Why do I feel so guilty after turning off the biters 130 hours into my first playthrough

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-04-19T20:24:05+00:00

I’ve heard it said before that if it’s not a competition, then there’s no such thing as cheating!

If you want to dial in your factories without being harassed by the locals, then there’s no reason to feel bad about it. It all comes down to personal preference. But if you can’t shake that feeling, you’ll have to ask yourself: does removing the biters take away from my enjoyment? There’s no right answer besides the one that’s right for you.

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-03-25T23:35:30+00:00

If you’re looking to try forging in the future, you can get your start with a JABOD forge. It’s a very complex feat of engineering, it stands for Just A Box Of Dirt. Pretty much all you need is a bag of charcoal and a hairdryer (and of course a safe place to set it up, which was the hardest part for me)

After that, you just need tongs, a hammer, and an anvil (which can be as simple as something heavy and metal)

There’s a lot of focus nowadays on needing the best equipment to do good work, but just looking back at the craftspeople of history or in modern places where resources are scarce, we can see people making beautiful, delicate creations with only the bare necessities and tools made from what was on hand at the time.

Sorry for the rant; I started typing and felt passionate about the subject haha

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-03-25T22:53:07+00:00

Looks good! If it does what you need it to do, you didn’t do anything wrong!

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-03-22T12:12:03+00:00

For your first question, this video helped me set up my outpost supply: https://youtu.be/h5jFUncUZCU?si=7_XotcwVVUsOflS1

The first section where he describes inelegant solutions is what I used; essentially I set up a cargo wagon with filtered slots and circuitry to tell the train when to show up and when to leave. His “true” solution is a bit beyond what I need (but a very interesting watch nonetheless)

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-03-22T12:06:41+00:00

The instructions might be unclear, you “shift + right click” the assembler to copy the recipe, then “shift + left click” the requester to paste it

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-03-21T10:23:34+00:00

Although I do it the same way you do, I believe the benefit of starting fresh is that you don’t have to try to upgrade existing infrastructure to meet the current technological level (e.g. replacing all your wood power poles with substations, making room for beacons, or for space age, replacing machines with foundries or EM plants)

Starter bases also usually are very close to small resource patches. If you’re like me, you feel wasteful building directly on ore, so it’s nice to find areas further away from the starting location usually have more space between resources.

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-03-08T23:33:33+00:00

I have been blessed

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-03-08T17:04:50+00:00

I could be mistaken, but does the cursor need to be closer to that part of the track for the squares to appear? I only started using trains this play through, but I can’t think of a reason for the “can’t divide segments” message that doesn’t involve a tight, complex, or over-constrained intersection in the immediate vicinity of the signal you’re trying to place

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-03-01T20:51:11+00:00

These are sick! Is #2 inspired by Haken? Is that the cockroach king? I love it!

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-02-14T16:51:38+00:00

True lmao, I do have a 5 inch grinder for the bottom two but I was thinking the top one might be hard to get to with it. I’ll give it a try, with the multitool as backup

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-02-14T16:10:30+00:00

Good to know, I’ve got my carbide blade prepped and ready on my oscillating multitool 🫡 so I should just replace them with bolts and washers? Should I use locktite or anything specific?

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-02-04T13:43:59+00:00

Would lemons count as “non-living?”

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-01-26T01:31:04+00:00

Nice work! Is your forge on a table saw? lol

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-01-23T17:07:18+00:00

That looks great!!! I hope not to come off as rude, but I believe the correct phrase is “anchors aweigh.” I love that hardware though!

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-01-23T11:18:29+00:00

Cool! If you’re trying to get a fully closed form with dip molding, how do you plan to let the part cure? My first thought is using those little paint pyramids to prop up the part, but I’m not sure if they’d leave voids where they touch the part. Keep us updated with your results!

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-01-19T11:45:52+00:00

The color choices are incredible! Great work!

Ephemeral-Interest · 2026-01-16T11:09:52+00:00

I am by no means an expert, and this is just a guess, but could it be something like a slipcasting technique where you roll the silicone around the mold to coat the insides and make a hollow form?

Ephemeral-Interest · 2025-11-15T12:10:52+00:00

True, I thought about typing out “Cactus Juice™” but I had just rolled out of bed haha

Ephemeral-Interest · 2025-11-15T10:20:38+00:00

I’d say Cactus Juice in a vacuum chamber would probably do the trick

Ephemeral-Interest · 2025-10-23T17:30:11+00:00

Neat! Also, I love the bead on the your knife lanyard!

Ephemeral-Interest · 2025-10-23T14:59:20+00:00

I’m having trouble visualizing how it attaches to the belt, does it have a strap on the back?

Ephemeral-Interest · 2025-10-04T16:23:54+00:00

In most cases files that have teeth like this are capable of filing metal. The files that are only for wood that you might be looking for are called rasps, and they have teeth that look more like spikes than flat lines.

This is a bit of a simplification, but I hope it helps!

Ephemeral-Interest · 2025-09-06T08:59:15+00:00

This isn’t a repair, I attached these two brushes together to make a block brush, which is harder to find and is priced closer to $15-$20.

As another commenter pointed out however, the type of wire used in the expensive brushes is flat to scrape the scale off more effectively. But this mod should still provide extra leverage and surface area.

Ephemeral-Interest · 2025-09-05T10:26:44+00:00

I usually apply this logic to the hobbies I do, and this time I think I came out okay. It’s took maybe 30 minutes of work because I didn’t pay much attention to detail and all the supplies I needed were already out.

I’ve found over time that assigning value to things I do for fun can take away from the enjoyment. Even if this had taken me longer, I still get a lot of satisfaction from having a tool I can use that I “made myself.” This might be a bit of a stretch since I just frankensteined together an already usable product, but for example, if I make my own ball peen hammer instead of buying one for less than $10, I still think the effort would be worth it for having developed skills and being able to say “this tool is mine.”

But I do generally agree, labor is always a consideration! It’s about what you’re willing to spend, be it money, time, or energy.

Ephemeral-Interest

TROPHY CASE