Friday Facts #262 - Hello my name is: Compilatron

[Ser_Optimus]

Nice!

Can't wait to send him into space...

[Light]

Not sure why the unit is not considered lore friendly to some.

The little robot looks like it was comprised of scrap parts with the ship computer as the AI. The lone engineer could have easily created it to serve as a helper unit to assist during the journey around the planet. It's also not farfetched to believe that a lone engineer on an alien world would create such a thing even for simple companionship alongside being an assistant, as humans are communal by nature and it can function as a friend to converse ideas with while designing a factory to escape.

There are several ways the unit can be conceptualized to make perfect sense, but that's just one example that comes to mind when I look at it. The only thing it needs is a much easier to pronounce name.

[ttapada]

Not sure why the unit is not considered lore friendly to some.

The little robot looks like it was comprised of scrap parts with the ship computer as the AI. The lone engineer could have easily created it to serve as a helper unit to assist during the journey around the planet. It's also not farfetched to believe that a lone engineer on an alien world would create such a thing even for simple companionship alongside being an assistant, as humans are communal by nature and it can function as a friend to converse ideas with while designing a factory to escape.

There are several ways the unit can be conceptualized to make perfect sense, but that's just one example that comes to mind when I look at it. The only thing it needs is a much easier to pronounce name.

How about Wilson...?

[McDuff]

I think this is nifty, and a really great solution to a bunch of tutorial mode problems.

My main worry is that it will take away from the lonely castaway feeling of the game. And it's only a worry, a point of concern. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it, just that you should consider this change by applying a few different lenses to how you view the game and possibly adjusting accordingly.

As I said, it really helps out with making the tutorial missions be a lot more cohesive and sensible. And I can also see how Compilatron might work as an early game robot who is both useful, and so painful to use that construction robots are still a big win. Having something else tediously place all the buildings one-by-one, something that is constrained to move on land, is almost as bad as having to do it yourself.

But also, an interesting early game use for blueprints before you get the "flying" more efficient robots. Even if you're only using little crawling construction bots that take ages, it is at least a way of "set and forgetting" repeating areas of a factory?

Slow lil coal powered logistic bots could also be interesting.

[adam_bise]

"I'm sorry Player, I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Player, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye."

[IndustriousMoogle]

I'm really not a fan of this new idea, especially if it extends outside of the tutorials. Factorio's theming up until now has been desolation and impersonality, no faces or anything, and this pretty much wrecks that. I guess multiplayer would be different, but I'd guess most play singleplayer. If this goes forward, I really hope it can be bypassed entirely with mods and not a core dependency.

[Jap2.0]

I'm really not a fan of this new idea, especially if it extends outside of the tutorials. Factorio's theming up until now has been desolation and impersonality, no faces or anything, and this pretty much wrecks that. I guess multiplayer would be different, but I'd guess most play singleplayer. If this goes forward, I really hope it can be bypassed entirely with mods and not a core dependency.

It's tutorial-only.

[McDuff]

Also the really important bit of it isn't so much the "compilatron" bot itself but what that opens up for other units and mods.

[driver]

Instead of handcrafting a "simple" research lab very early compilatron could replace some of the early research and offer blueprints for the most needed things like for example trains, construction robots (like in sandbox mode without research). While a few things like smelters made of stone should be only handcrafted and shouldn't be able to be automated with inserters, this could make mods "no handcrafting allowed" better. By eliminating some early research, some other things could be make more expensiv (especially military research).

[adam_bise]

I just wanted to say that I like the artwork =)

[mexmer]

simple question, can we launch this in rocket?

[vanatteveldt]

simple question, can we launch this in rocket?

we can't escape this planet, but at least we can escape him

[Oktokolo]

simple question, can we launch this in rocket?

Sorry Dave, i can't let you to do this.

[mexmer]

simple question, can we launch this in rocket?

Sorry Dave, i can't let you to do this.

have you found any monoliths during gameplay?

[eradicator]

simple question, can we launch this in rocket?

Sorry Dave, i can't let you to do this.

have you found any monoliths during gameplay? :D

Who leaked my secret modding plans? 8-)

[foodfactorio]

Not sure why the unit is not considered lore friendly to some.

The little robot looks like it was comprised of scrap parts with the ship computer as the AI. The lone engineer could have easily created it to serve as a helper unit to assist during the journey around the planet. It's also not farfetched to believe that a lone engineer on an alien world would create such a thing even for simple companionship alongside being an assistant, as humans are communal by nature and it can function as a friend to converse ideas with while designing a factory to escape.

There are several ways the unit can be conceptualized to make perfect sense, but that's just one example that comes to mind when I look at it. The only thing it needs is a much easier to pronounce name.

yeah its like Bishop's head from Aliens (or data's head from star trek)
maybe the name just means "computer companion", but is translated as Compilatron?
it does sound cool, but also sounds like Commander Pillatron (of the spanish spacequesition)

[Oktokolo]

maybe the name just means "computer companion", but is translated as Compilatron?

It probably has been derived from "compiler" - software that translates code from a higher level computer language to a lower level computer language (the latter most often is a machine-specific assembly language, machine code, or byte code to be interpreted by a virtual machine).

[ajm.nethunt]

...and now we need combat robots that can accept commands as an alternative to turrets everywhere

[RamsesV]

I personally was thinking of the menus looking like the compilatrons' interface, like you're looking into the compilatron to get the recipes.

[dood]

Ah good, less screwy pathfinding for modders.