Factorio Forums

I'm putting this in General Discussion instead of balancing since development is so far along that it probably wouldn't make sense to make such a fundamental change.

98% of iron ore that is mined in modern day goes towards steel production.
Everything in the game that uses Iron plates would make more sense with steel plates, except circuits (which I don't understand why they require iron in any form.)

In fact, I think the game would be greatly improved by introducing rain, which rusts all the iron plates on conveyors and anything (like, say, conveyors) that is made of iron.

Selvek wrote:In fact, I think the game would be greatly improved by introducing rain, which rusts all the iron plates on conveyors and anything (like, say, conveyors) that is made of iron.

You are sadistic lol

Slayn25 wrote:

Selvek wrote:In fact, I think the game would be greatly improved by introducing rain, which rusts all the iron plates on conveyors and anything (like, say, conveyors) that is made of iron.

You are sadistic lol

I like the rain idea. Build roofs over the factory. ..

Then introduce also chromium, nickel and titanium ore. Smelt the proper stainless steel in the furnace. If you miss the ratio, it will rust or break.

Iron doesn't require very mindful additives which can significantly alter it's physical properties. It's a single-element material that can be smelted down, unlike Steel, which is a science unto itself.

For simple applications that don't require high-specification properties, cast or forged iron can function just fine. Steel is just omnipresent in modern day because we've scienced the ever-living crap out of the stuff and have massive industries dedicated to specific applications. When it's just you and a pile of rocks, maybe 'just iron' is the simpler solution.

If it helps, you can think of iron plates as mild steel, and steel plates as stainless steel.

Selvek wrote:In fact, I think the game would be greatly improved by introducing rain, which rusts all the iron plates on conveyors and anything (like, say, conveyors) that is made of iron.

Steel does develope corrosion too. And if we are already talking about it, pipes pumping sulfuric acid should develope sulfur-oxidation and Hydrogen-gas.

What turns iron into Steel is a lowered Carbon-content, but that doesnt turn it into stainless steel.
What makes steel stainless is a chromium-content of at least 10,5% turning it into an alloy.

And when you start implementing alloys in the game, you have to do them all.

I agree, very rarely do you build something out of Iron in the real world because it is just too heavy for the stress it can take.
But this is game. A game where your conveyorbelts run without power and you burn "rocket-fuel" derived from heavy oil (whatever that is supposed to be) or coal in your diesel-locomotive.

malfunctionm1ke wrote: I agree, very rarely do you build something out of Iron in the real world because it is just too heavy for the stress it can take.
But this is game. A game where your conveyorbelts run without power and you burn "rocket-fuel" derived from heavy oil (whatever that is supposed to be) or coal in your diesel-locomotive.

since 0.15 the diesel-locomotive is just a locomotive.

Selvek wrote:In fact, I think the game would be greatly improved by introducing rain, which rusts all the iron plates on conveyors and anything (like, say, conveyors) that is made of iron.

Acidic rain when you pollute too much?

Also, if you're into alloys, look into bob's mods. But expect things to get... chaotic.

or coal in your diesel-locomotive.

Or wood^^

You can paint iron to prevent it rusting. In factorio you could achieve this by adding a few petrochemicals to the refinery/oil chain and then using the paint in a recipe for painted iron plate and pipe.

It would make more sense if they just renamed Iron Plates -> Mild Steel Plates and Steel Plate -> Stainless Steel (or maybe Medium or High Carbon steel would be more applicable).

In the real world, Iron Ore is usually turned into steel in a single factory. And yeah, I can't think of any stuff in the game that would be made directly from Iron in the real world. It's all steel really.

Yes, it's only a game, but for the sake of renaming stuff to make it more realistic/sensible, that's hardly a breaking change, right?

To be honest, when I play the game, in my head I internally think of Iron Plates as 'Steel Plates', and Steel as 'Girders' anyway...

I agree that the requirement for Iron Plates for Green Circuits is also a bit silly, but then again there are quite a few recipes that don't make sense in the game...

I suppose it all boils down to 'how do you strike the balance between realism and fun?'

AxeSlash wrote:
I agree that the requirement for Iron Plates for Green Circuits is also a bit silly, but then again there are quite a few recipes that don't make sense in the game...

Absolutely. Instead, we should require fiberglass weaves, copper plating steps, photoresist, etching, solder, assembly, inspection and test steps... oh yeah and silicon doping, carbon resistors...

Oh wait, that's Bob's mods

Selvek wrote:Instead, we should require fiberglass weaves, copper plating steps, photoresist, etching, solder, assembly, inspection and test steps... oh yeah and silicon doping, carbon resistors...

Oh wait, that's Bob's mods

Halfway through reading your comment, I was preparing to click "Reply" and mention Bob's

Selvek wrote: Absolutely. Instead, we should require fiberglass weaves, copper plating steps, photoresist, etching, solder, assembly, inspection and test steps... oh yeah and silicon doping, carbon resistors...

Oh wait, that's Bob's mods

Heh, true, but for the purposes of simplification (i.e. not scaring off n00bs), copper & plastic as ingredients would be realistic enough (although that may screw up the tech tree quite majorly - can't remember when oil processing is researched relevant to everything else). Either way, there is no iron involved

AxeSlash wrote: Either way, there is no iron involved

Hmm... I guess technically, it would be a good idea to include at least SOMETHING that's non-conductive when trying to build a circuit