Factorio, highly addictive game(alpha)

[jztemple2]

I'm out of stone and almost out of copper. And I'm getting just a bit worn out over the need to keep attacking nests. Is there a good mod or cheat that just allows me to add materials like copper and stone to my inventory? I'm not looking for massive amounts, just enough to fill some storage chests to keep my production lines working while I plan out my new productions. I want to expand my factory at my pace, not at a panic pace to go grab resources.

Or perhaps a mod that will let me spawn some resource fields nearer to me?

[stessier]

I don't know about the mods, but what you are describing is kind of the game. You aren't meant to be able to get all the research up and running on your starter base. Exploration and expansion are an integral part to succeeding. If the nests aren't fun, restart with the Biters turned non-aggressive. You'll still have to clear nests if they are where you want to build something, but finding new sources of RMs will be trivial. Getting them back to your base will still remain the challenge.

[Unagi]

I'm out of stone and almost out of copper. And I'm getting just a bit worn out over the need to keep attacking nests. Is there a good mod or cheat that just allows me to add materials like copper and stone to my inventory? I'm not looking for massive amounts, just enough to fill some storage chests to keep my production lines working while I plan out my new productions. I want to expand my factory at my pace, not at a panic pace to go grab resources.

Or perhaps a mod that will let me spawn some resource fields nearer to me?

The way I solved this frustration, IIRC, was mostly just in the parameters I gave my starting map. Slightly bumped up the size or density of deposits, I think... which was enough to kind of shift everything a little more toward my pace of playing.

Is this still your (mostly) first playthrough, or have you restarted several times already?

[jztemple2]

This is my first playthrough and I have more than three dozen hours in it. That's why I was looking for a fix rather than restarting.

[stessier]

I'm out of stone and almost out of copper. And I'm getting just a bit worn out over the need to keep attacking nests. Is there a good mod or cheat that just allows me to add materials like copper and stone to my inventory? I'm not looking for massive amounts, just enough to fill some storage chests to keep my production lines working while I plan out my new productions. I want to expand my factory at my pace, not at a panic pace to go grab resources.

Or perhaps a mod that will let me spawn some resource fields nearer to me?

The way I solved this frustration, IIRC, was mostly just in the parameters I gave my starting map. Slightly bumped up the size or density of deposits, I think... which was enough to kind of shift everything a little more toward my pace of playing.

Is this still your (mostly) first playthrough, or have you restarted several times already?

Oh, that's a good one - totally forgot about that option.

[stessier]

This is my first playthrough and I have more than three dozen hours in it. That's why I was looking for a fix rather than restarting.

If it means anything, it won't take you 30+ hours to get back to the same spot. You'll be much more efficient next time just because you'll have more concrete plans of where you want to go.

[Unagi]

The way I solved this frustration, IIRC, was mostly just in the parameters I gave my starting map. Slightly bumped up the size or density of deposits, I think... which was enough to kind of shift everything a little more toward my pace of playing.

Oh, that's a good one - totally forgot about that option.

and also, just a couple of them, not all of them, IIRC - maybe mostly just coal and iron

[Unagi]

This is my first playthrough and I have more than three dozen hours in it. That's why I was looking for a fix rather than restarting.

Yeah, quite unlike Satisfactory and Dyson's Sphere, I would say that most everyone that has played Factorio has a few "Learn and Burn" games behind them. Not a ton - but at least a handful.

[jztemple2]

OK, I went and started a new game. To be more focused on building, which is what I like, but not nerfing the beasties entirely, I set all the Resources sliders to 300% (by the way, they go up to 600%) and on the Enemy page I set the Starting Area Size to 300% as well. This means all the nests are far out towards the edges of the map. I made no other changes to the enemy.

So far I'm doing OK and since it is my second time I'm going to not compress my factory to a small space.



By the way, does the map have finite limits? Or does it spawn procedurally as I approach the edges?

[stessier]

You can make it finite, but by default it is infinite and procedurally generated. I'm not sure, though, exactly how much is there at the start and just covered by the fog of war.

[jztemple2]

So after a week off, I'm back playing this again . With my 300/300 layout I have a lot more room to have fun with the game. And as Unagi mentioned, it is better to have started a new game rather than keep trying to expand on my old one.

[jztemple2]

I've been following the dev updates each Friday, I thought this would be something worth posting... Friday Facts #416 - Fluids 2.0

It is no secret that Factorio's fluid system is unpredictable, unintuitive, and at times, frustrating. Pipe throughput decreases over distance at an inconsistent rate, so the only way to reliably know how much fluid you can push through a pipe is to reference a table on the wiki. Furthermore, the throughput can vary depending on the order that the pipes were built. It is not a fun system to play with.

There have been many attempts to rewrite the fluid system, but all ended in failure for one reason or another. The existing algorithm is pretty fast and works well enough for standard vanilla gameplay, and we have tried to leave it alone as much as possible. However, during our playtesting of Space Age, it became clear that the existing system would no longer do the job. The production scaling afforded by the new machines and quality brought the flow algorithm to its knees.

In an attempt to avoid a total rewrite, we first tried increasing throughput by increasing pipe volume. This "solved" the primary issue of low throughput with the trade-off of massively increasing buffer sizes. Storage tanks became effectively useless, and defensive walls utilizing flamethrower turrets were buffering tens of thousands of units of fluid, sucking bases dry. Ultimately, we were unable to come to an agreement on how to proceed; a rewrite was deemed too complex, but nobody had any better ideas. The issue was put aside to be "discussed again later".

I was extremely dissatisfied with this conclusion. The volume hack was a band-aid to hide a problem rather than a well-formed fix. Sometimes it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, so I took a risk and began to rewrite the fluid system.

[jztemple2]

Factorio: Space Age - Release date, which is October 21st 2024.

We plan to release Factorio: Space Age expansion on October 21st 2024. The reasoning for this date is that it will give us enough time after summer vacations to polish the release, while also leaving enough time afterwards if we need to do bugfix patches before the Christmas holidays.

The price of the Space age expansion will be $35.00, the same price as the current base game.

You can wishlist the game now over on Steam.

The rest of the content is about the new content in Space Age, plus...

But thats not all. Factorio: Space Age will also coincide with the release of Factorio version 2.0 which will be a free upgrade for all users.

Lots of good stuff in the article about 2.0 as well.

[stessier]

I've been following the dev updates each Friday, I thought this would be something worth posting... Friday Facts #416 - Fluids 2.0

It is no secret that Factorio's fluid system is unpredictable, unintuitive, and at times, frustrating. Pipe throughput decreases over distance at an inconsistent rate, so the only way to reliably know how much fluid you can push through a pipe is to reference a table on the wiki. Furthermore, the throughput can vary depending on the order that the pipes were built. It is not a fun system to play with.

There have been many attempts to rewrite the fluid system, but all ended in failure for one reason or another. The existing algorithm is pretty fast and works well enough for standard vanilla gameplay, and we have tried to leave it alone as much as possible. However, during our playtesting of Space Age, it became clear that the existing system would no longer do the job. The production scaling afforded by the new machines and quality brought the flow algorithm to its knees.

In an attempt to avoid a total rewrite, we first tried increasing throughput by increasing pipe volume. This "solved" the primary issue of low throughput with the trade-off of massively increasing buffer sizes. Storage tanks became effectively useless, and defensive walls utilizing flamethrower turrets were buffering tens of thousands of units of fluid, sucking bases dry. Ultimately, we were unable to come to an agreement on how to proceed; a rewrite was deemed too complex, but nobody had any better ideas. The issue was put aside to be "discussed again later".

I was extremely dissatisfied with this conclusion. The volume hack was a band-aid to hide a problem rather than a well-formed fix. Sometimes it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, so I took a risk and began to rewrite the fluid system.

Just saw your post - thanks! I love Factorio and getting better fluid dynamics might be worth the price of admission all by itself!

[jztemple2]

Three days to go!

[LordMortis]

This will be a test as to whether or not an odious defense of behaviour will be overcome by "I want that!" Historically, my internal passive agressive sense takes over and I do a meaningless "you won't see my money" but I want that.

[stessier]

I want that - I just don't think I have time to play that. Because once I start, I suspect I will lose time for months.

[Isgrimnur]

Factorio: Space age will launch on October 21st and will cost $35.00.

[Paingod]

Factorio: Space age will launch on October 21st and will cost $35.00.

I'd be upset that I'm about to lose a month or more of gaming, but I've already been itching to get back to Factorio. Satisfactory is fun and all, but I'm not automating the world.

[jztemple2]

Hmm, I think I just realized that the expansion continues the story of Factorio from the original planet from which you launch rockets. So that means I would need to start a new game of regular Factorio and build up everything before I could even access the content of Space Age

[jztemple2]

Hmm, I think I just realized that the expansion continues the story of Factorio from the original planet from which you launch rockets. So that means I would need to start a new game of regular Factorio and build up everything before I could even access the content of Space Age

So, are other folks going to start a new game of Factorio when they get Space Age, or use an existing save? I'm afraid that it's been so long since I played it that I need to start a new game from scratch so I can relearn everything.

[LordMortis]

Hmm, I think I just realized that the expansion continues the story of Factorio from the original planet from which you launch rockets. So that means I would need to start a new game of regular Factorio and build up everything before I could even access the content of Space Age

So, are other folks going to start a new game of Factorio when they get Space Age, or use an existing save? I'm afraid that it's been so long since I played it that I need to start a new game from scratch so I can relearn everything.

If/when I get it, I would be starting with a new game is that is somehow required. Building up is fun and I want to be able to somehow put it all together. Does this mean Space Age is an expansion and not a stand alone game, I assume?

Edit: Sho'nough it's a dlc. I did not know that.

[jztemple2]

Yup, an expansion, requires the base game to play. From the Steam product page:

Factorio: Space Age continues the player's journey after launching rockets into space. Discover new worlds with unique challenges, exploit their novel resources for advanced technological gains, and manage your fleet of interplanetary space platforms.

[The Meal]

Hmm, I think I just realized that the expansion continues the story of Factorio from the original planet from which you launch rockets. So that means I would need to start a new game of regular Factorio and build up everything before I could even access the content of Space Age

So, are other folks going to start a new game of Factorio when they get Space Age, or use an existing save? I'm afraid that it's been so long since I played it that I need to start a new game from scratch so I can relearn everything.

Starting over for sure. The Factorio 2.0 update (not the DLC) changes enough that I want to build my factory for those updates. You’re right that Space Age is mostly four additional planets (and also some between planet content).

I’ve probably built about two dozen different factories in my years of Factorio-ing, so starting over is pretty natural for me.

[jztemple2]

I’ve probably built about two dozen different factories in my years of Factorio-ing, so starting over is pretty natural for me.

Wow. I've built two

[The Meal]

Your breadth of gaming genres vastly outnumbers mine!

[Unagi]

Yeah, there is absolutely no chance I would start an old game.

For one, it's been too long - and I wouldn't fully appreciate that old base, or any of the trajectory, etc.
For two, I imagine there have been a couple of tweaks to the entire experience that I'd like to get another look at.
For three, part of the entire joy in these games (to me) is taking it from start to "finish", and I don't think I would -ever- start an old game that I had put down over 2-3 months earlier.

Here we go...

[Unagi]

Wow - last played on 01-29-2021. My 'changes since last played' screen was quite large (I didn't read it, to avoid spoilers).

I'm actually going to even re-do the Tutorial. These 3 years have cleared my brain too much.

[Unagi]

It's hit me what this game has that Satisfactory doesn't (and possibly just can't).

This isn't a knock at Satisfactory. I think they actually pulled off making a space for themselves and they are the king of that space (3D factory builds) - but...

I recall when I first played Satisfactory, and I was turned off - and was a little filled with "no thank you, this is nothing compared to my beloved Factorio." I eventually got past that, and actually got into the game quite a bit. I had (and will again) a lot of fun with it.

But playing Factorio again has reminded me what it was that just totally jazzed me about Factorio. It's kinda two things. The main thing is the 'clockworks' feel to the whole thing. They have nailed it. Even with a silly little inefficent base, you immediately get the joy of watching the rhythm of it all, even if its rhythms are a bit off. Second is just the charming 2D gritty theme they have totally nailed.

Combined, it's just so fun to watch and build, grow and develop. This unique visual presentation is something I think is perhaps not even achievable in 3D space.

[LordMortis]

That $35 plus tax is pretty close to leaving my pocket right now, even as my days are already full and I should be doing more work around the house and I should be, you know, leaving the house and being around people occasionally.

I've never had so little time for video games since quit my job and started pretending I'm retired. With that pressure valve to turn off the world gone, it's hard to find time for games like I did from the way back machine.

But the temptation to drop everything and start Factorio again for the first time since apparently November 2021 is strong. Very strong. Especially when thread is up against my "50 favorites of all time" thread.



There is nothing quite like digging your first resources in this game, signifying the start of the great automation. (and I just spend over $200 on running stuff to prepare for the cold...)

Well, that will power and impulse control lasted a couple of hours.... Gonna be an expensive month.

[jztemple2]

This is interesting... from the Factorio blog:

The Factorio: Space age expansion has changed the game progression and pacing. If you plan to play Space Age, it is recommended to start playing with Space Age directly, even when its your first time, instead of playing the base game and adding Space age later.

[jztemple2]

Also:

Factorio 2.0
But thats not all. Factorio: Space Age will also coincide with the release of Factorio version 2.0 which will be a free upgrade for all users.

Version 2.0 has a wide range of game changes and improvements:

Smarter worker robots - FFF-374
New rails - FFF-377
Remote view - FFF-380
Combinator and circuit network improvements - FFF-384, FFF-405
Train control improvements - FFF-389, FFF-395
New fluid system - FFF-416
Overhauled Nauvis terrain generation - FFF-401
And more each week!

[LordMortis]

Deleted all my old saves... All kinds of new resources in "Space Age Freeplay" "The way Space Age was intended to be played." I'm just reviewing the options while also trying to play on BGA like I was doing before ally'all broke my will.

[Paingod]

I've fired up a new world to make it to Space, whether or not I needed to. My last factory was at a point where I was growing it rail segments at a time and it was auto-building. Whatever was going slow meant just stamping out another segment of production on a rail line and letting my trains figure it out or adding a few more.

It's kind of fun to be back in a place where biters feel dangerous and I'm excited to drive around in the car.

I'm really excited for the rail system adjustments. Elevation will change a lot of how I design those and I'm looking forward to fewer traffic jams.

[LordMortis]

Got a whole game to relearn. I wonder how much has changed. I see not all tech is created from tech potions right off the bat. That's new. I forgot all of the hot keys, so the first biter attack should be fun.

[jztemple2]

Video of "69 New Features & New Mechanics in Factorio 2.0 SPACE AGE", put in spoiler tags just to remind folks that while I think these are all QoL items, some folks might want to find them out for themselves while playing the game.

Spoiler:

[Unagi]

...video drop...

is that 'space' spoiler-ee - or just QoL things that are more 'wish I knew' ?

(looks QoL from the words - but the features maybe speak of some new things I'd rather discover) - I'm being a weenie.

[jztemple2]

...video drop...

is that 'space' spoiler-ee - or just QoL things that are more 'wish I knew' ?

(looks QoL from the words - but the features maybe speak of some new things I'd rather discover) - I'm being a weenie.

Supposedly all quality of life related, although by its very nature one might consider them spoilers. I'll put the video in tags just in case, thanks for pointing this out to me.

Meanwhile, I've gone through the tutorial again and am starting a new game with no enemies or pollution. While I realize they are an essential part of the game at some point, I'd rather be able to enjoy making factories the first time around.

[jztemple2]

Meanwhile, I've gone through the tutorial again and am starting a new game with no enemies or pollution. While I realize they are an essential part of the game at some point, I'd rather be able to enjoy making factories the first time around.

I reconsidered and went with enemies and pollution, but toned down a bit. Also increased resources too.

[Unagi]

Meanwhile, I've gone through the tutorial again and am starting a new game with no enemies or pollution. While I realize they are an essential part of the game at some point, I'd rather be able to enjoy making factories the first time around.

I reconsidered and went with enemies and pollution, but toned down a bit. Also increased resources too.

I've honestly found the enemies to be critical in keeping the game a little interesting in certain dimensions (as you speak to).

But it's a great -feeling- game too, and I wouldn't fault someone who enjoyed only the factory nature of it. (but boy, are they missing out on something) (something they may not miss)