Satisfactory

[Blackhawk]

I have coal. Or, rather, I have the plans for coal power. The problem is that the nearest coal is either 500m away up the side of a cliff, or 1km away.

In the Grasslands starting location (the one you left behind) -- you had 4 -Normal- nodes about (less than perfect) nodes about 700m away to the NW ... with a lot of water.

I'm good. I found that power lines stretch a lot further than I expected, which made it easy to run a line back 'home.' I put in five coal plants, which is barely putting a dent in the coal, and I have room for plenty more.

Now I'm looking for quartz. I did stumble onto a caterium deposit on the top of a massive pile of rocks, but it was a good chance for me to learn about ladders and conveyor lifts. I have no idea what to actually do with it yet (although I know where to look), but it's ready to go when I need it.

[Unagi]

Let me give you a tip for the Coal Generators that is a bit of a pain to realize.

The perfect ratio regarding Water to Coal Generators is to have 3 Water Extractors for each 8 Coal Generators.
Those 3 Water Extractors supply the 8 Coal Generators with the 360 m^3/min they require perfectly...

However, the Mk.1 Pipe we have at this stage only can push 300 m^3/min.

So, you will find that only 6 of 8 plants can actually run on this setup.

To overcome this problem, and make use of the perfect 3:8 ratio, you simply need to run the water in a loop around our Coal Generators (as opposed to a single straight line that feeds the CGs), so that they are 'hit from both sides' with 300 m^3/min.

Hope that makes sense.

[Unagi]

I have no idea what to actually do with it yet.

At first, mostly just to unlock other MAM stuff, and also to build glass windows and roofs if you have those unlocked.

[Unagi]

Thanks to your suggestion I've been using those Smart Splitters to allow me to send the excess from my shopping arcade to sinks.

Yeah, that's been basically my only use of them.

One can use them to 'share a belt', and then redirect items into three other 'pure' lines -- but if one of those lines backs up, you will back up the whole line - and hence you will then need to Smart Split those items to Sinks*.

* and then you can make a single belt send many items without fear of it backing up, should one of those items fills its stores - they just get sunk...

So, a line with two different types of items on it first gets a Smart Splitter that separates the two, but then immediately those two lines each need to have Smart Splitters with Overflow settings that lead to sinks**, to keep that original Shared Line running smooth.

** you can of course then merge those 2 overflow lines into one - and sink into one Sink.

[Unagi]

Pro Tip: You can plunk a Splitter right down in the middle of a conveyor belt line. edit: no you can't, visually it looks like you can, but I don't think it works.

[Blackhawk]

My concrete was getting a little over-full (my storage was at capacity and the conveyor was packed), so I upped production a bit and started dumping the extra straight into the Sink. I'll just leave it that way for now and let it quietly accumulate in the background.

[Unagi]

My concrete was getting a little over-full (my storage was at capacity and the conveyor was packed), so I upped production a bit and started dumping the extra straight into the Sink. I'll just leave it that way for now and let it quietly accumulate in the background.

That's how I started with the Sink. Eventually a Ticket will cost so much that 'concrete' just really doesn't seem to cut it... but once you get Coal power to totally cover your power requirements, you can set up a Sink to your most refined product's Overflow, and start go to bed with the game running. Infinity resource nodes have their advantages once you can hook one up to a power generator.


I have to wonder if anyone (looking at you, spiffing brit) has built a massive-massive amount of batteries that then go on to power the entire game for days, etc.

[jztemple2]

To overcome this problem, and make use of the perfect 3:8 ratio, you simply need to run the water in a loop around our Coal Generators (as opposed to a single straight line that feeds the CGs), so that they are 'hit from both sides' with 300 m^3/min.

Hope that makes sense.

I never thought of that, thanks!

[Unagi]

To overcome this problem, and make use of the perfect 3:8 ratio, you simply need to run the water in a loop around our Coal Generators (as opposed to a single straight line that feeds the CGs), so that they are 'hit from both sides' with 300 m^3/min.

Hope that makes sense.

I never thought of that, thanks!

With great pleasure.

[Blackhawk]

My concrete was getting a little over-full (my storage was at capacity and the conveyor was packed), so I upped production a bit and started dumping the extra straight into the Sink. I'll just leave it that way for now and let it quietly accumulate in the background.

That's how I started with the Sink. Eventually a Ticket will cost so much that 'concrete' just really doesn't seem to cut it... but once you get Coal power to totally cover your power requirements, you can set up a Sink to your most refined product's Overflow, and start go to bed with the game running. Infinity resource nodes have their advantages once you can hook one up to a power generator.

I haven't done that, but I did leave it running while I went to the store earlier. I also grab a half a dozen stacks of anything else that's full (usually copper wire, copper sheet, cable, although I'd expect Quickwire to be on the list soon, given that I don't have a use for it yet and it's piling up) and dump those in the Sink hopper periodically.

I went and checked a couple of different possible quartz nodes today. I actually started work on running a line to the furthest, most inconvenient of the two, mostly because 2/3 of the route could be shared by a sulfur node that I just found.

I really should try figuring out tractors, but my base is in a hollow with most of the resources up multiple layers of cliff.

For those who care, my base is in southern end of the rocky desert on the south shore of a large lake. It gave me two pure iron nodes, a pure copper node, and a normal limestone node all nearby, which worked out great.

[coopasonic]

The cliffs aren't a problem when your factory is already in the sky... My general play the last couple runs has been to set the factory up higher than the surrounding terrain and run "highways" in the cardinal directions, branching off wherever necessary to bring the resources into the highway and send them back to base. At the end of the game I may have belts stacked 4-8 high on the side of the highway. It's ugly as hell, but effective. I'm pretty much always building ramps down to the resources and depending on the height will belt or elevator them up, occasionally chaining 3-4 elevators together.

It's all easier when you abandon any aesthetics.

[Blackhawk]

It's all easier when you abandon any aesthetics.

This I cannot do.

[jztemple2]

It's all easier when you abandon any aesthetics.

This has been the theme of my life . It is also the bane of my wife's life

I'm stopped for now. I'm on the last milestone of Tier 8 and have gotten Fused Modular Frames, but the other three require components I haven't even tried to build yet. And without a long term final goal/project I feel like I've gotten all I can out of the game for now. I will however be eagerly awaiting the next big update.

[Blackhawk]

Blade runners + crouch jumping - who needs transport tubes?

[jztemple2]

Blade runners + crouch jumping - who needs transport tubes?

Wait till you need to be regularly half way across the map

[naednek]

I wish the game had a better tutorial system. I don't feel it gives you enough info. Spent some time trying to figure out how to get power. I finally realized initially you need to convert bio to power.

[Unagi]

I just noticed that this planet has two moons that are actually orbiting it, and that it's rotating as well.

[jztemple2]

I wish the game had a better tutorial system. I don't feel it gives you enough info. Spent some time trying to figure out how to get power. I finally realized initially you need to convert bio to power.

When I started playing I was able to use this forum, Discord and probably the most used, the wiki to figure things out.

Probably my biggest early stumbling block was that I couldn't figure out how to put down miners, they would always show up red not matter which way I faced them. I finally asked on Discord, figuring there was some tech I needed to unlock but no, I just hadn't used my chisel to take away enough of the rock blocking the vein .

My other big issue was trains and trying to avoid having to make a circular route. I looked at some videos but I hate watching 30 minute long videos for ten seconds of info and finally it was the folks here on this thread who kept saying that it was possible to make a train work on a linear line that encouraged me to keep experimenting and finally figure out how to do it.

I've used the Discord channel https://discord.com/channels/370472939054956546/455858725518049280 to ask questions, people have been pretty helpful there.

[coopasonic]

I figured it all out with what was given but I've also been playing it for a couple minutes now, so much so that I take everything for granted and didn't even think to mention Zoop mode, the greatest thing ever, particularly when you like building megabases and making sky-roads out of foundations. Copying machines is a nice option too.

[jztemple2]

I figured it all out with what was given but I've also been playing it for a couple minutes now, so much so that I take everything for granted and didn't even think to mention Zoop mode, the greatest thing ever, particularly when you like building megabases and making sky-roads out of foundations. Copying machines is a nice option too.

I had seen Zoop mode but hadn't been using it since when I tried it, it was on items that wouldn't benefit. Now I understand...

I'm stopped for now. I'm on the last milestone of Tier 8 and have gotten Fused Modular Frames, but the other three require components I haven't even tried to build yet. And without a long term final goal/project I feel like I've gotten all I can out of the game for now. I will however be eagerly awaiting the next big update.

Well, that didn't last long . I'm making Electromagnetic Control Rods right now:

[naednek]

are you able to tell the craft bench you only want to make X amount of item, It seems you have to monitor and hit space when you want to stop. It's too bad you can't just tell it to do something and then leave the bench for something else

[jztemple2]

are you able to tell the craft bench you only want to make X amount of item, It seems you have to monitor and hit space when you want to stop. It's too bad you can't just tell it to do something and then leave the bench for something else

I'm guessing that the craft bench was designed that way to encourage the player to build production lines.

[naednek]

are you able to tell the craft bench you only want to make X amount of item, It seems you have to monitor and hit space when you want to stop. It's too bad you can't just tell it to do something and then leave the bench for something else

I'm guessing that the craft bench was designed that way to encourage the player to build production lines.

That's what I figured. Just makes the beginning game slow and tedious

[Unagi]

So, I don't want to test it... but what happens if you fall off the cliff and into 'the void'? Specifically, what happens to your inventory?

[jztemple2]

So, I don't want to test it... but what happens if you fall off the cliff and into 'the void'? Specifically, what happens to your inventory?

I think you lose it. I fell into a void and as I was falling and falling, I just loaded the most recent saved game . You could always test it for us! Just save the game and jump.

[Blackhawk]

Or make a temporary storage box, dump your junk in, grab a handful of ore, and take a flying leap.

[Unagi]

I guess I’m just a little surprised they have that kind of a death in the game. The kind where everyone will just need to reload if it ever happens. When any other death in the game is handled quite reasonably.

[Unagi]

Q: Can you delete your Space Elevator if it's already half filled with the next Tier's requested materials?
A: Yes, when you rebuild it, you will still have a Space Elevator with all the things that were in the one you deconstructed.

I keep deciding my SE is sitting on prime real estate.

[Blackhawk]

I'm considering the same thing as I brainstorm Complete Rebuild MKII.

That's the thing about this - you build a nice, neat factory, then they add new things that need new equipment that makes your factory obsolete. This time I'm thinking about separating the various roles into separate specialized sub-factories. An area dedicated to base level, one-ingredient processing (screws, plates, etc), a foundry areas, a refinery area, a full-on manufacturing area (assemblers, etc.), a storage area. The separate factories just seem to work better with the space I have (lots of medium flat areas, but no huge flat areas unless I pave over the lake.

I'm actually thinking that my current space elevator area would make a good refinery, and I can move the elevator off into a less convenient spot.

[Blackhawk]

Any tips on figuring out why the *bleep* my power grid is shutting down? The game tells you nothing except 'a fuse is blown', and even shuts down your power graphs so that you can't see any data. Not getting enough resources to run the power stations? Too much draw? No connection? How am I supposed to troubleshoot this?

[jztemple2]

Any tips on figuring out why the *bleep* my power grid is shutting down? The game tells you nothing except 'a fuse is blown', and even shuts down your power graphs so that you can't see any data. Not getting enough resources to run the power stations? Too much draw? No connection? How am I supposed to troubleshoot this?

Every time I had it happen, it was due to too much power draw, the grid was unable to produce the power needed. This is most likely happening because your power producers are cycling off and on. A quick way to check is to look at the light rod on top of the building, if it's green the plant is producing power, if it is yellow there is an issue. So if anything like a coal power plant isn't green all the time, you're losing power there.

If your power plants are staying online, then you have a power user that is causing the system to shut down. Figure out which buildings are your largest power draw.

Ultimately, you'll need to watch the power graphs (which you can view at any power pole) for awhile and look for patterns. Post a screenshot if you want, I'll take a look at it. Plants like coal burners might be having issues with getting enough water, or fuel generators might be getting surges in their fluid lines. Those fluid lines are a black art to get working properly.

[Blackhawk]

If the power is out, you lose the useful data on usage. I figured it out in any case. I added some power shards to my generators (I was running low, but not out), and added a couple more water extractors to balance them out. Since the pipes top out at 300, I had to split my lines (two coal plants on one line, three on the other.)

The problem was that the second line wouldn't fill properly, despite everything being in place. I ended up having to shut everything down, tear down the wires, build two biofuel burners, attach them to one of the new water extractor, then remove and replace the first section of pipe twice before it would fill. Then I had to very, very quickly tear down the lines to the burners and wire them back to main power.

Whoever designed the fluid system in this game is a sadist. It requires a degree in fluid mechanics, and gives no meaningful feedback to help you figure out what is going on (like using terms like 'head lift' without explaining it or giving you any way of measuring it short of trial and error.)

[jztemple2]

If the power is out, you lose the useful data on usage.

Yup, that's why you need to watch the graphs before you lose power. If the power available is fluxing a lot, you've got issues to fix since it means you could be getting all that power at the peak of the power graph. I had this happen, the cycling of the power, and discovered that I had water supply issues. Oh, and sometimes a conveyor splitter will stop working on one of it's outputs for no apparent reason

I figured it out in any case. I added some power shards to my generators (I was running low, but not out), and added a couple more water extractors to balance them out. Since the pipes top out at 300, I had to split my lines (two coal plants on one line, three on the other.)

The problem was that the second line wouldn't fill properly, despite everything being in place. I ended up having to shut everything down, tear down the wires, build two biofuel burners, attach them to one of the new water extractor, then remove and replace the first section of pipe twice before it would fill. Then I had to very, very quickly tear down the lines to the burners and wire them back to main power.

Whoever designed the fluid system in this game is a sadist. It requires a degree in fluid mechanics, and gives no meaningful feedback to help you figure out what is going on (like using terms like 'head lift' without explaining it or giving you any way of measuring it short of trial and error.)

The fluid mechanics are a pain, especially since they aren't totally true to actual physics but are a compromise. The wiki has a bunch of diagrams about this. As mentioned above by Unagi, for power plants it's best to split the incoming water line(s) and have them come in from both directions, which essentially gives you 600 units.

I was getting nitrogen from a train freight car which went into the platform storage. I then was piping it across a ways to a factory for use. Trouble was, no matter how I fiddled with the piping or added pumps (by the way, pumps are useless for gasses ) I couldn't get the damn gas to leave the platform storage. I finally ended up putting in a nearby buffer, adding piping, then removing the piping, removing the buffer, putting in the piping first then the buffer and then connecting it to the platform storage. That finally got the nitrogen to flow.

One more tip, if you are using fluids in manufacturing, adding powershards to the building may be counterproductive. If your fluid can't refill fast enough the production building will waste a production cycling by emptying the fluid you do have there, then sit in idle mode while the fluid builds up to maximum. It then does a production cycle. If you tweak the overcharging on the building such that the production cycle ends just after it refilled the fluid input, then you'll have maximum production.

[Blackhawk]

Today's learnings:

1. CTRL-left click transfers all of an item from one inventory to another (so instead of searching around for all of the [whatever] or using the sort button, then shift-clicking the stacks one by one, you just find one stack and CTRL-click it and it transfers them all.)

2. This site for planning factory layouts. It isn't an efficiency calculator like the last one, just a layout planner so you can figure out how big to make your foundations, how to run everything so that you don't end up with conveyor/power spaghetti.

3. Holding CTRL while placing an item forces it to lock to the global grid (to make sure that everything is square.) That much I knew. What I didn't know is that if you hold CTRL while placing an item over another item, it replaces the existing item. For example, say you built an entire building out of walls. Now you want every other panel on the second row to be a window. Instead of removing every other panel and then placing windows in the gaps, just select the windows, hold CTRL, and it will automatically replace the wall with the window.

Related to #2.

Today I'm making an attempt at my second factory rebuild. Last time all I had was constructors and smelters. This time I'm taking more advanced materials into account (assemblers, blenders, manufacturers, refineries, foundries, etc.) I've already decided to separate things into separate sub-factories: A universal storage building (possibly combined with or next to a transport hub), a foundry, a refinery (built next to the water for convenience), a first-level production building (single-material recipes - screws, plates, etc), an advanced production factory (assemblers, manufacturers, etc.) In order to make the space more practical, I'm thinking about spreading them out. I've already decided to (eventually) make a specialized ammo/explosives plant just to get that overhead away from my main base, and I may move the first-level production somewhere else and ship the single-ingredient products in.

But it is challenging to plan for this. According to a comment I found, they're broken down like this:

Standard recipes are currently repartited into : 3 smelter ; 2 foundry ; 30 constructor ; 27 assembler ; 18 manufacturer ; 13 raffinery ; 7 Blender ; 2 accelerator ; 10 packager (water & sulfuric acid are requested for outputing waste to the Sink)

And given that I haven't unlocked the blender or manufacturer yet, that's a lot to plan around. What I want to avoid is having to madly rearrange conveyors every time I need a different item, while avoiding laying out 50+ Assemblers. What I need to do is figure out which production items are used in vast quantities (like steel beams and reinforced plates), and which are just used in a few offhand recipes here and there. Maybe it would make sense to set aside a smaller factory just for space elevator production, as those tend not to be used for much besides the elevator and a few research items. I could just put a storage buffer on each in case I needed a few later.

[Blackhawk]

Oh, and I found this last night. Update 8 is coming soon. It won't invalidate saves, but they're reworking several zones, and it might result in parts of bases suddenly growing rocks in the middle of them, or ending up hovering above the ground. Luckily, they released a map of what areas are most affected.

Spoiler:

[Blackhawk]

I need to quit posting and start building, but I just found that the calculator/interactive map lets you upload your saves and adds your current content to the map. It's actually really handy, as you can zoom in and it will show you every building, every conveyor (animated when you hover over them), what every building is working on, where you shards are, everything.

Rocky desert map spoilers:

Spoiler:

My main area:



When you hover your cursor over a machine:

[jztemple2]

2. This site for planning factory layouts. It isn't an efficiency calculator like the last one, just a layout planner so you can figure out how big to make your foundations, how to run everything so that you don't end up with conveyor/power spaghetti.

Cool tool! I'll definitely have to play with it.

[jztemple2]

I need to quit posting and start building, but I just found that the calculator/interactive map lets you upload your saves and adds your current content to the map.

Yeah, I used it to find hard drives. I'm not a big fan of going over every square meter of terrain, even with the scan tool

[Blackhawk]

I need to quit posting and start building, but I just found that the calculator/interactive map lets you upload your saves and adds your current content to the map.

Yeah, I used it to find hard drives. I'm not a big fan of going over every square meter of terrain, even with the scan tool

I used the map to find my starting location, and that's been mostly it. I love meaningful exploration in games, and it came as a huge surprise in this one. I expected to be staying in one place and building, but this actually reminds me (in some ways) of Subnautica.

[jztemple2]

I used the map to find my starting location, and that's been mostly it. I love meaningful exploration in games, and it came as a huge surprise in this one. I expected to be staying in one place and building, but this actually reminds me (in some ways) of Subnautica.

Up to a point I like exploration as well, but after the first couple of dozen hours I realized I just wanted to focus on building. It's the same reason I turned off animal hostility, there was just so much to do. However, have a map of a hard drive location still means I have to get there, and since I'm addicted to hovering now it meant I'm adding powerlines running all over the place.