Factorio Forums

My current iron patch is running dangerously low. Should I prioritise it or oil?

EngineerPerson wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 07, 2023 5:20 am

My current iron patch is running dangerously low. Should I prioritise it or oil?

The resources near where you start, iron ore, copper ore, coal, stone and water, are essential or nearly so to expanding in order to get more of them or the other resources, oil and uranium ore. The priority is clear .

Oil is an advance product that is used in later techs, but iron is needed for about everything and there's no way to substitute it.

Coal, on the other hand, for power production, can be substituted with oil.

FuryoftheStars wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 07, 2023 4:33 pm

Coal, on the other hand, for power production, can be substituted with oil.

True but I think oil is considerably worse in terms of pollution per unit energy, not to mention better used for other things. What I had in mind was that all four basic mined resources are needed in the production chain for military science packs, which are pretty much essential for expansion at higher evolution.

Mind you, I've very rarely if ever needed to specifically search for coal or stone, and don't need to specifically search for copper ore very often. Plenty of patches are discovered when searching for oil or iron ore. (With default settings.)

SoShootMe wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 07, 2023 6:21 pm

FuryoftheStars wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 07, 2023 4:33 pm

Coal, on the other hand, for power production, can be substituted with oil.

True but I think oil is considerably worse in terms of pollution per unit energy, not to mention better used for other things. What I had in mind was that all four basic mined resources are needed in the production chain for military science packs, which are pretty much essential for expansion at higher evolution.

Mind you, I've very rarely if ever needed to specifically search for coal or stone, and don't need to specifically search for copper ore very often. Plenty of patches are discovered when searching for oil or iron ore. (With default settings.)

Very possible, though I've never done out the math and don't have the intention to right now (and depending on play style, it may not be important to some people). It wasn't really why I mentioned that, anyway. It had more to do with the concept of "should I prioritise my X production (patch is running low) or oil?" As there is the possibility of running out of anything (except oil & water) at any time, the question may come up again and for any of the other resources. I was attempting to note that for X = coal, the coal isn't as important, for power at least, as it can be substituted. Even for non-power, depending on the base setup, running out of coal may not be as big of an issue/progress halting as iron or copper. Stone is debateable and perhaps dependent on the map settings. Further distance between resources and/or water cutting you off from resources can make stone slightly more important for rails and landfill.

Thanks for the info everyone!