Factorio, highly addictive game(alpha)

[stessier]

As I've reached a point where hodge-podge randomness has become a burden instead of a feature, I was looking into a factory calculator.

I like the drastic shift in raw materials, power, and space needed based on your module config. I'm guessing the mods equate to:

Green: I have abundant land and resources, am nowhere near the UPS cap, and I'm still using Solar Panels. Eco-Warrior!
Red: I have HUGE tracts of land, need to stretch resources, and the UPS cap is an eternity away. Go nuclear or go home!
Blue: I have resources and power coming out of every orifice, and I'm planning to see if I can reach the UPS cap. FACTORIES GO BRRRRRRRRRR!

I think my first redesign is going to be an even mix of Red and Blue mods with no Green.

You should note that the Red modules can't be used to make everything. For example, Red's won't work in an ammo factory (the game won't let you insert them). I haven't played very much with the Blue's or Green's - my current Red Circuit build is the first time I'm seeing what Blue's can do in a Beacon.

[The Meal]

I think my first redesign is going to be an even mix of Red and Blue mods with no Green.

That's about the ratio I end up using. Production modules into things that use a lot of raw resources (labs, science assembly machines). Speed modules into things generating lots of intermediate items that get burned through (circuit makers). Even with beacons (which are absolute energy hogs), I've always found better solutions to power needs than Efficiency modules.

[Paingod]

Got my first ever Nuclear facility up and running. It ain't pretty, but the tail end is churning out 5+ U235 consistently... and LOTS of spare U238 that I need to find a use for.

[LordMortis]

My first serious go at this in a very long time.... One weekend of ignoring chores later and I'm at purple science moving at glacial pace, ruing relearning advance oil production, and annoyed that I ran out of room to boost red chip production in my chain.

Yellow science will have to wait until next weekend.

I want to say there were only four types of science when last I played, there was no basic oil production step, and by now I'd already be building a robot network. So there's lots more to do, though I may have to explore and exploit a second mining spot (or more) and work on trains before jumping in to advanced oil production and then yellow science. My copper and iron deposits are about being fully exploited and I imagine they will start slowly depleting probably even before I get oil working well.

Fun fun.

[Paingod]

Got my first ever Nuclear facility up and running. It ain't pretty, but the tail end is churning out 5+ U235 consistently... and LOTS of spare U238 that I need to find a use for.

This ran for some time while I was plucking around my lands, cleaning up. I ran about and cleared my entire homestead, leaving the walls intact. Everything that was left has been packed into about 200 yellow chests, guarded by 1400 logistic and 200 construction drones, ready to burst forth and rebuild at a whim. Quite the mess I've made, though.

All around my land I ran Big Electric Poles so it looks like a perfect blue border wall, linking everything. Across my land's middle, north/south/east/west, I made a highway of concrete that runs parallel with a train track. They both have an intersection in the middle of my country. The intent is to use this single lane as the point that all my trains pass through as they supply everything.

I know this is longer-term limiting, using a single intersecting rail line as a hub for all trains but it's far more than I had before. Now I'm about to start building the spokes that run off of it for each production line. The plan, as much as it is, is to try and build "up" from one side of the rail line and follow it around. So I'll have raw ores, stone, oil, and uranium coming in from remote outposts. Each will get dumped in a hand-full of refineries on the west side of my lands. From there, as the goods are refined, they'll move east in a counter-clockwise manner. Iron Smelting > Copper Smelting > Brick Foundry & Landfill > Steelworks > Rails, Walls & Concrete > Oil Refineries > Sulfur & Explosives > Acids, Lubricants & Batteries > Rocket Fuel & Plastics > Uranium Refineries, Fuel & Fuel Cells > Green Microchips > Red Microchips (with Green feed) > Blue Microchips (with Red/Green feeds) > Engines, Electric Engines & Flight Frames > Red/Blue/Green Modules > Military (Turrets, Ammo & Grenades) > Logistics (Drones, Inserters, Belts, Splitters), Facilities (buildings) > Low Density Structures > Space Center (Rocket Parts, Controls, Satellites) > Science Packs > Rocket Launch Facility ... as well as a stop that accumulates things for me to build with so I can be restocked by logistics bots when I pass through.

I think that covers all the different types of goods. Each one of those production lines will have a series of trains dedicated to feeding it from a previous line, and will cover their own basic goods - like gears, pipes, and wires. I intend to build in a way that (hopefully) prevents my different spokes from touching each other, even as I expand into trying to make 10 or more science per second. Each line of production should have enough space to park 4 to 8 trains waiting to be unloaded. I'm planning to start with 1x4 trains but have space at each stop to accommodate trains 9 segments long.

I have no idea how well this will turn out, or if I'm going to have a rail line so flooded that I'll never be able to walk across it again. It may come to pass that I build rail bypasses to shuttle goods specifically between two or more production lines without touching the main line, just to free up some congestion. I also intend to build so my facilities aren't bumped right against the main rail line, so if I need to rework or expand it, I can.

My Uranium refinery chugged along through all of my efforts, and I've got something like 1,600 U235 all bottled up and waiting to be burned. The first thing I'm planning to build is a nuclear power facility. I've already laid out a 2x2 reactor plot to blueprint and am looking for the right spot to put it. Before I do, though, I need to figure out how to turn off the inserters once the reactors have fuel rods and only turn them back on when my steam stores get below 20% or 30%. That's today's research topic.

I want to say there were only four types of science when last I played, there was no basic oil production step, and by now I'd already be building a robot network. So there's lots more to do, though I may have to explore and exploit a second mining spot (or more) and work on trains before jumping in to advanced oil production and then yellow science. My copper and iron deposits are about being fully exploited and I imagine they will start slowly depleting probably even before I get oil working well.

It sounds like it's been some time, which makes the game feel a lot fresher. It's a helluva journey with a lot of satisfying moments.

[stessier]

Good luck with your plans! I look forward to the update in 20 hours when you're ripping it all out to move to the next level.

I spent the weekend killing biters. SO MANY BITERS. The Spidertron has really proved it's worth, though. It's not just the missiles - it's also how well armored it is and the fact that you can put shields on it. Well worth the investment. It's kind of funny, though - it's so slow that I frequently pack it up and run to the next nest I want to kill. Amusing to think of how that would play out IRL.

[Paingod]

Good luck with your plans! I look forward to the update in 20 hours when you're ripping it all out to move to the next level.

Thanks.

I am on my third teardown, aren't I? First base was an organic mess that got me to Purple science. I tore that apart to try and make something better, but still hedged myself in after that rebuild - but it got me to a point of solid expansion. Now I'm trying harder, but I do expect I'll find myself eventually wanting to try again. Hopefully with more blueprints and faster reconstruction.

I'm trying hard to resist moving to City Blocks and downloading the Train Logistics mod and making massive railways that loop and link everything.

[stessier]

Good luck with your plans! I look forward to the update in 20 hours when you're ripping it all out to move to the next level.

Thanks.

I am on my third teardown, aren't I? First base was an organic mess that got me to Purple science. I tore that apart to try and make something better, but still hedged myself in after that rebuild - but it got me to a point of solid expansion. Now I'm trying harder, but I do expect I'll find myself eventually wanting to try again. Hopefully with more blueprints and faster reconstruction.

I'm trying hard to resist moving to City Blocks and downloading the Train Logistics mod and making massive railways that loop and link everything.

The best part of this game is there is no Right Way(tm) to play. If the mod takes things that you think are drudgery and lets you avoid then, use it and have more fun! If you like the challenge that is presented by not using the mod, then do that.

KatherineOfSky (Youtuber) hates Biters and plays without them. I don't get the appeal of that - I think it removes a huge part of the challenge. Fortunately the Devs let us choose how we want to experience the game. They're the best.

[Paingod]

KatherineOfSky (Youtuber) hates Biters and plays without them. I don't get the appeal of that - I think it removes a huge part of the challenge. Fortunately the Devs let us choose how we want to experience the game. They're the best.

I don't think I could play without the risk the biters pose either.

I do appreciate that there's no best way and there's a TON of creativity in how things can be accomplished, though I admit to being envious of the scale of some builds and the pinnacle of efficiency they seem to achieve.

Right now my goal, aside from rebuilding, is to see if I can eliminate the need for so many Logisitics drones. I was hyped to get them, but after a while it didn't feel like a factory as much as an ant farm.

[stessier]

Right now my goal, aside from rebuilding, is to see if I can eliminate the need for so many Logisitics drones. I was hyped to get them, but after a while it didn't feel like a factory as much as an ant farm.

I'm on my 8th game - I think I didn't start using them until Game 4 or 5. It's totally doable. Of course this game is the first time I've ever launched more than one rocket (I'm up to 105!).

[Paingod]

So I suck, royally, at circuit networks. First ever, complete fail. And that's following a tutorial to the letter. The plan was to have my nuclear reactors only consume fuel once my steam got below 50k and a spent cell was ejected.

It took 3 or 4 cells to warm up the reactors, and at no point did a new cell automatically get put in by my circuit.

*Edit:

Last night I got as far as generating some nuclear power, storing ~600k of steam, watching to see how fast the reactors cool down, and then building out smelters for iron and copper. Each smelter has an input hold of 8 trains waiting and an output of 4 waiting (given the 2:1 ratio of ore to plates), and can hold trains 9 segments long - though I'm starting with 1 engine to 3 cars.

I'm a little miffed at my failure to rig up a good circuit network. I watched a video, paused, rewound, watched, rewound, watched, rewound, watched ... and tried to get mine running identically. Granted, the video wasn't great - I often had to guess at where the guy's mouse was and he used shortcut keys for things without saying it. I just need to explore it more.

I often skip logic circuits in games that include them for just this reason. I enjoy puzzles, I'm good at maths, I can even do a little scripting/coding - but a game mechanic that mimics coding with bits and pieces of things always frustrates me. Give me a way to type it out and I'll be good. Tell me I need to lay down 6 objects, adjust 3 parameters on each one precisely, and then connect them all with wires at specific intervals and I get lost. Even with someone showing me how. I don't enjoy feeling like an idiot.

I know I just need to try again (and again). I'll get there, and then I'll make a blueprint and never do it again.

[stessier]

I'm confused about your Ore to Plate ratio. One ore = One plate for both copper and iron.

For the circuit network, don't beat yourself up. They can be tricky and troubleshooting them is problematic. I'm just guessing, but I bet you set it up right. You said the reactor went through 4 cells heating up and a new cell was never added. How many cells were in the reactor to start? I think a reactor, when automated, will have one cell waiting and one cell burning (might be a bit more - I don't have the game open right now). So if there are more than that in there, the inserter won't do anything even if the circuit network is calling for it.

The circuit network itself should have a wire connected to the Steam Tank then connected to Light Poles all the way over to where it finally connects to the Inserter itself. You then open the Inserter and choose Enable/Disable and then select Steam in the box at the bottom and then the condition < 50k. The wire that you connect everything with should be the same color the entire way - doesn't matter Red or Green as long as it's the same. I can mock up a small example tonight with the key elements and post screenshots tomorrow if you want.

[Paingod]

I'm confused about your Ore to Plate ratio. One ore = One plate for both copper and iron.

Sorry - the "condensed" ratio. 100 plates in a stack to 50 ore in one stack. I can only carry half the ore to fill a train as I do plates, thus it seemed fitting to have twice as many drop lines.

For the circuit network, don't beat yourself up. They can be tricky and troubleshooting them is problematic. I'm just guessing, but I bet you set it up right. You said the reactor went through 4 cells heating up and a new cell was never added. How many cells were in the reactor to start? I think a reactor, when automated, will have one cell waiting and one cell burning (might be a bit more - I don't have the game open right now). So if there are more than that in there, the inserter won't do anything even if the circuit network is calling for it.

I was hand-feeding it just one cell at a time. I even let it run down completely twice and my inserters never grabbed a fresh cell.

I'm sure there's a step missing somewhere, or I put the wrong logic gate in or something. I had even set it up with the lights the guy used as indicators to know it was working, and everything looked good right until I clicked in my inserters and then one of the lights went off and never came back on. I'll sort it out.

The circuit network itself should have a wire connected to the Steam Tank then connected to Light Poles all the way over to where it finally connects to the Inserter itself. You then open the Inserter and choose Enable/Disable and then select Steam in the box at the bottom and then the condition < 50k. The wire that you connect everything with should be the same color the entire way - doesn't matter Red or Green as long as it's the same. I can mock up a small example tonight with the key elements and post screenshots tomorrow if you want.

IIRC, it was two logic switches and an arithmetic one, with one more next to each inserter. I never ran anything to power poles as I had my switches close enough to the inserters to run them directly. One switch monitored the steam levels, the other monitored the fuel cells coming out. The arithmetic switch faked a 40,000k steam input until it was triggered by the fuel cell being moved, which triggered the switch to turn on an inserter and then turn it back off after adding one cell.

I should practice the switches with boilers or something before I spend much more nuclear fuel on testing.

[stessier]

I'm confused about your Ore to Plate ratio. One ore = One plate for both copper and iron.

Sorry - the "condensed" ratio. 100 plates in a stack to 50 ore in one stack. I can only carry half the ore to fill a train as I do plates, thus it seemed fitting to have twice as many drop lines.

Ah, yes, that would do it.

For the circuit network, don't beat yourself up. They can be tricky and troubleshooting them is problematic. I'm just guessing, but I bet you set it up right. You said the reactor went through 4 cells heating up and a new cell was never added. How many cells were in the reactor to start? I think a reactor, when automated, will have one cell waiting and one cell burning (might be a bit more - I don't have the game open right now). So if there are more than that in there, the inserter won't do anything even if the circuit network is calling for it.

I was hand-feeding it just one cell at a time. I even let it run down completely twice and my inserters never grabbed a fresh cell.

I'm sure there's a step missing somewhere, or I put the wrong logic gate in or something. I had even set it up with the lights the guy used as indicators to know it was working, and everything looked good right until I clicked in my inserters and then one of the lights went off and never came back on. I'll sort it out.

Do you have a link to the video you are using?

[Paingod]

Do you have a link to the video you are using?

I know it's a few years old, but all the parts still looked the same and had the same options. I plan to look for an alternate video with a little more detail and explanation. I'm pretty sure what I'm trying to do is at least like a Tier 2 or Tier 3 complexity for switches, so I've bypassed the "Introduction To" materials and gone to the third chapter of the book.

[stessier]

Ack - Combinators!!!!

I still haven't figured out why I'd use those over other, more direct routes. The only thing I saw that might be tripping you up is that he connected the Green Input -> Output on Combinators 2 & 3. I think everything else he showed still works the same, so it should still work.

[Paingod]

Ack - Combinators!!!!

I still haven't figured out why I'd use those over other, more direct routes.

How would you put an automated hold on stuffing nuclear power cells into reactors until the steam in the network was low enough to warrant refilling?

[stessier]

Ack - Combinators!!!!

I still haven't figured out why I'd use those over other, more direct routes.

How would you put an automated hold on stuffing nuclear power cells into reactors until the steam in the network was low enough to warrant refilling?

Like I said earlier - attach a wire to the Steam Tank, string it over to the inserter that is adding fuel cells. Once connected to the Inserter, you can click on the Inserter and open a logistics window. Make sure the Enable/Disable button is clicked in the middle of the screen. At the bottom, set Steam < 50k as the condition.

Hmmm, now that I think of it, I'm not sure Steam is an option in that window. Let me look at that a bit over lunch (yay vacation time!).

[Paingod]

Ack - Combinators!!!!

I still haven't figured out why I'd use those over other, more direct routes.

How would you put an automated hold on stuffing nuclear power cells into reactors until the steam in the network was low enough to warrant refilling?

Like I said earlier - attach a wire to the Steam Tank, string it over to the inserter that is adding fuel cells.

I apologize for making you repeat yourself. I assumed I needed more info than that. It sounds simplified compared to what I was finding online, which is what I posted an example of. Inputs, calculations, outputs, controls. Not Click-click-done.

Even the Wiki agrees with you, but I'll be buggered if I understand the logic of how it works. That's the issue, I suppose. I wanted to "get it" and couldn't based on the image they showed.

The image on the Wiki shows the thing running on "When Steam is Less Than Nuclear Cell" which just sounds like witchcraft. I've been staring at that image for a good five minutes and all I really want to do is bounce my mouse across the desk and storm off. It just makes no sense to me.

[stessier]

Ack - Combinators!!!!

I still haven't figured out why I'd use those over other, more direct routes.

How would you put an automated hold on stuffing nuclear power cells into reactors until the steam in the network was low enough to warrant refilling?

Like I said earlier - attach a wire to the Steam Tank, string it over to the inserter that is adding fuel cells.

I apologize for making you repeat yourself. I assumed I needed more info than that. It sounds simplified compared to what I was finding online, which is what I posted an example of. Inputs, calculations, outputs, controls. Not Click-click-done.

Even the Wiki agrees with you, but I'll be buggered if I understand the logic of how it works. That's the issue, I suppose. I wanted to "get it" and couldn't based on the image they showed.

The image on the Wiki shows the thing running on "When Steam is Less Than Nuclear Cell" which just sounds like witchcraft. I've been staring at that image for a good five minutes and all I really want to do is bounce my mouse across the desk and storm off. It just makes no sense to me.

Sorry, didn't mean to come off short. I didn't mind at all.

So, for that circuit - the Steam Tank is connect to the Output Inserter. When the Steam is low, the Output Inserter removes the spent fuel cell (activates when Steam <50k). The Input Inserter is then connected to the Output Inserter and set to turn on when it sees the Output Inserter is holding a spent fuel cell.

Maybe it helps if you think that each element that you can connect a wire to has a little computer in it that can perform it's own math. So wiring the Steam Tank to the Output Inserter engages that little computer and lets the Output Inserter look at the Steam Tank and compare its contents to a condition (<50k). Now, you wire the Output Inserter to the Input Inserter, and the Input Inserter can do math based on what the Output Inserter is doing - so you end up with a kind of daisy chain effect.

[stessier]

Another thought - when you get home and are testing this out, use chests and inserters. So put some stuff in a chest and wire it to an inserter. Make the inserter move based on the contents of the chest. Once you understand that, connect another inserter to the first one. Make the second inserter move based on what the first inserter is doing. It's the same concept, but easier to reset than a steam tank and nuclear reactor.

[Paingod]

The basic design works as intended. I still don't know how, so I can't just recreate it without a How-To in front of me, but it works. My first attempt stuffed 5 cells in the reactors when the Steam ran low, but it looked like I was reading the contents of the empty cell inserters and shouldn't have. Again, no idea why not, but I changed it and am waiting to see if it makes a difference.

The factory is slowly lurching back to life. I've got my Iron, Copper, Stone, and Steel mills running again and am slowly building out. I've also got something like 1.4k U235 and 300 fuel cells made. At my current usage, that's like 4 years of power. I need to get bigger! I also wish the game would tap my Accumulators before drawing on reserve steam. I'll look for answers to this; maybe there's a way to only connect my Nuclear facilities once the accumulator grid gets below 20% or something.

It's fun to stamp out a big rail stops and connections with one click, and then lay down a segment of smelters or mines with another. Drains the heck out of my suit, though. I've had to change my builder's armor to 4 drone ports, 4 fusion reactors, and 2 exo legs. I drive around more, but wait less while things are being built.

[Paingod]

The basic design works as intended. I still don't know how, so I can't just recreate it without a How-To in front of me, but it works. My first attempt stuffed 5 cells in the reactors when the Steam ran low, but it looked like I was reading the contents of the empty cell inserters and shouldn't have. Again, no idea why not, but I changed it and am waiting to see if it makes a difference.

The difference was that instead of putting 5 cells into the reactor, it stopped pulling them out. I also had this setup jam three cells in at one point. So I was 3 in, 9 waiting to be picked up. It's not working at all, despite being wired up exactly as shown in the Wiki. I'm close to not caring and just accepting whatever waste there is.

As for the factory, it's still staggering back to life. I'm producing stone goods but not anything more advanced. The outbound train carrying Bricks, Walls, Concrete, and Refined Concrete is just sitting in the station with nowhere to go. Tonight I rebuild the Microchip lines, bigger and better than ever - I hope.

My factory is still "stuffy" in some places but only because I lacked the landfill to eliminate the ocean next to where I'm building. I can refine the processes better at a later date by expanding the available land to build on. No need to tear down the whole base again, I think... at least not for a long time coming.

My single rail system through the base seems a touch inefficient at the moment, but is fun to watch. Every train in and out makes a full loop west to east before returning, and they all include a stop at the refuel depot. I had to iron out some places where I had big gaps in rail signals that was causing trains to halt briefly while the track ahead cleared.

I've also relearned how awesome it is to step in front of a whizzing train. I need to exercise some caution and look at my map as I move around my factory. OSHA would not be impressed.

[stessier]

I've also relearned how awesome it is to step in front of a whizzing train. I need to exercise some caution and look at my map as I move around my factory. OSHA would not be impressed.

I know!! I'm not sure there is anything more frustrating! It's amazing how fast I get lax in checking too - I'll get run over and maybe for 15 minutes, I'm super vigilant. After that, though, it's right back to running every where until the next mistimed step.

[The Meal]

I like that this guy's "Nuke Train" circle has 12 kills:


More description for what's going on here, here.

[Paingod]

I absolutely envy the density and chaos of that factory ... and the 12 kills are hilarious. I expect a whirling train that hardly ever stops can be hard to dodge.

[LordMortis]

Trains and circuits weren't nearly this developed when last I played and centrifuges and nuclear power did not exist. I doubt I'll be smart enough to progress into interesting stuff like this but this much less the scale that stess is discussing but this is just... something

the train doesn't know where it is, because it knows no place where it isn't

[stessier]

I absolutely envy the density and chaos of that factory ... and the 12 kills are hilarious. I expect a whirling train that hardly ever stops can be hard to dodge.

This brings up an interesting point. As far as my game is concerned, I've never died... in this timeline. Am I the only one who reloads rather than going on?

[LordMortis]

I absolutely envy the density and chaos of that factory ... and the 12 kills are hilarious. I expect a whirling train that hardly ever stops can be hard to dodge.

This brings up an interesting point. As far as my game is concerned, I've never died... in this timeline. Am I the only one who reloads rather than going on?

You can go on after you die? That's good to know. I got frustrated with addressing worms early and found my self saving the game lining turrets, saving the game moving turrets closer and closer until the worm started shooting pulling up the distressed turrets, getting in a car, attacking, retreating, repairing the car, attacking, retreating, repairing the car, attacking, retreating, repairing the car, until I could take out worms one at a time. If I hadn't per-emptively saved and then died, what would have happened?

And yes, with the time I put in for a game of relaxation, if I died, I would have reloaded. No questions asked. No guilt felt. It's not like I'm playing for a competitive ironman score or something.

[stessier]

If you don't reload, you respawn back at your base 10s later. If you make a corpse run, you can get back all of your stuff... But finding your body can be tricky and you only have like 5 minutes to find it before it despawns.

[Paingod]

You can go on after you die? That's good to know.

Yeah. You dump your inventory on your corpse and need to collect it, but respawning is a thing. Plunks you right back where you started.

I absolutely envy the density and chaos of that factory ... and the 12 kills are hilarious. I expect a whirling train that hardly ever stops can be hard to dodge.

This brings up an interesting point. As far as my game is concerned, I've never died... in this timeline. Am I the only one who reloads rather than going on?

I prefer to reload over respawn. It depends, though, on how far back my last save is. Last night when I got plastered by my new train line I looked at where I was standing in my last save and really didn't want to just repeat everything I had just done in reformatting my train schedules. In my current game I've respawned twice (both from trains) and reloaded maybe a dozen times (during my Biter rampages).

[LordMortis]

So it's Diablorio?

[Paingod]

So it's Diablorio?

Sort of.

Though if your inventory is really full of 200-stack items that you have no space to hold, it explodes in a very pretty array around your body.

[stessier]

So it's Diablorio?

Sort of.

Though if your inventory is really full of 200-stack items that you have no space to hold, it explodes in a very pretty array around your body.

Yeah, also be careful when you are switching between suits of armor. Never take a suit off and put it in your inventory. Always take a suit from your inventory and put it on your avatar. Doing it the other way drops your inventory size to the default and throws all your excess stuff on the ground.

[Paingod]

I had a panic attack the first time that happened. I was in the middle of a belt array and thought I was going to have to scramble around my base and hunt for everything. Thankfully nothing lands on belts when you "explode" like that. Still took me a while to pick up everything I had dropped in every available crack in the area, though.

[Paingod]

Last night I came to realize that Factorio, in the stage of the game I'm in right now, is satisfying the "Train Sim" urge that I periodically get. It's not so much that I like the trade aspect of those games as much as I like watching the trains work. I'm spending a lot of time building a railway system, and I really enjoy watching my goods getting shuttled around by train.

As for the base, I've tied in Oil production and linked up a coal mine to power my trains until I get rocket fuel working again. I ran a rail line out to my uranium mine so I can move the refinement process off of it and keep it supplied with Hydrogen Sulfide. I used the Factorio calculator to work out the best way to use the 8 refineries I already had made, and think I've made a simple switch that turns Heavy Oil cracking on/off based on the level of Lubricants I have in storage (up to 200k, flips production back on when it gets below 175k).

I'm considering using some kind of intricate clover leaf in my main rail crossroads so trains don't need to go all the way to the end of the line to turn around. The longer that runs, the more wasteful it becomes in terms of product cycles. Fun to watch, but inefficient.

My nuclear reactor is still not loading fuel cells correctly, but it does keep itself going. I keep returning to find 5-9 spent cells in the exit slot and 3-5 in the intake waiting to be used. I've burned up 54 cells so far. I'm not sweating it too much though as I do have around 3k U235 in storage at my uranium mine/refinery right now. I do intend to try and figure this out, but am frustrated with how following the Wiki as closely as I could still resulted in a failure of control. The reactors have been running so long now that they've almost reached the peak of 1000º C. I could probably tie in more heat exchangers and create more power from it than the standard ratio since I keep burning more fuel than I need.

Finally, I discovered that I've been ignoring my south-western wall a little too much. It had come under repeated attack while I was busy getting things going and it's been weakened to the point where it was almost breached completely so gargantuan Biters could get to my actual production lines. Lots of wall gaps and missing laser turrets.

[stessier]

I've been spending time expanding my base yet again.

Old limits of my base.



New limits of my base.


Just have to finish up putting railroads near all the new walls as well as Roboports and ripping down all the interior walls that are now superfluous, then it's back to the main base to fix my Plastic and Solid Fuel issues.

[Paingod]

New limits of my base.

Looks like you've about doubled your available landmass in that push. Very nice! I think the area I occupy might be between 1/3 and 1/2 of your previous space allocation.

[The Meal]

Paingod,

I don't think there's any need to put logic on the inserter that's pulling items out of your nuclear reactors. There's no reason you wouldn't want those to empty ASAP.

Personally I do my reactors very simply with bots (I use belts just about everywhere else in my base, excepting for my defenses to keep everything repaired and filled with ammo). I'm fortunate that I've got enough U-235 being generated that it's increasing even with me supplying nuclear fuel to 12 reactors. I limit how much nuclear fuel is built (based on how much I have in inventory in the logistics system) to make sure there isn't more than 48 fuel cells total.

Then I just put requester chests on the nuke reactor inputs (requesting 4 units of nuclear fuel at each reactor) and empty the spent fuel into passive provider chests (with one reprocessing machine to turn the spent fuel into the ubiquitous U-238, also hooked up via bots).

I see you're trying to do something more complicated to have your nuclear turbines turn on and off based on your steam storage, and I respect that level of detail. But I'm not clear as to why you can't just have a simple no-logic system for pulling spent fuel out of the reactors.

[Paingod]

I see you're trying to do something more complicated to have your nuclear turbines turn on and off based on your steam storage, and I respect that level of detail. But I'm not clear as to why you can't just have a simple no-logic system for pulling spent fuel out of the reactors.

It's supposed to. There's not supposed to be a backlog of cells in the reactor waiting to be pulled.

I was under the impression that the removal of a spent cell would dictate "turning on" the circuit that would then wait to see if the steam got low enough to warrant a new cell being put it, to avoid accidentally loading up 5 cells into the reactor when steam didn't immediately jump back up to the right level to throw the switch back the other way. Like a one-for-one swap. One out, wait, steam low, one in, wait.

I just need to fiddle with it.

I have enough U235 to run my little reactors for ages, hundreds of hours probably. I'm just working out a system that can expand so I'm not fussing over whether or not my generators are being efficient when I've got a couple dozen or more of them working at once.