Friday Facts #431 - Gleba & Captivity

[FasterJump]

These changes look good.

I wonder how we would be able to cultivate metal ore from bacteria in Factorio. Are Gelba swamps/rivers rich in iron and copper, and that's where it comes from?

[astroshak]

No Biters games should still be doable, even up into Megabase scale, depending on just what those eggs go into. They already mentioned Productivity Module 3, but what else is what will really matter.

If say this because we know from previous FFF entries that Productivity Research will be a thing, albeit for specific recipes. With a 300% cap on Productivity for any machine, the question is “how do we get there” and enough research (which these biter eggs seem to be used in making that easier to do) would be enough to make Productivity Modules an interim thing, eventually.

Too, it depends on just how Quality affects the Productivity Module 2’s - and how whether biter eggs play any role in Quality at all.

Can’t wait!

[aka13]

I appreciate you being open to Gleba changes and listening to feedback.
That was really cool on your part, dealing with that all, and doing those last minute changes with the release being in sight already.

[sparr]

Woo! Despite being long deprecated, I think https://mods.factorio.com/mod/artifact-hatch is my first mod to [sorta/nearly] ascend to vanilla!

[morse]

Biter eggs can be immediately used for improvements to agriculture, crafting Productivity module 3, or because we felt like the Gleba unlocks aren't motivating us enough... A new laboratory

Yes, I saw that (obviously), but production modules 3 is not something that is massively used by regular gamers, and "improvements" sounded vaguely enough. Also, agriculture exists only on Gleba, right? So we will import bioflux and immediately export eggs back? Is this how it'll work?

Also, if the egg spoils on other planet or even in space, what'll happen then? Can biters survive other planets? Will they attack the local wildlife?

[doktorstick]

From kovarex on reddit:

The thing change a little bit, and you can't disable everything from biters anymore, but we have no enemies mode, where biter nests still exist, but no biters are spawn. (This is still on top of the peaceful mode, where enemies are spawned, but don't attack antil provoked).

[meganothing]

I give this FFF a 10/10. I was already sold on the gleba and bioscience, but this tops it. Captured spawners will hopefully throw logistics problems into our way as we have almost no say in where a biolab will be. And we have to plan for emergencies or get our factory bitten from the inside.

[The Phoenixian]

A spice, of course. Nutritionally dense, but with so much of the biochemistry common to the fruits and seeds of plants in high heat and humidity biomes, filled with low grade neurotoxins intended to make hungry pests, animals, and microbes chill out so they won't hurt the plant.

EDIT: It also appears to act as a preservative, at least long enough to allow export of itself off-planet. Much like many other spices.


*Ahem,* anyways, I am glad to see the Gleba glow up, Copper and Iron bacteria processing sounds neat. As does the arrival of the long awaited "peace with aliens" that might be in some ways even more disturbing than war.

[GregoriusT]

Okay genuine Question here for people who "disable" Biters. Would it be bad if the Spawners existed on the Map but didnt spawn any Biters, when you disable them? Pretty sure that is what would be the case when you disable Biters in the future. The Spawners will just be "there" but not spawn anything to attack you, so you can live in peace and build your Factory.



Anyways, that 2x modifier on Biter Labs is so people dont build Gleba Labs isn't it?

[sorahn]

Okay genuine Question here for people who "disable" Biters. Would it be bad if the Spawners existed on the Map but didnt spawn any Biters, when you disable them? Pretty sure that is what would be the case when you disable Biters in the future. The Spawners will just be "there" but not spawn anything to attack you, so you can live in peace and build your Factory.



Anyways, that 2x modifier on Biter Labs is so people dont build Gleba Labs isn't it?

https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comme ... ?context=1

[doktorstick]

Also, if the egg spoils on other planet or even in space, what'll happen then? Can biters survive other planets? Will they attack the local wildlife?

My guess is they just spoil as the FFF notes that biters can't survive on other planets (The Biolab can be used only on Nauvis as the organism inside would die on other planets...).

[yagors2]

For all those asking about biters-off mode, Kovarex just adressed the issue on the reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comme ... are_button

[gGeorg]

Does the captured, the spawner consume pollution ?

[Malfeason]

If I'm not mistaken, the game comes out in 17 days. Do you guys sleep at all? You mean to tell me you're still adding stuff and making changes this close to the deadline? That is nothing short of heroic. I took the entire week off of work to play this when it comes out. I absolutely cannot wait. I'm going to buy an extra copy just to show as much support as I can.

[GregoriusT]

Okay genuine Question here for people who "disable" Biters. Would it be bad if the Spawners existed on the Map but didnt spawn any Biters, when you disable them? Pretty sure that is what would be the case when you disable Biters in the future. The Spawners will just be "there" but not spawn anything to attack you, so you can live in peace and build your Factory.

https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comme ... ?context=1

I knew that answer already, it was very obvious that would be happening, the reason i asked that question is, because I wanted to know what the people who disable Biters entirely would have against this solution.

[Terrahertz]

Also congratulations! You, at least for me, achieved the goal of making the choice of planet visit order pretty though by now

[Tinker(ing)Belle]

Will there be a targeting logic for these controller missles in automatic firing entities like the turret or Spidertrons? Or will they try to kill biters with this presumably neither cheap nor effective ammunition? And related to as there is a timer until controll is established will it be a valid target for another missle during the process? How will biters behave towards the spawners during capture or after they are captured?

I'm just thinking about late game nests and how nice it would be to be able to pick a large 20+ spawner nest and just get half of its spawners to have an organically "grown" city block to make the eggs and the products in one place, probably including safe egg discarding. But trying to get all the bitters and worms (or could worms also be controlled as they are also a stationary entity?) removed from a latish game nest without blowing up most of the spawner sounds like a sysephean task, not impossible but time consuming as hell because the area of effect weapons can't beused.

[Aquilo]

Wood, plastic and oil production?

[Justderpingalong]

Giving Gleba the ability to give you what is essentially a 100% productivity bonus (ish) on labs is insane. I also like the new labs: Because it means we won't have to rebuild science once we go to Gleba (which was honestly one of the few reasons you'd pick it first). Though actually that's not true as the new labs are 5x5. Still, that along with the other changes (giving Gleba a completely unique set of recipes, biter taming) makes it much more exciting. I am also glad that whilst we've effectively brought back alien artefacts, but now in a properly automated way.

P.S. Curse you for lifting the embargo before release because it effectively means I need to go hide under a rock until launch /s

[Panzerknacker]

Cool stuff, gotta say.

For those asking about what if you play without biters, I can say that is simple; if there is no enemy, there is no challenge. So you don't need the upgrades offered by this new lab, you can simply build the old lab and expand your factory as big as you please because there is nothing holding you back anyway.