Factorio - building your own Foxconn

Wossack

like a smack addict Im back at this pretty much full time

for all my playing of it way back when, I dont think I ever got so far as launching a rocket, or proper logistics network, so having a great time at it at the mo

used to mainly focus on circular loops of belts to feed labs/assemblers etc, but have started to work out ratios of components, which makes things a lot easier, as you can just run straight belts

ShadowHearth

It is damn addictive, I pretty much abandoned all my other games. I play it for hours, then just realise I have so much **** to do and take a break, but after little bit of time I just want to jump back in and fix it!

I wish more people would discover it.

Battleflag

I have 109 hrs done in the game, only launched one rocket. Reading this thread gives me the itch but I'm just gonna wait until the next update comes out and sink my teeth into it again.

cruizer101

I'm busy at the moment but have experienced what you are talking about, day spent playing factorio, night spent dreaming factorio. so easy to say I'l just fix this little bit over here and only realise a few hours have passed when you start to get hungry or that.

Regarding Bobs and Angles bus, I watched a bit of a playthrough (didn't get too far as want to experience for myself) and I think you are best to build bus and all production on only one side so you can keep expanding out the other side, they weren't far at all but got up to near 30 lanes.

ShadowHearth

cruizer101 wrote: »

I'm busy at the moment but have experienced what you are talking about, day spent playing factorio, night spent dreaming factorio. so easy to say I'l just fix this little bit over here and only realise a few hours have passed when you start to get hungry or that.

Regarding Bobs and Angles bus, I watched a bit of a playthrough (didn't get too far as want to experience for myself) and I think you are best to build bus and all production on only one side so you can keep expanding out the other side, they weren't far at all but got up to near 30 lanes.

Yup, factorio tetris curse is real. Its refreshing to play game like this. As I said before, it makes your brain work overtime, you cant just mindlessly do things. It took me good half an hour just to set up my second tier boards on bobs and angels, even if I had all main components on the bus. A lot of time in factorio is just looking at the screen and theory crafting, then placing it, then removing it as you realised your **** up, then place it again and then hope it works, but very fast you realise that you skipped on calculations and you need more x to match y recourse so you can have constant z production.

Yeah, you right, I had at the beggining of my bus science production on one side, but with a bit of space for future belts, but the way its going, I will need way more. My smelting is complete spaghetti though. Thing is its my first time bobs and angels, so I am more learning how things work. I might even after good 20h just scrap it and start again, but I will have my experience and will know the concepts of mod pack.

On the sadder news: 0.15 won't be here any time soon. I bet its a good month or more according to their blog. Well, it means more time with bobs and angels.

ShooterSF

I launched my first rocket! Lazy bastard achieved too. Actually felt like later on it really helped that I had factories to make everything once robots arrived. Filled out the tech tree and thanks to a carefully balanced 95% solar base I never used laser turrets either so got an achievement I wasn't expecting. Walking through biter bases with a 100 destroyer capsules is good fun My base was definitely creaking towards the finish line though and I might have to try out these mods next.

ShadowHearth

ShooterSF wrote: »

I launched my first rocket! Lazy bastard achieved too. Actually felt like later on it really helped that I had factories to make everything once robots arrived. Filled out the tech tree and thanks to a carefully balanced 95% solar base I never used laser turrets either so got an achievement I wasn't expecting. Walking through biter bases with a 100 destroyer capsules is good fun My base was definitely creaking towards the finish line though and I might have to try out these mods next.

Gratz m8. Good achievement too. I will be hunting it on 1.15 version.

As I said before I am not hunting for rocket launch and for me launching it was not the goal. Its easy to do to be honest. I love more of a challenge of building something massive and impresive.
I launched only one rocket and I am on 100h now. It is sandbox after all.

If you want more complexity, then try bobs and angels mod pack by arumba I think. Its great. Though it will be a lot more fun if you will watch youtube in it as less as possible. Figuring out things is a lot more fun. At least that what I found.
In fact I scrapped my first factory in modded factorio and using everything I learned so far. I wasnt even that far in. I bet I will scrap this ont too when I learn more.

ShooterSF

Oh I was mad to start a new factory. Still haven't got a proper grip on train signals. Brain just refuses to understand them. I downloaded his mod pack. I'm scared just watching his first vid. Think I'll try it next this factory will prob get be to .15 haha.

ShadowHearth

ShooterSF wrote: »

Oh I was mad to start a new factory. Still haven't got a proper grip on train signals. Brain just refuses to understand them. I downloaded his mod pack. I'm scared just watching his first vid. Think I'll try it next this factory will prob get be to .15 haha.

Just go for it. This is one of these rare games, where I just love restarting and doing everything again. Each time its different solution depending on your spawn, your location, your trained up brain. When you think you got nice optimised setup already, you always find its limits and look for new approach to issue.
Like I said, if you want turn it to 11 and I mean 111, then go for bobs and angels. I am in 10h in in my current factory and finally started main bus, but I dont even have proper steel production!!! In fact I got issue with iron! I am going to be processing 3 different ores to get iron out of them!

Rails were very scary for me, but I did very basic one rail, 2 way, 2 station route myself without tutorials. When you start playing around with it is not that complicated.

Problem is a lot of youtube tutorials are very long and make it more complicated then it is. If you want ill give you a very short round up how to make it easier for yourself.

First, skip on 2 way one rail setups. They are dead ends and you will find very early that they are very hard to fix and to integrate them in to network when your factory expands.
Look at your train route as a massive circle going one way. Like a track. If you need a stop, do a little split out, then train stop and then make it go in back to main route. Trust me on this. Learn to do it now.
If for now you want only one train going from, lets say, oil base, to main base, then still do a circle and make in one way. Just make roundabouts in each ends.
I usually have 2 trains facing same way and 3 carriages.
Place train stops on the right. Its easy to see as when you placing them they will show outline of where train is facing. As I said, make sure they all going one direction only!
To make automatic train you need to give condition when train leaves station. For example you set train to leave when its full, then it will go to next station on the roaster. You can put condition of leaving in next train station like "leave when empty". In some cases its handier to make timed, like leave after waiting 120 seconds.
Keep in mind you can rename stations and I highly advice to do it.
You wont need stops until you get mlre then one train on your train route. The reason I said you go for proper loop is because you will want to add more trains and you cant do it on just simple one non loop route.
Normal signals were very scary and confusing for me and in a way they still are when I get more complicated layouts, but there is a simple way of looking at them. At least thats how I made it in my mind.
Signal is like a divider. If you put two ( you cant have just one signal in your loop track, it will be in conflicted state and it wont work ) signals in your loop route, it will devide the whole route in to two sections. Basically if there is a train on one side it will be lock down for any other train to enter that whole section until first train will leave.
So if you got 2 signals, you can devide your whole route in to smaller sections by adding randomly more signals. It will mean any amount of trains will move a lot freely. As sections are small.
With dedicates proper trains stops ( rail spliting out from main route ) I just slap 3 signals on a split. One for each track. Its a bit overkill, but I am sure then that another train wont just ram in to another train which is unloading ore.

I am not great with explaining, but I hope it will make more sence when you watch tutorial videos after reading it.

ShadowHearth

Oh God, what did I got myself into with that mod... I am struggling would be said very mildly.
I am running out of ore, shortage of iron is not even funny. I am working all the tome trying to sort something out and my technological progress is pretty much in stone age!

I built radars on one sode of the base so I could try and find particular ore that is great for iron. Good news is I found a massive deposit. Bad news is its in the middle of massive cluster of alliens! I threw all my respurces to produse armor piercing bullets so I can do turret push little by little.
I got really far in to cluster and have path walled off. Already managed to claim half of the deposit, but will need a lot more purging to secure it fully. I will need to make screenshot of it. It looks like a massive penis extenction out of my base. I have no idea how will I secure all that territory, but I am desparate.

Its really damn hard and my defences constantly tested. I guess its my own fault as I spread so much to make sure I got enough space for everything in the future, but it is bitting me in the arse now. I know for sure that when I will secure that deposit of ore and make second train to transport it all, it will be so much easier for me.

Its a shame I am working tomorrow. I cant wait to get back and continue!

ShadowHearth

I havent played for 3 dyas now due to work and I am going cold turkey. Every night I go to sleep I am already planing my to do list when I am finally off tuesday!

Still on bobs and angels and I am trying to cowboy in 3rd circuit boards, which are a pure nighmare and I have no clue how can you put all that on a bus! I even got a hand drawn map of how to make them and it looks complicated already and its even way more complocated when you trying to implement it due to all byproducts!!!

I need tp get that gaming laptop, so I can play (inject to vain ) some factorio after work in bed, while misses a sleep. My sleep over rated anyway!

Canis Lupus

I'm already over this game. I think unfortunately because I never had enemies set to attack me. I've built everything apart from launching a rocket so I restarted the game with the baddies turned on but I'm like.... I can't be ****ed with this any more, running about for 1 piece of coal here and there to load into a miner etcetc. Great whilst it lasted but yeah...

the_syco

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

I got this game while it was still in alpha almost three years ago now, once you get the hang of it and you understand it it's very easy too get lost in it . I've haven't played it in a while now but when everything works out its a very rewarding game.

OOOOOOOOoooooooooooo. Sounds good. Looking for something that I can sink time into, that is not Minecrack.

ShadowHearth

Canis Lupus wrote: »

I'm already over this game. I think unfortunately because I never had enemies set to attack me. I've built everything apart from launching a rocket so I restarted the game with the baddies turned on but I'm like.... I can't be ****ed with this any more, running about for 1 piece of coal here and there to load into a miner etcetc. Great whilst it lasted but yeah...

You are weak!!! Get out of here!

Totally different for me, I am finally off after 4x12h shifts with 2h commute every day. So needless to say I had **** all time for anythong else th,en sleep, work, drive.
I am still in bed, but I am getting up in a minute, making myself tea and off to my den. While I was not working I figured out a few improvements to my setup. Then I will need to redo one ore procesing so I can get silver, which is needed to make parts for 3rd tier circuit boards. I can already bet I will get distracted and end up sorting out something else all day.

ShadowHearth

Ahhhh, so nice to be on stuff again! Have to pick up misses, kid, then make dinner. Only then I am going back to my snorting of factorio.

In this time I was s busu bee! Managed to optimise a few things around and most importantly, I mamaged to make small scale third level circuit boards!!! Its mad how much stuff you need and it pretty much becomes a chemistry plant, not factorio. Most of it was hand fed, but I needed to make it to see how it works and what I need.
I started building dedicated area purely for these circuit boards as bussing parts for it is just mad. Got few pieces sorted and got some storage in mind. As soon as I can I will be back there factorioing!

ShadowHearth

Well, after 32h in my bobs and angels factory I scrapped it and started again. Yup!

As always I learned a ton **** and I am building from ground up for future proving it so I dont run in to issies on my last factory.
Other issie was that I took ages to get to that point I pretty much ended up with limited fields and surrounded with no way to push out due to my technology being so behind and biters evolving to stupid level. The issue was my map string too. I used one from reddit to get island, but due to mods it went completely different. The settings were originally with low ore yields and bitters to max!!! I only sow it before I started new map. So no wonder it was so hard for me.

On new factory I am 7h in and I am waaaay better off then I was 7h in with my old one.
I pretty much optimising and teching way more and then implementing it by wasting least amount of resources.
New map layout is fantastic too. A lot of deserts and and water so defence will be way easier. Only got my first biter attack and I am already on steel and tier2 circuits. I am waaay higher technologically to deal with them.

I will need to see how I can make screenshots so I can start putting them up. Wall of text is not that fun to read without eye candy.

God I love this game. 139h... I need help.

Dothehustle

why did i just buy this game when i have exams next week ??

ShadowHearth

Dothehustle wrote: »

why did i just buy this game when i have exams next week ??

Good fecking luck m8, you will neeed it.

I need to check if there is a mod that shows real time. If I will be late to pick up misses from work due to me: " I got plenty of time to sort out my crushers and optimise stone waste disposal", then she will take my balls and remove them from my anus.
I get a phone call: where the **** are you?! My brain inside just goes: fuuuuuuuu!!! My mouth says: ****, sorry, I though you finish at 6 today!

Dothehustle

3 and half hours went in a blink of a eye.. It's now uninstalled .. Hopefully till after 24th of april

ShadowHearth

Dothehustle wrote: »

3 and half hours went in a blink of a eye.. It's now uninstalled .. Hopefully till after 24th of april

Hehe, c ya at 24th

I am off tomorrow, so after I am done being sexually abused by insirance company I am planing on playing my ass off in factorio.

the_syco

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I need to check if there is a mod that shows real time.

I shall be putting a clock next to my monitor for that reason!

ShadowHearth

Well, I had a busy day today, but still managed to play some.

Got my factory running really well right now and did a few things that I was putting away for ages. Like sorting out automation for my crushers for the rest of the ores. I was not using lead and tin in massove amount yet anyway, but now I dont need to worry about it.
Started mk3 circuits a bit, but its long way from producing its first one. Though I got salline and purified water sorted which already making me needed gasses and storing it in tanks.
I really really love new map I got, I wonder if I can get string for it now. Pushed out defences and completely enclosed myself with a lot of spare room. Lots of water helped too.

Last night after work I dusted off old misses laptop. Its some i3 with 8gb ram. I was shocked to see vanilla factorio run so well on it. At least in early stage. I made a deal with brother in law to buy his old allienware 13. Its some i5 8gb ram and 860m. Oldish, but it will be more then enough to run factorio and its very small too. I will be able to build my factories in bed, when I am not using inserters on misses if you know what I mean. . ( sorry for horrible joke )

ShadowHearth

Okay, I didnt play today at all, but I got a screenshot.
I made a deal with brother in law and got his old allienware 13 for 300 quid. Its i5 4210 8gb ram, 256gb ssd and 860m with 2560x1440 touchscreen.
I just got factorio with mods running on it and my factory works perfectly. Now I can play factorio everywhere.

ShadowHearth

Well, I had my day off and I played it.

I actually did so much!

Main things I did:

Expanded my territory with a lot of resources.
Made battery and accumulator production! Will finally switch to solar!
Managed to get plastic and silicon production, so I am not far away from next tier of circuits.

Figured out how to make screenshots. Only uploaded one, but later ill get the more and will add screenshots with my blog posts.

This is an overview of my whole factory so far in map.

ShadowHearth

I am now taking screenshots of my stuff. Hopefully someone will find intresting and might give this game a go too.

This is my main bus as it stamds now. Got my main stuff going on it. Latest additions are transistors, plastic and most importantly white circuits.



And I decided to show my spaghetti liquid procesing, or at least as much of it that could fit in screenshot. Thats what you need to do in bobs and angels to get: sulfur/sulfuric acid for batteries, plastic and otjer bits for white boards. Just a wee touch more complex then vanilla lol.

ShadowHearth

Dont worry, I am not gone yet. Working all bank holiday weekend, so dont get much time to play. Only in bed after work a bit when misses passes out.

All in all I am still addict and can't get enough. This mod pack is the real meat of factorio for me. I love vanilla too, but when I was messing around in vanilla on misses laptop I just was so not used to simplified recepies lol. I was like: damn, I really need filter inserters, but it will be ages until I get them. Looked at it and went: damn, I could have making them ages ago, its not bobs and angels lol.

My factory is going strong and I reached the level I was in last one. In a way I am beyond it, but at this point spaghetti starts as I am learning more stuff I didnt get to in last game.
My ambitious smelting and ore processing area went to ****, because I now learned how much more space I need. So I decided to have separate complexes for each ore and then store what I dont use. When I need it, it will be transported to smelting area by trains.

No screenshots today, but I will try to get some done wensday one my day off.
Looks like the rest here gave up on factorio and I am like a lonely psycho.

Sephiroth_dude

Looking too get back into factorio soon as I actually really miss it now having read your stories. Have you a train system yet?

ShadowHearth

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Looking too get back into factorio soon as I actually really miss it now having read your stories. Have you a train system yet?

In current one I got only one train and I will repurpose it soon for iron iron. I did made it properly from start to I can expand that network and not redo it. So few more trains already planned.
On my last vanilla one I had 5 trains going. I had even refueling automated for them.

Trains look scary at start, but once you learn them, you want to use them just for everything.
I tried to explain trains a bit a good few posts ago. It can be a bit scary, but its not that complicated if you get a bit common sense.

cruizer101

I'll definitely be having a go when .15 comes out. I do want to try Bob's also at some stage, it can be big time sink though

ShadowHearth

cruizer101 wrote: »

I'll definitely be having a go when .15 comes out. I do want to try Bob's also at some stage, it can be big time sink though

I am kind of on a fence for .15. I am having a blast with bobs and angels. Already sank at least 30h in current factory and I dont want to abondon it. Who knows when mods will be updated for new version.
At the same time I want to play new version as it will have some tasty new things. Its the first game I like doing achievement for.
Bobs and angels really spoiled me with its complexity. Its jard to go back. Higher difficulty settings though might do the the trick for me.