Factorio

Yeah nanobots can be enabled any time you'll just need to catch up on the research

robc wrote:

...
I’ve got two radars going and it looks like they are uncovering more map. I’m guessing an oil deposit will be revealed at some point.

Holy crap I had no idea how huge the world is!

Unless they've changed it, radars will only uncover a certain "radius" (actually a square) so you have to either move them around to expose more of the map, or build more to let the original ones do periodic updates of chunks as critters move in. I just move them as needed.

As for oil, my first play through I had no idea what oil looked like on the map. I didn't realize they are small pink squares on the map that I had overlooked. Wasn't sure if you knew but passing along just in case.

When you start down the path of oil, I also recommend KatherineOfSky's YT series on setting up oil. (Well, pretty much any kind of tutorial, I would start withe KOS). Although, there was another guy who did a really good explanation of how train signals, but can't remember his name right now.

Whoo-hooo, I developed my oil field, built a train, got the crude oil to my main area and started processing it into petroleum gas. It took me a while. I needed to clear a couple enemy nests and needed some extra firepower so I crafted some bots to help me fight, along with some grenades.

I'm probably not producing stuff fast enough to be efficient, but it's a start. I need to get blue science beakers going.

In the betas, getting oil production going was a huge big deal; you got three kinds of oil out of a refinery, and you had to know what to do with all three types, and build all three supply chains before any of them worked. You needed a lot of piping to do this, and if you hadn't been storing the stuff up, it was going to be very slow to construct. It could easily take four hours or more to build a basic oil industry, with what felt like zero forward progress the whole time. That hill was so steep that it killed all interest in the game for many people. That was a shame, because the game after oil starts to get really interesting.

The new, single-output approach is much better. Then you can upgrade to Advanced Oil Processing when you're ready, and diversify your oil industry with the much larger amounts of materials you can bring to bear by then. You might even be able to get construction robots up to help with that, although I don't remember for sure.

You're getting close to the point of running into your first real scaling problems. IMO, this is where the game starts to really take off and fly. (or crash and burn dismally, depending on how you handle things. )

Note that I am carefully not giving you hints about what those scaling problems are likely to be.

Malor wrote:

In the betas, getting oil production going was a huge big deal; you got three kinds of oil out of a refinery, and you had to know what to do with all three types, and build all three supply chains before any of them worked. You needed a lot of piping to do this, and if you hadn't been storing the stuff up, it was going to be very slow to construct. It could easily take four hours or more to build a basic oil industry, with what felt like zero forward progress the whole time. That hill was so steep that it killed all interest in the game for many people. That was a shame, because the game after oil starts to get really interesting.

The new, single-output approach is much better.

Thanks for mentioning this.

I fizzled out on two separate runs once I got to oil, with the intent of returning of course, but I never did.

I'm glad to hear the curve is more gentle now and I'm looking forward to starting a fresh run in 1.0 soon.

I think I may have met my match. I'm up to setting up production for the purple science packs.Too many different materials that need to be transported to too many places. I have no regrets playing it as I really enjoyed it up to this point.

I think there are places I really should have spaced things out more, leaving a buffer around each type of thing produced so it could more easily be transported in different directions. Logistics robots look like they could help with that, but I would need to solve this problem first and possibly others before I could make them.

I kinda feel a little bad for quitting, but I've got to remember that when the fun is wearing out it's time to stop. I have played it quite a bit in the last week or so. I definitely recommend people try it if they like logistic-type games.

robc wrote:

...I kinda feel a little bad for quitting, but I've got to remember that when the fun is wearing out it's time to stop. I have played it quite a bit in the last week or so. I definitely recommend people try it if they like logistic-type games.

I know for me, this is a game I come back to after months away and start anew still armed with what I learned from my previous runs and a few tips from YT videos. Factorio will always be sitting in your library when you get the logistics itch! (Logistics Itch is also the name of my Men at Work cover band.)

Ted wrote:
Malor wrote:

In the betas, getting oil production going was a huge big deal; you got three kinds of oil out of a refinery, and you had to know what to do with all three types, and build all three supply chains before any of them worked. You needed a lot of piping to do this, and if you hadn't been storing the stuff up, it was going to be very slow to construct. It could easily take four hours or more to build a basic oil industry, with what felt like zero forward progress the whole time. That hill was so steep that it killed all interest in the game for many people. That was a shame, because the game after oil starts to get really interesting.

The new, single-output approach is much better.

Thanks for mentioning this.

I fizzled out on two separate runs once I got to oil, with the intent of returning of course, but I never did.

I'm glad to hear the curve is more gentle now and I'm looking forward to starting a fresh run in 1.0 soon.

Fantastic to know, Malor! I was with Ted on this one. I did the whole oil thing once or twice. Definitely would start runs later on and then just stop when I had to deal with the oil setup. It just became more like work when I didn't need all of the various oils. So glad to know they updated that!

I just started a new run last night (saw RobC and tboon playing—they inspired me). I was curious what they did with 1.0. I really like the revisions to the UI look/feel as well as the revised artwork and animations. Haven't made it to oil yet, but hearing this from Malor is just the cherry on top!

This may seem counter-intuitive, and even demoralizing, but if you find yourself stalling out due to the difficulty and complexity of continuing to expand your factory, it can be quite refreshing to just start over completely.

When I was first starting out with the game, I started new factories all the time. I made it my goal to learn and try something new each time. Should I make a bus? How should I arrange it? How should I arrange my smelting? My circuit production? My science production and labs? Each time, I'd get a better sense of what an efficient design might look like, and starting fresh means you know what you need to plan ahead for.

One thing you learn is that you can blow through the early game faster than you might think, if you have a clear sense of what it takes to move out of the early game. Starting over repeatedly means you get more skilled at starting over; and the important thing becomes less this particular factory that you have made, but rather the knowledge of how to make a factory.

This also enhances the importance of blueprints, as you design particular segments of your factory and want to carry over those designs to the next one (and probably improve them).

I don't think I have much valuable to add to the conversation, but I wanted to drop by and say I've gotten back into Factorio in a big way. No other game keeps me glued to my seat like this...3 hours go by and it feels like 20 minutes. It's dangerous.

After an initial hurdle starting up (and a few restarts) I finally settled into a game. I've gotten past my previous roadblock (fluids), and even started on train schedules!

For a while I was getting overwhelmed with how messy my factory was getting, but I've since thrown all my cares out the window and am just indulging in the chaos of it all. It's messy, and that's the point!

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Enq15yaUYAAK3nq?format=jpg&name=large)

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Enq2jEVUUAAWG-H?format=jpg&name=large)

That might look like a disaster to the vets here, but it's my disaster and I'm proud of it. Currently automating (slowly) yellow science and excited to try out these logistics bots. Wee!

Nice pasta A_Unicycle! Thanks for sharing! Don't worry about the "mess", so long as it works for you and you can keep track of everything, that's all that matters.

I am still a little burnt out, but have been getting the urge to start a new map, so I started a Krastorio 2 map that I poke at every so often. It offers variety on the standard factory building process while keeping the engaging progression loop such that I am "poking at" it more than I thought I would.

It's beautiful Unicycle! Remember every base is just a temporary base used to build the next better base!

Some people play Factorio, and then some people make Factorio play Factorio.

New KoS series for the Switch for anyone curious.

IMAGE(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1985555544823504162/EB8496697E4D5211064CE4AF82F1ED908B0E6B60/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false)

I have made it to bots for the second time, but no trains, yet. The northern complex is my bus and mall, with an old wall that I have broken through. Oil field and processing is off to the east, big coal mine in the south, and various smelters and steam electricity to the west. I need to blow up all the cliffs in the middle, upgrade smelters and belts, and clean up the lines a little. Then I should probably work on train lines and ore drop offs before expanding production for yellow and purple science. Last time I got this far I started running low on iron ore in my first patch and getting rail going with no iron was so frustrating I quit that save and played other games for a bit. This time I plan to be better prepared, and can use bots to lay down the track.

Just bought this and have been diving in deep. Trying my best to not "spoil" myself on the most optimal layouts and am doing on my own pencil-and-paper style.

Math wrote:

Just bought this and have been diving in deep. Trying my best to not "spoil" myself on the most optimal layouts and am doing on my own pencil-and-paper style.

That's the best way to do it. Once you get a layout that you are happy with, make sure you make a blueprint of it. You can export blueprints to bring into a new game if you want as well.

Later on, you can go look at "optimal" layouts if you want. Doing it yourself first, though, is a lot of the fun. And, if you do look at what others have done, you can appreciate them more.

Good luck and happy hunting! The factory must grow!

Yay! Welcome to cracktorio. Set an alarm for 3am to remind yourself to go to bed. Feel free to ask questions and we'll try to be as spoiler free as possible.

I was able to get back to my game last night and knocked a few things off the todo list. My bots are now bringing me stuff and hauling away my junk which is very nice. I fixed some circuit logic, and I started my base train station for offloading material and will probably start the next science soon.

I've got a setup I'm pretty happy with currently.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfil...

There's probably a name for this style, right?

Math wrote:

I've got a setup I'm pretty happy with currently.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfil...

There's probably a name for this style, right?

You're doing great. One quick interface tip: hit the Alt key to see icons showing recipes in assemblers and items stored in chests, it's super helpful. I almost forgot what the game looked like with it turned off.

It might be called early game spaghetti, but remember that the job of every base is to build the next one and grow from there! There are almost never any penalties for picking something up and moving it, so you can always re-org later.

An oldie, but a goodie.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/FxRUB2A.png)

So a couple of things I've been wondering.

1. What effects the bugs' hostility? So far I was attacked by a small hive but, after I cleared it, haven't been harassed since. I've not really been building turrets as a result...
2. I've pretty much been concentrating always on setting up the next science pack production and increasing the output of my current science. Is there something else I should be doing?

Math wrote:

1. What effects the bugs' hostility? So far I was attacked by a small hive but, after I cleared it, haven't been harassed since. I've not really been building turrets as a result...

Generally speaking, bug attacks are triggered by pollution. You can reduce pollution by resorting to cleaner sources of energy like solar or nuclear.

There's a global "evolution" variable that is always growing, never decreasing. It determines the size of the bugs you get as well as the spawn rate. The "evolution" stat increases slowly over time, and also slowly due to pollution. Killing an spawner gives a big boost to the value.

If dealing with the bugs becomes too overwhelming, you can set the game into a peaceful mode, where they don't attack. Or you can remove them altogether. You probably need to start the game over to do either.

Math wrote:

2. I've pretty much been concentrating always on setting up the next science pack production and increasing the output of my current science. Is there something else I should be doing?

You've got the right idea. As it becomes increasingly more difficult to scale up your factory, you'll get more tools to help!

Math wrote:

1. What effects the bugs' hostility? So far I was attacked by a small hive but, after I cleared it, haven't been harassed since. I've not really been building turrets as a result...
2. I've pretty much been concentrating always on setting up the next science pack production and increasing the output of my current science. Is there something else I should be doing?

1. Most buildings create pollution, and if that pollution reaches hives they'll eventually send out bugs to find its source. Pollution doesn't show on the main screen, but there's a toggle below the mini-map to show it. Eschewing spoilers, suffice to say it's something you'll need to pay more attention to later.

2. Nope, keep on as you're doing. As you get further in you'll find that the ingredients for later science packs are items that you'll be wanting in large quantities anyway - e.g. around the time when you may want to build trains, there's a science pack that requires train tracks. So the further in you get, the goals of "build the next pack" and "expand the factory" will reinforce one another.

(To set expectations though - the game has no goals other than "build more stuff" and "protect yourself from bugs". When I first played it I'd seen a trailer that said something like "Once you launch a rocket, that's when the game really begins!" and I was extremely disappointed to later find out that, no, that's literally the end of the game's content )

Aside: I maintain that the reason Factorio is the greatest game of its genre is due to how the huge majority of the items you build have important gameplay uses in addition to being recipe ingredients. I've never managed to get deep into Satisfactory, Dyson Sphere, etc. because the mid-game just feels like "build more Flux Widgets so that you can unlock Widget Fluxers". Meh.

fenomas wrote:

Aside: I maintain that the reason Factorio is the greatest game of its genre is due to how the huge majority of the items you build have important gameplay uses in addition to being recipe ingredients. I've never managed to get deep into Satisfactory, Dyson Sphere, etc. because the mid-game just feels like "build more Flux Widgets so that you can unlock Widget Fluxers". Meh.

100% agree. There are very few strictly intermediate products, and the ones that are generally make sense and are used in a variety of other recipes.

I usually play on the Railworld setting where biters can never expand and make new nests. That way once you clear an area it stays clear until your pollution expands even more.

fenomas wrote:

1. Most buildings create pollution, and if that pollution reaches hives they'll eventually send out bugs to find its source. Pollution doesn't show on the main screen, but there's a toggle below the mini-map to show it. Eschewing spoilers, suffice to say it's something you'll need to pay more attention to later.

Aha! That filter on the mini-map is perfect. Looks like I'm very close to triggering several hives. Will need to beef up my defenses before too long.

I'm currently trying to increase my "blue" science output. I've got one rail-line which imports crude oil from distant oilfields to my main base. My copper/iron ore deposits aren't too big though, so I expect I'll need to create more extensive rail networks in the mid-term future.

Another update on my progress.

  • I've pretty much exhausted the red/green/grey/blue techs and have started making (slow) progress through purple.
  • I've made rail-lines importing oil, iron ore, and uranium from distant deposits. Currently building additional lines for Copper and Stone. Figuring out railway switches has been tough.
  • My major goal is to research the process which converts U238 into U235 and then replace all my coal-powered power plants with nuclear.
  • I've walled and turret-ed my main base and all mining outposts, though attacks have been infrequent. Probably because I drive my tank out and eradicate nearby infestations when I spot them.

Couple questions for veterans:

  • Will the bugs beeline the nearest pollution source?
  • Related: will bugs attack railroads or power lines?
  • There's no way to 'recycle' items back into ingredients, is there?

Sounds like great progress! Railway switches are hard to grok and I still make mistakes sometimes with complicated junctions.

Math wrote:

Couple questions for veterans:

  • Will the bugs beeline the nearest pollution source?
  • Related: will bugs attack railroads or power lines?
  • There's no way to 'recycle' items back into ingredients, is there?

Biters will always try to get to the nearest pollution source from their nest but their path may not be a perfectly straight line, but will be from the same general direction. They may follow a slightly curved path. It depends on terrain, distance, and I think some RNG - very close nests will take a shortest path, nests further out may deviate some. But they are not smart enough to arc around and attack on a flank. I hope this makes sense.

They will only attack these if they are in their path but they won't go put of their way to eat these.

There is not in vanilla. I think there is a mod, probably several, that do this.

I have the itch again but life's way too busy right now to take on the full Factorio experience.

I found a nice compromise that ended up being really fun and breezy for me.

1. Install the "Factorio Simplified" mod and tweak the settings to taste.

2. Start a new map with no biters and rich resources.

3. Relax.

4. Fail to go to bed on time.

I launched a rocket in 12 hours and had a great time doing it.

Factorio Simplified wrote:

Factorio Simplified is designed to let new or young players try the beauty of Factorio without overwhelming them too much.

Recipes are easier, high level items are cheaper, technologies require fewer flasks, a lot of intermediate items are removed.

Mod Settings allows you to modify how many intermediate items you want to keep, how cheap recipes should become, as well as the maximum number of allowed ingredients for a given recipe. Hopefully this gives you enough control over the game's difficult and complexity that anyone can play, without actually removing any of the game's core systems or denying access to any content.