Idea: mod which causes all items to eventually fail

[adamwong246]

This idea is based on https://mods.factorio.com/mod/WearAndTear. I wanted to throw this idea out there and get feedback, so I've dumped the README here

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This mod uses negative values for `healing_per_tick` as a way to model "decay", a kind of meta-health. While ordinary health can be repaired with repair packs, decay can not ever before reversed. Machines will lose health with use and will lose health even faster with damage. An undamaged machine will eventually need to be repaired- a damaged machine will eventually need to be replaced.

## Decay increase due to creation

An entity automatically starts with a certain amount of decay.

## Health decrease due to use

Normal use causes health to *decrease downwards*.

Machines wear down and lose health during normal use. The performance of a machine is proportional to its health. So a machine in poor health will produce more pollution, consume more electricity and slow down, all the while decreasing in health itself. While normal use does incur a health decrease, it does not affect decay.

## Decay increase, and subsequent health decrease, due to damage

Damage causes health to *accelerate downwards*.

Damage to entities (walls, turrets, vehicles, etc) *decreases* its `healing_per_tick` as well as it's health, so that the entity loses further health over time. You can repair the health but not repair it's `healing_per_tick` aka "decay" rate, so any damaged entity _will_ eventually die. Because of the way factorio processes `healing_per_tick`, once you are at 100%, the decay stops. But keep damaging the entity and the `healing_per_tick` decreases further and at some point will decay faster than you can fix it, at which case it's damaged beyond repair!

The amount of decay impacting depends on the damage type of the attack rather than the sheer force. In order of greatest to least decaying power:

1) Acid
2) Explosion
3) Physical
4) Impact
5) Fire
6) Laser
7) Electric
8) Poison

## Recyling

Destroying an entity returns it to it's a fraction of its components. This fraction is based on it's health and decay.

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I will need a lot of help balancing this mod!

[jodokus31]

The concept of decay sounds interesting.
Leads me to a totally different approach:
What about a decay of intermediate products in chests to increase cost of buffers? Could be also used for organic items...

[adamwong246]

So, like a chest that "eats" items? The items you put in slowly disappear or accrue damage?

[jodokus31]

So, like a chest that "eats" items? The items you put in slowly disappear or accrue damage?

Yes, if specific items(f.e plates, gears, circuits, not end products) are sitting in chests, they disappear/decay at a certain rate. Maybe the same for fluids in tanks. Maybe even emitting pollution.
Damage makes no sense for non-placeables.
So, it's additionally punishing to buffer huge amounts and encourages to create production lines with little buffering.

Totally different approach to your idea, though. I might try to mod it myself

[darkfrei]

The chest, that removes about 10% of content every hour.
Actually, it removes items often and one by one, but the result gives the same 10% per hour.

[jodokus31]

The chest, that removes about 10% of content every hour.
Actually, it removes items often and one by one, but the result gives the same 10% per hour.

Yes something like this. Does it exist?

[adamwong246]

Reminds me of the lettuce going bad in my fridge as we speak. It's too bad more items in the game aren't time-sensitive. Nothing in the game could be said to "spoil" (maybe science packs?) Actually, petrochemicals do go bad eventually but not very fast. I know it takes like 2 years for gasoline to go bad.

It might be easier to model this by changing the assembly process, rather than the storage process. Rather than items disappearing from chests, you could make it so recipes, every so often, just don't work. Like a dud or something like that. Maybe assembly machines "jam" 1% of the time.

[jodokus31]

My vision is to specially nerf buffering, because you will always need it to some degree to ensure good performance, but you would profit from assembly lines, which work continuesly without much buffering. Chests and tanks are the main place to buffer resources. Belts and furnace can also hold alot...
I could imagine, that iron and copper ores and plates get "rusty" over time. This could lead to them disappearing or to exchange them with a rusty version, which could be recycled somehow.
Circuits and gears are probably refined enough to dont decay.

[nosports]

so maybe this mod is for you (unfortunately still 0.18)

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/MaintenanceMadness

[adamwong246]

Nice!

I do try to look for existing mods before posting to the forums but the mod portals search function doesn't like to search ALL versions- it insists on searching only 1.0 compatible mods. (Someone should really make it so the search function remembers my choice to search all version of factorio)

[adamwong246]

This mod is very in-line with my vision. I love how it requires ingredients rather than just repair packs (What is in those magical repair packs that allows them to fix anything?)

If you have not played Duskers, you really should. It's the inspiration for this idea, where your stuff is constantly wearing down and breaking. It makes for some wonderfully hardcore (but still random) situations. Factorio feels so leisurely and safe by comparison.