Factorio Forums

Behind the scene...
Very good. Halfway into Kovarex and all science packs are still sitting in the same position on the line as when it began. The research is 30 seconds, so, with my 30 labs, and my alleged 1 per second science pack production, the job has been done. The extra iron not being smelted is used in military when it is running. Copper is weird it stops and starts but any less and I run out. Hard to figure what exactly is happening at this point. Oil seems more than sufficient but it's all backed up so still monitoring there. That's the tricky part of testing these things, the factory provides it's own storage buffer with belts and smelters and even assemblers all loaded with goods.


I definitely like the idea of separating out the intermediates from the assembly 'proper' by placing gear and circuit production on one side of the bus and science on the other. Much easier to see what's going on, and to locate any issues.

This is close to what I'm after. Something I can knock up very fast (with bots and fast start kit). Some design flaws to iron out yet.

I gave it a dry run, and...

Oh hell yes. This is the business!

2:23 minutes, high tech science packs start rolling out. There is still some smelting/belts/inserters/modules to upgrade/add to get full speed.
Important mods: Quick start.

Not so important but you'd need to build bigger without: 2 x red, 2 x blue circuits.

Irrelevant to the time taken here: infinite ores.

I made a lot of mistakes...
Basically I didn't really know where the blueprints were in relation to other parts of the map. Note how close I got to cutting myself off with where I dropped power.

I had to remake the entire bus as I messed up spacing. A bus is easy when you make it one assembly line at a time. A whole bus at once is a big job. Then I sent stuff down the wrong lines, batteries glitched out (in the last run too?) and weren't running, etc.

But this was VERY fast. I'm a slow builder, and a total daydreamer. The potential for sub 2 hour high tech (and the rest) for others is right there.

But I got another idea now.

Seventeen days later, my idea has come to fruition. Of course using mods fast start and 2x red/blue is totally cheating... but who cares, look at this result.

Presenting the Totally Cheated AAA1 Team Robot Superior Speedrun Strategy.

by Dry Hairy Tree Chief Robot Commander.

This was the first run with a completed model. I did it with a disability that makes me clumsy. When I even try to go fast I make more mistakes than place entities. A speed runner using these methods would finish under 2 hours easy.

There's plenty of ways to get it wrong. Enjoy figuring it out. With the overwhelming responses here, why would I bother.

Dry Hairy Tree wrote:There's plenty of ways to get it wrong. Enjoy figuring it out. With the overwhelming responses here, why would I bother.

I've very much enjoyed following your endeavors. It didn't seem appropriate to break the flow by posting common chatter while it was going on.

As an amateur I found it interesting how you seem to face the same difficulties as myself (and I imagine) other non-experts, while still pulling off large and impressive designs. Also, you write well.

Let me second Magne, I have enjoyed seeing what you have done and trying it myself to see how it works (and where I can improve). Thank you for your posts!

Thirded.

Best non-youtube playtrough around.
Fourthed!

Thank you folks I appreciate the appreciation. I thought maybe I come across as cantankerous (true) or something Just like you-tubers want their likes and subscribers, regular forum posters might like to know there's people out there too. I'd do playthroughs if I didn't have sciencing the shit out of soil biology which is, to me, a way cooler day job. Probably why some streamers annoy me, I'm secretly jealous when work gets all WTF at times...

It doesn't matter how cool your day job is, sometimes you can't be assed.

I'll talk about the fast time I did sometime soon. I'd like to get my robot commander to present it I think it could be rather funny Factorio Fan Fiction. Do Factorio robots have gender?

In the interim, I'll share this path. Rarely do I see anyone getting creative with flooring, the possibilities are myriad.

This one's based on belt design. Still finicking about with horizontal/vertical joins...

The problem with having myriad choices is making a decision. After many iterations on the belt-path theme, I've narrowed it down...
I really like all of them.

The left and rightmost paths with outer 'rails' are eight tiles wide, the others six. I'm (supposedly) making a big-assed blue-belt bus at present, so all options are on the cards.

Imagine if you were meant to be working but instead you've spent the morning dithering over, and laying zero, paths.

The path I selected looks great in the factory I'm making. It doesn't really work horizontally but that doesn't matter it adds variety to the look of the place and fits very well as the path alongside the bus there.

I don't like how brick is black on the map and concrete grey it makes brick/concrete variants checkerboard which aren't great to look at.

All in all, a successful day well spent

This floor seems much more interesting, at least to me.

Same (floor) blueprint here on the red circuits, just added a concrete trim round the edge which gave the dashed effect.
This factory is my reward for finally 'opening the game up' in fashionable time. I had 6 types of science packs in about 4 hours, plus the automation of red then blue belts, advanced assemblers etc that I was keen on having at my disposal - as well as the ability to tech up everything but the kitchen sink (rocket science).

So I'm taking my time just making this big assed thing which will give me all sorts of military capabilities, everything I ever wanted, and a bunch of rockets launching. A medium factory. I've made one similar before it was just a bit slow so I doubled up and we'll see how it goes.

Awesome new mod I found - Specialised refineries. It gives you either light, heavy or petroleum according to the recipe you choose. Only 15 petroleum per 5 seconds but runs at 4 speed... So sweet. So now I can just run crude on the bus and make what I want as I go. Water also required (waterfill mod, done).

So here's the modded refineries using waterfill as well. Tidy huh! They produce 15 petroleum x 4 speed = 60 per 5 seconds = 12 petroleum per second each.

20 refineries x 12 ps = 240 ps.

The plastic requires 20 ps but runs 1.25 speed so requires 25 ps.

10 chemical plants x 25 ps = 250 ps.

Almost balanced... It looks balanced, and that's what's important
And a new floor. Tricky to tile

Check out the beauty of the subterranean mod - that one belt/pipe that might otherwise compromise an aesthetic design... mostly gone.
Some conventional style floor tiles here, getting the hang of how to blueprint and stamp em out. Many designs require unconventional looking edges to join them properly. I lay the floor then trim the funny edges if any - allowing that trimming changes the spacing is important too, guess how I found out this and many other lessons...

Still working on this bit, just thought it highlights the mod very well.

I have the bones of a rather large factory. Tens of thousands of belts etc, only 2 pair of these undergrounds used so far, but they make a big impact on the overall look.

Sulfuric acid and explosives. That oughtta be enough. And a highlighted subterranean pipe, the first in the map.
Now I can add blue circuits to the red/greens and think about some modules.

I've actually got a steel chest each of prod 3 and speed 3 from my starter base but the power requirements to run them are nasty. Just empty beacons in the new smelting area are taking half my current power... Though I have nuclear materials I've only got 12 miners total on a tiny uranium patch so want to find more to expand the mining then implement nuclear power to support this whole shebang. Currently running ~ 1000 steam engines which sounds good till you put modules in things...

Infinite ores makes it all so much easier to relax and build. Not forever chasing coal or filling the landscape up with solar. My friend just made his first big factory, then ran out of coal and got overrun. LOL!

All this to assemble some assembler 3's in timely fashion, and still not even running 1 at half capacity One every 1.0625 seconds should suffice...
There's a hot tip in this design, for those needing more than a long assembler can deliver from the second belt out. Note the underground belts and splitters on/adjacent to the green circuit line. Now able to use fast or even stack inserters to get high throughput from this (second belt out) position.

Well, I'm off to do my bit in saving the world so will be/have been a bit busy for this. However, it was an excellent fun distraction while I was putting a plan together.

I might return when the game is released. I still drop in for the Friday facts and a quick glance. I love the game, the team, the learning curve it's all been, and am very grateful to all who have participated in the creative process.

The plagiarists glomming on for cash (you tube content clones making thousands of hours of the same shite) can kiss my creative butt. The youtube creators -well done and thanks for the inspirational material. Y'all know where you stand in this.

I would have liked to write y'all some comedy re a pack of daft and very non PC (thus always being demoted) robots outlining strategy, but, my new project has captured my energy and I'm gonna run with it. Maybe one day.

Now, drumroll... How to smash records by being a total and utter cheat:

Using quick start gives you robots. The trick is to coordinate these so that half are building a robot factory and assembly of all power requirements. The other half are either working with you, or working on the factory as you drop lines of miners belts etc. You divide the things you can do fast and the things robots are better at and keep them separate.

This requires some considerable coordination to flow. Waiting is not an option when trying to break time records.

1. Power
2. 'Robot factory' making miners, belts, boilers, turbines, construction bots...
3. Initial smelting and building store for main factory
4. Red and Green
5. Military and Blue
6. Purple
7. Yellow
8. Rocket

The coordination is largely about timing. It's pointless dropping blueprints when components are not yet made. Pause is your friend whenever you are a bit lost/confused as to the next step.

Coordination e.g. the robot factory is laid out then a large blueprint with total power requirements and coal mining etc to support it. The initial build thus expands of it's own accord. By the time I'm thinking about an oil refinery, the power is largely laid out and factory has all manner of components to build the refinery. I then just place a roboport to connect the bots to the main factory and drop the refinery blueprint. Voila!

e.g. Some blueprints are only half finished. So the bots are placing inserters power etc while I'm running in straight lines with assemblers. It's fast if it's timed well. But I can even mess up running in a straight line. how the speed runners do it is beyond me... Same technique with early smelting. Run the straight lines out it's faster. If not well timed it's a janky mess and you are waiting on bots or bots are waiting on build components and orders.

e.g. Know when to put personal bots in a roboport to help the factory as they're only going to slow you down. Know when to pick them up again.

That's enough hints. I'd hate to give y'all a blueprint, and you lay it down, and live in the delusion you've achieved something. This is the sad aspect of the otherwise awesome blueprints. People bypassing the opportunity to learn.

Never listen to so called experts running down your creative efforts in anything. You run the risk of becoming another boring clone.

I spent many hours in making a design to appear very fast. You can totally relax through this process.

Then SMASH my record. Because you can.

Really enjoying my work lately but holidays are here and so Factorio beckons.

Here is a station/stacker/smelting/artillery parking clip-on for mining outposts. The Factorissimo buildings make outpost smelting a breeze. These medium sized ones take 120 smelters each. If the clip on needs rotating in relation to the mining patch - just rotate your blueprints in the Factorissimo buildings to make it all work.
As usual I'm not giving you blueprints but ideas. I can see a few ways to improve this already. Anyhow, make your clip-ons how you want them, if you want them.

I like the spiral stacking, got the idea off the Big Bertha clip.

Enjoy your holidays folks.

Thought I'd try get a 1K science build with no beacons, no modules (cept silo), and only red belts and steel smelting.

Basically, I built a building store to make large stacks of power, pipes, belts, miners, assemblers, smelters etc. Then I've started building separate factories for each science type. I did this without aliens it was a bit boring but the factories were getting massive and interesting. Now I am on rail settings, so it's relatively easy but the aliens are here so artillery upgrades etc will return a bit of fun.

Game Altering Mods: Infinite ores. Quick Start.

Can I get 1SPM before 0.17 drops. Doubtful...

Here's 1000 red per minute.