Related to Collection of End-Game-Ideas / Enhancing Endgame
Teaser:
Launch rockets, fullfill space objectives, discover modules/artifacts with random mods.Long story:
Why ?
Why is it so hard to find a descent endgame to factorio? Because factorio is unique, it is a resource gathering game with real-time strategy and survival elements
-In a RTS, the goal is to defeat the ennemy (IA or multiplayer), win the game, play another map, repeat. One RTS game is short (10 min to 2 hours).
-In a survival game, the goal is to gather ressources (at a non exponential speed), consume it to eat, craft stuff (with limited durability) or other building. When the player achieve to gather tons of ressources that he don't have use to it, he can stop and go on an epic quest to get some epic items (endgame).
The problem in factorio is that the spirit of the game is ressource gathering, and you gather at an exponential speed. The game need a durable mechanic to consume those ressources.
Currently the player consume ressources for:
-Craft — but since items have infinite durability, it is only a short-term ressources consumption
-Research — good way to consume the massive production, is currently the first core mechanic
-Launch the rocket — second core mechanic, consume produced ressources for quite a while
-More rockets launchs and infinite science
-After that, what's the point of the game?
What ?
The idea is to pick gameplay mechanic to other games types: in particular, Hack and Slash.
In a H&S, even when you have finished the story, you keep playing. Your goal is to get better stuff, so you can kill mobs faster, so you can get even better stuff (and repeat)
You never get the best possible stuff, you can only get closer and closer to it.
Core idea:
Each time a space mission is successful (launch x rockets / build a space platform / rescue civilians), you earn a randomly generated space module (artifact)
This space module can be socketed in a special beacon in the player base, that gives an area bonus in a huge radius (same radius as roboports). Each space module has 4 random "mods": 2 prefix and 2 suffix.
The bigger your base become, the more you need artifacts to empower all parts of your base, mining outposts...
And even when you stop extending your base, you keep playing to find better and better artifacts to replace your old ones.
