Factorio, highly addictive game(alpha)

[Paingod]

Dangerous fun:

Outfit your tank with Move Enhancers (Mech Legs). The thing moves as fast as the buggy with just a couple installed and it takes forever to stop. It's fun to drive but handles like a whale.

[jztemple2]

Not sure I understand logistics groups.

[Unagi]

Not sure I understand logistics groups.

So, I've renamed the first un-named default group to "General" in the picture above.

So, let's say you have it set up so you always have 100 Copper, and you always have 0 Coal and Ore, etc....

(Fundamentals, I think you know...)
When you use Copper, the Logistic robots come and give you more (provided they see some in their logistic network's inventory).
When you pick up Coal or Ore, etc... robots come and take it away from you - and bring it to a Yellow Storage chest - or some other logistics chest you have configured to take Coal, etc.

If you hit the "Add a Section" - it allows you to actually refine that one group into more granular requests. - and you can simply click one, or all, of them on.

So, if you are improving your 'factory' you can request Belts, Inserters, Assemblers, etc. - - but not have any Railroad Tracks and Signals -- unless you are actually going out to build that nature of your base.

Want to go out and extend and improve your wall? Make a group that is a request for 2k Walls, Turrets, etc.
Want to go make one more huge Solar Array Blue Print (as you can see this example in my screenshot) - you can make a group that has the exact ingredients for that blueprint. Maybe an Oil Field train station out in a remote location has a certain list of things you keep forgetting to bring... etc.

Maybe I want to craft a few things - I 'un-check' the "Clean" request - and the robots stop robbing me of the ingredients I'm trying to use - but I don't have to turn off all the other logistical support.

When you start to make more than just one, you realize how powerful it can be for the rest of the game going forward.
For instance, I don't need that pump jack in my General group - I should however, make an Oil Field group.

[stessier]

I broke down and got Space Age. Stupid forum effect.

With all the players we have, ever think of playing a multiplayer? I've never looked into it, but if it were persistent, it could be cool.

[LordMortis]

I think I'm a bit too casual for MP. I like the relaxing feeling of going slow and planning and then taking in what I've made. I've had the DLC and restarted shortly after release and I'm just now getting to blue science and going to start on a Bus. I also seem to be relearning the game from the ground up and for $35, I'm OK with that.

[Unagi]

I also seem to be relearning the game from the ground up

I really am too. I've not yet gotten to space - and I'm just now getting trains / uranium started up.

[Unagi]

With all the players we have, ever think of playing a multiplayer?

I did think about that too, I think my problem is that my play is so perforated, I wouldn't know how to play "live" for a long stretch of time without mental break, etc.

I also don't know how it really works. Is it supposed to be a 'shared base' - or more of a shared world. I suppose it would be like multiplayer minecraft - and that it would be up to everyone, etc...

[Unagi]

I broke down and got Space Age. Stupid forum effect.

Be sure to start a new game, the way everything unlocks is re-done.

[Unagi]

I've been wading into more circuits and logistics with this run and had some notes to share. I keep bumping into things that are solutions to things I didn't really consider until I saw it and then was like "Well, DUH"

I don't recall how it was done, but I seem to recall making a RR crossing, where the Gates would close on the track, if the Gates I used to cross the track had just opened.

[Blackhawk]

I was given a copy of this and the expansion. I'll be starting in a few days. Is it a good idea to disable the DLC for my first game?

[Isgrimnur]

I've been wading into more circuits and logistics with this run and had some notes to share. I keep bumping into things that are solutions to things I didn't really consider until I saw it and then was like "Well, DUH"

I don't recall how it was done, but I seem to recall making a RR crossing, where the Gates would close on the track, if the Gates I used to cross the track had just opened.

This is demonstrated in one of the Start screen animations.

[Isgrimnur]

I was given a copy of this and the expansion. I'll be starting in a few days. Is it a good idea to disable the DLC for my first game?

I'd say leave it on, as you'd have to do, effectively, the base game twice to get to the majority of the DLC content.

[jztemple2]

I was given a copy of this and the expansion. I'll be starting in a few days. Is it a good idea to disable the DLC for my first game?

I'd say leave it on, as you'd have to do, effectively, the base game twice to get to the majority of the DLC content.

Yup, play with Space Age installed. You'll be able to take advantage of the Space Age components well before you would reach the end game on your starting planet.

Meanwhile, as usual with any factory game I do, the map is a hot mess . I was looking at creating logistic groups but I've got so much stuff going on I'd have to tear down a whole lot and so far the way I'm doing it is working, if not very efficiently. If I ever start a new playthrough I'll look at more tutorial videos on YT and do a lot more planning. Meanwhile, it's off to space!

[The Meal]

The game is colloquially called re-Factorio for a reason. Tear it down and build it better (but maybe not in that order)!

Unagi’s comments on multiplayer seem pretty on point. If folks have a whole base concept and specific duties and roles multi could work (though that sounds too much like a job for me), but the impression I have for open-mp servers is that there’s either a whole lot of conflict as various people have different ways of doing things, or it’s a big exercise in blueprint plopping and everyone else exists to be the paint-by-number artists.

Blackhawk, coming in totally new (but not new to the genre, after you have some Satisfactory experience), I’d say either answer is valid. The process for how one plays Factorio is the same in either case, but Space Age adds a lot more additional new-things-to-be-figured-out. The parts of a Space Age play through which aren’t yet new (so the base vanilla-game parts) don’t have a 1-to-1 correspondence for how they were done in the vanilla game, so web advice which had built up over eleven years is not all exactly valid (with the always-implied giant caveat that THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO HAVE A SINGLEPLAYER EXPERIENCE) but I think the game part of Factorio is your personal figuring-out-how-to-do-things (save the web walk-throughs for the next time through if/when you seek help to better optimize things). General web advice (for example, your options with how do deal with biters and spitters) would still apply in either Space Age or vanilla. If you’re looking for a game completion and then moving on to your next backlog game, play Factorio vanilla. If you’re after a months-long obsession, then Space Age is where it’s at. I’m not the guy who would lament building your base “twice” if you did two separate runs, as I’ve always been able to find ways to enjoy each iteration of a new base. YMMV.

[Unagi]

I was looking at creating logistic groups but I've got so much stuff going on I'd have to tear down a whole lot and so far the way I'm doing it is working,

JZ, this sentence doesn't really make much sense to me, so I'm compelled to follow up. Logistic groups (being just a function of the game) don't require you to tear anything down in order to make use of them.
I'm not sure what you are saying.

[jztemple2]

I was looking at creating logistic groups but I've got so much stuff going on I'd have to tear down a whole lot and so far the way I'm doing it is working,

JZ, this sentence doesn't really make much sense to me, so I'm compelled to follow up. Logistic groups (being just a function of the game) don't require you to tear anything down in order to make use of them.
I'm not sure what you are saying.

I guess I meant "tear down" in the sense that I'd have to figure out how and where logistic groups would benefit me then decide if my chests and such are in the best location. Even if there isn't a lot of actual "tearing down" it would be putting in some amount of work to figure out a plan and implement it. And right now I'm banging out science and building my second space platform which will eventually be sent to another planet. So I'm still progressing, but with things being a hot mess

[Unagi]

Got it. Have fun!!

[jztemple2]

I've been mentioning how my main base is a hot mess , so I thought I'd post a video showing it.

[Blackhawk]

Thanks for the tips. Are there any go-to references/sites/guides/content producers to be aware of?

[LordMortis]

If you just want efficiency from like 8 years ago, Nautilus was a watch. I think I'd start with your own discovery first. The satisfaction of just getting it on your own in this game and then seeing the fruits of your "ah ha!" moments is most of the joy of the game. Also Space Age changed a bit, I think. I'm not sure about current reference points.

Up thread was this though for some helpers in the math/what's going on department.

https://factoriocheatsheet.com

https://kirkmcdonald.github.io/calc.html#data=2-0-10

[coopasonic]

Thanks for the tips. Are there any go-to references/sites/guides/content producers to be aware of?

Katherine of Sky is probably the best known that I am aware of.

[Blackhawk]

I take it that older tutorials are now largely wrong.

[LordMortis]

Not so much largely wrong as if they might be oddly misleading. From my play through blue science the games is very similar. The biggest notable difference so far was a fairly complex energy production to make steam has been reduced to a simple 2:1 ratio. And water pressure from the pumps so far, is a non entity. It used to be something you had to be keenly aware of.

Also, as coop was kind enough to provide links, I found links and it's a good thing I did the poster is Nilaus.



But again, even if his information is still accurate, I recommend discovery and then coming to learn what you're missing or efficiencies.

[jztemple2]

Well, this ticked me off. I had cleared a creature nest and walled the area off, but some more creatures spawned there! Is this normal or did I miss some way they could sneak through my wall and spawn there?

[LordMortis]

Well, this ticked me off. I had cleared a creature nest and walled the area off, but some more creatures spawned there! Is this normal or did I miss some way they could sneak through my wall and spawn there?

That never used to be the case but they do move in to spots you may have scanned and then are not actively scanning. You then never notice them until you walk over the land scanned and then forgotten land. A grid of scanners along your walls becomes necessary if you are counting on walls to insulate you.

[Unagi]

Niulus and KoS are my two go-to's for this, for sure.

Some of the older stuff is wrong, but a lot of it holds up still. - - or still helps point you in the right direction.

Some recipe changes, clearly change some ratios, solutions, etc.

[Unagi]

Well, this ticked me off. I had cleared a creature nest and walled the area off, but some more creatures spawned there! Is this normal or did I miss some way they could sneak through my wall and spawn there?

It shouldn't happen - unless you missed on that was deep in the woods, and you didn't really clear them all - and they laid a nest ?

[Unagi]

I take it that older tutorials are now largely wrong.

I'd say they are mostly okay still.

[Unagi]

I've been mentioning how my main base is a hot mess , so I thought I'd post a video showing it.

Oh my. I'm amazed you have a space-program inside all of that. I'm not yet ready for that.

[jztemple2]

Well, this ticked me off. I had cleared a creature nest and walled the area off, but some more creatures spawned there! Is this normal or did I miss some way they could sneak through my wall and spawn there?

That never used to be the case but they do move in to spots you may have scanned and then are not actively scanning. You then never notice them until you walk over the land scanned and then forgotten land. A grid of scanners along your walls becomes necessary if you are counting on walls to insulate you.

Thanks, that's good to know, I've been lazy when it comes to scanners. Also, they are freaking multiplying everywhere . I remember this in my last full game, I eventually got overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, I sent my new, second space platform to another planet... turns out things are a lot more complicated in space when it comes to going to another planet . I eventually had to deleted the remnants of the platform as I, well, I won't spoil it for now. Anyway it turns out that I have a lot more problems to deal with on Nauvis and I'm almost to the point of starting a new playthrough as I have made such a hot mess of my layout that I can't find anything.

[jztemple2]

I've been mentioning how my main base is a hot mess , so I thought I'd post a video showing it.

Oh my. I'm amazed you have a space-program inside all of that. I'm not yet ready for that.

I told you . If you go to the Satisfactory thread you can see pics and a video of my first base there. I think I actually caused Coop to be physically ill at how messy the whole thing was

Well, this ticked me off. I had cleared a creature nest and walled the area off, but some more creatures spawned there! Is this normal or did I miss some way they could sneak through my wall and spawn there?

It shouldn't happen - unless you missed on that was deep in the woods, and you didn't really clear them all - and they laid a nest ?

I found the problem, they had destroyed one wall section in the middle of nowhere. Oddly I think they settled where I had wiped out the old colony. So now I'll start laying out more radars and laser turrets, my go-to defensive weapon.

Is it even possible to completely clear the map of the creatures? Or are they something that will have to be always dealt with?

[Blackhawk]

I told you . If you go to the Satisfactory thread you can see pics and a video of my first base there. I think I actually caused Coop to be physically ill at how messy the whole thing was

He wasn't the only one!

[LordMortis]

Is it even possible to completely clear the map of the creatures? Or are they something that will have to be always dealt with?

I don't know that I've ever played with a map edge,so for me they were always there to be dealt with. If there is a map edge then technically you can kill them all. They don't spawn from nothing.

[coopasonic]

Is it even possible to completely clear the map of the creatures? Or are they something that will have to be always dealt with?

If you start a new game you can set the starting distance to biters to be pretty huge and set it so they don't evolve or spread. Changing those things doesn't say it will impact achievements, if you care about that. It does feel a bit like cheating, but I am more interested in dealing with the complexities of the factory than with biters. I've played through the base game with normal biter settings so I feel like I don't need to do that again and in that game I had my sone come in and handle security for me so I didn't have to. That's where multiplayer is good in my mind. Same thing we did in Satisfactory. I managed the factory and he handled the exploration.

[stessier]

I've been mentioning how my main base is a hot mess , so I thought I'd post a video showing it.

Oh my. I'm amazed you have a space-program inside all of that. I'm not yet ready for that.

I told you . If you go to the Satisfactory thread you can see pics and a video of my first base there. I think I actually caused Coop to be physically ill at how messy the whole thing was

Well, this ticked me off. I had cleared a creature nest and walled the area off, but some more creatures spawned there! Is this normal or did I miss some way they could sneak through my wall and spawn there?

It shouldn't happen - unless you missed on that was deep in the woods, and you didn't really clear them all - and they laid a nest ?

I found the problem, they had destroyed one wall section in the middle of nowhere. Oddly I think they settled where I had wiped out the old colony. So now I'll start laying out more radars and laser turrets, my go-to defensive weapon.

Is it even possible to completely clear the map of the creatures? Or are they something that will have to be always dealt with?

The edge of the map is one million tiles in all directions from where the ship crashed. So yes, you could clear the map. Realistically, you won't and Biters will always be a problem as long as your pollution extends past your walls....

[The Meal]

I've been mentioning how my main base is a hot mess , so I thought I'd post a video showing it.

A base without a bus. That's a thing of beauty (and what my first base looked like, way back when). Embrace it! (Also, encourage folks to watch these things using the YouTube link rather than from the embedded viewer on OO, as embedding has too much loss of fidelity to make links useful.)

[Blackhawk]

Embedded YT videos default to low quality, but you can increase the resolution of the video here just like on YT itself.

[The Meal]

Thanks for the tips. Are there any go-to references/sites/guides/content producers to be aware of?

If you just want efficiency from like 8 years ago, Nautilus was a watch.

He was super annoying. You'd just plop down blueprints and go from there.

I think I'd start with your own discovery first.

Definitely.

https://factoriocheatsheet.com

https://kirkmcdonald.github.io/calc.html#data=2-0-10

Great advice for someone's second (or third...) must-optimize run. It's a horrible turn-off for folks just discovering the game, as it could give the impression they're "doing it wrong."

Katherine of Sky is probably the best known that I am aware of.

Echo KoS as someone who could help you discover the game. Double-echo the person to say to keep discovery to non-YouTubeing until you find yourself brick-walled.

Also, as coop was kind enough to provide links, I found links and it's a good thing I did the poster is Nilaus.



But again, even if his information is still accurate, I recommend discovery and then coming to learn what you're missing or efficiencies.

I really hate Nilaus as a presentation to a newbie. Again, I'm the person who most recently stated that it's impossible to play a single-player game "wrong," but Nilaus' style is the absolute antithesis of someone learning the game, but instead it's an attempt at turning the base game into something else entirely (a game out of a blueprint book). It's interesting to folks who've already played the game at the nuts-and-bolts level, but it's pretty irrelevant to someone trying to learn the mechanics of the game or just figure out the general process of things (as getting led through the tech tree so aptly does).

[The Meal]

Well, this ticked me off. I had cleared a creature nest and walled the area off, but some more creatures spawned there! Is this normal or did I miss some way they could sneak through my wall and spawn there?

Hives can respawn up to 7 "chunks" (32x32 tile squares) away, even without absorbing pollution. An area of only worms cannot generate a respawn. Respawns, by default, happen every 4 minutes.

[The Meal]

Is it even possible to completely clear the map of the creatures? Or are they something that will have to be always dealt with?

I don't know that I've ever played with a map edge,so for me they were always there to be dealt with. If there is a map edge then technically you can kill them all. They don't spawn from nothing.

Michael Hendricks has an awesome playthrough where he does manage to kill all hives without generating new terrain for them to migrate to, but that's a challenge run and absolutely so far removed from how the game is typically played that it's closer to the truth to say that you can't eliminate all natives.