End game/Fog of War

[Whiskeyplz]

I'm still playing through Vanilla (62hr), trying to stick to the regular game until I get bored, but I've the 'What do i do next' part (I don't want to end the game). I've got a fully automated primary base with additional trains bringing in both ore and oil from different parts of the map. As I dig further into the fog of war, I haven't seen anything much different, so I'm wondering what's next? Expanding into the map only really shows me larger alien bases, which don't last long.

For players that get to the point, what do you tend to do next? The only thing I can think of is to blueprint more efficient factory lineups for more scalable expansion. Is there anything else out there?

[quinor]

Try putting modules (efficiency, productivity) of level 2 or 3 in every machine

[Whiskeyplz]

That's just a self made goal, what is the point of growth and expansion if you're going to be making everything more efficient?

[saturn7]

That's just a self made goal, what is the point of growth and expansion if you're going to be making everything more efficient?

Unfortunately, that's how it is at the moment. Once you have researched everything and have production 3 modules everywhere (and thousands of solar panels/accus to power everything), there are no milestones by the game itself.

You could set goals yourself, like getting x million blue circuits, or producing y thousands blue circuits per minute.

As mentioned here https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-129, this has two problems: (1) you limit your factory throughput essentially by how quickly you can set and connect new mining drills, and (2) the only thing you get in return is looking at a higher number.

The problem (1) is solved mostly by the RSO mod (viewforum.php?f=79), which makes resources more abundant the farther away you move from your starting point. For (2), I don't know any mods that give benefits for building a huge (vanilla) factory.

Edit: added links

[KatherineOfSky]

The devs are still working on the endgame. Quite a number of people optimize their designs, and also have their own goals -- launch a rocket every 30 seconds, etc. ... or put speed modules into every machine and see if the ore trains can keep up.

Personally, when I get to a point where I am "finished" with a particular factory, (usually after 40-60 hours), I start a new one -- different terrain settings, different obstacles, more aliens, etc. to force myself to find new solutions and build in different ways.