Friday Facts #356 - Blueprint library for real

[eradicator]

Thank you for not selling out.

Even if factorio itself wasn't monetized "they" would've probably killed the brand with a hypothetical Factorio 2 (I'm looking at you Supreme Commander 2). I totally agree that not every game has to be milked to death. I'm sure factorio will stay alive long after you all have moved on.

And also thanks for the blueprint library. I have to admit i had given up on that after it was wasn't talked about for so long. And right in time for 1.0. =)

And thanks to everyone not-you for helping you through your hardships.

[eradicator]

Thanks for recommendations. Btw, you probably missed this http://kovarex.com/2048/ :)

I find the crafting recipe for research labs to be a bit convoluted ;p.

[neocortex92]

For some of us non Programmers Projects like this often are a blackbox and the people behind it are almost as unreal too. It is nice to see that you and your team are facing the same problems we all struggle with from time to time in our own lifes. Creative and Engineering Projects are hard and dedicated work. It is exhausting and its good too see that you found a way to overcome it in a positive way. I think the Problem lies in the mindset of the "Industry". It shouldnt even be called like this because Games are Art like Books, Films, and Artwork in my opinion. And Art shouldnt be forced and rushed. Keep your time. The best Game Designer (Painter/Musician/Actor) is the one who works on a lonely island (with a broadband connection) without a financially set deadline. And like Art, Games cant be made to please all people this is something that many Content Creators doesn't understand. You got it right.

Greetings from Germany. And best wishes.

Fitting Music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPBHMgc9wVQ

[Hiladdar]

First of all, I am glad you made the decision to not sell the game to a company would nickle and dime the mod developers and customers with micro transactions, and pay to play schemes. I am also happy for you and your family in it's bonding, and overcoming life's challenges. This is what greatness is!

Regarding blue prints, I am encouraged seeing them. One thing to consider, is how the current blue print libraries would be migrated into the new blueprint library. Another thing might be some sort of downward compatibility to previous version. But that I do not consider that as important. Importing either the pre .18 version blue prints into the new is much more important.

I think the new blueprints will work, but will reserve my final comment, after I try them out, when ever they get released.

Hiladdar

[Xystem4]

This is awesome! I'm so glad you decided to share the story with us, it's good to hear things are getting better.

(I still want landfill to be something you can put in a blueprint, though)

[Jesperhk]

Thanks everything looks really good!.

Only one thing missed out, zoom in and out when you are in the blueprint editor - i have some big blueprint where it can be really hard to see the items, since everything is scaled out.

But i have lived with it since 0.12 i can prob live with it forever..

[seltha]

My daughter started demanding to play Factorio when she was 3, she just wanted to "put down the grass, daddy"... (I was playing an island map and using a huge amount of landfill while it was still grass texture).

So I set her up with robots and a request for landfill. Then over time she then wanted concrete and rails and conveyor belts, but hasn't built anything as fancy as a mining outpost - that's super cool! She's almost 5 now, I think when 1.0 comes out we might start a new map together and see if she understands it better coming in at level 0 instead of when there's already a megabase in place.

As to other games... I am a PC gamer that believes sometimes WASD isn't the correct control scheme. Sometimes it's correct to use an xbox controller, sometimes it's correct to use a steering wheel, sometimes it's correct to use a HOTAS. She finds the controller much much easier in many games, and often struggles with WASD. So I got a second controller and we play some shared/split screen games together.

Assuming you have access to two controllers, I would 10000% recommend the Trine series of games. They are charming puzzle platformers which we both loved (though 3 was a bit short - get it on special). We also play a lot of Minecraft (we use the Bedrock Edition as it supports controllers) using 2 computers.

Some other games we've enjoyed together - Never Alone, Unrailed, Trackmania, Raiden V, Lara Croft + The Temple of Osiris, Horizon Chase Turbo.

While we haven't started these yet, I'm really looking forward to Terraria and Portal 2 too.

[Twisted_Code]

Thanks for sharing this story! Now I ponder letting my 4 yr olds play some Factorio as well maybe...

Here are some other games they enjoy:
- Putt-putt series from the 90s in the SCRUM adventure style of Maniac Mansion or Monkey Island, and with lots funny interactive elements and child-friendly game-play: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putt-Putt_(series)
- Snipperclips on the Nintendo Switch is a sweet little multiplayer logic puzzle game where you cut each other into fitting shapes or balance or bounce objects as you soon figure out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipperclips
- 2048 was a big hype a few years back and has obviously cooled off, but the game-play is simple and addictive still, as well as many clients available for mobile and all platforms, or even just playable via website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2048_(video_game)

Really need a metacritic of sorts with recommendations for different child's ages. Not only video-games but books and tv-shows and all..

Thanks for recommendations. Btw, you probably missed this http://kovarex.com/2048/

I looked up the game you based that on, and although it's obviously not on your reskin, managed this as a final board state. Thanks for the brainteaser
also thank you so much for all the awesome changes to the library, especially reassign and build on map. All these changes are so good (I've been wanting those last 2 for a while now) that I'm going to install the latest beta right away! (I'm already on the beta branch mind you. Just not using "latest")

[...]Some other games we've enjoyed together - Never Alone, Unrailed, Trackmania, Raiden V, Lara Croft + The Temple of Osiris, Horizon Chase Turbo.[...]

say, what's your thoughts Unrailed? That one's on my wish list and I've been looking for opinions on it.

[Nexarius]

Thank you for not selling out.

Even if factorio itself wasn't monetized "they" would've probably killed the brand with a hypothetical Factorio 2 (I'm looking at you Supreme Commander 2). I totally agree that not every game has to be milked to death. I'm sure factorio will stay alive long after you all have moved on.

And also thanks for the blueprint library. I have to admit i had given up on that after it was wasn't talked about for so long. And right in time for 1.0. =)

And thanks to everyone not-you for helping you through your hardships.

Supreme Commander 2 what a joke. They should have made Supreme Commander 1 but without the unit limit or performance problems in the endgame.

[Karnifex]

Suggestions for a game to play with your son @Kovarex: Snake Pass (steampowered.com/app/544330/Snake_Pass/) super chill and almost non violent, colourful, and a bit to train hand eye coordination.

[steinio]

Essentially all games which Katherine of Sky streams seem child approved.

[golfmiketango]

Damn, son! Was not expecting the big idea spigot to open so wide so close to 1.0. Haven't tried the new yet but reading this FFF made me seriously ask myself: do I really need sleep tonight? (Sadly, yes, I really do...

hmm... hmm... HMMMMMMM .....

ok yeah really must sleep unfortunately).

[BenSeidel]

Hi Kovarex,
Thank you for sharing your story with all of us. It means a great deal, especially to myself and everyone else dealing with burnout. I can testify that it's especially hard while also trying to keep a business running and on track. Having to be self-motivated is extremely difficult. You really do get to the point where you feel physically sick looking at your code. FYI, I am (hopefully) just coming out of my almost 18-month long bout of burnout, but it's still early stages.

In my experience, by far the hardest part of burnout is that no one understands. I mean, you've just spent 10 years doing all this great stuff and you all-of-a-sudden can't sit down for 5 minutes to make this change? And you have everyone looking at you to do these things, but you can't - or no longer can. But you know (or hope) it's temporary because every one you speak to says it's temporary. Even if they are right, you still don't know how long it will last. So the only thing you can do is wait it out. And it's a long f***ing wait.

To those who are currently going through it and to those that will go through it one day, I pointlessly say: Don't worry about it. Literally. Because worrying about it (at least for me) is the worst thing you can do. But you will. It will be on your mind all the time. And it will keep pushing you down.

Unfortunately, I don't know what changed for me. I don't have a nice story about how I was playing games with my daughter or anything as nice as Kovarex's. It was just a case of that I was lying in bed one night and I just felt the need to get up and fix a bug. And I did. Now I wouldn't say that I'm back 100%, but I have been spending a few hours a week working on this or that because I want to. and it's slowly increasing. Week by week.

For those that are interested, I got a 12 month contract. A simple 9-5'r. Been there 6 months now so got 6 months to go. I go in in the morning and I leave at night. I have no responsibilities apart from the ticket I am currently working on. I don't know if it had anything to do with me having just finished fixing yet-another-bug, but I can say. I would not have been able to do it even 3 months ago.

Anyway,
Thank you for sharing.

[Deadlock989]

Hi kovarex,

Thanks for your honesty about burn-out and related struggles. I can relate. We need more openness and honesty about mental health.

Thanks also for starting up one of the best video games ever made in this history of video games.

Best wishes for the future.

[lupinehorror]

it's very good of you to share that (some of your story).
we're all different and process and deal with things in separate ways.
glad you found your path.
i've benefited from factorio daily as an engrossing distraction from various things that are going on.
new blueprint stuff looks great. i messed with them a couple of games ago and then kind of put them to one side.
time to pick them up again.

[nafira]

To those who are currently going through it and to those that will go through it one day, I pointlessly say: Don't worry about it. Literally. Because worrying about it (at least for me) is the worst thing you can do. But you will. It will be on your mind all the time. And it will keep pushing you down.

100%
The worst thing to do is to worry about when it will get better. Or to put a deadline on your recovery.

Do yourself a favor, take a break, 1 month, 6 month, or more ; they're no rule on how fast your brain will cool down and let your mind back to its place.
Medication is not the solution, unless you are endangering your life, but at this point, this is more than a burnout.
The little good things of every day will help you get better.

Cutting yourself from society is also a bad idea : they are your medication. Talk to them, especially people who have suffered the same problem.
And its never over. You will have to stay steady all your life.

[samr85]

I like the BP library changes, but what would really make it perfect IMO is the ability to edit a BP in place, specifically to add things to it. There are times where I'll BP a big section of whatever, then slowly turn off things I don't need. And if it's a complicated area, maybe it takes a few minutes. But, wait, I accidentally removed something I didn't want to remove, and I already saved it! Great, now I get to re-blueprint the whole thing again, removing stuff, and hopefully not accidentally remove something I didn't want to otherwise I'll just have to rinse and repeat just to add back in that ONE rail signal.

This would be great to have in vanilla, but if you're happy installing mods, this one does it:
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Edit-Blueprints

(I still want landfill to be something you can put in a blueprint, though)

That mod also allows you to add landfill to blueprints, however when placing them on water you still need to do it in 2 steps - place it once with shift, wait for the bots to fill in the water, then place it again, as you can't put ghosts on water, even on ghost landfill.

[Brambor]

Since it is possible to place blueprints in map is it possible to make blueprints from map?

It is/would be useful for giant arrays of evenly spaced roboports. It can be done with radars while zoomed in, but still... it would be more consistent if it were possible.

Keep being awesome Kovarex! Powerful and beautiful story you and your son now share! I hope to meet you again at Factorio party, if I get hold of one of those (already sold) tickets. (I already wrote an email in case some appeared.)

[ske]

@Kovarex: Do you realize that factorio lacks a soul? It doesn't give you purpose. Instead it is a learning experience and becomes useless afterwards. There is no infinite replay value unless you become stuck in your development. You reached the next level by playing the game through your son. One day, not so far in the future (though it might be many years on the calendar) he, too, will leave it behind and look for something else. This is the way of life. You had a dream and you realized your dream. You were consumed by your dream but then you were empty. This may be the first time that you experience this but it won't be the last time. Don't fear these moments of emptiness, instead, enjoy them because then you are close to nothingness while still being alive and able to see things how they really are. Now finish the game and move on.

[#endgame]

The blueprint improvements are awesome and make me happy, but I'm happier still to hear that Kovarex is enjoying tinkering with things again, and is having a lot of fun building with his son. Very brave to lay out the details of the burnout so frankly, and I think all of us who have been in the industry one way or another can understand at least in part.