pretty close to the right answer.

That said, the mod should communicate that much better. A player should be able to see:

• current Heat / Pressure / Oxygen / Biomass
• which stat is lagging
• what the next milestone needs
• whether they should be focusing more on oxygen, biomass, etc.

The barren desert visuals also make this more confusing, because they imply “I probably need more heat,” when the real answer is usually “you need to keep the whole terraform stack moving, with oxygen and biomass becoming more important later.”

So the short honest version is:

• there isn’t a strict ratio system you’re supposed to solve right now
• yes, the mod currently under-explains that
• the intended play is broad multi-stat progression, not one-stat hyper-specialization
• better UI / guidance / milestone direction is something I need to improve

Are you using chat gpt to write these responses? I don't care, but its a little distracting.

So, are you gonna add a UI for milestones or what?

hey what was your solution for power at the very start?

hey what was your solution for power distribution at the very start?

Are you using chat gpt to write these responses? I don't care, but its a little distracting.

So, are you gonna add a UI for milestones or what?

i added one