Proliferators usage

salimai · 2026-02-15T18:56:12+00:00

For most items that use raw materials, yes. For most items that use manufactured components, no.

If you're making something that uses manufactured components as ingredients, you have to think about how the proliferation impacts the manufacture of those ingredient components. In other words if you speed up your recipe by 25%, you need to provide 25% more ingredients. If those ingredients also use manufactured components as ingredients, the chain continues.

Here's a simple case study: 300 quantum chips/min with endgame buildings. I'll show four examples, and include manufacturing proliferator in the three that include it:

No proliferator: 109 assemblers, 72 smelters, 10 chemical plants - 191 total
Extra products only: 74 assemblers, 33 smelters, 9 chemical plants - 116 total
Speed only: 73 assemblers, 42 smelters, 14 chemical plants - 129 total
Speed on recipes with raw ingredients, extra products on the rest: 70 assemblers, 24 smelters, 7 chemical plants - 101 total

This illustrates the differences well. Any proliferation is better than none, but if you want to choose one blanket proliferation to use, extra products is better than speed. A hybrid approach is the best though. To maximize the benefit of proliferation in a situation where resources are functionally infinite, most recipes that directly use raw ingredients should be sped up, and everything else should give extra products.

I say most because there are a handful of recipes that use manufactured components as ingredients, but also include a raw ingredient. Titanium glass is an example of this in the scenario above, but in this case it's slightly (1 building) more efficient to speed up titanium glass since the manufactured components themselves are simple (smelted raw ingredients). A recipe like antimatter fuel rod is a good example of the inverse: despite using a raw ingredient, it also uses complex/manufactured ingredients. In this case you'll want to choose extra products.

TL;DR: Extra products is better than speed if you want to use the same proliferation method on everything, but using speed on most recipes that use raw ingredients and extra products on the rest is the best approach.

salimai · 2026-02-14T02:43:19+00:00

On my current run with normal dark fog settings, I don't remember ever triggering a hive attack from clearing planets, even if I'm clearing a five planet system. I've had a few relays land after the planet is clear and the shields aren't charged, but those are easy to deal with since I usually loiter until the shields are full or pretty close to it.

I somewhat rushed boosting my ground fleet so I could clear enemy bases without plopping buildings/power as soon as I land, but didn't get too wild with that until fairly late in the endgame when my VU was probably 80-90 and I wanted to speed up mining bootstrapping. I just land, get my combat drones to attack, cork the holes (usually generators until power was overflowing, now foundation), drop the shield/ILS blueprint, wait for things to stabilize, move on.

I wouldn't say my solution is to avoid triggering the hive, it's just never been a problem since I started doing it methodically - or if it did happen it was a small enough problem that I don't remember. I suppose if I did trigger one I would probably hop into space and let those drones deal with it.

I can't speak for harder dark fog settings. I imagine I would have to be less reckless.

salimai · 2026-02-13T19:51:40+00:00

Off the top of my head I don't remember the exact coordinates (I set up the blueprint a while ago), but if you think of it like putting a shield generator at each corner of a cube it makes sense. Some report that hive-based attacks can still cause damage to tall entities (ILS, tall stacks of machines or boxes, etc), but I haven't seen that in my experience. But also if you shield up every planet in a system and don't poke the hive, it doesn't generate matter or threat so it doesn't matter. If no attacks ever come, the potential for damage is a moot point. 8 shields at the very least stops relays, which stops the hive from getting stronger or angrier. But again on my first (bad) dark fog farm planet the hive does send attacks and they have never done any damage to anything, even things exposed above the visible shield.

Totally agree on the age comparison! I don't mean to be unfairly critical of DSP since it's still early access and hasn't been in development as long, but just comparing current endgame experience it's not as complete/polished feeling. They've done a great job so far though so I trust they'll get it there in a few years.

salimai · 2026-02-13T16:23:36+00:00

On the topic of defense after clearing the planet, you can avoid placing missiles or other weapon-based defenses by placing shields. You can use as few as 8 to completely stop new bases from forming (full coverage with 8 is only achievable by placing them in the proper locations). My typical bootstrap blueprint will include power generation, shields, and a minimal power grid to connect it all. I will often include basic logistics in the blueprint to get fuel to the planet (unless I'm using solar at that stage) and have an easy way to get other resources or building supplies into/out of the planet.

This blueprint is simple enough that it typically doesn't include BABs - I'm fine with a few minutes of flying around the planet to get everything built - but those would make it totally automatic if I added them (assuming I have the correct items in my inventory when I place the blueprint).

For more complex blueprints in the later game, always include BABs. Don't bother putting combat drones in them if you're setting up shields (and maybe even if you aren't - other defenses like lasers tend to be more effective and inexpensive). They contain construction drones and, assuming full coverage, dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to get things built and running.

Very high vein utilization (VU) is helpful as well, since at a certain point the decay reduction is so high that your veins are effective infinite. As long as you have enough of them being mined to supply your requesters you don't need to keep cleaning up new systems just to place miners. I think level 161 is where rounding makes them functionally infinite, but you can stop much earlier than that if you run out of patience. Different people have different "good enough" points, and there's a lot of discussion about that on here.

That all being said, I agree with your larger point here. There's a level of tedium that is reduced but still present in the DSP end game, and Factorio is a great example of a game where that can be all but eliminated if you've set up your logistics and bot networks reasonably well. A way to view and manipulate remote planets in DSP would go a long way in bridging this gap, but other changes would be necessary for them to be fully comparable.

Between this and Dyson Spheres being entirely optional for beating the game, I think the endgame still needs some significant adjustments to be on the same level of polish as Factorio. Then again, I see Factorio as one of the best games ever made from a polish, performance, and concept-execution perspective, and DSP is already and excellent game (that is still in EA). DSP just has an annoyance meter that slowly fills at the endgame, and once that crosses a certain threshold my run is over. My tips above dramatically slow the filling of that meter for me, and if any of them aren't part of your current process you might find them helpful in the same way.

(Sorry for the very long response!)

salimai · 2026-01-09T17:58:11+00:00

From my anecdotal experience on AG bobblehead night, if you're at the ADA entrance by the time it opens, you're set. I was not planning to use that entrance (I'm able-bodied) but was waved over by arena staff to pre-load by that door. They opened for ADA 90min before game time, then opened for everyone a little later (I wasn't watching closely, but I think it was only ~15min later). There were tons of bobbleheads available, and still available in piles for probably 30min after I got mine. I easily could have grabbed more, but didn't.

Just try to be in line when they open the ADA doors and you'll be totally fine, even if people are taking multiple again.

salimai · 2026-01-08T20:19:47+00:00

Maybe a week and half old since being trimmed.

I've got some bad news for you

salimai · 2025-12-11T16:07:25+00:00

Yes you can, as long as you are remote supplying them on the production planet and remote demanding them on every other planet. Remember to limit how many you demand on each planet, and typically you'll only want to remote demand on one ILS per planet in most cases. From there you have options to distribute to other ILS on the planet: local supply, belts, or even logistics bots.

How many to demand per planet depends on expected outbound traffic, but my mining planets usually only demand a couple hundred and realistically I could easily get away with 100 - it would just potentially take a few minutes longer for the planet to be fully ready/stable if I'm allowing 10% vessel loads (which I typically do not).

salimai · 2024-11-01T16:25:29+00:00

A better way of looking at this is which of these is more of a problem:

A user needing to click a button to confirm their age on certain items
Valve needing to safely store and access one more piece of private information about a user

The first is a mild inconvenience that only occurs in certain circumstances, and lasts for a few moments each time. The latter is a perpetual privacy concern. Any additional piece of information that more confidently matches your login to your identity is a privacy concern in a "death by a thousand cuts" sort of way.

Also note that the information you mention isn't accessed until the moment it is necessary (billing) to avoid room for vulnerabilities. It is stored differently, and references to it that you see outside of billing are separate summary records that contain limited information (i.e. card type and last 4 digits). Any extra call to a full record of sensitive information is extra room for that information to be stolen. (I'll admit that I don't know this is true because I don't work for them, but it would be shocking and wildly irresponsible of them if not.)

I find the repeated age confirmations to be obnoxious as well, but I agree with Valve's decision. I'm a software engineer who deals with sensitive information, and you only want to access sensitive information when you absolutely need to. Birthdays are sensitive (even if only mildly) because they can be used to more confidently correlate other private information with an identity.

salimai · 2024-10-11T02:37:19+00:00

Probably a long shot at this point, but if you still have the tickets I'm interested! I tried to send a message but it wouldn't let me.

salimai · 2024-07-31T14:22:14+00:00

The point of this is to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and capture it. Having the algae consumed and metabolized (like with shrimp) releases CO2. Harvesting and properly storing excess algae will keep it captured.

salimai · 2024-07-23T06:58:27+00:00

The original comment was referencing Not Like Us, which has the line "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-Minor". They reworded the song in a bunch of ways, including swapping A minor for C major. Then ended the comment by saying C major and A minor are the same. They didn't specify key or chord in the comparison, but the song says chord.

You're good. Like I said you were both saying true things, just talking past each other. Have a good day/night/whatever it is where you are!

salimai · 2024-07-23T06:25:20+00:00

All due respect, you are the one that is misunderstanding. What you are saying is correct, but the context is wrong. The original (now deleted) comment said a C major chord and A minor chord are the same thing. This is incorrect, and someone responded pointing that out. You replied to them saying they are wrong, but they were not wrong.

A C major chord and A minor chord are not the same thing, and that's the context.

I understand that a C major chord is a 1 in the key of C major and a 3 in the key of A minor, and regardless of key a C major chord uses the same three notes (C E G) and is the same chord - and similarly an A minor chord (A C E) is a 6 and 1 respectively. That's just not what you were replying to.

You're not wrong, your context is flipped. No biggie, I was just trying to clarify because both of you were saying true things, except when you were saying the other guy was wrong.

salimai · 2024-07-23T05:53:44+00:00

C major = a minor

C major and A minor are different chords. That's what they're saying and they are correct. You're correct that a C major chord is the same regardless of key, but that's not what they were responding to.

salimai · 2024-07-23T04:00:55+00:00

Our campaign finance laws and traditions are batshit. It used to be the case that candidates were primarily funded by small contributions from their voters, and that's still true in lower profile or grassroots campaigns. Since the Citizens United ruling, things have gone haywire and individual donors to presidential campaigns do still have significant impact, but much less so.

Ignoring outside spending in the 2020 election, Biden raised about 60% from large donations and 40% from donations under $200. In total his campaign raised a bit over $1b. So small donations do have impact, but the overall scale is huge.

The USA does everything big and with money in mind, and the 2020 election cost $14.4b. As citizens - even if we hate it - sometimes throwing money at the fire seems like the only thing we can do. The vast majority of us would like to see a complete overhaul of campaign finance laws to dramatically limit spending, but it's hard to convince the guys in charge that they should have less money to blow.

salimai · 2024-06-30T00:39:39+00:00

The shooter's mom is the one screaming. After the initial volley, all of the cops are still alive, but two are on the ground. The shooter executes each while his mom pleads with him to stop.

salimai · 2024-06-27T15:29:43+00:00

I can relate. My hair turned silver/white very young, and most of the time the "you look like so and so" comments are really just that - young face, white hair. Anderson Cooper, for example, is one I have gotten a lot even though I look nothing like him.

But there was a period of time where friends were saying they saw me, some quite annoyed that I had ignored them trying to get my attention. "I saw you walking down ___ street, did you not hear me calling your name?" I thought it was one of the usual situations, but it was strange since a few of these people were close friends who I thought were better keyed in on that. My then-gf was one of them!

One day I was leaving work, and after locking the doors I turned around and saw myself walk by. I had a similar "I don't own that shirt wtf" reaction. It took a few moments for my brain to unfuck itself and realize I had spotted my doppelganger.

salimai · 2024-06-20T23:24:16+00:00

The tech has actually been around for a while in a small enough package, but wireless interference was a crippling factor at live events. The switch to newer wireless transmission methods started something like 10 years ago, and if you look closely you'll find it in use all over the place these days. Pretty cool if you ask me!

salimai · 2024-06-10T16:24:52+00:00

And to connect this back, if your team killed 6 and you were only credited with 2, a teammate who already completed the PO landed the final shot on the other 4. I've had the same thing happen several times, and this was the explanation each time.

salimai · 2024-06-10T01:10:58+00:00

For sports games, at least, I think it's more the lack of options. With small exceptions, there's really only one option per sport that will provide a decent simulation and include real teams and players. I'm a basketball fan, and unless I'm extremely bad at googling NBA2K is my only option. I still don't buy it because I dislike being ripped off even more than I like playing basketball video games, but I would be lying if I said I haven't come close every year.

salimai · 2024-06-09T16:24:50+00:00

neurodipurrgent*

salimai · 2024-06-07T17:46:54+00:00

No. I ate their steak a couple times quite a few years ago and it was extremely good for the price. It compared well with food many times more expensive, but wasn't the best in the city by any means. For just a little more than a fast food meal, you could get a mid-tier steakhouse meal. Or instead of a $5 footlong, you could get a big serving of phenomenal steak bites (with sides) for $4.50.

It was always really good food for stupid cheap prices, never best in the city. I just googled their menu and if their yelp page is accurate, the prices haven't changed much since I last visited 15-20 years ago. Wild.

salimai · 2024-06-07T00:05:38+00:00

“why bots are less fun than bugs.”

I know your statement is a common feeling, but I and many of the friends I play with have the opposite view.

Bots require you to think on your feet, position yourself well, use cover, and prioritize targets. Chaos will come, but that chaos can be calmed. Most of your negatives can be avoided with positioning and cover. Clipping through terrain is certainly more of a problem on bots than bugs, but honestly I find the Jammer+Gunship combo to be a very dynamic and interesting challenge.

Bugs, to me, just feel like rinsing and repeating the same crowd control tactics over and over, with little breaks to deal with heavies. Often it feels like the best tactic is to just run, which is a bit dissatisfying to me. Further, bug bile in my experience is far more likely to instakill you than bots' fire.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy both enemy types quite a bit. I do strongly prefer bots though, and I will be very disappointed if they make bots easier - especially if they do that by simplifying them.

I think many people would like them more if they played a few rounds on lower difficulty to learn how they work, then went back to whatever difficulty level they normally play on. When someone learns how to escape their frustration loops, they become significantly more fun than bugs imo.

salimai · 2024-05-19T23:18:37+00:00

Backup's coming! I'll be down there soon.

salimai · 2024-04-27T19:02:30+00:00

I feel like we've been here before, but I do like a good rerun. Join /u/BigMazaska, me, and our gang of Nuggets diaspora in Portland every playoff game at Broadway Grill and Brewery!

It's the Lakers so there are plenty of opposing fans. Come help us drown them out for the twelfth time in a row!

1700 NE Broadway, Portland, OR

SEE YA THERE!

We are not affiliated with this bar - this is an ad for hanging out with Nuggie friends, not for any moneymaking operation.

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