Get rid of Pickaxe tool ☸

[campos.ddc]

@Sedado77, @Bobdafilter

You have every right to disagree with me, but as a minimalist, I'm strongly against the "It's not bothering anyone, so leave it there" argument.

Quoting some french dudes:

"You know you’ve achieved perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away." - Anotine de Saint-Exupery
"I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." - Blaise Pascal

[Sedado77]

@Sedado77, @Bobdafilter

You have every right to disagree with me, but as a minimalist, I'm strongly against the "It's not bothering anyone, so leave it there" argument.

Quoting some french dudes:

"You know you’ve achieved perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away." - Anotine de Saint-Exupery
"I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." - Blaise Pascal

It's not as "it's not bothering anyone, so leave it", is about I Personally like the pickaxe mechanic, so if your only reasons to take it out are

Not very interesting.
Basically mandatory.
Easy to craft.
Occasionally forgotten by new players, greatly slowing down their game from the very start.

Then i think your reasons are not solid enough. But that's only MY opinion. Devs will do w/e devs do. I just disagree with you, that doesn't mean I'm right (nor wrong), just that I like it.
I like that you need to take into account. To foresee it. It was not a small amount of times that I died for not having a pickaxe (needing to enter my base and couldn't pick up the walls fast enough, so died). I cursed then, but learned to liked it

[Garm]

I think some of us liked it for a different reason.

Up to few months ago (maybe less) custom worlds did not start with so many pre-crafted tools in player inventory. As such the early coal age was much longer and because of that players spent more time making basic pickaxes. These were actually limited early on and provided a challenge.

Now, since we start up with burners and drills the early resource-starvation age is no more. Because of that, pickaxes lost their importance simply because by the time you break your first - you have resources to make 10 more.

Granted - I dont think axing them completely is the way to go - simply because we already have GUI and code to support them. That is why I believe changing them somehow is more appropriate.


There is another option however - reinvigorate early game. When there are barely no drills and smelteries player tools would rise back to being an important and integral part of gameplay.

[badminton]

Leave the pick alone, you don't even use after the first 5 minutes why is it such a big deal?

You use it for the entire game.
It increases the mining speed when you pick up of all of your buildings, not just resources.

[Teurlinx]

Leave the pick alone, you don't even use after the first 5 minutes why is it such a big deal?

You use it for the entire game.
It increases the mining speed when you pick up of all of your buildings, not just resources.

And that doesn't make much sense. It's just a nuisance for when it breaks atm, it just doesn't add to the experience except in a needless and negative way.

[NukeUFO]

I think the axe is odd - in the context of this game, (guy from spaceship, with some kind of super-fabricator tools) I think the starting tool should be a power/impact drill; Something like a Makita impact driver. It should make air wrench / jackhammer sounds as it mines minerals and cut trees. The upgraded unit should look more like a Hilti or a Boschhammer (google them). This would be way more in the theme of the game, a futuristic cordless multi-purpose tool.

Amazing game.

[ssilk]

@NukeUFO: please make a search before suggesting existing suggestions.

[NukeUFO]

@NukeUFO: please make a search before suggesting existing suggestions.

I didn't see anyone suggesting eliminating the axe and replacing it with a cool sci-tech Hilti power tool... So that is my suggestion! (I fully agree with the mechanics of a hand-operated mining tool to get started with, I just wanted something that seemed more in-charactor for the game)

[OBAMA MCLAMA]

I don't see too much of a problem with the pickaxe. I believe it increases the speed at which you take down your buildings, Those walls take forever without a pickaxe....
If i didn't have a pickaxe i would probably be a little bit more lazy in wanting to upgrade my factory. I wouldn't want to take down 50 objects if it takes so long.

I think its a good idea, But i think the "pickaxe" is kind of weird honestly, but its just a name, thats all. it works

[ysor123]

All building removal is done with a pickaxe. Even in RL i'v heard.

[rebecca]

i think they should keep it but later have a multi tool that is a drill screwdriver thing that runs on electric u can use in your armour...

maybe have a tools belt like the modular Armour u can put useful tools into that runs on electric which uses the right click function ?

[Teurlinx]

i think they should keep it but later have a multi tool that is a drill screwdriver thing that runs on electric u can use in your armour...

maybe have a tools belt like the modular Armour u can put useful tools into that runs on electric which uses the right click function ?

But think about it, why is the tool there in the first place?

[rebecca]

honestly i don't like the idea of building a conveyor let alone the other parts instantly with out a tool ? ... cant imagine using a pickaxe to do it tho tehe

[Jouko]

Have you wondered why we have to use pickaxes, steam engines and don't have gates while we use super-ultimate-power-exoskeleton-armour, have flying robots and use portable fusion reactors?

I think this doesn't make any sense at all.

PS: don't take this so seriously

[CorrettoSambuca]

Back on topic, I believe we need more tool variety. After all, tools are supposed to have a specific purpose and specialize for that. As someone mentioned before, how do I even cut trees with a pick? Give me an axe instead (or a chainsaw later); if we really want a pick, let's keep it for the ore and have it boost ore mining and nothing else. We could have a screwdriver for machinery, or even no tool at all (after all if I can carry an assembling machine in my pocket, then it must be foldable) and upgrade mining speed with research.

[CreeperDaReeper]

Crash land.
Knock down tree with small space gadget.
Make wooden pick out of raw wood.
Mine stone with wooden pick.
Make stone pickaxe out of stone and raw wood.
Now chop more trees and mine ores.
Make iron pickaxe out of iron plate and iron shaft.
Make steel pickaxe out of steel plate and steel shaft.
Make drill to mine ores.
Make chainsaw to cut trees.

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[therapist]

The pickaxe is okay, my only gripe is that it runs out from dismantling my equipment. I would HATE having to switch tools to do different jobs (chainsaw would make a better weapon than a tool) but it feels alot like the devs just added the idea of the pickaxe being depleted for deconstruction just so they could justify the usefulness of the pickaxe after day 1 on this planet.

Maybe you could keep the idea of the pickaxes depleting with deconstruction, but put some kind of "endgame pickaxe" or some other endgame tool for deconstruction that does not ever deplete. Maybe the trade off could be that this tool would no longer be able to mine or cut trees? This way, you can go "pickaxe free" but then your forced to rely on high tech solutions to removing trees and collecting ore.

Any more tools than just this though would be much too much for me. I don't really like the idea of the tool being electric or anything like that either, thats just one more annoyance almost as bad as the pickaxe depleting in the first place.

[ssilk]

Obviously not usable, cause basic game change

[tecxx]

Crash land.
Knock down tree with small space gadget.
Make wooden pick out of raw wood.
Mine stone with wooden pick.
Make stone pickaxe out of stone and raw wood.
Now chop more trees and mine ores.
Make iron pickaxe out of iron plate and iron shaft.
Make steel pickaxe out of steel plate and steel shaft.
Make drill to mine ores.
Make chainsaw to cut trees.

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

sounds like you played a lot of terraria

[syneris]

If we remove the pickaxe, how would we mine without any drills?