A while ago, I shared my Roboport Grid Layout and here is an updated version for 0.15. The basic idea is a series of grids that are 48x48 tiles with a 2 tile 'walkway' in between. This sizing allows for complete roboport coverage. The exception is the center 'main bus' which is 58 high x 48 wide and has two roboports. This is a belt based layout and bots are used mostly for construction and personal logistics. I created this layout because I create new bases often and I found myself wanting a smooth, repeatable process when building the base. I am sharing so people who are wanting a guide (or structure) to help them play will have a reference.
This is a google maps view of the base. Now hosted by factorioMaps.com!
Blueprints
(might as well put these up top, eh?)
- Blueprint: Full Base v04 (no color floors)
- Book: Roboport Grid Layout v04
- Book: Floors for RGL v04
- Book: Beacons for RGL v04
- Book: Outposts, Depots, Power, Rails v04
- Book: Scratch & Starter Base v04
This image of the base has beacons, but no modules. Adding modules will resolve some of the non-optimized layouts. The beacons are in a different book so they can be added later.
The colors are used to designate the portions of the base:
- Light Green: Rail
- Dark Green: Bus
- Yellow: Refining
- White: Unloading
- Red: Smelting
- Pink: Technology
- Orange: Production
- Purple: Research
CaveatsI am experimenting with 'smelting' green circuits. That is; not belting the copper & iron used to make green circuits. I think that with beacons and modules, the numbers work to be better by not belting the resources for this component.
Almost nothing in this base is 'perfect ratio'. Because of my artificial restriction of fitting areas into a grid and having the roboport included, sacrifices for efficiency and optimal production were made. With full modules and beacons, this base can produce rockets with infinite research, which is the goal. Also, while I attempt to minimize the mess of belts, some pasta is unavoidable. For belts, I follow the practice of 'minimal underground'. I like belts because I can see what is on them, so I keep the underground distance to a minimum. This base is done in red belt because it is accessible and cost-efficient to me. Upgrading to blue bets is expected when moving to beacons and modules.
Power & Resources
In order to use this base, a player will need to connect power and raw materials. There are blueprints for those included in the books, but they are not pictured here. For raw materials, all of the unloading stations of a type should be named the same (e.g. "Iron: Unload", "Copper: Unload"). The stacker will help them route 'good enough'. I prefer a brute force 'over supply' system for materials - provide more trains than the system requires so that a couple are waiting in the stacker. There are the minimums for each resource so that each resource has a near constant supply (coal is the first station I setup):
- Iron: 9 trains (8 unloaders)
- Copper: 5 trains (4 unloaders)
- Coal: 3 trains (2 unloaders)
- Stone: 1 train (1 unloader)
- Oil: 3 trains (2 unloaders)
- Uranium: 1 train (1 unloader)
Storage & StationsTo get the Rocket Fuel started, it is necessary to drop a couple of barrels of Red Oil into the assembler in each grid for them. You will have to barrel these manually. Sorry about that.
For Item storage, the Production Area stores completed components in chests in their 'end caps'. The 'trash sorter' below them aligns with these chests. With logistics robots, the location of these chests doesn't matter, but I like to know where they are. The circuit at the start of the trash sorter prevents the sorting belt from becoming clogged by limiting insertion.
The 'Railyard' uses custom filters for the wagons, pictured below:
- Outpost Builder
- Combat
- Solar
- The Solar Locomotives require special settings for their loading and unloading.
I use Quality of Life mods, mostly. For the blueprints to work correctly, you will need these mods:
- LightedPolesPlus - puts a light on each power pole
- WaterWell - a water source machine
To get the base built, I first build two other bases; a 'Scratch Base' and a 'Starter Base':
- Scratch: Smelting
- Scratch: Production
- Starter: Smelting: Top
- Starter: Smelting: Bottom
- Starter: Production
- Starter: Research
- Blueprint Book: Scratch & Starter
I am constantly tweaking this design and enjoy updating it. Publishing this has been more of a challenge than creating it because i have been 'improving one more thing' for a few months. I hope some people get benefit from this and I hope we can all appreciate that we each play Factorio differently.
I did not create this layout all on my own. Many hours were put in by other people in multiplayer. I really appreciate all of the help I received from the people who joined my server and twitch casts to help create and improve these designs. I welcome all feedback and input.
(cross-posted on reddit)
thanks,
jon
edit June 18, 2018: added link to map view on factorioMaps.com
edit Feb. 16, 2019: fixed link to Outposts, Depots, Power, Rails v04
