Nuclear waste.

Skidmark

Something just does not add up..the game based on the futur but the nuclear reactors are creating nuclear waste so fast that i'm about to revert back to bio..how can such a futuritic concept for a game not allow some type of recycling for the fuel rods.i refuse to chuck these things ..unless you devs promote indutrial polution i strongly sudgest a recycling module blue print.

DrownedOut

The game is still EA and the fact the rods don't outright disappear like the knife does and batteries used to do suggests the devs have something in mind for the rods. Fire extinguishers currently face the same problem of becoming junk once used up. I assume we'll get refill stations for practical and decorative purposes later and possibly something similar for the rods.

Tarkannen

Wait, the knife disappears? So far on all of my playthroughs, when the knife breaks it 'leaves' the hotbar, which makes me think it's gone. But after I check my inventory it's there with 0% durability, where I can re-equip it and use it indefinitely. I obviously thought it was a bug but after the August update it still happens, so I just assumed it's not supposed to have durability (since no other tool we can use will ever break).

I haven't built a nuclear reactor yet, since I mostly use solar/bio-energy for my bases (and I hate having to hunt down Uraninite). Does the reactor give off radiation like being near the Aurora after the dark matter drive explodes? Because if not that's depressing, having no major drawback other than useless rods. If anything it would give the Radiation Suit more use after fixing the drive cores on the Aurora at least.

DrownedOut

Tarkannen wrote: »

Wait, the knife disappears? So far on all of my playthroughs, when the knife breaks it 'leaves' the hotbar, which makes me think it's gone. But after I check my inventory it's there with 0% durability, where I can re-equip it and use it indefinitely. I obviously thought it was a bug but after the August update it still happens, so I just assumed it's not supposed to have durability (since no other tool we can use will ever break).

I haven't built a nuclear reactor yet, since I mostly use solar/bio-energy for my bases (and I hate having to hunt down Uraninite). Does the reactor give off radiation like being near the Aurora after the dark matter drive explodes? Because if not that's depressing, having no major drawback other than useless rods. If anything it would give the Radiation Suit more use after fixing the drive cores on the Aurora at least.

It's a bug, one that's been around for several updates. The usual form is that the knife does disappear, but it reappears after you save & load. The reappeared knife is indestructible despite being at 0%.

Much like the repaired Aurora drive, the nuclear reactor is shielded and therefore does not give off radiation. The only drawback is specialized, multistep-fabricated fuel. There are currently plans to make harvesting uranite harmful if not done with the radiation suit.

Skidmark

Well that settles the whole toxic waste issue i've built multiple thermal gens and maped out the underground caverns with transmitter.so far so good i got two bases going. and planing a third mining station as soon as i set down the scanner room to map out the lost river area. Just wondering how many prawn can one build for every mining site....

DaveyNY

The depleted Nuclear fuel rods should have some way to be broken down to their constituent parts, so as to be either reused or at the very least, rendered "clean".

Granted the leftovers should be minimal, say just a piece of non-contaminated lead or a piece of titanium for instance.

But at the technology level that the Aurora and the Life Pod represent, decontamination of Nuclear byproducts should be a breeze.

==========================

Or maybe even make one of the local fauna attracted to the spent rods as a food source and perhaps after having digested a rod, defecating more Uraninite.

It would be a very interesting way to keep Uraninite available, without it having to "magically" respawn.

IMO, the Reapers would be a good candidate.
They are apparently attracted to the wreak of the Aurora for some reason, perhaps it's because the ship is leaking nuclear material.

It would also give the player a reason to actually go seeking out the Reapers (instead of mostly trying to avoid them), in order to gather more Uraninite once the natural sources have been used up.

It could also be a reason for the Reapers to hang around a player base that has a Nuclear Reactor functioning.

Which would up the danger in the game a bit...

Do I build a nuclear reactor to get better and constant energy, knowing that it will possibly draw a Reaper toward my base...???
Tough decision.

Of course, one could also try to build a sort of symbiotic relationship with a Reaper, keeping it fed with spent rods, so it doesn't attack ones base.

stevenwojo

Normally, I drop the fuel rods into one of the volcanoes. For the amount of power one receives from nuclear power, I feel the necessity of of maintenance is fair. IRL, the only use I know of for "spent uranium" is bunker busting rounds and very dense armor for military vehicles. With this in mind, using spent rods in place of titanium to create bases for use in extreme depths, would be interesting.

Just realized this was the XBox thread, to be fair, I'm a PC player, so I'm not certain how relevant this comment is.

FrogmanFreeman

At least for now a bio-reactor and a couple of solar panels gives more than enough power you need. plus you can make a double alien containment tank to produce enough fish for the reactor.