Factorio Forums

Personally, I think the game needs a slight rebalance here, as it costs more iron to build an Iron Gear Wheel than it does an entire section of pipe. I think the recipe needs to be tweaked by either increasing the cost of a piece of pipe, or decreasing the cost of the Iron Gear Wheel, such as getting 2x Iron Gear Wheel, for the same amount.

Interesting.

Makes sense from a realism standpoint. My vote would be that pipes cost two plates. Remembering that this will increase the cost of many other items.

and reducing cost of gears reducing cost of even more things.

Maybe. I layed thousands of pipes and I think 2 is realistic and doesn't hurt too much and then reducing the costs of underground pipe and steam engine to about 2/3.

I wouldn't reduce the costs of the wheels, that changes too much.

to be honest, I don't mind which method used, a little bit of both seems good to me, reduce gears to cost 1 plate for 1 gear, and increase pipes to cost 2 plates.

Either way, I'll need to adjust my mods to match the changes.

Goldmas wrote:Personally, I think the game needs a slight rebalance here, as it costs more iron to build an Iron Gear Wheel than it does an entire section of pipe. I think the recipe needs to be tweaked by either increasing the cost of a piece of pipe, or decreasing the cost of the Iron Gear Wheel, such as getting 2x Iron Gear Wheel, for the same amount.

Okay, looking at it, part of the heart of the issue seems to be that an Iron Gear wheel is just one thing, so I must ask: Whyever would you assume that an "Iron Gear Wheel" is just one cog? Why would you assume that is it just one cog?

A single "Iron Gear Wheel" consists of all the mechanical parts needed to make a robotic arm, including one that runs entirely on heat and mechanical power, or a transport belt that is entirely self powered; Five are capable of all the mechanical motions necessary to produce anything from power poles, to night vision goggles, to brick and steel smelting furnaces. Ten can turn more mechanical components into assembling machines, engines, steam plants, chemical factories, and inserters.

Calling it an "Iron Gear Wheel" and even showing it as being an iron cog is, like much of the rest of the game, just an abstraction and should not be taken as the full and complete nature of the thing itself.

In other news: All of a sudden, I cannot help but think that the real view of Factorio must be a lot more steampunk than what we see on the screen.

Hot glue ALL the cogs!

On topic though, I'm in support of this, though I never noticed that they went both one paste

Goldmas wrote:Personally, I think the game needs a slight rebalance here, as it costs more iron to build an Iron Gear Wheel than it does an entire section of pipe. I think the recipe needs to be tweaked by either increasing the cost of a piece of pipe, or decreasing the cost of the Iron Gear Wheel, such as getting 2x Iron Gear Wheel, for the same amount.

What about just swapping it? Making a Pipe cost 2 Iron Plates and a Gear Wheel 1 plate?

Metonymia wrote:What about just swapping it? Making a Pipe cost 2 Iron Plates and a Gear Wheel 1 plate?

Would seem fine to me.

But then Underground Pipes would have to be adjusted because they would be particularly costly then especially at the early game stages.

MeduSalem wrote:

Metonymia wrote:What about just swapping it? Making a Pipe cost 2 Iron Plates and a Gear Wheel 1 plate?

Would seem fine to me.

But then Underground Pipes would have to be adjusted because they would be particularly costly then especially at the early game stages.

Underground Pipes would be even cheaper compared to normal pipes.
1 underground pipe can replace 11 normal pipes.

Current situation:
11 pipes = 11 iron
1 underground pipe = 15 iron (10 pipes + 5 iron)
--> underground pipes cost (15/11) = 1.36x as much iron as normal pipes

If pipes needed 2 iron plates:
11 pipes = 22 iron
1 underground pipe = 25 iron (10 pipes + 5 iron)
--> underground pipes cost (25/22) = 1.14x as much iron as normal pipes

I agree with those who said cogs shouldn't be made cheaper - for one I think of them as a set of gears, not just one - that makes more sense. Additionally, making them cheaper would make a lot of other things too cheap.

I don't mind having the cost of pipes doubled, though

*shrug* pipes arn't gears.