It is a good start. I'd like to see some interaction between the skills though. Maybe you can refine scrap, maybe build something in one skill that helps upgrade another, etc.
Viewing post in The Drift — Space Idle RPG comments
Thanks for playing! Good news: that's actually the core of the design — Drift Steel needs a refined ingot plus scrap from salvaging, and every weapon upgrade is paid in refined goods. Bad news: you clearly couldn't tell, which is really useful to know. Making the chains visible from the start is going straight to the top of my list. Thanks!
Thanks again for this — you were more right than you knew. The chains existed (drift steel = refined ingot + salvaged scrap, weapons are paid in refined goods), but locked recipes hid their ingredients, so the whole thing was invisible until level 30. Just shipped v0.1.1: every recipe now shows its full chain from minute one, upgrade costs show where materials come from, and the inventory shows what each resource is used in. Would love to hear if it reads better now.