A real endgame: Automatic defense

[feryaz]

I'm watching factorio since years but only have started to playing it now. Automation is the most satisfying game mechanic existing for me. So naturally I'm really loving it, but must say the game misses out a very important oppurtunity. For what do I automate? Just for the sake of it.

While resource generation, transportation and manufacturing can be automated very detailed with systems that make fun to optimze, defending is merely there.

But why? It could be the reason to make a giant factory. You do it to be able to build and support your defences to not get your ass kicked. While that is theoretically there now, it's just boring. Place turrets and maybe automatically repair them. It lacks in all points: Risk, Reward and Optimization Capabilities.

So what's my suggestion? Making oppenonts a real threat, let them drop cool loot according to difficulty and most importantly let us build and automate defensive systems to the same extend as factories.

An example can be found in Dwarf Fortress. For those dont knowing you make a home, gather resources and craft them to other things with little ascii dwarfes so they dont die. I found a video showing how to do a "Automatic Minecart Shotgun" (can't post link, google it). Making, using and supporting it with materials was the best time I ever had in gaming. You fill a minecart with all stuff you can (the heavier the better), let it launch and derail when invaders arrive and watch all the content to hit them like a shotgun. You have to build the launching mechanismus yourself. It's glorious, automatic, optimizable and gives you a reason to have a giant factory. Because you need to have some carts of stuff ready when the next invaders come.

There should be multiple types of enemies so that you have to make specialized defenses for each. You could build Killing chambers or arenas to let them fight against each other. Maybe legendary enemies dropping better weapons.

I was quite surprised that all the "endgame" stuff in their latest blogpost just stretches the game as it is. That's not endgame, just a longer game. I think this would make factorio a more round game and would provide a real endgame.

[Joefesok]

Automated Defense is already planned in a way, through the RTS mode which will be implemented at an unknown date.