Technological Difficulty

[Sander Buruma]

Dear developers and fellow Factorio players,

I have for a long time played this game now and I believe a variable should be added to the game and integrated into the items of the game. As it is, we suffer with the indignity of having to convert unrealistic numbers of circuits into intermediate and adv circuits at rates greater than 1:1, this is just not realistic at all whatsoever. It is not at all realistic to convert circuits at all to begin with. Basic circuits do not make advanced ones. Advanced circuit IRL are made in advanced factories with advanced equipment. Advanced equipment is made in steps with simpler equipment.

A game dynamic like this should be fairly simple to implement. As it is, the different minerals (coal, copper, iron and stone) have varying amounts of mining time and hardness. The formula that tells you how fast these are produced is simple, elegant and shows much potential for meaningful complexity (-> better gameplay!); it goes as follows:
(Mining Power - Mining Hardness) * Mining Time / Drill Speed = Production rate / s (units of mineral produced per second).

The above formula is simple and elegant. If we give all intermediate and advanced items (those having a great degree of technological complexity, like lasers, circuits, adv circuits, guided rockets, etc) an attribute likened to mining hardness; called Tech (or some equivalent) and give assemblers an attribute called Tech Modifier (or some equivalent). The same formula would then apply:
(Tech Modifier - Tech) * Production Time / Manufacturing Speed = Production rate / s
Assemblers would not be able to assemble advanced items that are beyond their Tech Modifier level.

The Tech level of basic circuits might for example be 0.5, advCircuits 1.0 and processing units 2.5.
AM1, 2 and 3 would have Tech Modifiers of .75, 1.5 and 3.75. I suggest to even consider necessitating beacon-amplification by giving certain items tech levels that exceed the proposed tech modifier of the AM3.
To complement the new variable a 4th type of module called Tech Modules would increase this tech modifier. Another option is to increase assembler tech with certain research topics.
Low tech items like gears, copper wire, magazines, etc, could have low Tech levels, like 0.1, 0.2 and so on. More advanced items like batteries, accumulators and lasers could have higher tech levels. When new ores/minerals get added, we can give those similar attributes, necessitating the use of modules to for example smelt uranium.

I hope this idea is simple and appealing enough to consider and hopefully implement. Technological progress can be implemented in a way that is more meaningful, but still simple and elegant. I think this way is the proper way to do it.

[DerivePi]

I already have enough columns in my spread sheet!

I think the main problems at this point is a balancing issue (maybe) and an end game content issue (absolutely). With a fleshed out end game/late game strategy shift, the problem of balancing should go away as the refocused challenge keeps us, the players, engaged.

[ssilk]

Can we please stop making useless votes?

This is no voting over "we want this or that", this is a discussion.

[DaveMcW]

Can we please stop making useless votes?

PhpBB has an option to disable polls in specific forums.

[ssilk]

I would like to spare polls for some special themes, where a poll makes sense.

But not "Do you want that or not?" and then a screen full of text. Makes just no sense.

[ssilk]

Necroing.

The reasons for putting this aside are:
- too game changing (no research works then as before)
- a modder cannot estimate, what a simple changes he does will also change the complete game mechanics . This is not important for the mines, but very important for tech.
- obvious more votes against it, but that was not the main reason.