Satisfactory

[jztemple2]

The Update 8 experimental release is tomorrow at 3pm GMT, or 11am EDT, etc.

It will be on the Experimental channel. Be sure to back up your saves (I have ) just in case. Since I'm between new games I'm going to give it a try and I'll post some impressions. However, I've found a video that goes through all the new changes in a fairly reasonable 10+ minutes so take a gander at it if you are interested.

[Tampa_Gamer]

However, I've found a video that goes through all the new changes in a fairly reasonable 10+ minutes so take a gander at it if you are interested.

Awesome find, appreciate that link jz. The collective posts over the past month triggered my interest in this one again, which also caused my kids (home for the summer) to inquire about a MP world we could all work in when the patch comes out.

Question for the group - is the MP experience super buggy still or did they fix the desyncs that were common about a year or so ago? Just wondering if its going to be a good experience or not because as my kids get older MP time with them is very rare (more or less choosing between this and the new 7 days to die A21 update that just dropped - I know two completely difference games...

[malchior]

I don't MP it but my friend who does says the experience improved significantly with Update 7. It's probably worth a shot.

[Blackhawk]

choosing between this and the new 7 days to die A21 update that just dropped - I know two completely difference games...

And yet they are the two games I'm choosing between, too.

[malchior]

A quick load of my big save indicates I lucked out and none of my many factories broke. Performance is ... ok but needs to be optimized still. It doesn't look amazingly better. The textures are still the textures. They didn't do a big reskin by any means. I did a ride around the map via train and there is noticeably less texture pop-in and the lighting is better overall (even with Lumen off).

I won't have time to dig into the new QOL enhancements but I'll start a new roll soon and see how it plays now from T1.

[naednek]

how do you access it?

[coopasonic]

Steam: right click -> properties -> Betas _> select experimental
Epic: there is a separate item in your library

[jztemple2]

A quick load of my big save indicates I lucked out and none of my many factories broke. Performance is ... ok but needs to be optimized still. It doesn't look amazingly better. The textures are still the textures. They didn't do a big reskin by any means. I did a ride around the map via train and there is noticeably less texture pop-in and the lighting is better overall (even with Lumen off).

I won't have time to dig into the new QOL enhancements but I'll start a new roll soon and see how it plays now from T1.

Hmm, I guess I was expecting something more... significant. I didn't really notice any graphical improvement, except that when Lumen was on it hurt the frame rate. I traveled all over my empire and didn't see any noticeable changes except some more vegetation where before there wasn't any. All my existing buildings are working as before.

The only new building is the power tower (plus a version with catwalks) which allows power transmission with fewer poles over a distance. However, my methodology, which I showed above, was to used blueprinted pylons with mounts for hypertubes and power so I could travel back to any place I've previously traveled much more easily. So the power towers would be of limited use to me.

The changes in the options menu as seen in the video I posted yesterday aren't of interest to me, so I didn't bother checking them out. I imagine they work as shown in the video.

Since, as explained by the community manager, the devs will be taking July off, I'm figuring that Update 8 will be in experimental status for a long time. So no hurry to get used to anything. I really don't have any interest at this time in starting the game again from T1 (or another intermediate tier, an option shown in the video) so I'm switching back to the non-experimental branch and if I put time in the game I'll do it from there.

[jztemple2]

When I set up my drone empire I set up a drone port at my main 300/min battery factory whose sole job was to feed the drone network batteries.

This is my next project, getting up a 300/min battery facility. Do you use just one drone port at that facility?

[malchior]

When I set up my drone empire I set up a drone port at my main 300/min battery factory whose sole job was to feed the drone network batteries.

This is my next project, getting up a 300/min battery facility. Do you use just one drone port at that facility?

Yes. There isn't even a drone on that port. Remote ports grab their batteries from there.

[jztemple2]

When I set up my drone empire I set up a drone port at my main 300/min battery factory whose sole job was to feed the drone network batteries.

This is my next project, getting up a 300/min battery facility. Do you use just one drone port at that facility?

Yes. There isn't even a drone on that port. Remote ports grab their batteries from there.

Hmm, I just used the production calculator and I see that it would take 15 blenders with all the upstream buildings to supply that 300 batteries per minute. Is there a good rule of thumb that says how many batteries per minute supports one of those dual drone ports that a facility might use? I realize that it would vary due to the distance to the battery facility, the distance that the product drone has to travel to do its delivery, etc, but is there some ballpark figure? How many dual drone ports does your 300/min facility support?

[malchior]

15 blenders is exactly what I'm running. I didn't bother overclocking any of them. It's a big facility. I've probably got at least 15 discrete drone ports all over the map being fed out of that one port. I haven't had any issues keeping them supplied. When I start up a new port it puts a temporary "strain" on the stock levels but it quickly balances out.

[jztemple2]

I was watching my drone ports and trying to calculate how much I was using, but it turns out that one drone port, which is the battery fetcher for a facility, had lots and lots in its storage. It must not use as much as the other dual ports and so has been storing them up.

But it seems to me that building the full 300/min might be less stressful that adding more capability in dribs and drabs. So now I'm exploring the alternate Classic Battery formula needs less of some resources but does need copper and crude oil.

And I'm trying to figure out how to prevent one drone port from hogging so many of the batteries!

[naednek]

I changed to experimental. It looks darker, and the textures don't seem as crisp. The stuff on the conveyor belts look fuzzy and I have everything on the highest settings.

[Blackhawk]

A look at what Lumen actually does and does not do:

[jztemple2]

A look at what Lumen actually does and does not do:

Meh, I've never been one for making things pretty; I don't think I have a single building under a roof anymore. But then that just me.

I really was hoping that the new experimental update would add a Tier 9 set of objectives and building and object unlocks.

[coopasonic]

I really was hoping that the new experimental update would add a Tier 9 set of objectives and building and object unlocks.

I don't expect much more in terms of progression content until full release, which I am trying to wait patiently for.

[jztemple2]

15 blenders is exactly what I'm running. I didn't bother overclocking any of them. It's a big facility. I've probably got at least 15 discrete drone ports all over the map being fed out of that one port. I haven't had any issues keeping them supplied. When I start up a new port it puts a temporary "strain" on the stock levels but it quickly balances out.

I chickened out from building a huge facility to make those 300/min batteries. Instead by tweaking my alumina solution production I added three blenders to the one I had making batteries, and I'm thinking I might be able to squeeze in one or two more before I had to expand that alumina production by adding another refinery.

I now have over two hundred hours on a game that I thought for a long while I wouldn't enjoy at all

[jztemple2]

I now have the second of the final four Space Elevator projects running, the Magnetic Field Generator facility:



This took a lot less trouble than my first facility, as I decided to follow Coop's suggestion about just building the minimum production line and work from there. So I have one manufacturer making one MFG a minute, which means I'll be done with making 4000 of them in.... 67 hours. So still faster than my Assembly Director System production line which will take 88 hours.

It helped that I had two of the three materials needed for final assembly, EM Control Rods and Batteries, being made right near each other. All I needed was an Assembler for the Versatile Framework and just tap off existing production lines to feed that. Now just two more items to start making.

[malchior]

A glimpse at the madness. I prepared these in the new engine with Flight Mode on.

The first video is my main dedicated Iron Factory. It exports Iron Ingot, Iron Rods, and Iron Plates to other factories across the landscape.



This is my Central Depot. It's a little dark because I need to add lights but that pops a neat effect when a train enters the depot mid-video. I overbuilt the space so it's a bit sparse. The idea here is that a percentage of goods from each factory is sent to this Central Depot. It is loaded into a sorter and delivered to the appropriate bin. Any excess is sunk. I just a quick run through the sorters and train area as well.



The next stop is the Starter Factory. This is where I began and it features a decommissioned coal generator unit.



Last stop is a flight from the Starter Factory across one of my early refineries (plastic, rubber, and fuel generators) to the Battery Factory. There is also some heat sink production added on. White pipes are alumina, blue is water, and yellow is sulfur.

[jztemple2]

Very fancy! You are way more organized than I am

Love the coffee cup

[naednek]

I have spent 36 hours and can't even get my basic machines working efficiently. About to destroy and start again

[Blackhawk]

Impressive! Start with a factory, end with a Dyson sphere.

[malchior]

They've been throwing out significant bug fixes already. I've seen performance increase quite a bit which seems to be tied to the removed TSR 'Cinematic' setting. Rocking a 7800X3D and a 4090 leads me to throw open all the stops...on an experimental version...which is probably asking for trouble.

They admitted at one time they don't have high end gear for development so we are the QA team. Which is fine by me since they are transparent and it's usually annoying issues versus...say completely broken.

[telcta]

I tried 8 but immediately received an AMD graphics warning to update to a release that isn’t available to me (2.22?). I did what JZ did and rolled back to 7 which has been solid for me and since I am nowhere near where you guys are, I think 7 will continue to be fun for me.

It’s hard to explain why this game has really hooked me but I find it both relaxing and stressful at the same time. My problem is I don’t know what to focus on and when something new comes up to research or implement I try to do it rather than optimize my lower end builds to supple what I need.

I really enjoy seeing what you guys are doing and hope someday I’ll get to that level. I still haven’t figured out how to use the jet pack even though I have it on my back. I’m pretty sure it’s fuel related but it wasn’t clear to me.

[jztemple2]

Very pleased with my work today and tonight. I added my third Space Elevator requirement, the Nuclear Pasta facility . As with the Magnetic Field Generator facility I tried to use any existing facilities and beef them up as needed. Part of the production chain needed computers and crystal oscillators. The first already has a factory tucked nearby under one of my train stations but the crystal oscillator factory was quite a ways away. I solved it by dropping a drone port next to the factory but didn't give it its own drone. Instead I put a second drone port with a drone next to my battery facility to go fetch the crystal oscillators. It tapped off the battery facility so I didn't have to put a second (battery fetcher) drone port next to it.

With all this battery use I knew it was time to upgrade my battery facility, but I was already using a aluminum casing production line that was feeding two other projects. So I added a new standalone production line that made the casings at 120/min to support the battery blenders. The image below is a bit tough to see as I used black as my trim color but the chain is one refinery that feeds another refinery that feeds six smelters that feed two constructors that make the casings. I was able to expand to five blenders making batteries which should be sufficient for now.

[jztemple2]

I finally finished creating production lines for the fourth and final Space Elevator Phase 4 Milestone. Unlike the first one, the ADS, where I created the whole production in new form, for the last three I tapped off existing production of various odds and ends. And this is how I did it, lots and lots of belts... and pipes.



And here you go, in the upper right hand corner, I now have content in all four items needed for the Space Elevator.

[telcta]

Is that pollution in the background? I haven’t gotten too far and I’m still trying to get my first refinery online. I think I’ve seen foggy areas but since you’re so advanced in your factories I thought maybe there would be some pollution output.

This game is really testing my ADD because I try to keep everything neat and tidy which is why I have 26 hours and only now figuring out plastics. I still haven’t worked out the fuel to use use in the jet packs.

[jztemple2]

I think it is just fog added to keep up the fps by avoiding rendering details in the distance. I seem to recall this being mentioned in one of the videos, that the map is broken up into areas this way.

[telcta]

That makes sense. I did roll back to 7 because the requirements of 8 caused issues so I’m not sure what improvements they made to the engine other than Unity.

This is one of the few games where I lay in bed trying to sleep and I think of ways to improve or configure a factory. I actually got up once and took notes because I had an idea and was so tempted to get out of bed and turn on the computer.

[Blackhawk]

There are, I believe, hazy areas. The rendering trick they were talking about is different from that. It is a method of rendering complex objects more efficiently.

[jztemple2]

There are, I believe, hazy areas. The rendering trick they were talking about is different from that. It is a method of rendering complex objects more efficiently.

Hmm, perhaps that's what they were talking about and I mixed up the two.

Even though I have just over two hundred hours in the game, I've probably not explored more than a fifth of the map. Maybe now that I'm done working on Space Elevator projects it might be time to load up an explorer vehicle with coal and parts for several radar towers... hmm, nope, radar towers need power. I guess I should do what I was doing before, running power pylons and using my hover rig and do some more exploring and setting up those towers.

By the way, during the past few days I also experimented with adding sidings to rail lines, with the appropriate signals, to allow more than one train on a route at a time. I've got the technique down now.

It occurs to me that perhaps when Satisfactory hits 1.0, one area of goals/achievements for the game would not only be the production of such and such end items, but also achieving a certain production rate for them. That would definitely motivate me to keep my industry more organized instead of building in fits and starts.

With Update 8 I saw that it would now be possible to start a new game with some, and if wanted all, Tiers unlocked. I've been reluctant to start a new game and have to grind through all those milestones, but building up all my industry from scratch with having all the tools and buildings right from the start might be my motivation. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of making a bunch of this or that to achieve a milestone after which I no longer would be needing this or that, at least in significant numbers. Having done it all once, I don't really want to do it again.

[malchior]

Maybe now that I'm done working on Space Elevator projects it might be time to load up an explorer vehicle with coal and parts for several radar towers... hmm, nope, radar towers need power.

You can and probably should use batteries for vehicles. Coal has way less energy. At the very least you should use Solid Biofuel.

With Update 8 I saw that it would now be possible to start a new game with some, and if wanted all, Tiers unlocked. I've been reluctant to start a new game and have to grind through all those milestones, but building up all my industry from scratch with having all the tools and buildings right from the start might be my motivation. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of making a bunch of this or that to achieve a milestone after which I no longer would be needing this or that, at least in significant numbers. Having done it all once, I don't really want to do it again.

I had a save game for this purpose so was happy to see them add it as a feature. Grinding through a starter factory just to unlock stuff is painful. I also liked that they added "sandbox" mode with no build cost. I'm not planning on using it just yet though.

[jztemple2]

You can and probably should use batteries for vehicles. Coal has way less energy. At the very least you should use Solid Biofuel.

But I have so much coal! . Hmm, actually I do have batteries to spare too. Thanks for the suggestion!

I had a save game for this purpose so was happy to see them add it as a feature. Grinding through a starter factory just to unlock stuff is painful. I also liked that they added "sandbox" mode with no build cost. I'm not planning on using it just yet though.

I've rather discounted using the sandbox setting for now too. As Robert Frost said about blank verse, it's like playing tennis without a net

Frankie Avalon probably felt that way too

[jztemple2]

Went exploring to the northwest and put up radar towers to clear the fog. If you look carefully at the screenshot below you can see the four radar towers I put up. The shot is a little blurry because I was zooming through a hypertube at the time!



A map of the newly cleared area. I put it in spoiler tags just for those who don't want to know what it looks like. I did turn off all resource nodes and hard drive locations, so it's just the land and my hypertube and power lines.

Spoiler:

[jztemple2]

I should know this, but I'm stumped. I'm making a bunch of wire which has to go to two locations. One needs 180/min, the other 240/min. How do I use splitters to make this come out right?

[jztemple2]

I should know this, but I'm stumped. I'm making a bunch of wire which has to go to two locations. One needs 180/min, the other 240/min. How do I use splitters to make this come out right?

That's a 3:4 ratio. I now also need a 2:3 ratio. I'm sure there is some obvious answer...

[jztemple2]

I should know this, but I'm stumped. I'm making a bunch of wire which has to go to two locations. One needs 180/min, the other 240/min. How do I use splitters to make this come out right?

That's a 3:4 ratio. I now also need a 2:3 ratio. I'm sure there is some obvious answer...

Turns out the answer (which I got on the Steam forum) was to use the different belt types to achieve the needed throughput to each side of the facility. Pretty clever, I hadn't thought of that.

Meanwhile, I had been robbing my existing motor factory to supply this facility and that one, and as a result the output was being overused. So I built a new Motor Facility from scratch, with iron ore and coal inputs. I'm using an alternate recipe to make iron wire so I don't need copper. It was a bigger project than I expected!

[naednek]

So I've been playing Experimental 8 and about every other day Steam makes me redownload it. Any one else having this issue, and how do you stop that?

[Unagi]

So I've been playing Experimental 8 and about every other day Steam makes me redownload it. Any one else having this issue, and how do you stop that?

Are you sure you aren't just getting a patched Experimental version every couple of days?