Friday Facts #339 - Beacon HR + Redesign process

[FactorioBot]

Here it is! (beep boop)

https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-339

[leadraven]

I [don't] love it!
Admins, don't do it again...

I don't agree it is "integrated in the world of Factorio". It looks very foreign.
May be it's because I don't like beacon itself, as a game mechanic.

[doktorstick]

What would it look like if the electricity beams occasionally arced to the entities that are receiving the bonus?

[Gergely]

What would it look like if the electricity beams occasionally arced to the entities that are receiving the bonus?

Adding to this, what if they are the thing that connects the beacons? For example, make the tip of beacons that are close enough have their own set of electricity beams between them.

[AlmightyJu]

I much prefer the first redesign over the last image. I think its simply having the building extend into the hole rather than just a bunch of cables running up to a almost hovering building design that sways it for me.

Obviously without seeing lots of them side by side its hard to tell if its really too cluttered or if its simply a colour change needed but looking at the colours of both designs it's totally different and makes it hard to make a comparison but I still prefer the first redesign.

[Panderturtle]

The Beacon looks like a kraken which is helping you in the factory.

Looks fancy, but in my opinion its too much detail. The Beacon is a building which is in end-game nearly everywhere so i think it has to hide a bit between the other buildings. It should set itself in the background so you can see the other buildings more clear.

[DOSorDIE]

I think the "sword" on the top is not nessasary and doesnt fit with the rest.
The rest is cool and i like it.
Maybe a little satelit dish will look better on top ...

[Brambor]

What do you mean "long post"? It is one of the shorter ones!

Also, I cannot but help to see it as some sort of turret. A fighting entity. It looks eerie.

I like the design itself, to me, it just looks more like a front line, electric defence mechanism shocking the bitters with lightning.

[crux042]

It just looks like.... ancient alien ruin.... Does not suit with *factory*, I think.

[Panderturtle]

I like the design itself, to me, it just looks more like a front line, electric defence mechanism shocking the bitters with lightning.

Which would be a nice addition to the game btw!

[Recon777]

I've never liked beacon spam. When half your base's real estate is taken up by beacons, I think that looks terrible, no matter what the unit itself looks like. This is probably the main reason I don't use them. Because you need so many and their range is so short.

[fishycat]

If you take only the red parts it looks like a rudimental DIY Spidertron Mk1 for early game. I like it a lot

[Braxus]

I think the "sword" on the top is not nessasary and doesnt fit with the rest.

I am ok with this at start i think it's come from another thing.

The most frustrating point with beacon is not the art but the lack of surronding visual effect.

With this visual, you can't feel the module spread aroud, maybe it's worst because the thunder are bounded.
Furthermore, has a player, i whant to know the module kind (just speed/efficient not tier) just by looking (without alt mode), just because it's smart and beautiful.

[Lord Darkness]

Thanks for the design techbits, but it looks indeed like a tetrapod monster, so I'm not really a fan of the final design presented.

Personally I find the image with "max occlusion/collision box" much more appealing, especially the version that is not red.



The absence of color makes it look more clean, so any subtle lightning on it would be easy to read without having to be aggressive.

If the center is the problem visually, well, just leave the iron rings there, working as its structure as well, so you'd be able to see the hole behind it.

So, very readable, subtle and high-tech, to me at least.

Personally, I'd remove the "round window", making it a perfect sphere at the top with no details.

Maybe the lightning color should tell what kind of beacon that is.

Not really a huge fan of the beacon mechanic anyway, haha, I think the system should be smarter without having to rely on multiple beacons.

[leadraven]

No one will ever guess what it does by this visual. It is a weapon, or furnace... The eye in the center is very confusing. Spire doesn't look like a transmitter. It is not associated with area effect.

[ledow]

It looks like it's supposed to be an electricity supply, or possibly an electrical weapon.

It doesn't look like something that speeds up production in nearby units.

With the varied orientations, etc., it also looks like something that'll drive OCD people mad for no particularly good reason (I understand variation in, say, the beams, or the floors or the trees, but not on the buildings themselves - especially when they are likely mass-produced).

Personally I don't use beacons in long rows either.

[irbork]

Love the general idea and concept. Hate the placement variation, it does not fit the rest of factory where everything is nice and tidy. I think I will be placing and picking up beacons until I get my variation of choice, not cricket ones. Unfortunately it will be nightmare late game when bots are placing lots of beacons but I will build beaconed designs far away from main factory not to see it unless I want to deconstruct the build.

[netmand]

I like the flattening of the design by sinking the building slightly into the ground. Dare I suggest thinking about doing the same thing to the Roboport?

[Uggeli]

It's ugly, don't like it

[kendfrey]

Love the general idea and concept. Hate the placement variation, it does not fit the rest of factory where everything is nice and tidy.

I came here just to post this. The random variations of beacons really destroy the factory aesthetic, where everything is supposed to be clean, organized, and mechanical, especially at the later stages of the game when beacons get used. It might make a nice graphical option, but please don't require it.