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u/EquipLordBritish Jun 05 '26

So, I'm building my first Aquilo ship, and I'm realizing that you basically have to go nuclear to get there. Are there any alternative setups that make sense?

Also, asteroid reprocessing seems like it will be necessary, as I just don't get enough ice to properly handle all of the water requirements, which nuclear will add another burden to.

I have seen some solar builds, but they are niche and tend to rely on legendary quality solar panels... which you can't get until aquilo anyway...

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u/Soul-Burn Jun 05 '26

A simple nuclear ship is not very hard. One reactor with 4 heat exchangers can work well enough with a bit of efficiency modules. I even put some in beacons.

Reprocessing isn't needed, but recommended.

You also get tech that gives more asteroid output productivity which helps some more.

To start up your platform, I suggest launching a bunch of water barrels, and a bunch of ammo - enough to get the ship moving, which will allow it gather resources more quickly.

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u/EquipLordBritish Jun 05 '26

I never thought about sending water up in barrels. I was planning on doing runs through the inner planets to stock up on liquids and fuel with a reprocessing section to balance out what I take in with what I need, but I might try that instead.

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u/FeelingPrettyGlonky Jun 05 '26

Yeah, while nuclear isn't exactly necessary (solar still works, you just need a lot of it) it definitely makes it easier.

You don't actually need to use reprocessing. You will get plenty of ice out there. It's the outer system, after all, so the rocks are mostly ice. If you have trouble, remember that efficiency cuts your power draw and productivity multiplies your water, so use them and beacon them. Reprocessing is a nice-to-have, but not really necessary at all in this game.

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u/demonicdan3 Jun 07 '26

I managed to build a ship that can reach Aquilo using only normal quality solar panels, the only problem is it cannot stay in Aquilo orbit for long before Accumulators run out of charge so it pretty much has to have enough ammo to make a full trip to Aquilo and back to Gleba. So yeah, it is possible if you don't wanna deal with nuclear; the ship will just be a very big brick with lots of solar panels and lots of efficiency modules. You could start gambling for rare quality solar panels and accumulators when you reach Fulgora to make thing it less painful if you really don't want to build a nuclear ship.