Info about The Crust:

Official game description:
Mine resources and automate their production processes
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Mine lunar resources, craft processing machinery, and power up your base with satellites and batteries. Unlock scientific advancements across three research trees to enhance your technological capabilities.  
Automate resources with conveyor belts and drones.
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Streamline your resource management as you deploy conveyor belts and drones for seamless automation
Explore
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Embark on lunar expeditions to unearth the moon's hidden secrets, deploying your rover to various locations and delving into the mysteries of humanity's newfound lunar habitat.  
Trade Resources
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Engage in resource exchange with Earth through contracts, where your decisions have the power to shape their political landscape. Choose a faction to support or navigate the field strategically for maximum profit.
Assemble a team of colonists
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People are your most valuable resource. Keep track of your colonists' health, mood and needs. Hire the best experts and make sure they work as a team: it’s their unique traits and skills that will allow you to truly optimize your production and research!  
**
Key Features
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**  
*   Build a lunar colony  
*   Mine and automate resources and production  
*   Explore the moon  
*   Play through a rich, story driven narrative  
*   Trade with Earth  
*   Influence politics  
*   Manage colonists and their needs

Release date: Jul 15, 2024

Categories: Automation Game, Resource Management, Base Building, Exploration, Simulation, Story-driven Gameplay, Technology Tree, Colony Simulation

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: Needs Significant Improvement; summary: The primary issues highlighted by users revolve around the lack of in-game documentation and the poor depth of tutorials. These shortcomings force users to rely on external resources to understand basic game mechanics and interactions, leading to a frustrating user experience.
- Proton/Linux: score 10; verdict: Works Well; summary: The game generally runs well on Linux via Proton with minimal issues. There was a minor widescreen issue reported, but it was resolved. Performance issues were mentioned but not specifically tied to Linux or Proton.
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game has significant performance and stability issues on Steam Deck, with reports of low frame rates and frequent crashes. Compatibility with Linux via Proton is mixed, with some users experiencing issues while others find it seamless.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $15.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that many users find the game overpriced at its current base price and recommend purchasing it on sale. Several reviews mention that the game is worth buying only when discounted, indicating that the fair price range is lower than the current base price. The specific mention of not being worth $30 further supports this.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 70.0h
  - Story completion: 50.0h
  - Session length: 13.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides several direct references to playtime. One user mentions playing for '70 or so more hours,' indicating a significant investment in the game. Another user explicitly states they have played for '50 hours.' A third user mentions playing for '13 hours' straight. Additionally, a user describes the game as very interesting and engaging, mentioning that they lost track of time and played until late at night, implying long sessions. These quotes collectively suggest that players typically spend a considerable amount of time on the game, with some reaching up to 70 hours or more. The reasoning for the playtime hours is derived from these direct mentions of playtime and the context of extended gameplay sessions.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game's onboarding experience is hindered by an insufficient tutorial, early game imbalances, and technical issues, but it becomes enjoyable once players overcome the initial learning curve.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Overcoming the initial learning curve and early game challenges
  - Time to anchor: 2h 0m
  - Friction: Insufficient tutorial; Early game imbalance in trade and contracts system; Technical issues (low FPS); Mandatory and linear tutorial narrative; Abrupt difficulty spike after tutorial
  - Unlock drivers: Overcoming the learning curve; Understanding game mechanics; Progressing past early game challenges
  - Conditions: Patience to learn; Willingness to experiment; Interest in automation and resource management; Tolerance for technical issues
- Player Archetypes:
  - Automation Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoys the complexity and depth of building and automating factories.
    - Playstyle: Focuses on building and optimizing industrial complexes, enjoys deep research and automation mechanics.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: factory builder; automation lover
    - Reference games: Dyson Sphere Program; Factorio; Satisfactory
  - Narrative-Driven Manager (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoys the story and thematic elements combined with management simulation.
    - Playstyle: Balances base management with exploration and narrative progression, enjoys the thematic setting.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: story lover; space enthusiast
    - Reference games: Surviving Mars; RimWorld
  - Frustrated Tinkerer (no buy)
    - Motivation: Wants to enjoy the game but is hindered by technical issues and bugs.
    - Playstyle: Attempts to engage with the game's mechanics but is frequently interrupted by technical problems.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: bug reporter; technical player
    - Reference games: Factorio; Dyson Sphere Program


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Enjoyable and engaging gameplay (weight 0.29): Players consistently describe the game as fun, engaging, and enjoyable. The gameplay mechanics are solid, and the decision-making process is particularly praised.
- High potential and promise (weight 0.19): The game is noted for its great potential and promise. Many players believe it has the potential to be one of the best in its genre due to its interesting concept and high replayability.
- Interesting and engaging storyline (weight 0.16): The storyline is frequently mentioned as interesting, beautiful, and well-written. Players enjoy the plot and find the story engaging and decent.
- Highly detailed graphics and design (weight 0.12): The game features highly detailed models and graphics. Players appreciate the detailed game design and the ambitious scope of the game.
- Beautiful graphics and music (weight 0.1): The graphics are often described as beautiful and decent. The music is also praised, contributing to the overall pleasant experience.
- Regular updates and fixes (weight 0.1): The developers are active with regular updates, fixes, and quality-of-life improvements. Players appreciate the frequent content updates and maintenance.
- Excellent strategy and building game (weight 0.1): The game is recommended for lovers of strategic planning, resource, and building games. It is praised for its great strategy elements and well-designed gameplay.
- Great voice acting and soundtrack (weight 0.09): The voice acting is noted as good and professional, particularly in Russian. The soundtrack is also highlighted as great.
- Engaging exploration and expeditions (weight 0.09): Players enjoy exploring the moon and finding interesting points. The game features expeditions and a fully modeled concept of base development on the moon.
- Addictive and smooth gameplay (weight 0.08): The gameplay is described as addictive and smooth. Players find the game engaging and enjoyable over extended periods.
- Fun base-building mechanics (weight 0.08): The game is praised for its base-building and automation mechanics. Players enjoy the mix of base building, automation, and sci-fi setting.
- Challenging and evolving gameplay (weight 0.08): The game offers constant challenges and problem-solving. Players find it challenging yet relaxing, with a good balance of difficulty.
- Depth in story and gameplay (weight 0.07): The game is noted for its depth in both story and gameplay. Players find it surprisingly deep and engaging.
- Excellent resource management (weight 0.07): The game features enjoyable and good resource management mechanics. Players appreciate the logistics and management aspects.
- Engaging start and concept (weight 0.07): The game has an engaging start and concept. Players find it fun and engaging, especially in the setup and initial phases.
- Factory building and mechanics (weight 0.07): The game features factory building and construction mechanics. Players enjoy the production and automation aspects.
- Active developer support (weight 0.07): The developers are actively engaged and supportive. Players appreciate the developer's vision and active development.
- Combination of popular game elements (weight 0.07): The game combines elements from popular games like Anno, Factorio, and Frostpunk. Players appreciate the mix of storytelling, base building, and factory automation.
- Solid automation and logistics (weight 0.07): The game features solid automation and logistics control. Players enjoy the automation mechanics and find them well-improved.
- Atmospheric sci-fi strategy (weight 0.07): The game is described as an atmospheric sci-fi strategy with in-depth colony management. Players find the idea and gameplay of The Crust really nice and engaging.
- Extensive research system (weight 0.06): The game features an extensive and original research system. Players enjoy the research mechanics and find them engaging.

Common complaints:
- Frequent bugs and crashes (weight 0.38): The game is reported to have numerous bugs, ranging from minor issues to game-breaking ones. Crashes are also frequent, occurring multiple times an hour and sometimes during saves.
- Slow research and pace (weight 0.19): Research times are reported to be slow and tedious, especially in the later stages of the game. The overall pace of the game is also considered slow, affecting development and production.
- Conveyor belt issues (weight 0.19): Conveyor belts are noted to be expensive and not functioning as expected. They cost money instead of resources and do not transfer the stated amount of resources, leading to frustration among players.
- Colonist and drone AI issues (weight 0.18): There are significant issues with the AI of colonists and drones. Colonists often do not follow settings and have problems with animations, while drones get stuck and ignore priorities.
- Poor UI/UX design (weight 0.15): The user interface and user experience design are criticized for being poorly made, inefficient, and inconsistent. This includes issues with the interface and overall design decisions.
- Tedious and time-consuming gameplay (weight 0.12): The gameplay is described as extremely tedious, time-consuming, and frustrating. This includes long waiting times for rovers to move across the map.
- Translation and tutorial issues (weight 0.11): The game has translation errors and incomplete translations. The tutorial is also criticized for lacking depth and stopping too soon.
- Unbalanced and tedious contracts (weight 0.1): Contracts in the game are seen as unbalanced, tedious, and often unprofitable. This makes the contract system frustrating and poorly designed.
- Optimization and balancing issues (weight 0.08): There are reports of optimization issues, balancing problems, and game design issues that affect the overall experience.

Gameplay feedback:
- Resource management is central (weight 0.26): The game heavily focuses on various aspects of resource management, including gathering, production, scarcity, and logistics. Players need to manage energy, raw materials, and supply chains efficiently.
- Factory management mechanics (weight 0.21): Players will engage in factory building, layout planning, and production management. This includes assembly line management and production optimization.
- Technology and research development (weight 0.17): The game features a science tree and technology development system. Players can research and upgrade various technologies to progress.
- Moon base setting (weight 0.16): The game is set on the moon, involving base development, mining, and colonization. The environment and setting play a significant role in the gameplay.
- Colonist management and simulation (weight 0.11): Players need to manage colonists and their needs, although they cannot be manually assigned to tasks. This adds a layer of colony simulation to the gameplay.
- Market and contract system (weight 0.1): The game features a market and contract system, including free market mechanics and various contracts and tasks for players to engage with.
- Automation and production chains (weight 0.09): Players can use automation tools like conveyor belts and drones to optimize production chains and manage resources more efficiently.
- Pacing and complexity (weight 0.09): The game offers complex and challenging gameplay with potential pacing issues. Players may encounter difficulties with the game's pace and tutorial progression.
- Story and voice acting (weight 0.08): The game includes a storyline with voice acting, providing a narrative-driven experience. Players will encounter lore and dialogues throughout the game.
- Atmosphere and sound design (weight 0.05): The game features atmospheric music and sound design, enhancing the overall gaming experience and immersion.
- Ore scanning and mining (weight 0.04): Players can scan and detect ores, adding a layer of strategy to mining operations and resource management.
- Machine priority system (weight 0.04): The game includes a system for managing machine priorities, allowing players to optimize their production and resource management.

Performance notes:
- Poor optimization (weight 0.22): The game is poorly optimized, leading to various performance issues. Some players report smooth performance on high-end hardware, while others experience problems even on powerful systems.
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.18): The game experiences frequent crashes, including during saves and without apparent reason. Some players report crashes multiple times an hour, while others have not experienced any crashes.
- Late-game performance issues (weight 0.17): Players experience significant lag, frame drops, and performance issues in the late game. This includes low FPS and increasing lag as the game progresses.
- Frame rate issues (weight 0.13): Players report varying frame rates, including stable FPS and significant drops to low FPS. Some experience frame rates around 20 FPS, while others have stable performance.
- Performance on specific hardware (weight 0.12): Performance varies significantly depending on the hardware. Some players report better performance on Linux compared to Windows 11, while others experience issues even on high-end hardware.
- Save file corruption (weight 0.12): There are issues with game saves getting corrupted, leading to lost progress and inability to load save files. This includes problems with saving and reloading the game.
- High resource usage (weight 0.1): The game has high RAM and CPU usage, leading to memory leakage and out-of-memory errors. This affects overall system performance and stability.
- Graphical issues (weight 0.05): There are reports of dated graphics, graphical glitches, and shadow flickering that can cause nausea. These issues detract from the visual experience of the game.
- Minor bugs and freezing (weight 0.04): There are reports of minor bugs and freezing issues, which can intermittently disrupt the gameplay experience.
- Long loading times (weight 0.02): The game has long loading times, which can affect the overall gaming experience and cause frustration among players.
- UI issues (weight 0.02): There are UI issues, particularly with ultra-wide monitors, which can affect the gameplay experience and accessibility.

Recommendations:
- Mixed recommendations on purchase (weight 0.07): Players have varying opinions on whether to buy the game. Some recommend it despite bugs, while others do not recommend it at all.
- Worth buying on sale (weight 0.07): Many players suggest that the game is worth buying, especially when it is on sale.
- Wait for sale or full release (weight 0.07): Several reviews recommend waiting for a sale or until the game is out of early access before purchasing.
- Highly recommended (weight 0.06): Some players highly recommend the game, finding it easy to recommend to others.
- Recommended for strategy lovers (weight 0.05): Players who enjoy strategy games are likely to appreciate this game.
- Suggestions for game improvements (weight 0.05): Players suggest adding more planets for mining outposts, more mineral resources, and shipyard construction plans on the moon.
- Gameplay strategies (weight 0.05): Reviews mention strategies for playing the game effectively, such as buying expensive buildings early and doing missions to get science points.
- Recommended for building game lovers (weight 0.04): The game is recommended for those who enjoy building games with less micromanagement.
- Not recommended in current state (weight 0.04): Some reviews do not recommend buying the game in its current state.
- Play alternative games (weight 0.03): Some reviews suggest playing alternative games like Captain of Industry or Factorio instead.
- Highly recommend for solo automation (weight 0.02): The game is highly recommended for those who enjoy solo automation games.
- Recommended for genre fans (weight 0.02): If you like games of this genre, this one is recommended.
- Positive purchase recommendations (weight 0.02): Some players simply recommend buying the game.
- Worth buying despite conflicting reviews (weight 0.02): Some players find the game worth buying despite conflicting reviews.
- Refunds mentioned (weight 0.02): There are mentions of players refunding the game, indicating dissatisfaction.
- Early Access quality concerns (weight 0.02): There are concerns about the quality of the game in its Early Access state.
- Multiple management aspects (weight 0.02): The game includes several aspects of management, which can be appealing to some players.
- Unique gameplay experience (weight 0.02): The game offers a unique experience that changes things up a bit.
- Build various spaceships (weight 0.02): The game allows players to build small, medium, and large spaceships in the shipyard.
- High replayability (weight 0.02): The game is enjoyable to play repeatedly.
- Positive comparison to Surviving Mars (weight 0.02): The game is compared positively to Surviving Mars.
- Encouragement to try the game (weight 0.02): Reviews encourage others to try the game.
- Recommended for Dyson Sphere Program fans (weight 0.02): The game is recommended for fans of Dyson Sphere Program.
- Game praised as a gem (weight 0.02): The game is praised as a true gem of work.
- Hopes for similar success to Factorio (weight 0.02): Players hope the game follows a similar path to Factorio in terms of growth and success.
- Strong recommendation against buying (weight 0.02): There are strong recommendations against buying the game.
- Strong among Factorio alternatives (weight 0.02): The game stands strong among Factorio alternatives.
- Play Satisfactory instead (weight 0.02): Some players recommend playing Satisfactory instead of this game.
- Enjoy story with easy mode (weight 0.02): Players recommend enjoying the story with easy mode.
- Suggestions for alternative games (weight 0.02): Some reviews suggest trying similar games like 'Reshape Mars' for better mechanics and programming.

Other player notes:
- Mention of Early Access (weight 0.02): Players noted that the game is in Early Access, which may affect their experience and expectations.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.29): Players are frustrated primarily due to the high frequency of bugs, crashes, and performance issues that severely impact gameplay. Additionally, the game's high difficulty, poor tutorial, and unbalanced mechanics contribute to the frustration, making it hard to progress or enjoy the game.
- Disappointment (weight 0.12): Disappointment stems from the game's unmet expectations, with players encountering numerous bugs, performance issues, and unbalanced mechanics. The lack of documentation, poor translation, and incomplete features also contribute to this sentiment.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.11): Players enjoy the game's complex simulation, engaging gameplay mechanics, and the relaxing yet challenging aspects of base building and resource management. The unique setting, immersive atmosphere, and high-quality soundtrack also enhance the enjoyment.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.07): Satisfaction comes from the game's depth, frequent updates, and the enjoyable experience of overcoming challenges and progressing through the game. Players appreciate the responsive developers and the overall fun gameplay.
- Excitement (weight 0.07): Excitement is driven by the game's depth, engaging gameplay loop, and the anticipation of future updates and improvements. The unique blend of genres and the game's atmosphere also contribute to this excitement.
- Frustrated (weight 0.06): Players are frustrated with the game's repetitive and poorly balanced gameplay, frequent crashes, and the need to restart saves after updates. The tedious gameplay mechanics and unbalanced mechanics add to this frustration.
- Hope (weight 0.04): Hope is derived from the belief in the game's potential and the developers' efforts to improve the game through future updates and fixes. Players are looking forward to seeing the game's potential realized.
- Disappointed (weight 0.02): Disappointment arises from the game's performance issues, persistent bugs, and the feeling that the game's potential is not fully realized. Poor translation and incomplete features also contribute to this sentiment.
- Hopeful (weight 0.02): Players are hopeful due to the game's potential and the responsiveness of the developers. They anticipate future updates and improvements that will enhance the gameplay experience.
- Satisfied (weight 0.02): Satisfaction is derived from the game's graphics, base building aspects, and the overall enjoyable gameplay. Players are also satisfied with the developers' responsiveness and frequent updates.
- Engaged (weight 0.01): Players are engaged by the complex and challenging gameplay that mixes factory building and colony management. The game's interesting mechanics and the need for problem-solving keep players engaged.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm comes from the positive evaluation of the game's features and the engaging gameplay. Players are also enthusiastic about the frequent updates and the game's potential for future content.
- Positive (weight 0.01): Positive sentiments are driven by the enjoyment of base building, plot, and side quests. Players appreciate the game's building, strategy, and trading aspects, as well as the story and background music.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is caused by various issues with gameplay mechanics, including bugs and the lack of a refund policy. Specific issues like timed story missions and vehicle management also contribute to this anger.
- Excited (weight 0.01): Excitement is generated by the enjoyable gameplay experience and the potential for future updates. Players are excited about the game's graphics, music, and gameplay mechanics.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is driven by the looking forward to the full release and future updates. Players are eager to see new developments and improvements in the game.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy comes from the game being fun and immersive. Players enjoy the Russian voice acting and the good music, which enhance their overall experience.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Appreciation is felt for the impressive game developed by a small team and the interesting story. Players appreciate the overall idea of the game and the developers' care for their players.
- Pleased (weight 0.01): Players are pleased with the game's balance and mini-games, as well as the overall quality of the game. The game exceeding expectations also contributes to this pleasure.
- Hopefulness (weight 0): Hopefulness is driven by the game's potential and future prospects. Players are hopeful about the game's potential and the excellent soundtrack, looking forward to future improvements.}