Factorio Forums

I've heard that its very difficult to play Factorio without some outside knowledge, so I'm wondering are there any good tutorials for new players?

Have you played through the mission levels?

The wiki contains some tutorials from very basic to in depth. I was able to get into the game with these.
https://wiki.factorio.com/Tutorial:Quick_start_guide

SleepyCarrot wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:22 am I've heard that its very difficult to play Factorio without some outside knowledge

It depends. It may not look nice and have the "correct" ratios, but it's very much possible to play the game and figure the basics things out on your own. Newbie bases like that have their own charm even. It can be worth trying your first game on your own and then look up best practices later.

It's easy to play and get into, difficult to master. Just don't compare your base to those that have 5000 hours in the game and enjoy the game for what you can get out of it. The game has in-game tips that pop up when you need them and the toolset is very simple and limited from the start. New things are introduced as you research them in-game and you don't have to use anything you don't understand. But it's fun to experiment and learn with new tech so don't be too afraid to take some time and reach into the unknown, and use tutorials then if you get stuck.

SleepyCarrot wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:22 am I've heard that its very difficult to play Factorio without some outside knowledge, so I'm wondering are there any good tutorials for new players?

I'm going to say the opposite: There is no "correct" way to play factorio. Going in with too much pseudo knowledge is just going to slow you down in figuring out your own preferred playstyle. And you'll also miss out on the good feeling of all those "Aha!" moments.

Start a map, see how far you get. If biters are too much of a problem start a new map and disable biters (they're not nessecary for building the rocket). Play a few dozen hours before getting "knowledge". That way you'll have a better intuition about what you actually want to know.

eradicator wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 12:49 pm Start a map, see how far you get. If biters are too much of a problem start a new map and disable biters (they're not nessecary for building the rocket).

Another good option if you find the biters too tough initially is to increase the size of the starting area. The starting area is the section around your base that's initially free of nests. If you make it larger, it'll be longer before the pollution hits the aliens and they begin to attack.

I think the best thing by far is the demo, a.k.a. the campaign. Doesn't spoil any content you and introduces you to all the important concepts. Heck, even if you're new and want to learn the "spoilery content" right away, the demo is still one of the best ways to start off.

I would heavily recommend going in spoiler free because it's one of the most fun parts to immerse yourself in it and learn the things on your own - trust me, you will be able to - and to only much later on make use of community-made videos and guides. They're definitely very valuable, but I think you really risk on missing on a lot of fun if you skip straight to these expert strategies and builds. All things said, it is ultimately your own choice.

Qon wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 11:21 am It's easy to play and get into, difficult to master.

This is a very good way to put it I think.

It may seem intimidating if you look at someone's huge base as a newcomer, but I can assure you, if you start the journey all on your own, you will find, that in the end, you'll have built a huge base that is far, far less intimidating to yourself, but almost just as impressive as the other ones you saw. You will have built an impressive base, one step at a time, maybe even without noticing the progress. If you were to try look at it all at once, it's a machinery that overwhelms your sense of perception and defies your full understanding, yet despite this, you'll be able to zoom in at any single part of it and remember how you learned it and how you decided to build it, and that knowledge allows you to understand the whole base, because for every one thing, your memories will remind you of how it relates to every other thing in the long chain of sequences that is your factory.

Eventually, I think you'll also look back at those memories and see what a fun experience it was.