Please no. Someone tell me it's just an unconfirmed rumor. Why would they do such a thing?
I am at very high risk for Factorio addiction, and the only reason I haven't played it yet is because I don't play PC games anymore. But I do have a Switch, and having Civ VI on there was enough of a problem, thank you very much.
This is tragic news. In the future they will point to this as the pivotal moment that lead to the downfall of my career, relationships, financial security, etc.
Is there a 12 step program for infrastructure maintenance survival horror games?
May I also suggested City Skylines on the switch? It has a great addiction management feature called high RAM usage, so when your city reaches 200k citizens the game will force close repeatedly on you.
I avoided it until this year, and it was every bit as addictive as I thought it would be. Fortunately, I'm also older and busier now, so there was actually a hard stop for me.
When it came to developing nuclear powered infrastructure, it was going to take a huge refactor of my factory in order to not have "spaghetti infrastructure" criscrossing my factory. I started estimating the time to abstract resource production and modularize the delivery network, I was looking at a good few hours of focused work to get it done. Maybe I could split it into sub-tasks and approach it that way? Gosh, that sounds a lot like my job. So I stopped.
I'm usually OK with me 'wasting' time playing games like Factorio that exercise my brain, and Factorio specifically I feel has actually improved my software/systems architecture skills. But it is definitely very easy to get completely sucked in. The factory must grow.
Factorio is such an addictive, amazing game. There’s always one more thing to automate. “What if I could automate my nuclear reactors to keep fuel consumption low … oh, but what if I could automate the fuel production itself?” On and on. It’s kind of like KSP if you play it in hardcore where you can’t do anything except through kOS.
Well, don't worry. The base game is easy to complete in ~20 hours. Nintendo won't allow mods, so you won't have access to the add-ons that boost a single game (Krastorio, SpaceX, Bob's) into the 1000+ hour range.
Even though it is many orders of magnitude simpler than the real-world equivalent, I find that there is no better way of grasping the logistics of modern civilization than playing Factorio.
In fact, it's probably in the Goldilocks zone: easy enough to play, but complicated enough to convey the kind of resource, energy and transport logistics involved in scaling a multi-step production process. It is like an illustrative toy model.
The aliens even give the game a satisfying environmental and political dimension, though the mechanics in this respect are more straightforward, i.e., just kill the aliens. Though emitting less pollution with solar also helps.
Curious to see how well it translates to controllers. I know there is limited support on the Steam Deck, but I'm guessing it's still subpar to traditional mouse/keyboard controls.
From the link:
Factorio was developed for 10 years with only keyboard and mouse in mind, so making sure the game is fully playable with controllers was no easy task. Playing with a controller is slightly slower, and will take some getting used to (just as it does when playing with keyboard and mouse for the first time). After becoming familiar with it, I find it very comfortable. I recommend everyone to play through the first levels of our tutorial campaign, as it's a great way to get acquainted with playing Factorio with a controller.
Switch feels like such an interesting platform: not the most powerful out there, not by a long shot, but still has lots of great games on it, perhaps proving that graphics aren't quite everything. At the same time, with some clever optimization, there indeed are great looking games out there as well, in addition to lots of different ones being ported to it!
I wonder for how long Switch will remain as a popular platform and a part of me hopes for games that could run in a lower graphics mode for Switch in the future and a higher quality mode for Switch 2 or whatever might come after.
Personally, I just wonder why something like Genshin Impact isn't on Switch yet, because it seems like a great game for a platform like it!
Oh, and also why Nintendo treats the console IP like others do: where you can't just do export from game engines like Godot for it, like you can with desktop computers/phones, but instead have to go the proprietary route.
I'm surprised. I was under the impression that Factorio was CPU-bound. The Switch isn't exactly a powerhouse. For comparison, Civilization VI on the Switch was underwhelming. Playable, but taking a turn late game often meant over a minute on the CPU taking their turns.
There was a funny but insightful take about how Factorio is about a colonizing force going to a planet and taking all of it's natural resources while suppressing all the native inhabitants and how the player identifies with this evil entity as if a good thing.
I've been playing Mindustry a lot lately, and while I've been enjoying it, it's just a different game than Factorio -- they scratch different, but similar, itches.
Factorio is about the long game, and your designs have to be able to scale, especially if you're going for mege-base scale. It's more about complex designs and a very deep tech tree and dependency hierarchy. It's about factory automation at its core, with some PvE/tower defense (optionally) thrown in.
Mindustry is mostly a tower defense game at its core that uses automation/factory building to accomplish that goal. It simplifies a lot of things that are more of a challenge in Factorio. E.g. not needing inserters makes optimizations much easier. Also, the way building happens almost immediately and you don't need bots makes construction much easier.
I like both quite a bit, but depending on what you're looking for, either game could be more enjoyable for you.
Strange that nowhere on this landing page does Mindustry advertise itself as "free software". In fact, there is a very prominent link to buy it on steam for $9.99. A bit off-putting.
As developers of course we associate GitHub with FOSS, but would a layman? I guess the thinking is anyone who doesn't know to visit the repo and `git clone` probably requires the steam installation? $9.99 however is not cheap many places on Earth.
It's unfortunate there's no mod support. As someone with over 2000 hours, for me it's really the overhaul mods that give the game endless variety and replayability. Might not be a bad idea to make certain overhaul mods available anyway, even if it involves hard-coding them in.
Its time for some Zachtronics game to make the migration. If Factorio can happen, then I would think the Zachtronics games can do it too (performance wise).
I think the only Zachtronics game to have a console release was Infinifactory on PS4. (And Hack*Match on NES, technically.)
Agreed with the sibling comment that Opus Magnum seems like it'd be a good fit. But the economics of a port may not make sense. Infinifactory was Unity, while Opus Magnum and most (all?) of the other 2D games use a custom engine.
It's not a "Zach-Like", but Eliza by Zachtronics is on the Switch. It's a visual novel with an interesting story about AI and the gig economy. I recommend it highly, I really enjoyed it.
I feel that games like Factorio, Dyson, Kerbal... are perfect games for when I retire. No time pressure, nothing to do, really, just this, the whole day.
Till then, I must look at these games, marvel at them, but resist the temptation to play.
Can someone explain to me why people enjoy Factorio so much?
I finished it once because a friend told me it was awesome and I had time on my hands. I remember trudging through the beginning, spending a lot of time calculating ratio in a spreadsheet, a lot of time spent lying belts and a huge sense of relief when I finally got the bots.
The whole experience felt like work to me. What am I missing?
Playing minecraft on switch vs my pixel 6 is night and day. I can't imagine performance is anywhere near what it needs to be for an end game base? But I'd be curious to see what they've come up with here.
Yeah, they cover performance too, but sounds like we will definitely see impact with mega bases:
One of the first questions you might ask is how does the game perform. We worked on many optimizations to make sure the game performs as well as possible. You should expect 30-60 FPS (both in TV mode and handheld mode). As for UPS, the average player should be able to go through all of the content and launch a rocket, while staying at 60 UPS. But don't expect to be able to build mega-bases without UPS starting to drop, sometimes significantly.
Tangentially related but you can buy the game directly from the website, DRM-free which is the route I'd like to go buying this game. The only thing is that the supported macOS platforms are "macOS Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra; MacOS X El Capitan, Yosemite". Is anyone here playing the game on Catalina or Ventura?
I *love* factorio.
But by game 3 or 4 I had invented a design pattern that was scalable, maintainable, and reasonably efficient, and after that, playing the game just turned into 'implementing the pattern' and I stopped playing.
Anyway it's a great game + I'm so impressed with how it was programmed.
I bought Factorio about a year ago, but I still haven't played it because I'm afraid to. I nearly flunked out of college the first time around because of Minecraft addiction, who the hell knows what would happen with Factorio?
[+] [-] lake_vincent|3 years ago|reply
I am at very high risk for Factorio addiction, and the only reason I haven't played it yet is because I don't play PC games anymore. But I do have a Switch, and having Civ VI on there was enough of a problem, thank you very much.
Goodbye everyone!
[+] [-] yabones|3 years ago|reply
Is there a 12 step program for infrastructure maintenance survival horror games?
[+] [-] dakial1|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bitdestroyer|3 years ago|reply
Also, never play Dyson Sphere Project. It ruined me worse than Factorio. Jokes aside, it’s a fantastically beautiful and well done game.
[+] [-] ehnto|3 years ago|reply
When it came to developing nuclear powered infrastructure, it was going to take a huge refactor of my factory in order to not have "spaghetti infrastructure" criscrossing my factory. I started estimating the time to abstract resource production and modularize the delivery network, I was looking at a good few hours of focused work to get it done. Maybe I could split it into sub-tasks and approach it that way? Gosh, that sounds a lot like my job. So I stopped.
[+] [-] lordnacho|3 years ago|reply
/s
[+] [-] Gene_Parmesan|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] remarkEon|3 years ago|reply
Factorio is such an addictive, amazing game. There’s always one more thing to automate. “What if I could automate my nuclear reactors to keep fuel consumption low … oh, but what if I could automate the fuel production itself?” On and on. It’s kind of like KSP if you play it in hardcore where you can’t do anything except through kOS.
[+] [-] booi|3 years ago|reply
How many people must we lose before the government does something??
[+] [-] joshu|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hackcasual|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] politician|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] clem|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Sakos|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cassianoleal|3 years ago|reply
This is addressed on the post, and it looks like decent Deck support should happen in the near-to-mid-future.
[+] [-] Foivos|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] manojlds|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Unbeliever69|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alecfreudenberg|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ikiris|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fb03|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moralestapia|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Emma_Goldman|3 years ago|reply
In fact, it's probably in the Goldilocks zone: easy enough to play, but complicated enough to convey the kind of resource, energy and transport logistics involved in scaling a multi-step production process. It is like an illustrative toy model.
The aliens even give the game a satisfying environmental and political dimension, though the mechanics in this respect are more straightforward, i.e., just kill the aliens. Though emitting less pollution with solar also helps.
[+] [-] jader201|3 years ago|reply
From the link:
Factorio was developed for 10 years with only keyboard and mouse in mind, so making sure the game is fully playable with controllers was no easy task. Playing with a controller is slightly slower, and will take some getting used to (just as it does when playing with keyboard and mouse for the first time). After becoming familiar with it, I find it very comfortable. I recommend everyone to play through the first levels of our tutorial campaign, as it's a great way to get acquainted with playing Factorio with a controller.
[+] [-] KronisLV|3 years ago|reply
I wonder for how long Switch will remain as a popular platform and a part of me hopes for games that could run in a lower graphics mode for Switch in the future and a higher quality mode for Switch 2 or whatever might come after.
Personally, I just wonder why something like Genshin Impact isn't on Switch yet, because it seems like a great game for a platform like it!
Oh, and also why Nintendo treats the console IP like others do: where you can't just do export from game engines like Godot for it, like you can with desktop computers/phones, but instead have to go the proprietary route.
[+] [-] VyseofArcadia|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 323|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mdtrooper|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jader201|3 years ago|reply
Factorio is about the long game, and your designs have to be able to scale, especially if you're going for mege-base scale. It's more about complex designs and a very deep tech tree and dependency hierarchy. It's about factory automation at its core, with some PvE/tower defense (optionally) thrown in.
Mindustry is mostly a tower defense game at its core that uses automation/factory building to accomplish that goal. It simplifies a lot of things that are more of a challenge in Factorio. E.g. not needing inserters makes optimizations much easier. Also, the way building happens almost immediately and you don't need bots makes construction much easier.
I like both quite a bit, but depending on what you're looking for, either game could be more enjoyable for you.
[+] [-] chitowneats|3 years ago|reply
As developers of course we associate GitHub with FOSS, but would a layman? I guess the thinking is anyone who doesn't know to visit the repo and `git clone` probably requires the steam installation? $9.99 however is not cheap many places on Earth.
[+] [-] louwrentius|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Aperocky|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scottmsul|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] deskamess|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hcs|3 years ago|reply
Agreed with the sibling comment that Opus Magnum seems like it'd be a good fit. But the economics of a port may not make sense. Infinifactory was Unity, while Opus Magnum and most (all?) of the other 2D games use a custom engine.
[+] [-] neilparikh|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] misnome|3 years ago|reply
Zachtronics stopping game production is a painful loss.
[+] [-] yumraj|3 years ago|reply
Till then, I must look at these games, marvel at them, but resist the temptation to play.
[+] [-] WastingMyTime89|3 years ago|reply
I finished it once because a friend told me it was awesome and I had time on my hands. I remember trudging through the beginning, spending a lot of time calculating ratio in a spreadsheet, a lot of time spent lying belts and a huge sense of relief when I finally got the bots.
The whole experience felt like work to me. What am I missing?
[+] [-] globalreset|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Kukumber|3 years ago|reply
Valve woke up a little bit too late
Sony made a mistake to abandon the Vita
And Microsoft was stupid to not try, or maybe too scared
Steam deck is too big for me, the switch is the perfect size, I'm still waiting for a proper Switch alternative
I'll probably build it myself
[+] [-] a_brawling_boo|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jader201|3 years ago|reply
One of the first questions you might ask is how does the game perform. We worked on many optimizations to make sure the game performs as well as possible. You should expect 30-60 FPS (both in TV mode and handheld mode). As for UPS, the average player should be able to go through all of the content and launch a rocket, while staying at 60 UPS. But don't expect to be able to build mega-bases without UPS starting to drop, sometimes significantly.
[+] [-] countvonbalzac|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] parski|3 years ago|reply
https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-director-of-factorio-sh...
[+] [-] tobyhinloopen|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ycta2334209|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] everyone|3 years ago|reply
Anyway it's a great game + I'm so impressed with how it was programmed.
[+] [-] tombert|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] colpabar|3 years ago|reply