Special Resource Properties - A new challenge

[dartt]

Hello.

I was thinking about how the game might be changed to encourage certain puzzle solving behavior and had the idea of creating some new resources that have special properties.

Some examples of special properties might include:

- A transient resource which decays over time. The player has to think about how to process it quickly after it is produced before it disappears and can't keep large stockpiles.
- A delicate resource which decays when it is moved too much. This resource can be stored but the player has to think about how to process it without moving it too far.
- A volatile resource which decays if it is moved too quickly. Fast belts/inserters and trains would be out of the question.
- A reactive resource which decays if it comes in to contact with certain other resources. Special considerations would have to be made about which belts it shares or which resource drone networks it is added to.
- A soluble resource which decays if it is rained upon for long periods. Underground belts would be required to expose the resource as little as possible.

Some resources could even have multiple special properties making them especially difficult to deal with!

I think these sorts of resources would really challenge players to be creative with their factories and be a lot of fun to think about.

Does anyone have any other ideas for other behaviors that could create interesting challenges? Alternatively, any ideas for what these resources could be, where they could come from and what they might be used to create?

I hope I haven't repeated well trodden ground here but I didn't see any similar suggestions. My apologies if I missed something.

[Krayt]

Your idea actually sounds really interesting. I think it would be a good thing to have aat least the possibility in the game for certain resoucres to have such properties without using mods.
Maybe there could be quest items specific for a single puzzle map with these properties.

[dartt]

I was thinking that perhaps as part of the end game you could receive production contracts from your home planet.

The contracts would essentially provide a proceduraly generated blueprint for the product and it's components. The product or it's components could have these special properties to create all kinds of problems in the production.

You would then have to reconfigure or expand your factory to produce this new product. The contract could specify a deadline and a number of units and you would have to produce them and load them in to rockets for delivery.

I'm not sure what the reward for these contracts might be? Some other unique resource that only the homeworld can provide?

[happymoep]

I liked the first idea and I love the second suggestion. Having optional tasks that maybe just earn score would be a nice way to keep the player busy. Your model of decaying resources would also make those challenges quite more interesting.
And it could be reused for mp challenges (be the first to produce X numbers of Y).
Thanks for posting this

[ssilk]

Taken that we get new types of resources and that one of them will be uranium which needs then to be processed I like the idea, that it is then dangerous to transport too much of it in one place (a "reactive resource").

For example:
- On belts you need to limit the density of items.
- In chests you cannot load more than X stacks, also in wagons and other inventory...

Otherwise it would just "disappear" (become nuclear waste) or more interesting: it explodes.

[dartt]

Hi happymoep. I can't reply to private messages because my forum account is so new so I'll just hide my reply in a spoiler as it's off-topic. I hope that is okay with the mods.

Yes! It is Quote from Cave Story. It seems that when it was remade as 'Cave Story 3D' for Nintendo 3DS, they commissioned some artwork from an artist called Shinonoko for the Japanese release.

http://operationrainfall.com/wp-content ... RY-001.jpg

http://www.4gamer.net/games/134/G013478 ... SS/009.jpg

[ssilk]

Not really. If you cannot reply you might count: https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =27&t=5264
or do other stupid off-topic stuff. But this post is just irritating.

[dartt]

Taken that we get new types of resources and that one of them will be uranium which needs then to be processed I like the idea, that it is then dangerous to transport too much of it in one place (a "reactive resource").

For example:
- On belts you need to limit the density of items.
- In chests you cannot load more than X stacks, also in wagons and other inventory...

Otherwise it would just "disappear" (become nuclear waste) or more interesting: it explodes.

Yes! This is just the sort of thing I was interested in. Instead of using the same solutions and efficient layouts that you've been using the whole game, you suddenly have to rethink everything! If your resources might even explode then that would add a whole new layer of tension when you start a new production line running for the first time!

Not really. If you cannot reply you might count: https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =27&t=5264
or do other stupid off-topic stuff. But this post is just irritating.

Sorry about the off-topic post. I wasn't sure how else to let happymoep know I couldn't reply and I didn't want him to think I was ignoring him. I'll avoid doing it again and try and get my post count up.

[lancar]

Interesting idea.

I like it.

[Frodoctorio]

I see great ideas!
responsive, reactive resources and end game 'purpose'.
As I understand the mission part in this post: You have to build a 'mission blueprint' in order to unlock new mission blueprints and/or resources?
Nice!

[dartt]

Hmm maybe?!

Perhaps the missions could be contracts that become available for a limited time so you have to decide if you will accept them or not. If you don't accept them they will eventually disappear.

If you complete them successfully you could get some kind of very rare resource as a reward as well as some prestige that could make better contracts available.

If you fail to complete the contract in time, you could be punished with a fine (send the homeworld a large quanity of a base resource, until you do this, new contracts will be unavailable) and lose prestige.

The contracts could become tougher and more complex and the rewards and punishments could increase too.

[TuckJohn]

Hmm maybe?!

Perhaps the missions could be contracts that become available for a limited time so you have to decide if you will accept them or not. If you don't accept them they will eventually disappear.

If you complete them successfully you could get some kind of very rare resource as a reward as well as some prestige that could make better contracts available.

If you fail to complete the contract in time, you could be punished with a fine (send the homeworld a large quanity of a base resource, until you do this, new contracts will be unavailable) and lose prestige.

The contracts could become tougher and more complex and the rewards and punishments could increase too.

Another interesting idea is to send the contracted resources onto a rocket, then the rocket comes back down with your ultra-special resource from the homeworld.