Friday Facts #254 - No research queue for you

[torham]

I am also disappointed about the research queue. I agree with most people that the best feature for research would be to auto-research prerequisites.

[dog80]

can we please have feature like with science labs but also for normal factories so you can pass on items when they are not used ok thank you

[Schorty]

Please, don't scratch the research queue!

[stootachtig]

Like others said: Just make it an option in the options menu. That way you can please the experienced players without making it less fun to play for new players.

[zyklame]

The research queue is needed.
At last we need a Target technology so we can just confirm to continue researching the prerequisites without constantly have to remember the tech we are heading for, and then select the next one.
Especially in the beginning research goes fast, so once a minute you are interrupted.
The same comes to play if you want to catch up some low level techs witch where skipped while you focus on the main goals.

[walterwoj]

I have to agree the research queue is a must! I always download a mod for that because it is one of the most missing features of the game, you should look at the way many of the most popular research queue mods do it and take inspiration (very, very heavy inspiration) from them. Think about it: Factorio is all about automating EVERYTHING, so why wouldn't the research be automatable!

[Avezo]

Cutting corners, making 1.0 release faster.

[Septimus ii]

If you think researches are a boring aspect of the game, make them more interesting. Adding a fanfare every time you finish each one isn't a solution.

[Eydamos]

No queue, no problem, we have a mod for this. Put I would prefer to poke you (kovarex) with a fork anyway, just in case

[ili]

Just add a V in the options to "Enable queuing" (Disable by default).
Win win to new players (that probably don't look at the options and don't know this option exist)
And players playing for the 10 time can turn it on...

[Theanderblast]

When you hand craft an item that takes intermediate parts, Factorio queues and crafts those intermediate parts.

I was hoping for the same concept for the research queue.

"I want to be able to make [yellow science|logistics networks|whatever] as soon as I can." Find it in the tree, click that, and all the intermediate research is queued for you. It looks like you've implemented something less than that, but still useful for non-beginner players, and then for reasons of taste, taken it out! People have different tastes!

[Rahumor]

This is extremely disappointing to me. For two reasons:

One: as a solo player I get caught up in what I am doing, research often times gets put on the back burner till I need something. Then I research 20-30 things to give me something to do for the next ten hours. I don't build small, so it takes time to make what I need to the size I want. One my screen the research queue is out of site and often times out of mind (I have a large tv I am using as a screen). So if I could put things into a queue of 5 it stops being a problem. I make research to be produced at 2-4 per second from the start, makes it slow at first but once I get it up its breathtaking watching red n green research complete at the speed of sound.

two: as a multiplayer character who only plays with my little sister, I often times get stuck with research. I am okay with this because she doesn't have the mind for building in Factorio (she doesn't think in spreadsheets okay). Instead I let her do what she loves doing... exploring and murdering the evil (innocent?) locals who try to eat my factory. We don't always stay with the same role when things get bigger, and we work together occasionally. the way the queue would help is often times I am so focused on the economy that I forget we need offensive power to back it up. With a queue my sister could add something (like walls...) to the mix and it would get done when it reached its turn. If neither of us wanted anything either could jump up and add a random five (oh look all those reoccurring military buffs). so overall it would allow us to get back to what we enjoy doing quicker.

At this point in my gaming career, Research is nothing more than a means to an end. Automating (a queue) allows the player to focus on what is important (expanding, exploiting, exterminating and exploring) not clicking a random research or simply closing out of it so it will stop passively aggressively blinking at you every minute or so. So tell me how this takes away from the core experience. Newbies are already going to be overwhelmed the amount of things to do, pros are going picking the thing they need next instantly and then exiting....

Thanks for your time
Rahumor

ps. I think you guys can do whatever you want, but if you don't add it I will eventually just download the mod that does what I want done. You already have all the work done on it, allow the player base decide what they want by making it optional.

[mergele]

Honestly I don't care much about the research queue, I've always seen it as rather small on the nice-to-have-list and if it disconnects you from your tech in play it's indeed probably better to just cut it out.

[Kalamel]

The thing is optional, if you don't like it don't use it.

I agree with this. I can go on without research queue and probably will never use auto-research. I understand if you think by optional, it can be mod. But I think after everything you did on this feature, it deserve to be implemented, even as an option require a tick in setting or some kind of unlock/research.

I think all of your reasons with this decision are valid. I, too, feel joy on research completion and selecting new tech to be done and also believe that the queue might be a bit too convenient. But I still think even with those cons, pros still outweigh them all. I have 2 more pros that is true for me.
1. It's a distraction in some situation. I can't feel excited with new techs when I'm, with some unfortunately timing, too excited with protecting my boilers.
2. I don't want my labs to ever stop, but choosing new tech might take time, not to mention combat.

PS. I also suggest 'Clear all queue' bottom if you decided to implement the queue. It'll help with cons#4-priority changed.

[ZombieMooose]

I just thought of a thing. If part of the joy of research is looking for what's next, then a queue wont stop that at ALL, cause you get that feeling picking your queue. So that "con" isn't really a con at all.

[ThorsDragon]

I, too, would like to add my lament to the loss of the Research Queue. I second the opinion of being able to click a research that you want, and the queue lining everything up for you. Also, if it legitimately is about getting 1.0 released faster- we've, most of us, been hanging on for well over a year, eagerly eating up EVERY SINGLE UPDATE you guys have fantastically and wonderfully released!! Can we at least put it on the back burner, and have it as a post game release/update?? Even if it's optional, as has been requested by even those who DO agree with your decision, and/or even if it is locked behind completing the campaign, and/or launching a rocket in solo vanilla play, please bring this excellently produced feature back! The research queue made by the modding community is greatly appreciated! My personal opinion, is that it's clunky, and overwhelming. Your implementation is SO. MUCH. BETTER!!! Plz, give us the research queue, at least at some point in the future!

[CzBuCHi]

im currently using auto research mod, so if research queue didnt make it to vanilla game im fine with it - thats why mods exists in first place...

PS: Why not tie research queue to achievment? for ex. after firing rocket and starting new game? - new player will not get distracted by it and can enjoy all that tech selection 'minigame' but veteran simply put 30 techs into queue in first 20 seconds of new game and start breeding yet another spaghetti monster without interuptions from research ....

[tayrible@game]

For me the research que was a highly anticipated feature and am disappointed to see it cut. When I play the game for the 20th time I know all the research and want to que some up so that I can focus on working on a area of my factory. In the early game that may be wanting the research to be working toward oil while I set up sustainable smelting, or in the later game while I'm out reinforcing the iron supply I'd like the research to be humming along smoothly to the advanced armors.

Having the research que for veteran players makes the game more enjoyable. Having to dismiss the pop ups of selecting a new research gets annoying when I just want to work on the project at hand and want the research to be done for the next big project I want to work on.

If it really isn't something the devs want in the mai game please package the code y'all have already written into a mod. I think a mod from the dev team would be well written and then gives the player a choice whether they want to use it or not.

[Dragonpc]

Over reaction version:
Kovarex needs to die slowly and painfully in a fire.
end over reaction version:

Ok, so here is the kicker in this situation, Kovarex taking blame for killing it, that's a cop-out for the rest of the team, saying they can't stand up to kovarex and his flippin insanity.
(i mean come on, it was a condition they made him say before they would agree? how about not agreeing and saving the whole process of community outrage and you still doing it cause it's better than not doing it)
I'm sorry, (Not sorry) but you can not cater to a new player-base on these terms. As most new players would most probably like the Que, i think it was a another cop-out cause.."Already planned and 'IMPLIMENTED'." and the seasoned players DESERVE TO BE ABLE TO QUE! we have been playing for quite a long time and the QUE is the next logical step to make life easier for us, the ones that stick around and play for a long time.. not to mention a simple click of a button could turn it on or off.. that sort of seems like a no-brainer guys... and in the end the real issue here is that you said here is something you can look forward too, here is something we are working on, and now here is the final product.. BUT we are just going to drop it and send you all into a nerd rage just cause Kovarex isn't "Feeling it" respect points lost on large scale here. -8 out of 10!

just my two cents.

[DukeAl]

As someone who's not playing without the research queue mod anymore i don't mind it being dropped from the game.
The restriction to queue 5 techs makes it completely useles. Sure, the ui of the mod could be better but it works pretty well.

The reasons kovarex gives remind me of the now famous words of "pride and accomplishment" another developer used to defend his bs but it's his game so.....