Factorio Forums

My number 1 lesson from my first game, is to earlier in the game, leave a lot more space between stuff you build early in the game than you think you will need, like not even twice the space, but quadruple it or more. Using too much space is not a problem, but having things too tightly packed and then finding out you have to move a big part of your factory longer away because it just isnt enough space because other stuff you have built is in the way. You can save time that way.

In time you develop patterns and personal preferences for builds and can better judge how much space you need for stuff. But even then it's not uncommon to build things just a bit too close together

It was very annoying to realise i failed to leave enough room to build things when i started to play.

Now i enjoy the challenge of trying to compact things for atleast 3 different reasons :

1) i see my failure to plan as opportunity to practice compression !
2) I came to appreciate the look of things when they are all packed in a small area.
3) When i need to go pick up some materials i don't have to walk too much if everything is really compact.

It is slower to build, and sometimes i still try to fit too many things in places where i don't suceed and it is again extra time, but this time i enjoy a lot .

My general rule of thumb:

1: Estimate the space you think you will need, be generous.
2: Now tile that to a 2X3.
3: Add a good deal buffer around the edges for belts and pipes
4: Make sure that there is still space close by for 2 additional similar sized blocks.

The good thing about Factorio is, at least when you make an easyish game biterwise, that it's very forgiving to screwing up. If need be, you can decontstruct everything and rebuild a bit more spacey. But yea, I generally, once I'm out of my initial red and green research, detach smelters from main production and use rails ASAP. Prevents getting yourself boxed in.

Spread out too much and then you'll spend a lot of time building military items to defend each area. I think it's fun finding that balance of progress and defensive strength.

I prefer rebuilding. This lets you build compactly in the beginning, especially useful in games with high alien settings, then when you need to scale up you can do it massively without any regard to what you had before. Then you can clear the old stuff for use in something else.

This is not to say that I never build something with plans to expand later. I do that a lot, especially with arrays of furnaces, solar+accumulator and above all green and eventually red circuit production, but I have no qualms about building tight, messy spaghetti factories at the start because I know it will all be completely erased and replaced eventually.