Friday Facts #330 - Main menu and File Share Shenanigans

[FactorioBot]

Here it is! (beep boop)

https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-330

[LegitimateTeddy]

I for one would be interested in the 'Continue' button reconnecting to the last multiplayer server. I don't think it'd make much sense to have it on the top level of the menu, above both single and multiplayer otherwise. If it were meant to be a singleplayer-only feature, just put it in the singleplayer menu.

[Gergely]

If we are talking about the main menu, you should make either it's background or foreground more lively at least. It doesn't give a good impression.

Either have it load a factory as a background (similar to what open ttd does), a video, or exchange the movable window (which is movable for no reason) for something better. Or anything really. Just do something about it that makes it feel as active as the rest of the game.

[SRXcraft]

Continue button should open a menu with the list of saved game if people want to continue playing one of their base not necessarily the latest save...

[Raphaello]

hmm.. is "pipes-in-satisfactory-test" folder in one of screenshots some kind of CS-style trolling?

Also, I'm REALLY surprised by your QNAP finding. I'm currently waiting for a new batch of NASes to show up in the market to replace my aging DIY Ubuntu based fileserver. I will probably not use RAID on the NAS at all but rather rely on good backup strategy (I don't care too much about uptime).

[matjojo]

Can we please get a way to save our direct connect games to somewhere? I like that it saves the last one, but I don't like keeping a list of ips and sites to connect to.

[billbo99]

Personally I have never had any issues with my QNAP devices, and I have been using them for 5+ years.
One is in the garage as a backup target, the main one is in my office and I have it hosting a couple of virtual servers.

I wonder what grade of hard disks they were using, from what has been said in the past getting IT gear in Prague isnt that easy.

[deef0000dragon1]

Continue button should open a menu with the list of saved game if people want to continue playing one of their base not necessarily the latest save...

I personally disagree. That would leave basically no differentiation between continue and Load Game. The point, as far as I can tell, with continue, is to give a one click, near zero time, solution to get playing the game.

I for one would be interested in the 'Continue' button reconnecting to the last multiplayer server. I don't think it'd make much sense to have it on the top level of the menu, above both single and multiplayer otherwise. If it were meant to be a singleplayer-only feature, just put it in the singleplayer menu.

I agree with the continue server thing. I think that it would be REALLY cool if it went a step further and, assuming you had a save, and the server was down, it started a server, but that would require some shenanigans on the side of recording who all joined, to make sure someone else who was in the game has not done the same thing already.

and as I stated above, one click, near zero time. I for one prefer a way to have it show up as quickly and prominently as possible.

[Lubricus]

For the main menu
I think Mods could be hidden behind settings. (Don't know if it's better just an...)
I have only used the editor with the command line from a normal save, i have never made any scenario. So either I do it wrong or the menu should include opening a normal save with the editor.

[psihius]

And that is why people shell out money for Synology NAS stations

Also, ZFS on Linux has issues and Linus recently wrote a whole tirade on why it will probably never be properly supported on Linux, so you might want to rethink your FS choices. But if anything, unRAID might be a good choice for your needs to host a file server on a PC

[Mathematician]

If we are talking about the main menu, you should make it's background [...] load a factory as a background

Yep! Put the image of the last save as background. How perfect smooth transition into game after hitting "continue" button would it be...

[deef0000dragon1]

Also, ZFS on Linux has issues and Linus recently wrote a whole tirade on why it will probably never be properly supported on Linux, so you might want to rethink your FS choices. But if anything, unRAID might be a good choice for your needs to host a file server on a PC

ALL software (including linux, OSX, insert favorite software here) has issues. And obviously you missed the "misinformed statements by highly influential figures," link. ZFS has goods and bads, and for many, its all you need (and better then standalone raid). Espically in the form of freeNAS.

[conn11]

The Continue feature might come in handy. Also liking the cleaned up start new game options, much more consistent then currently implemented.
Interesting folder selection by the way: lasers for trains, Spidertron (apparently from the last decade) 0.18 keeps getting more interesting.

[cynicalwanderer]

I think having the "Single Player" as a submenu container is unnecessary. A majority of people will only ever play in SP mode most of the time and there's only two options under it anyway, so the extra click to unfold the submenu feels like a nuisance. Multiplayer is a whole other category of its own and so a submenu is more justifiable to have there to get at the various options. So you could just have:

Continue
New Game
Load Game
Multiplayer
-> sub menu for that
etc.

[seePyou]

Maybe some find QNAP NAS boxes cool, and working for years. I also do not. Instead I find Synology NAS boxes far better and in the level of "prosumer appliance" as in fire-and-forget. The drives even survived a recall, so they were readable from one to the other and I get to use whatever disks I like and have one or two disk failure resistance.
Yes, this is a pro-synology post. No, I'm neither employed nor paid by Synology. I'm just a fan.
And if QNAP works for you, awesome! Glad it works for you and you like your product

[R3vo]

I love the changes to the main menu. This had always confused me because it was unintuitive.

[CrystalFerrai]

I only ever play in multiplayer mode. Having a continue button that does not continue my last game is misleading and useless. It really should be inside of the single player menu if it is a single player only feature. Alternately, place all single player options on the main menu and remove the single player submenu. Either way, the Continue button needs to be with other single player options. Making continue reconnect to the last played multiplayer game would be a nice bonus though.

Aside from that, the new menu structure looks nice!

[b0bst3r]

"pipes-in-satisfactory-test"

[NoxiousPluK]

And that is why people shell out money for Synology NAS stations

Also, ZFS on Linux has issues and Linus recently wrote a whole tirade on why it will probably never be properly supported on Linux, so you might want to rethink your FS choices. But if anything, unRAID might be a good choice for your needs to host a file server on a PC

Did you just choose to ignore the link posted at the bottom or the article? Or was it added later.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/01 ... ight-dope/

[WarStalkeR]

Can I please get Train Lasers and Horse Armor DLC? Thanks.