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Factorio | STEAMPOWERED Industrial Optimization

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
52STBjp.gif

Factorio finally released on Steam Early Access, make no mistake though, this game is already in development for 4 years, incredibly polished and has TONS of content and mods.

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| Info Box |
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Official Page, including forums and a buy-directly-through-us-option: www.factorio.com
Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/427520/
Price: $20
Platform: Win, Mac, Linux

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| What is this game? |
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Other than the best game you havent played yet? Its a highly customizable production simulator & survival game. The basic gameplay should be very familiar to anyone who dabbled into other programming games like SpaceChem. Create basic goods, organize production lines and eventually create more intricate advanced goods, like ammunition, research elements, advanced circuitry etc, etc.

On top of the production, you also have survival elements, as you need to gather items and defend yourself and your base from incoming alien attacks, even though technically... you are the alien on their home planet and they only attack you because you are polluting their air. #Shyamalantwist

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| GAF Impressions |
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Toma said:
Its basically the optimisation process of SpaceChem, mixed with light Tower Defense elements and a bit of Minecraft-style crafting thrown in. If you arent familiar with the mentioned games, it basically works like this: In the beginning you'll run around gathering resources. Then you'll use those resources to build simple mechanisms via exhaustive crafting options, and THEN with those mechanism you'll create mechanism that help you automating everything, until you planned built a huge factory that produces several dozen item in chains automatically. Incredibly rewarding genre mix and my (Toma) personal GOTY 2013.

Defining moment: Starting off with nothing, mining ressources by hand, only to eventually create a huge self sustaining factory that mines several ressources and builds dozens of products/items that depend on each other.

Factorio is a top-down crafting/sandbox game with an emphasis on building infrastructure and production. The unique hook is that you construct factories and production lines to automate virtually everything.

For example, a conveyor belt takes raw iron to ovens, which bake it into iron plates. The iron plate can be combined with copper to make circuits. The circuits can be combined with other resources to make dozens of items. So if you set it up right, your big factory basically runs itself.

Since I started playing I haven't been able to stop - it's one of the first games to make me lose track of time in the evenings in a long time. It's got a great feeling of progress. Over and over again you'll figure out how to automate elements you used to have to do by hand, and it feels great.

The game is in Alpha but it doesn't feel like an Alpha/Early Access product. I haven't experienced any bugs, and there's already a nice campaign and an "end game" to the sandbox mode.

Been playing this game a couple months ago and it is basically "ACME Rube Goldberg Machine" The Game.

It is HILARIOUSLY satisfying to see how your weird little machines start building other machines who build more machines and kill aliens.

Ucchedavāda;190473240 said:
That's great!
I purchased this quite a while ago, and put a dozen hours into it, but have been waiting for it to get more feature complete before picking it up again. It's was a very enjoyable game, with a ton to do, even at the early state I played it in.

I got it as a Christmas gift and highly recommend it.

I hadn't been into this type of game in a really long time. It's so good.

This game is awesome. Highly recommended.

Buy it, people!

Been playing factorio for last 3/4 weeks,already clocked like 30hrs in It.
It is absolute phenomenal.It has everything basically ,Large scale production to automation to train Management+Crazy robotics and Logic gate Stuff( I havent got into that Logic gate/Programming stuff yet) .It is probably most fun building sandbox i played.After automating pretty complicated process you will feel like yeah i have achieved something.Which is pretty rare in newer AAA games. Totally worth the $16 Price Tag.
Also modding scene for this game is pretty huge but i wont think i will be jumping into moded games just yet.I am still far way from achieving the final goal of building a rocket

Factorio - brilliant strategy game with a far deeper layer than you initially think.. sinking lots of hours into it.

AromaticMeaslyAfricangroundhornbill.gif

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| Features in Factorio |
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For an exhaustive list including explanations, click here.
  • Mining, logistic and production systems
  • Energy systems, including coal, solar and steam
  • Research a ton of new buildings and items
  • Oil refining in Oil refineries and Chemical Plants
  • Trains to raise your logistics to a new level
  • Logistic Robots, because drones are all the hype
  • Blueprints and building robots, copy layouts of whole areas
  • Signals to program finer elements of the production cycle
  • Pollution with adverse affects on your health (by incoming aliens biting your nipples off)
  • Fight, build walls and turrets
  • Modding Support
  • Multiplayer to build coop factories
A quick Sneak peak into possible future features:
  • Space Platforms that can travel to Asteroids and other Planets
  • Alien Interaction like trading
  • RTS Elements to order drones around
  • Underground elements like caves
  • Food industry to prepare for other humans

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| Media |
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Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
You have around 5 hours left to grab it for cheaper on their website and you'll also get a Steam key for it.
 

MikeDip

God bless all my old friends/And god bless me too, why pretend?
I bought this last night. Toma I was ahead of you are you proud of me?

Excited to dig in once the steam download goes up.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Just tried the demo and bought it before I even finished third mission.

Yeah, it was more or less the same for me back when I first tried it. Its an incredibly polished and well thought out concept.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
If I tend to get overwhelmed quite easily but still love these kinds of games, would you suggest this or infinifactory? Have Spacechem but I like the factory concept and might make it simpler to visualise some of the problems vs the relatively abstract spacechem.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
I bought this last night. Toma I was ahead of you are you proud of me?

Excited to dig in once the steam download goes up.

Ahead of me? I bought it 3 years ago or so :p
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
If I tend to get overwhelmed quite easily but still love these kinds of games, would you suggest this or infinifactory? Have Spacechem but I like the factory concept and might make it simpler to visualise some of the problems vs the relatively abstract spacechem.

Both Infinifactory and Factorio are easier to grasp due to their more tangible application. Its a bit of a toss up in that regard though, Infinifactory really is similar to SpaceChem in 3D without boundaries, so you have much more freedom in how you tackle a level.

Factorio is even more open ended though and a bit more hands off, while Infinifactory provides an easier and clearer level structure.

Both are fantastic though, so I'd suggest going with Infinifactory first, as it eases you a lot slower into new concepts.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Ahead of your thread, not ahead of your purchase :( I wouldn't dare go up against that

Haha, alright :) Yeah its nice to see that this game is slowly building up steam (more puns incoming). Back when we started talking about the game it had like 5.000 purchases. Bonkers really.
 
I cant recommend this game enough. If you have slightest interest in automation or even minecraft tech mods get this game right now. I have no idea how many hours I have wasted to optimize my factories!
 

mclem

Member
Well, this is a quandary. I might have already bought this. I don't know if I've already bought this. And I won't be able to check until after the deadline for the cheaper version.
 

Gruso

Member
Oh, I remember grabbing the demo yonks ago, but not putting any time into it. Definitely on my radar again now, especially as I've switched to a Linux laptop. (Games with Linux ports become 20% more interesting by default.)

How hardcore is resource management? Is there a sandpit mode for idiots? For skill reference, I tried the Cities Skylines free weekend and my town was sick, angry and crippled by debt an hour in.
 

epmode

Member
I bought this forever ago but haven't played it as much as I'd like. I'll fix that. ..just have to figure out how to get a Steam key.

edit: Found the key at factorio.com
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Oh, I remember grabbing the demo yonks ago, but not putting any time into it. Definitely on my radar again now, especially as I've switched to a Linux laptop. (Games with Linux ports become 20% more interesting by default.)

How hardcore is resource management? Is there a sandpit mode for idiots? For skill reference, I tried the Cities Skylines free weekend and my town was sick, angry and crippled by debt an hour in.

There are sandbox modes, so dont worry too much, you'll get the hang of it :)
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
This looks so cool,I am definitely getting this.Looks right up my alley.Cheers for the heads up Toma

Its already the best game in its "genre", cant wait to see what else they bring to the table.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
tried the demo - argh its like minecraft crossed with command and conquer.

Is the demo reflective of the current state of the game? I like the concept but I found the graphics really pulled me out of it. One minor thing was that you had tiny little graphics in the crafting menu with seemingly no categorisation (hopefully a demo only thing) and it wasn't easy to tell at a glance what you were building.

The bigger problem for me though, was the connecting of elements. Seems a critical thing in a game like this, but I couldn't easily work out where a mining device would drop items so I would often put a wooden chest in the wrong place and it'd just drop stuff next to it. Or something simple like the robot arms not even lining up vertically with the stone furnaces. I guess thats so you can more easily see them and they aren't obscuring each other, but it made it difficult generally to see whether you were lining things up and they'd work together.

Would like some reassurance that the final game isn't that bad. Maybe a learning curve.
 

epmode

Member
Unless things have changed recently, the game could really use some UI scaling. The icons are tough to see on my 1440p monitor. Can't imagine how awful it would be at 4K. (the same issue doesn't apply to the game itself since you can zoom waaaayyyy in)

Even without arbitrary scaling, providing an option to double or triple the size of the UI would be welcome.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
tried the demo - argh its like minecraft crossed with command and conquer.

Is the demo reflective of the current state of the game? I like the concept but I found the graphics really pulled me out of it. One minor thing was that you had tiny little graphics in the crafting menu with seemingly no categorisation (hopefully a demo only thing) and it wasn't easy to tell at a glance what you were building.

The bigger problem for me though, was the connecting of elements. Seems a critical thing in a game like this, but I couldn't easily work out where a mining device would drop items so I would often put a wooden chest in the wrong place and it'd just drop stuff next to it. Or something simple like the robot arms not even lining up vertically with the stone furnaces. I guess thats so you can more easily see them and they aren't obscuring each other, but it made it difficult generally to see whether you were lining things up and they'd work together.

Would like some reassurance that the final game isn't that bad. Maybe a learning curve.

I dont know what the current version of the demo is, but I can easily see someone being a bit overwhelmed with the UI/inventory.

Thats one aspect where I definitely would recommend you Infinifactory instead, as I said its a bit more straight forward and more... concise in its approach.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Unless things have changed recently, the game could really use some UI scaling. The icons are tough to see on my 1440p monitor. Can't imagine how awful it would be at 4K. (the same issue doesn't apply to the game itself since you can zoom waaaayyyy in)

Even without arbitrary scaling, providing an option to double or triple the size of the UI would be welcome.

Already checked if you find a mod for this?
 

Zom

Banned
I always want to play a ton of this kind of games, but I ended up being too stupid/dumb to make creative things.
 
I always want to play a ton of this kind of games, but I ended up being too stupid/dumb to make creative things.
The nice thing about this game is that you aren't building things for the sake of creativity like, say, Besiege. There's always a purpose to what you build - expanded territory, turrets for defense, more power, building some item, an extra conveyor belt, etc. - and so there's a natural understanding of what pieces you need to use and why. It's not directionless; building projects branch off naturally from the state of your factory
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
bought it anyway. Just seems like an amazing combination of sim city, tower defence, command and conquer and minecraft.


Got the steam key and redeemed it, but I can't seem to install it - the page just says 'game purchased' with no install button?
 
bought it anyway. Just seems like an amazing combination of sim city, tower defence, command and conquer and minecraft.


Got the steam key and redeemed it, but I can't seem to install it - the page just says 'game purchased' with no install button?
Game's not live on Steam yet
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
30 more minutes or so.
 

CzarTim

Member
bought it anyway. Just seems like an amazing combination of sim city, tower defence, command and conquer and minecraft.


Got the steam key and redeemed it, but I can't seem to install it - the page just says 'game purchased' with no install button?

Unlocks in 2 hours!

Or what toma said!

Vindicated!
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
That looks pretty incredible. Too bad I've sworn off early access games. Will be waiting eagerly for the 1.0 release!

Its a sandboxy game in nature anyway. I played this game like.. three years ago and it was a blast. I dont think you should consider this EA tbh, its more like a full game with the dev adding more content every few weeks.

Also, people on the fence, you have around 20 minutes left to grab it for cheaper.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Unlocks in 2 hours!

Or what toma said!

You are right actually, its probably 1 hour and 10 minutes now, I might have mistaken the time with something else.
 

Kalor

Member
This looks really interesting. Anything that can be even remotely compared to Spacechem raises my interest.
 

Thraktor

Member
Factorio is fantastic. I played it a lot after picking it up last year, but had to go cold turkey after getting a little too obsessively sucked into it. I'm tempted to jump in again now that it's on Steam to see what's been added since then, but at the same time I'm more than a little worried that I'll end up a Factorio-playing hermit who never sees sunlight again.
 
Its a sandboxy game in nature anyway. I played this game like.. three years ago and it was a blast. I dont think you should consider this EA tbh, its more like a full game with the dev adding more content every few weeks.

Also, people on the fence, you have around 20 minutes left to grab it for cheaper.

Alright dammit, I caved. Being a huge fan of both Spacechem and Infinifactory, I can't say no. My wallet hates you now Toma, I hope you're happy with yourself
thanks for the heads up.
 

The Foul

Member
Just a quick post while this downloads, if you think you might like this game, you will. Hundreds of hours of depth, infinite replayability, fun from beginning to end. Full recommendation from me fwiw.
 

Thraktor

Member
Factorio is fantastic. I played it a lot after picking it up last year, but had to go cold turkey after getting a little too obsessively sucked into it. I'm tempted to jump in again now that it's on Steam to see what's been added since then, but at the same time I'm more than a little worried that I'll end up a Factorio-playing hermit who never sees sunlight again.

Installing. Factorio-playing hermit life I welcome you!
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Alright dammit, I caved. Being a huge fan of both Spacechem and Infinifactory, I can't say no. My wallet hates you now Toma, I hope you're happy with yourself
thanks for the heads up.
You wont regret it.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
I really need to check out what the modding scene did in the past 2 years for this.
 

epmode

Member
Indeed, feel free to report back. :)

I can confirm that UI scaling is now built right into the game's menu system. It completely addresses my one big complaint. Well, except for the way the minimap appears to be unaffected by the scaling setting. I don't think there's a way around that (unless a mod handles it).
 

DayEnder

Member
I've officially made it guys, I'm a PR quote in the OP. I imagine payment for my positive description of the above game is in the mail.

Seriously though, Factorio is amazing. Get it now.
 

MikeDip

God bless all my old friends/And god bless me too, why pretend?
So far so good!
Made my first simple self sustaining smelter. It beingssssssssss
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
So far so good!
Made my first simple self sustaining smelter. It beingssssssssss

Unfortunately I dont have my old map anymore, but I can show how I began with my current setup.
 
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