Best tutorials

[je11693]

Hi guys, I've watched a few tutorial play throughs from Tuplex on Youtbe and I'm wondering which would be the best to look at now. I've looked at te page one he Factorio website and these three look to be good, but I'm not sure which to go with..

Nilaus Final Factorio (v16 game)
Katherine of Sky series
Xterminator series
I've watched a few episodes of Nilaus' Vanilla done right series but that's using v15 of the game so thought the above might be better.

Really keen to hear your thoughts..

[eradicator]

Congratulations on getting your system up and running ;).

I generally recommend the "self taught" approach. Instead of spending hours trying to find a video that is "just right". There's also the in-game tutorials - learning by doing works better than learning by watching for most people. You can open them at any time by clicking the "hat" button in the upper right corner. Also as a beginner it can help to regularly take a look at the hotkey menu (options -> controls). The game has a ton of useful hotkeys, but remembering them all at once isn't really feasible. But in the long run you really don't want to miss any of them.

If you absolutely want to watch videos i'd recommend some of the "things you didn't know" type of videos (like this). The basic mechanics of the game haven't really changed in a long time, so videos for 0.15 should still be up to date, even if they don't tell you about the newest additions.

[Mr. Tact]

I agree, minimize the video watching, maximize the learning by yourself. When all is said and done, you'll be glad you spent the time to figure things out yourself. If you get stuck and can't figure something out you can come here for a quick specific answer.

[je11693]

Congratulations on getting your system up and running .

I generally recommend the "self taught" approach. Instead of spending hours trying to find a video that is "just right". There's also the in-game tutorials - learning by doing works better than learning by watching for most people. You can open them at any time by clicking the "hat" button in the upper right corner. Also as a beginner it can help to regularly take a look at the hotkey menu (options -> controls). The game has a ton of useful hotkeys, but remembering them all at once isn't really feasible. But in the long run you really don't want to miss any of them.

If you absolutely want to watch videos i'd recommend some of the "things you didn't know" type of videos (like this). The basic mechanics of the game haven't really changed in a long time, so videos for 0.15 should still be up to date, even if they don't tell you about the newest additions.

Thank you, and thanks for your help with it

My thinking on the tutorials was more along the lines of seeing how other people think and structure their factories rather than "do x, then do y" etc. Eg from the videos I watched so far I learned how to think about setting up smelting and the reasoning for doing it that way in relation to building a main bus.

I do agree without ou that "learning by doing" is almost always the best option, not just for Factorio!

[eradicator]

My thinking on the tutorials was more along the lines of seeing how other people think and structure their factories rather than "do x, then do y" etc. Eg from the videos I watched so far I learned how to think about setting up smelting and the reasoning for doing it that way in relation to building a main bus.

Yea, just be careful that the "reasoning" you're "learning" there isn't too biased. There's a huge amount of ways to set up smelting, personally i use at least 3 different approaches regularly, depending on mods/game stage/mood (not to be confused with blueprints - the actual layout has much more variation). Most designs posted online also have an almost fanatic focus on maximizing beacon usage. While that is a good strategy to save UPS in megabases it is useless in early game where you don't have beacons. And i personally don't believe in "planning for the future", because from personal experience: by the time i actually do have sufficient modules i'll rather build the whole thing from scratch again than add beacons into an old setup ^_^. And if you're new to the game you're probably not even on the same map anymore by the time (yes, restarting is totally normal :p).

The Mechanical Throughput Magic subforum does have mountains of designs though, some of which you might like, or not. The forum in general is full of more useful information than you're ever gonna need.

But my main point is really: You found a new game! Enjoy it while it lasts! Don't rob yourself of all the fantastic "aha!" moments by watching the solution to every problem on youtube ;).

Btw, did you go with windows or linux in the end? (Might be nice to "give back to the forum" by updating your system building thread with a final conclusion post for potential future readers ^^.)

[Zavian]

I've watched videos by all three of the youtubers you mentioned, and whilst I agree with a lot of what they say, there have also been plenty of times where I have disagreed with their decisions as well. So by all means watch their videos if you like, just be aware that there is often more than one way to do something, that sometimes experienced players will make different choices to those streamers (even in the exact same circumstances, and especially if some of the circumstances are different), and that in the end the game will be more fun if you try new things rather than just blindly copying someone else. (Plus you will hopefully learn new things from trying different approaches).

[eradicator]

I've watched videos by all three of the youtubers you mentioned, and whilst I agree with a lot of what they say, there have also been plenty of times where I have disagreed with their decisions as well.

I've barely watched any factorio streams at all. But i "fondly" remember that i regularly had to shout at my screen when watching minecraft streams - because the streamers were doing something exceptionally stupid again, like in a movie plot where the protagonist runs right into the trap to keep the plot alive. I think it's several factors: explaining and planning at the same time is difficult, people who want to be "streamers" are not nessecarily the kind of characters who come up with the best solutions, etc. Ofc there are exceptions ;).

[je11693]

My thinking on the tutorials was more along the lines of seeing how other people think and structure their factories rather than "do x, then do y" etc. Eg from the videos I watched so far I learned how to think about setting up smelting and the reasoning for doing it that way in relation to building a main bus.

Yea, just be careful that the "reasoning" you're "learning" there isn't too biased. There's a huge amount of ways to set up smelting, personally i use at least 3 different approaches regularly, depending on mods/game stage/mood (not to be confused with blueprints - the actual layout has much more variation). Most designs posted online also have an almost fanatic focus on maximizing beacon usage. While that is a good strategy to save UPS in megabases it is useless in early game where you don't have beacons. And i personally don't believe in "planning for the future", because from personal experience: by the time i actually do have sufficient modules i'll rather build the whole thing from scratch again than add beacons into an old setup ^_^. And if you're new to the game you're probably not even on the same map anymore by the time (yes, restarting is totally normal :p).

The Mechanical Throughput Magic subforum does have mountains of designs though, some of which you might like, or not. The forum in general is full of more useful information than you're ever gonna need.

But my main point is really: You found a new game! Enjoy it while it lasts! Don't rob yourself of all the fantastic "aha!" moments by watching the solution to every problem on youtube .

Btw, did you go with windows or linux in the end? (Might be nice to "give back to the forum" by updating your system building thread with a final conclusion post for potential future readers ^^.)

I went with your suggestion of using the trial Windows 10 I will update the other thread.

I think at the moment it's just a bit overwhelming in terms of the amount of stuff to learn in the game. Once I start playing it properly I'm sure I'll take your approach of just exploring for myself and supplementing it with questions or videos on specific things if I can't work it out myself. But learn by doing will be the main approach!

[zOldBulldog]

There are different approaches for different people. Some learn best on their own, others learn by looking at random stuff, others need a more structured approach.

Given the OP's question I suspect he is in the last group. For that I would recommend looking at Nilaus' Base in a Book, as it teaches you how to think right for Factorio.

That series designs aren't the only way to do things (and definitely not the best way once you become more advanced) but they are probably the best place to start.

When I was getting started I also greatly enjoyed Katherine of Sky's series and have a lot of great ideas, but they are more a playthrough than a true tutorial.

[je11693]

There are different approaches for different people. Some learn best on their own, others learn by looking at random stuff, others need a more structured approach.

Given the OP's question I suspect he is in the last group. For that I would recommend looking at Nilaus' Base in a Book, as it teaches you how to think right for Factorio.

That series designs aren't the only way to do things (and definitely not the best way once you become more advanced) but they are probably the best place to start.

When I was getting started I also greatly enjoyed Katherine of Sky's series and have a lot of great ideas, but they are more a playthrough than a true tutorial.

Thanks. I'll maybe check out Base in a Book. It looks a lot shorter than his Final series.

[zOldBulldog]

There are different approaches for different people. Some learn best on their own, others learn by looking at random stuff, others need a more structured approach.

Given the OP's question I suspect he is in the last group. For that I would recommend looking at Nilaus' Base in a Book, as it teaches you how to think right for Factorio.

That series designs aren't the only way to do things (and definitely not the best way once you become more advanced) but they are probably the best place to start.

When I was getting started I also greatly enjoyed Katherine of Sky's series and have a lot of great ideas, but they are more a playthrough than a true tutorial.

Thanks. I'll maybe check out Base in a Book. It looks a lot shorter than his Final series.

Yes, his other series are also good (I especially like his Modular Megabase one) but they are just playthroughs, not tutorials, so yo go through a lot of fluff to reach the good stuff. Base in a book is a true tutorial, straight and to the point.

Also, his designs are usually both simple and well optimized. Good to learn from.

Finally, another good source of designs to study/analyze is factorioprints.com, and hit most favorited before using the filters.

[je11693]

There are different approaches for different people. Some learn best on their own, others learn by looking at random stuff, others need a more structured approach.

Given the OP's question I suspect he is in the last group. For that I would recommend looking at Nilaus' Base in a Book, as it teaches you how to think right for Factorio.

That series designs aren't the only way to do things (and definitely not the best way once you become more advanced) but they are probably the best place to start.

When I was getting started I also greatly enjoyed Katherine of Sky's series and have a lot of great ideas, but they are more a playthrough than a true tutorial.

Thanks. I'll maybe check out Base in a Book. It looks a lot shorter than his Final series.

Yes, his other series are also good (I especially like his Modular Megabase one) but they are just playthroughs, not tutorials, so yo go through a lot of fluff to reach the good stuff. Base in a book is a true tutorial, straight and to the point.

Also, his designs are usually both simple and well optimized. Good to learn from.

Finally, another good source of designs to study/analyze is factorioprints.com, and hit most favorited before using the filters.

So my understanding is Factorio Prints provides a blueprint which you can use to create a certain setup. Do you guys like using these pre-made Blueprints or don't ou prefer to try and come up with designs/blueprints yourself?

[eradicator]

So my understanding is Factorio Prints provides a blueprint which you can use to create a certain setup. Do you guys like using these pre-made Blueprints or don't ou prefer to try and come up with designs/blueprints yourself?

I don't even use my own blueprints from previous games. Desiging stuff is the whole point of the game to me. Using pre-made blueprints would be like... not going to a restaurant because you've already read the reviews on google. I think you're overthinking the "how do i play this" in favour of actually playing ;).

[zOldBulldog]

So my understanding is Factorio Prints provides a blueprint which you can use to create a certain setup. Do you guys like using these pre-made Blueprints or don't ou prefer to try and come up with designs/blueprints yourself?

Both.
- If a premade blueprint is clearly "perfect" then I just use it.
- But most of the time I make my own after studying the best blueprints available. There is incredible insight buried in those blueprints, know-how that you would normally not come across in any other way.

Once I have my own blueprints I reuse them, but it is very common that I will revise them with new insight I've gained since the last time I used them.

As you probably have noticed by now, there is no right or wrong way to play Factorio, just "your" way. Some people prefer to reinvent everything every time, others use premade blueprints blindly, others make their own.

For me (and only me) the fun comes from seeing how much I can improve a given design over time. For example, I redesigned my "jumpstart" base somewhere between 5 to 10 times and I *think* I have only one more redesign coming before I can call it "good enough", but then... I am probably wrong and will find more tweaks for it in the future. Regardless, each time my blueprints are a little better and make my next playthrough that much smoother and more enjoyable.

[Zavian]

I'm with eradicator. In general I build new blueprints every game. To me, that is what makes the game interesting.

[je11693]

So my understanding is Factorio Prints provides a blueprint which you can use to create a certain setup. Do you guys like using these pre-made Blueprints or don't ou prefer to try and come up with designs/blueprints yourself?

I don't even use my own blueprints from previous games. Desiging stuff is the whole point of the game to me. Using pre-made blueprints would be like... not going to a restaurant because you've already read the reviews on google. I think you're overthinking the "how do i play this" in favour of actually playing .

I think I would prefer to do it like this. I would feel like I'm "cheating" a little if I just blindly used blueprints. I just saw the Factorio prints site and thought that everyone must be using it given how much stuff is on there.

Do you find yourself using blueprints much within the same game? Or once you've built something the next thing you build will generally require different inputs and hence a different structure/blueprint?

Edit: in fact, when I first found out what a blueprint was interested he game I didn't really understand why someone would use them as building everything by yourself seemed like a better way I could learn and understand how each item is made.

[je11693]

So my understanding is Factorio Prints provides a blueprint which you can use to create a certain setup. Do you guys like using these pre-made Blueprints or don't ou prefer to try and come up with designs/blueprints yourself?

Both.
- If a premade blueprint is clearly "perfect" then I just use it.
- But most of the time I make my own after studying the best blueprints available. There is incredible insight buried in those blueprints, know-how that you would normally not come across in any other way.

Once I have my own blueprints I reuse them, but it is very common that I will revise them with new insight I've gained since the last time I used them.

As you probably have noticed by now, there is no right or wrong way to play Factorio, just "your" way. Some people prefer to reinvent everything every time, others use premade blueprints blindly, others make their own.

For me (and only me) the fun comes from seeing how much I can improve a given design over time. For example, I redesigned my "jumpstart" base somewhere between 5 to 10 times and I *think* I have only one more redesign coming before I can call it "good enough", but then... I am probably wrong and will find more tweaks for it in the future. Regardless, each time my blueprints are a little better and make my next playthrough that much smoother and more enjoyable.

What is a "jumpstart" base?

[zOldBulldog]

A jumpstart base is a tiny base you use to provide research and materials to build your real base, or even to skip building a base at all and do something else.

For example, I typically make two jump-starts. The first one is absolutely tiny and lets me do minimal research and make a small volume of red belts/undergrounds/splitters, blue assemblers, red/blue inserters and steel furnaces. The second one is about 3x3 chunks and does all of its smelting, oil processing, all of the research (veeery slow), robots and later on it acts as a low volume of each make almost everything mall. Since it is so small and does everything I can initially feed it with belts and never have to run around much. I only start expanding spacewise once I build my rail network and can go places quickly.

[eradicator]

Do you find yourself using blueprints much within the same game? Or once you've built something the next thing you build will generally require different inputs and hence a different structure/blueprint?

Yes. The endgame is basically (the early game too really, once you get used to it :D):
Step 1) Design a production module.
Step 2) Build 20 copies of that module.

Blueprints are very useful because factorio is a game about building lots of stuff. Also some things can be generalized. E.g. a generic "two inputs one output" blueprint. They're also indispensable for spamming down solar panels or rails, because you need so many of those.

A "bootstrap" base as it's also often called is simply a small base that produces the infrastructure required to build a large base. Because a megabase can't build itself ;). I've never built one "on purpose". I just notice at some point that my current factory is enough and then start to build a larger one somewhere else on the map.

[Jap2.0]

I rarely use blueprints much unless I'm tiling something extensively - a large smelting array, a wall, etc. Other things I generally make on the fly or use a design I have in my head (ex. various smelting designs, the standard 3:2 circuits array, etc.)