Make pollution management matter in endgame
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:22 am
There have been ideas (and mods) to allow for ways to reduce or absorb or manipulate pollution. It would be fun to make pollution interact more with base design.
The basic concept is to make pollution transportable. This might be done using existing Factorio code by having a buildable pollution absorbing "machine" which removes pollution from the environment, but does not destroy it. Instead it takes (a lot!) of water as input and combines it with pollution to turn it into a toxic waste liquid. (There are several mods for pollution absorbers, this goes one step further.) The toxic waste now must be dealt with, and perhaps the only tool you have is a waste "venter" that takes toxic liquid and vaporizes it into the atmosphere, repolluting it just as much as before, if not worse. So no pollution is destroyed! In fact perhaps even more is created. The difference is that the toxic waste is transportable, so you can move it via pipes or train tanker cars from your main base to pollute another location.
Combine this with a mechanic where heavy pollution causes assemblers to become slower and also less efficient, and you'll be motivated to keep your base "clean" of pollution.. but now you have a whole extra requirement to pipe/train that pollution somewhere else. High pollution could also start randomly slowly damaging assemblers (or any item). I could see the gameplay being to create a distant outpost on a train line which leads to a super-well-defended outpost with heavy turrets and walls, and pollution is re-emitted there, where it won't interfere with the main base, and is able to deal with the inevitable aggroed biters.
The key mechanic is that you can't just void-pipe the toxic waste. You can load it into pipes and tanks.. but if you pick up a full tank, it immediately vents ALL that waste into the environment right where you stand, like a toxic waste spill! And maybe tanks themselves constantly EMIT more pollution when they hold waste, so you do NOT want to build giant tank farms just to bottle it up long term. Damaged waste-filled tanks emit even more pollution, You could also have toxic waste destroy tanks randomly like pollution bombs, again to discourage tank farms (but still allow them for temporary use like at a train depot).
This would add a lot of interesting mechanics to mid-late game when currently you start ignoring pollution because you're strong enough to ignore biters and its easy enough to flamethrower any nearby bases. It creates a new logistical challenge of needing to EXPORT materials from your main base, and a new kind of outpost design to actully deal with the waste (by emitting it again in its remote location). It does not change early game where pollution is still sparse.
The basic concept is to make pollution transportable. This might be done using existing Factorio code by having a buildable pollution absorbing "machine" which removes pollution from the environment, but does not destroy it. Instead it takes (a lot!) of water as input and combines it with pollution to turn it into a toxic waste liquid. (There are several mods for pollution absorbers, this goes one step further.) The toxic waste now must be dealt with, and perhaps the only tool you have is a waste "venter" that takes toxic liquid and vaporizes it into the atmosphere, repolluting it just as much as before, if not worse. So no pollution is destroyed! In fact perhaps even more is created. The difference is that the toxic waste is transportable, so you can move it via pipes or train tanker cars from your main base to pollute another location.
Combine this with a mechanic where heavy pollution causes assemblers to become slower and also less efficient, and you'll be motivated to keep your base "clean" of pollution.. but now you have a whole extra requirement to pipe/train that pollution somewhere else. High pollution could also start randomly slowly damaging assemblers (or any item). I could see the gameplay being to create a distant outpost on a train line which leads to a super-well-defended outpost with heavy turrets and walls, and pollution is re-emitted there, where it won't interfere with the main base, and is able to deal with the inevitable aggroed biters.
The key mechanic is that you can't just void-pipe the toxic waste. You can load it into pipes and tanks.. but if you pick up a full tank, it immediately vents ALL that waste into the environment right where you stand, like a toxic waste spill! And maybe tanks themselves constantly EMIT more pollution when they hold waste, so you do NOT want to build giant tank farms just to bottle it up long term. Damaged waste-filled tanks emit even more pollution, You could also have toxic waste destroy tanks randomly like pollution bombs, again to discourage tank farms (but still allow them for temporary use like at a train depot).
This would add a lot of interesting mechanics to mid-late game when currently you start ignoring pollution because you're strong enough to ignore biters and its easy enough to flamethrower any nearby bases. It creates a new logistical challenge of needing to EXPORT materials from your main base, and a new kind of outpost design to actully deal with the waste (by emitting it again in its remote location). It does not change early game where pollution is still sparse.
