Biggest factory, my computer can handle [Abandoned]

[Ractaros96]

Hello, I would like to show you my factory and my progress in building it. I don't expect it to be very big, cause my computer is quite old, but it'll be fun.
I'm running Factorio in version - 0.14.22

Here is the list of mods, I'm using:
1. Advanced Drills
2. Advanced Logistics System
3. Advanced Radar
4. Black Market
5. Crafted Artifacts
6. Crafting Speed Research
7. Endless resources with full yield
8. EvoGUI - Evolution Factor Indicator and more
9. Expanded Robot Technology
10. Fusion Robots
11. Launch Control
12. Long Reach
13. Rail Tanker (completely useless to me, but I've made a mistake and I can't uninstall it now)
14. Specialized Oil Refineries
15. The Drilling Pumpjack
16. Useful Space Industry
17. Water Well

And here are the map settings:

I have chosen no enemy bases, to get rid of alien fighting part of the game. It's necessary to maximize production, research and above all - rocket launching.

Game start at 2017-03-13 03:19 (0 hours of playing):
Let's look at the map:

As you can see, I have only one oil deposit available in vicinity. It'll be enough to get materials for deposit-free pumpjacks from one of my mods.

Some basic mining and smelting:


2017-03-13 14:03 (1 hour of playing):
Automated smelting, science pack 1 production and research complex:


2017-03-13 15:17 (2 hours of playing):
Science pack 2 production:

[Ractaros96]

2017-03-14 13:43 (4 hours of playing):
I have started to make use of the oil deposit I've mentioned earlier and created this little industrial mostrosity to help me produce first science packs 3. This will allow me to unlock first deposit-free pumpjack and start mass production of science packs 3:


2017-03-14 20:38 (6 hours of playing):

[Schorty]

Nice project idea!

The only concern, that I have, is that you most likely will never reach the point, where your computer is the limiting factor, because you will need mode Oil than this. If not for production, you will need it for the stuff to expand more. Unless you are going for a green-circuit-only-factory. I have made the "mistake" with setting oil to low myself once. Dealing with oil is a pain in and of itself. Not having enough is the worst :/

Hope you will get along with it. Good luck, my friend!

Greetings,
Schorty

[Ractaros96]

Nice project idea!

The only concern, that I have, is that you most likely will never reach the point, where your computer is the limiting factor, because you will need mode Oil than this. If not for production, you will need it for the stuff to expand more. Unless you are going for a green-circuit-only-factory. I have made the "mistake" with setting oil to low myself once. Dealing with oil is a pain in and of itself. Not having enough is the worst :/

Hope you will get along with it. Good luck, my friend!

Greetings,
Schorty

One of my mods allow to build pumpjacks without oil deposits. Technically, they are making oil from electricity. I can build as much as I want. The most powerful of those pumpjacks make the same amount of oil as the base one on 100% yield, but twice the power usage. I would've generated no oil deposits, but to unlock the tech I need science packs 3 and they require oil.

[Ractaros96]

2017-03-16 06:30 (10 hours of playing):

[Ractaros96]

2017-03-17 18:33 (14 hours of playing):
I have build a little robot frame factory for drones:


And created this alien science pack drone manned factory:


Also I've added 2 mods:
- Fusion Robots
- Crafting Speed Research

[Ractaros96]

2017-03-18 04:40 (15 hours of playing):
That's it! I can no longer play this way! Let me explain:

1. This alien science pack temporary factory is driving me mad. First of all, it's almost impossible for me to expand factory any longer. I know, that I'll finish all research sooner or later. Then I'll need to focus on rocket production and launching. This means, that my current factory will be destroyed almost completely with all those science packs production. My mind just won't accept that and that's why I have no motivation for further expansion.
2. Making things to build factory infrastructure (power plants, mines, furnaces, assembly machines, etc.) is very time consuming, if done manually. Automating it will cause massive demand for resources and halt expansion for a long time. Other thing is, that it will be destroyed along with science packs factory. So I can't expand it.

I want to add one more mod: Black Market. It will allow me to buy science packs and tools with current resource production and finish research once and for all - without more expansion. I hoped to go on without it, but it's impossible.

[Frightning]

It's easy to automate all your base building items even early on without significant resource problems. All you need to do is be sure and set the buffer chests that collect the outputs for each item to no more than 1 stack, that way you only produce a modest number of assembly machines, mining drills, etc. Instead of gobs of them (which is WAY more than needed). Sure, on the short term, there is a little overhead as the buffers are being filled, but 50x Assem 2s is still only 44*50=2200 iron and 9*50=450 copper. That's chump change for a base your size. I do this very early on in a pattern known as a building store. I do 1-belt iron+copper plates, 1 belt with gears+green circuits, later add iron+pipes and maybe even red circuits+batteries on the other side, end result is nearly every base building item can be automated in a belt fed manner with that kind of setup (keep belts and inserters near each other though, so you can feed lower level versions into higher level recipes).

[Ractaros96]

It's easy to automate all your base building items even early on without significant resource problems. All you need to do is be sure and set the buffer chests that collect the outputs for each item to no more than 1 stack, that way you only produce a modest number of assembly machines, mining drills, etc. Instead of gobs of them (which is WAY more than needed). Sure, on the short term, there is a little overhead as the buffers are being filled, but 50x Assem 2s is still only 44*50=2200 iron and 9*50=450 copper. That's chump change for a base your size. I do this very early on in a pattern known as a building store. I do 1-belt iron+copper plates, 1 belt with gears+green circuits, later add iron+pipes and maybe even red circuits+batteries on the other side, end result is nearly every base building item can be automated in a belt fed manner with that kind of setup (keep belts and inserters near each other though, so you can feed lower level versions into higher level recipes).

Thank you for the advice. I'm slowly getting all research done. I'm selling some of my electricity (with Black Market mod) to buy missing science packs. Then, the real fun will start. I will destroy all assembly production, create drone manned "store" and start building rocket parts factory.

Maybe, I'll expand my power plant to sell more energy. There are still not enough science packs.

[Ractaros96]

2017-03-21 04:13 (23 hours of playing):
Finally, I have completed most of the research. I will complete it all later...


I have bought myself Power Armor Mk2, 2 Portable Fusion Generators and 6 Exoskeletons. I'm running super fast with this, so I won't need a car:


The only thing that I've expanded was my power plant:


A nice touch of 100 Megawatts for my final factory, don't you think?

[Ractaros96]

2017-03-25 09:55 (26 hours of playing):
There's some massive smelting line cooking up...

[Ractaros96]

2017-03-27 03:38 (32 hours of playing):
I have created this store, but now I want to try something else.


I've wondered how to build rocket parts factory and I've found a concept of a modular factory:


To be honest, I'm pretty tired of those big and long belt lanes and I need something to build with drones, set up mines, trains and forget about it.


So now I'll probably try to build another store, but just like this modular rocket parts factory above. Then I'll start railroad network and modular rocket factory.

[Cruel-Viper]

2017-03-25 09:55 (26 hours of playing):
There's some massive smelting line cooking up...

Mind I ask why using underground belts to move the materials up to the main bus?
And use regular above ground strait belts to bring in the ore?

Why not use above ground belts only? Saves you the extra materials needed to build undergrounds.
1 underground belt costs 5 regular belts, and can span 4 tiles underground (and takes 2 above ground).
Here your wasting it on just 1 or 2 tiles going underground.

Or use that space, and move the power poles on those underground spaces. Squeeze up the electric furnaces.

Sorry to sound hars, but this is a waste of space and materials.

[Frightning]

2017-03-25 09:55 (26 hours of playing):
There's some massive smelting line cooking up...

Mind I ask why using underground belts to move the materials up to the main bus?
And use regular above ground strait belts to bring in the ore?

Why not use above ground belts only? Saves you the extra materials needed to build undergrounds.
1 underground belt costs 5 regular belts, and can span 4 tiles underground (and takes 2 above ground).
Here your wasting it on just 1 or 2 tiles going underground.

Or use that space, and move the power poles on those underground spaces. Squeeze up the electric furnaces.

Sorry to sound hars, but this is a waste of space and materials.

If I am not mistaken, the reason is to get full belt compression, because apparently, inserters can 'force' items onto underground belt tiles, even when the spacing would normally prohibit it.

[Ractaros96]

Mind I ask why using underground belts to move the materials up to the main bus?
And use regular above ground strait belts to bring in the ore?

Why not use above ground belts only? Saves you the extra materials needed to build undergrounds.
1 underground belt costs 5 regular belts, and can span 4 tiles underground (and takes 2 above ground).
Here your wasting it on just 1 or 2 tiles going underground.

Or use that space, and move the power poles on those underground spaces. Squeeze up the electric furnaces.

Sorry to sound hars, but this is a waste of space and materials.

If I am not mistaken, the reason is to get full belt compression, because apparently, inserters can 'force' items onto underground belt tiles, even when the spacing would normally prohibit it.

Yes, that was my intention, but I won't expand those furnaces anymore, so it doesn't matter now. Actually, I didn't think at time about building one underground belt on ore belt and above ones on iron plates belts. With the amount of goods produced it doesn't really matter.

[Ractaros96]

2017-04-09 7:14 (43 hours of playing):
I have practically completed new store, I'll show it later today. Now I'm in the middle of deconstruction of my 8-belt lane, furnaces and mines:


2017-04-09 14:13 (47 hours of playing):
This is my store, it produces all I need and it's manned by 200 robots. It uses around 300MW of energy at full capacity:

[Ractaros96]

I have decided to scrap my current gameplay and start again. I have added one final mod: Dark Matter Replicators. I will start again and the goal will be the same. Some things will change though:

- There will be no resources on the map (I will have to produce it all with replicators)
- I will add to my starting inventory some basic resources to make replicators possible and produce basic resources (coal, stone, iron ore and copper ore)
- In this new gameplay the biggest problem will be electricity or at least the massive power plants that I'll have to build (I will only use unmodded coal power)
- I cannot use Black Market mod for buying items, only to sell ones, that I don't need anymore (it will be like a trash can to me)

The main goal:
- To build the biggest factory my computer can handle

Side goals:
- To launch as many rockets as possible
- To replace all coal power plants with solar recievers powered by the satellites I will send into orbit