Friday Facts #426 - Resource search & Assembler GUI improvements

[cybersteve547]

The Map view where train tracks go diagonal thru the wall makes me wonder whether rail gates will work on diagonal or curved tracks now.

Looking at the map some more, they're actually elevated tracks going *above* the wall.

Looking at the map even more, the fact that there are walls & defenses (looks like laser turrets to my eyes) around the ore patch suggests that Vulcanus is a dangerous planet indeed, & it's not just that you might lose your footing & fall into a lava lake.

So... is this a teaser for cool new enemies to fight? Or environmental hazards? Or both?

The previous FFF also teased something about Vulcanus enemies and I expected them to be showcased in this FFF. But alas, we must wait another week.

Me too!

... the next fff witch i am assuming is about vulcanus enimies?

Anyway, I think I've seen enough of these creepy-crawlies to last a lifetime. I'll leave Gleba to the Pentapods for now. They can have it! Besides, it's about time I check on my Vulcanus factory. I've been getting a bunch of alerts from there, so I sure hope nothing is disrupting my foundries...

[Shingen]

It is true that it is very difficult to find your way on the map with current Factorio, especially at the end of the game.
Would it be possible to provide a toggle to change the theme of the map between colored map or shade of gray.

• Only display the players and our infrastructure in color.
• Grayscale terrain.
• Trees may not be displayed as they are not very useful on the map.

oh, Transport Tycoon's map view modes come to mind... :p

[Ecconia]

I would like to be able to opt-out of the throughput calculation. (Could be a hidden setting for all I care :P)

Reason:
The calculation only considers the "ideal" throughput. If you do not saturate your machines by feeding it less resources, the value is not correct.
Now one could simply ignore that calculated throughput. But it serves no help and is just visual clutter.
I would argue, that Factorio has many extreme players which simply reuse designs and big chunks of factories. The "ideal" throughput of a single assembler is of no relevance then. Only the "current state" information is relevant for an assembler at that stage of the game.

But it is helpful for many players and the earlier game, thus an opt-out feature would be perfect.

[jamaicancastle]

It is true that it is very difficult to find your way on the map with current Factorio, especially at the end of the game.
Would it be possible to provide a toggle to change the theme of the map between colored map or shade of gray.

I think this is a case where Starcraft has the right idea. Click the button, hides all the terrain. Click the button again, shows all the terrain. Simple, effective.

[rifton007]

It is true that it is very difficult to find your way on the map with current Factorio, especially at the end of the game.
Would it be possible to provide a toggle to change the theme of the map between colored map or shade of gray.

• Only display the players and our infrastructure in color.
• Grayscale terrain.
• Trees may not be displayed as they are not very useful on the map.

oh, Transport Tycoon's map view modes come to mind... :p

It is true that it is very difficult to find your way on the map with current Factorio, especially at the end of the game.
Would it be possible to provide a toggle to change the theme of the map between colored map or shade of gray.

I think this is a case where Starcraft has the right idea. Click the button, hides all the terrain. Click the button again, shows all the terrain. Simple, effective.

I don't play Starcraft and Tycoon, if you have any screenshots for remote control ideas. In any case, it would be good for the Wube team to think about this feature, because it's easy to do.

[DeeHants]

Whatever is running around there, has just a taste for coal

Dragon? Flame breath could explain the sizeable gap between the defences and mine.

[DeeHants]

Huh, you've added "Icon + Name" format for the ore patch tags. Could you make similar one to the blueprint templates so I can name my train stop "<Item Icon> <Item Name> / Unload" ?

Isn't that already part of the the new parameterized template system (FFF-392)? It may just be the icon though..

[DeeHants]

What happens to that resources menu if there is a patch of mixed ores?

Probably the same as now, treating every (almost) contiguous block of the same ore as independent.
This gets messy even now with mixed ore patches (diggy?)

[Hares]

Huh, you've added "Icon + Name" format for the ore patch tags. Could you make similar one to the blueprint templates so I can name my train stop "<Item Icon> <Item Name> / Unload" ?

Isn't that already part of the the new parameterized template system (FFF-392)? It may just be the icon though..

That system supports only item-icon, not item name.
Many people in the followed discussion (including me) asked to provide a way to add names too.

[moth.monster]

seeing the spoiling items now makes me wonder if fish is going to spoil... that would be kind of funny, actually. make raw fish spoil, and have it be crafted into canned fish for long term storage to consume later.

feels weird with the stack of 100 fish just flopping in my pockets.