Factorio is the granddaddy, if you will, if the factory automation genre. There were others before, but Factorio really set the bar for others to reach. It launched in early access in 2016 (before that word really meant anything), hit 1.0 in 2022, and just recently released it’s expansion Space Age. I’m not poking my head into Space Age as Techtonica is in like 3 days and that game requires more attention given the state of affairs.

A brief recap of what Factorio is:

• 2 dimensional factory automation game. The lack of vertical space means that planning of layouts is essential as you won’t be able to run belts easily. Trains for massive transport needs.
• Research is accomplished through tiers of constructed items. You don’t use ore, you use inserters, rails, capacitors…
• Enemy AI that responds to pollution and grows in difficulty over time (you can turn this off).
• Buildings are all pre-fab, meaning your inventory is clear about what you can place
• Logistics networks that allow bots to construct buildings or move inventory around automatically.
• Modules & beacons that increase productivity, crafting speed, or reduce power consumption.
• In that network there are logic gates that can be used to start/stop items from being created.
• The base game completes when you send a rocket into space.
• An absolutely wild amount of mods.

You’ll likely recognize many of these items found in other games. In some cases Factorio does it better, in others it’s just added complexity.

I opted to head back into the game after a very long absence. I don’t think I had played after 1.0 (2022), so most of my memories were based on complex friction. 2.0 is now available, even if you don’t have Space Age, and with it comes a huge amount of Quality of Life boosts.

• Every inserter has filters built in
• Blueprints are baked in, no research needed. Also can rotate blueprints.
• Improved “ghost” behavior (a placeholder before constructing)
• Robots have much better logic
• Trains have a slew of improvements, importantly in track design
• Electric Poles have a larger range (YES!)
• Maximum range indicators for below ground belts/pipes, and auto-placement when dragging. This feature alone will shave 10% off a playthrough.
• Search/Pedia function that saves from alt-tabbing to the wiki.
• Rockets are simpler to launch (well… sorta)

The prior run throughs were complicated, mostly because the controls really limited your options. I am absolutely convinced that all factory automation games today are 3D because of the painful memories of spaghetti belts in Factorio. So my 2.0 run through was a generally pleasant surprise when all the QoL items showed up throughout the run. I’d go so far to argue that the game is finally accessible!

After having completed the playthrough, there are still some interesting friction points here that are simply not present elsewhere.

• The main bus in the picture (the colored vertical lines) are a right ass pain to manage without sufficient planning. It takes a truckload of material to build all those belts, splitters and underground portions. Honestly, every other factory game I’ve played does it better (Foundry has throughput issues, but mechanically sound).
• The main bus can only really accommodate a subset of material as a result of this PITA. Which enables a fair amount of creativity in mini-factory design.
• Building prefab often adds un-needed complexity. Theoretically you can “belt” up to 8 different items making them accessible for crafting. You will need about 12 of those materials to pre-fab buildings. See point about the main bus about why this isn’t terribly pleasant, until you simply don’t care anymore.
• The logistics network solves 99% of these issues, with the exception of mass crafting intermediate items. It takes a long time to get there.
• Ratios are hard to figure out, making mini-factories a puzzle with either very good answers, or very bad answers. The wiki does wonders here.
• I remember playing without blueprints and now with. I can’t fathom going back.

Factorio 2.0 is about as good as it can possibly get given the core design fundamentals present. Almost every single pain point comes down to the limitations of 2d design and therefore the requirement of very efficient logistic space design. It feels like every other part of the game is a candy coating and relatively smooth sailing.\

SIDE NOTE: 20% of players have launched a rocket, which is the game completion step. 65% have gotten to the oil step (which is effectively trains, or tier 3 of 6). Given the sheer amount of complexity, those are impressive retention numbers. Satisfactory players only appear to have 30% who have even started the game, 4% that have gotten to phase 4 of 5.

Every other game in the genre has avoided this issue by adding in vertical components, meaning that the fundamental design is different. Those games instead need to balance numbers (input / output / throughput) and world design (exploration / goals).

• Satisfactory added Dimensional Depots as a parallel to logistic bots and absolutely blew the roof off the game as a result. The game can instead focus on building BIG, and does so amazingly well. Blueprints are needed for massive factories!
• Dyson Sphere Program added logistics and blueprints to solve a lot of scaling issues. They are still trying to figure out the PvE portion with Dark Fog.
• Foundry is still trying to figure it out. The starting experience still needs work, and there is no clear end goal.
• Techtonica is hitting 1.0 in a few days. More as I start a new playthrough.

Long post conclusion… Factorio is a great example of creative design within interesting constraints. Nearly every feature we take for granted in the genre originated here, and pretty much as a result of game engine limitations. Even more interesting is how Factorio hasn’t stopped evolving! It’s not like going back to Morrowind where it’s in a time capsule – this game has continued to develop and steer a path forward (either the devs or mods) which others have not much choice but to follow. Wild when you think about it.