10
Day 160 of posting screenshots every day, of whatever I've been working on that day, until I run out of content or get bored
(lemmynsfw.com)
We're finally there. The last last last thing to do, for this project. Like, actually. Just 3 unfinished miners, and that's it.
I really like how this walkway aesthetic came out. The new 1.1 build pieces are doing their job.
The slope transitions ended up slightly wonky, with the transition from 1m-thickness to 2m-thickness, then back to 1m. Doubling up on the covering cable looked marginally more acceptable than just leaving part of the foundations exposed.
And that's it! Actually! Project complete!
Wide shot of (mostly) the whole area, cause why not.
Traditional nerd docs.
Mk 4 belts is definitely the time to get serious about builds. Until then, you're basically just making the best with what you've got, and belt upgrades/other QoL features are coming pretty frequently.
Once you get Mk 4 belts, you have opportunities to actually make some highly productive factories. Still 2 levels below the highest possible belt speed, but it's good to start "early endgame" types of builds that you ride with the rest of the way through, because a lot of things don't really require faster than Mk 4 belts until you get to true endgame builds. And that means it's a good time to disassemble and optimize all those early copper/iron assembly lines because you're going to start needing a lot more throughput to start later builds. Screws will always be something of a bottleneck, though.
This is also where the game slows dramatically, and it might be a while before you go up to the next space elevator phase where you get aluminum going. You just unlock refineries, you just unlock manufacturers, you just unlock trains, and it's a lot to try to figure out all at once. So the Mk 4 belts are going to be in use for a while as you get everything else up and running to be able to proceed.
TL;DR: speedrun until you get Mk 4 belts (raid crash site parts for milestones and MAM research if you have to), then start big project planning once Mk 4 belts are available.