Infrastructure is boring. That is all.
Thank the maker for blueprints, but this is taking forever, and I still have to go back and lay the tracks on the viaduct, create spurs from this main loop to individual factories and build the stations.
2 Likes
Looks like an old man about to sneeze…to me at least.
I managed to burn through my entire supply of concrete building my train viaduct loop, and I am literally (as in literally) about 3 foundations short of completing the circle. I did, however, waste about an hour trying to run the track through a canyon - because I thought it would be cool - only to run into a series of turns and elevation changes that were too tight for a train to make.
So while my concrete stash is replenishing, I did a bit of a wander to collect Sphreres, Slugs and Sloops, and came across this view of my latest factory build. This shows better how it is nestled into the available space and also you can see the skyway that I built to connect this to the quartz nodes.
Also. this is how I “lose” factories. If I don’t mark them on the map some of them are hell to find again.
1 Like
My train loop is complete with pretend supports, tracks and signals. I have also built stations at my refinery (for plastic and rubber export) and at what will be my computer factory. My first task thereafter was going to be shipping motors and rubber to a location where I will assemble the Modular Engines, which is the 2nd of three elements of the Phase 3 space elevator order.
Then it dawned on me. Why am I shipping motors, when I should be making them on site? That goes against the principle of dispersed production. That, and the fact that I want 10 motors per minute to build Modular Engines and I am currently making only 4. So my shiny new train network remains dormant while I build the new factory, which will be close enough to the refinery location that I can belt over the rubber required.
I will, however, use a train to deliver the finished item to the Space Elevator. This has allowed me to form the idea of a design for the Space Elevator hub in my mind. Phase 3 requires three items in bulk while Phases 4 and 5 require four each. So I will build a station with four platforms - one for each incoming part - and mount the Space Elevator on top.
The HUD in the game shows the parts count for these main items so, with incoming shipments being loaded directly into the Elevator, I will have a real time tracker of progress. I think having the Space Elevator sitting high and proud is a cool look, too.
your life’s work is almost done!
2 Likes
I finished my Modular Engine factory and attached a train station. I then rebuilt the Space Elevator with a station attached and a connection to the main loop. By the time I got all that done, I was pretty much done with the order of 500 engines, so the first delivery all-but filled the quota. The second one did.
I need to keep making the Modular Engines as they are used in another part later in the game. In the meantime, the excess production is being run into a sink. Future factories brought online won’t have such a long lead time as the Space Elevator is now built, so I can start running trains as soon as production starts. Plus, later orders are in the thousands, not hundreds.
As for the Space Elevator, the parts shipped up to orbit are produced in such low volumes that I figured I need only one platform. I can sort the parts once they come off the train for pre-loading into the elevator, or sinking if the quota for a particular part is filled (that way the line doesn’t get clogged with an over produced part). Once the quota is filled, I can delete that train and store/sink the excess at the factory.
My rebuilt Space Elevator platform looks like this:
Not the magnificent temple to FicsIt that content creators build, but it works for me.
I…have…made…Computers!
I may or may not have danced around like Tom Hanks in Castaway, but that job is done. The factory looks like all my others, but it’s tucked away in the trees with a train station attached.
This is actually three factories working as one, with iron parts coming in from the sky bridge back left and copper parts coming down the elevator shaft back right, which is coming down from another sky bridge to a small factory off to the right.
Next up is the last item of this phase’s space elevator order. I will be taking some of the computers from this factory - a usage for which I planned - and building the rest of the parts on site. It needs a lot of wire, so I will build it near the satellite copper factory here - where I have copper ore to spare - so the computers will go back over the sky bridge to that factory.
The required parts also include circuit boards - which I am making here as they go into the computers - but I did not cater for that additional requirement in this build. It’s only a small amount, so some minor rebuilding here will have those going over the sky bridge too.
Of course this means that I have to rebuild this end of the sky bridge because it will need to transit four items, not two. I may also have to rebuild the station to add an extra platform to export the space elevator part, or I may just build a new station and run a spur line to that location depending on where I end up putting it down.
This is the best example I’ve seen of what it’s like to play Satiscractory. Yes there is exploring and fighting beasties, but mostly it’s being driven mad trying to do the maths and logistics of producing the things you need to produce the things you need to produce the things you need.
I got all the Phase 3 parts uploaded finally. This unlocked Phase 4 and the Tier 8 & 9 equipment of which, because I have been making sure to set up independent production for everything, I was able to unlock all the elements immediately.
This included the Hoverpack, thank Kier:
Above is the first build I completed after getting the Hoverpack, which makes High-Speed Connectors. These are used in the late-game items, and also to make a number of machines as well as homing ammunition.
Quartz is being mined in the front row of the factory, with Caterium ore coming in bottom left, up from a cave that opens to the Swamp that I never want to go back to as long as I live. The other required resource is Copper, that is coming down from the skyway back right, where I added a catwalk staircase of which I am quite proud (and which I will never use now I have the Hoverpack).
As I am now puttering around the edges of the dreaded Swamp biome, the homing ammo is a must. It’s the only thing you can use against the boss-level, skittering spider-like Stingers that exist down there. A single, large, leaping Stinger takes 40 rounds - two mags - of homing ammo to kill; and it’s not the worst one. It’s impossible to land that many hits on one using regular ammo as it will kill you easily before you do.
1 Like
Satiscractory is both the best and the worst game for someone with ADHD. There are lots of different ways that the game lets you score that sweet, sweet Dopamine and, if you’re busy on one task but spot a wall of conspicuously cracked rock, you are not penalized for getting distracted by going off down a rabbit spider hole. You do what you want, when you want, in your own good time.
But there are so many ways where failing to pay attention to the details will bite you in the ass. Like, say, deconstructing a power transmission tower that you are sure isn’t needed anymore because you are running power to where you are through the rail link, only to find out much, much later - when you run out of a particular building material in cloud storage - that you’ve shut down production across half the known map.
Also, I “lost” another factory yesterday. 
I need a new game to play, and I’ve enjoyed games like SimCity and Civ in the past, so Satisfactory looks like it could be fun. Seems like it could also turn into a job, though. Where do you think it falls on that scale of pure fun <—> compelled unpaid labor?
I think all factory games have an element of unpaid labor, so that’s a given. What I like about Satisfactory is that it also has the exploration and combat elements.
If you get bored building production lines, you can just go off roaming. The world is huge and beautifully conceived and rendered. A lot of verticality, so there’s a platform element to it, and you’re seeking “treasure” that’s guarded by beasts to be overcome.
At no point are you on any kind of clock. There are no missions or side quests that put you onto a scripted path. You just do - or do not - as you please.
1 Like
Should you play Satisfactory? The Dutch Actuary weighs in - so you know it’s brutally honest.
(No spoilers)
And here’s the opening sequence that gives you an idea of just how great this game looks, and a glimpse into its sense of humor.
“Parachute deployed”
[Rip]
“Backup parachute deployed”
[Rip]
“Skipping parachute…”
This doesn’t answer your specific question but if you like city builders I would give Rimworld a look. It’s a game with many facets, one of which is a top-down colony sim. It’s not as macro as SimCity/Civ but you can play it a lot like a SimCity game if you want; once you understand the game’s underlying systems you can be pretty hands-off for a lot of things, and I’ve never felt the need to create a single spreadsheet.
Another great thing is that your pawns (characters) have unique personalities that affect their moods, their day-to-day interactions with other pawns, and their response to in-game events. This can lead to some truly absurd entries in the in-game story, like “Daniel is having a tantrum because of poor mood. The final straw was: ‘My organ was harvested’” or “A missing body part caused Marcy to collapse unconscious. Reason: A rabid guinea pig tore off Marcy’s leg with its teeth”.
With all the different personality traits, deep customization for event generation and difficulty level, seed-based worlds and factions, three official DLCs that add a lot of content, and thousands of free mods, the game has a ton of replay value.
Thanks guys! I’ll check out Rimworld and that Dutch Actuary video over lunch.
Is Rimworld the most un-Googleable thing ever?
Because of the name? Kinda yes.
Because of the things you can do in the game? Also kinda yes.
1 Like
My progress in Satisfactory has been stalled of late. I am into the aluminium phase and - while I have alternate recipes to make life easier - I have been avoiding diving into building that factory.
My local bauxite supply is in an awkward location. The other ingredients needed are nearby, but it’s cramped and will be a challenge to fit everything into the space, leaving no room for expansion.
I have run rail to the site, but otherwise I have been avoiding grasping this nettle. Instead I have been hunting treasure and - oh yeah - building a 66GW rocket fuel-powered generating station.
This procrastination has worked out well, because it’s just dawned on me: the rail is there, just ship the bauxite out to a more suitable location.
No, I don’t know why this hadn’t occurred to me before now either.
Still building the rocket fuel-powered generating station. A timely YT post showed how to make a blueprint that has four fuel generators in it. In theory, 4 generators will not fit into the blueprint designer because the inputs are too close together to properly fit the pipeline junction that is needed, but this guy had figured out how to position it so that it worked.
Also, I had a better idea of how to set up the initial lines of fuel production, so basically what I had done I deconstructed and started again. This all worked out well, and rocket fuel is flowing - or it would be if I had enough fuel generators laid down to burn it all.
Once I am able to burn the fuel so that the process is running at full efficiency front to back, I will be making 1,113 cubic metres of rocket fuel per minute. A fuel generator burns 4.1667 cubic metres of rocket fuel per minute, so I have to lay down 267 generators to burn all the fuel. Two hundred and sixty-seven! Currently, I’ve managed to lay down about 50.
The blueprint is a godsend here, though. Slapping them down in blocks of 4, with the pipes and electrical connection already in place, saves so much time. All there is to do is connect the pipe/power to the last quad and move on to the next one. It shouldn’t take that long to lay down the remaining 200 or so, but I have quit for the night rather than be tempted to try to push to the end.
Here’s the fun part: each generator makes 250MW; so 267 of the fuckers will make 66.75GW of power. That should be more than enough to take me through to the end of the game. The late game machines are real power hogs, plus I have a lot more production going on around the world because of the dispersed production model, but I don’t think I broke even 20GW of power generation last time around, so I will have juice to spare to go to town on laying down late game machines.