Friday Facts #398 - Fulgora

[FuryoftheStars]

Absolutely love the ruins. I remember there used to be a Factorio mod that added strewn ruins to discover, but IIRC it wasn't kept updated/compatible?

Are you referring to this one?
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/AbandonedRuins

It still works, afaik. I use it in my game plays without issue. There was an add-on mod to it that someone else was doing that wasn't kept up to date/doesn't work, but the main one does.

[brunzenstein]

Is it possible to start on a moon or do I have to finish the basic game, build a rocket, first?

[Killcreek2]

Disabled Accessibility Notes:

"The sky dims, and in a flash, the thunder that was on the horizon only moments ago is upon you. Lightning pierces the sky and strikes your energy shield. It can't take many strikes like this."
Flashing lights warning.

Oh noes.
Lightning storm VFX in games is typically really bad for my light sensitivity, easily triggering migraines & rendering some games unenjoyable.

...Leaned back in chair & squinted, before clicking "play video"...

Wow!
Gotta hand it to you, Wube: That is the absolute best implementation of lightning VFX in any game I have played in 35+ years of gaming! Not even a twinge of discomfort watching that clip, outstanding. Also it looks really cool too.

More details about why is it so well done in this case [with comparison to other devs]:
1> The light bloom effect is centred near the strike. [NOT a lazy-coding gamma-channel white-out of the entire screen.]
2> The light bloom fades in (over 0.5 sec ~ish), giving time for the eye's pupil to adjust. [NOT a sudden sharp increase.]
3> The light bloom also fades out, again giving time to adjust. [NOT just an abrupt switch off.]
4> The light blooms from multiple quick strikes nearby merge together nicely. [NOT stacking additively on top of each other to multiply the brightening effect.]

Very well implemented. Hats off & Bravo!
(I have bookmarked this FFF for linking to other dev teams, as it is a great example of how to do lightning VFX well, & without causing problems for some gamers.)


While on the topic of VFX:
1> I hope you consider adding a fade in/out to the darkening of the screen when main menu is opened ingame.
The sudden abrupt change in screen brightness when closing main menu, especially near light-coloured terrain, is rather bad. [50% dark]
Pausing game is half as dark as when main menu opens: This is less bad but still unpleasant, due to same lack of fade in/out. [25% dark]
Having to open the menu repeatedly in a short time (eg; to change ingame mod settings), has similar effect to a strobe light. You can replicate it for yourself: Center game view on pale terrain (white desert is worst), & rapidly press the main menu hotkey for 30sec. Then do likewise pressing pause hotkey instead.
~ Reducing the background darkening for the main menu [50%] down to the same level of the darkening when paused [25%], & ideally with a 0.5sec fade in/out transition, would be much appreciated. 10%-15% darkening is enough to subtly hint, whereas 50% is more like a sledgehammer to the brain.
~ However, given that a flipping huge menu opens up in middle of screen (or shows "game paused" in big letters), then is ANY screen-darkening effect needed at all?
Probably best to just remove the "make it darker" section of code entirely, as it doesn't seem to serve any useful purpose. Especially if fixing it is not a good use of coding time.

2> Any method to stop flashing UI elements from flashing would be awesome. (ie; the "No Power" icon, various alerts, in the player backpack when hovering over things in crafting menu, &etc.)
Flashing GUI elements are a form of Visual Noise. This is distracting at best, but typically becomes very annoying for some people (Autism spectrum for example). Imagine being nagged & pestered constantly about something you are already well aware of. Like Navi does in the Zelda games.
I have seen many requests & complaints about these flashing elements (since v0.13): how to turn them off; or is there a mod to stop them flashing; etc.
~ A simple on/off toggle in the GFX options menu would be perfect. But an ingame command line switch, or modding flag would do.


Looking forward to the release, keep up the great work!

[Dmytrozern]

...to reduce the overall polution of the factory? Would be pretty interessting if this was actually necessary on the last Planet, because you cannot beat the Aliens there outright, so you need to stay low profile.

I second that. This would be a nice change of pace: splitting the factory, so waves are smaller? plotting train routs between those sections around those nests instead of stramrolling? Count me in! Green mods and quality will actually be more than just QOL, but an actual needed gameplay asset!

Adapting to a planet would be a nice challenge instead of easily getting new tech to keep your strategy the same. I think it's not for everyone, so maybe some late tech should give you the ability (like paving the lava on Vulcanus), but the idea of flamer wall that can"beat it all" is fun...for the first 100h. Then it just becomes routine that your do over and over. I really hope planets bring new challenges... And so far i see we are getting that!

[aka13]

Now that I rewatched it, the graphics and sounds reminded me of netstorm. Anyone still remember that?

[zingaya]

This gave me an idea. It should be Like Dune II, you can't build large structures over sand or soft terrain.

[malecord]

I've also been thiking by seeing the tar patch twice, that since it's likely that we will enable petroleum recipes oil by separating sand from oil, perhaps it can be that also on Navius the pollution will start to have more direct effects on the map than just the cloud and the color of the water. And some recycling and reclamation will be needed to sustain the last steges of the factory.

[TBC_x]

This gave me an idea. It should be Like Dune II, you can't build large structures over sand or soft terrain.

There are mods for this and it should stay as such, it's a challenge not everyone is willing to take on. But it would be nice if devs had a terrain type that would be very easy to support with this kind of mods without further work. At least for this planet.

[adam_bise]

I now want a new personal equipment grid item that allows me to reach into the sky and grab a lightning bolt to recharge my batteries.

[mmmPI]

I now want a new personal equipment grid item that allows me to reach into the sky and grab a lightning bolt to recharge my batteries.

What about a weapon that would throw a kite ? how thick of a cable to harness that power ? how big the kite needs be based on the winds ? that's some serious engineering business x)

[GregoriusT]

I now want a new personal equipment grid item that allows me to reach into the sky and grab a lightning bolt to recharge my batteries.

What about a weapon that would throw a kite ? how thick of a cable to harness that power ? how big the kite needs be based on the winds ? that's some serious engineering business x)

That is gonna be the 100 Dollar DLC featuring Benjamin Franklin. XD

[Dragomina]

I agree with the people who want to actually see the wind and sandstorms, that would be really cool!
Additionally I think that the sand/rock could use some color variations, because, as of now, it looks a bit repetitive. I think some shades of violet or blue or even light pink could fit the theme of the planet (after all it's an alien planet).
Anyway, keep up the great work

[Twisted_Code]

When you record stuff for FFF, could you make the aspect ratio slightly wider? I've had trouble fitting a few of your recordings and screenshots, including these, in my screen without zooming out a fair bit. I'm not even using a widescreen either, so I don't think it's my browser making it bigger...

[porcupine]

Absolutely love the ruins. I remember there used to be a Factorio mod that added strewn ruins to discover, but IIRC it wasn't kept updated/compatible?

Are you referring to this one?
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/AbandonedRuins

It still works, afaik. I use it in my game plays without issue. There was an add-on mod to it that someone else was doing that wasn't kept up to date/doesn't work, but the main one does.

Yeah, I think that was the one, saved.

[Fery]

Wau, that looks good. I like the idea of first steps on a new planet being challenging before you can start some automation and perhaps interplanetary transport.
Love the ruins too, hiding some story to be discovered, new science?
Oil-sand to be separated? Lightning conductor stores electricity only if connected to a battery?