Simple Questions and Short Answers

[Porter65]

1) Is the pollution generated by a machine strictly proportional to its activity? I have Steam Engines which are not running at 100%, is it equivalent to having much less Steam Engines, but running at almost full power?

2) I have not found through gougle search the answer to "how to prevent repair bots from repairing if you have kits in inventory". Because they tend to die when near the frontline, and micromanaging the deposit of repair kits in a crate...

[DaleStan]

1) I believe so. You can confirm this by testing both scenarios for a minute or so and looking at the Pollution tab of the Production screen. (default hotkey 'P')

2) You can turn off your personal roboport using the buttons next to the quickbar.

[Porter65]

Great!

3) an easy way to get rid of an empty blueprint in inventory? So far I have only found that I need to use it, and then delete it from its own menu.

4) Is it a good idea to make a double wall? It seems the spitter with their splash attack will damage then both at once, seems like a waste of material.

5) Is it possible to move a fixed quantity of items, like 5? I know I can move items one by one, and also full stack, half stack, but for turrets when you are a bit tense, you need to move from 5 to 15 and then proceed to the next, in the minimum amount of clicks!

[Koub]

Using steam engines for power does not produce pollution, unless boilers are used to heat up the water.

Source : https://wiki.factorio.com/Steam_engine

3) Empty the blueprint by editing it, and once saved, Mouse-click it in your inventory.

4) It can be of some use if you get BIG waves of biters, and can't soak them down before they pierce through your defenses.

5) No, but it has been suggested. Also, there are mods to mitigate this if you want (Autofill, Fill4me, ...).

[Koub] Also, I'm merging this to "simple questions short answers" thread.

[thereaverofdarkness]

4.) I would use a single wall, but space it one block away from all things on the interior such as turrets.

5.) I recommend the mod "Even Distribution". With that mod, if you have a stack of 200 magazines and you place them into a line of 10 turrets, it'll place 20 magazines into each turret. That's done in one click.

[totallymeyou]

Map, top right panel, press that red square button.

Welp, that was a wonderfully easy fix. Thank you!

[Porter65]

Thanks guys for the answers. Still mightily confused about how to get rid of an empty blueprint, nothing seems to work...

6) About pollution, is pollution consumed by biters to have them grow? But if yes, why biters in distant places are as big and nasty as the ones I polluted?

7) Also, about biters, when you attack one of their base, they spawn very rapidly from their nests. Is this spawning using a "resource" for them, like accumulated pollution, some population, etc. Or are they basically free biters I better kill asap?

8) How can I revert to natural soil a constructed soil? Sometime I misplace some tiles...

[zOldBulldog]

Answers in line, with dashes - :

Thanks guys for the answers. Still mightily confused about how to get rid of an empty blueprint, nothing seems to work...
- I think you still cannot get rid of an empty blueprint. But it is easy to fill it with anything and then hit the trash can.

6) About pollution, is pollution consumed by biters to have them grow? But if yes, why biters in distant places are as big and nasty as the ones I polluted?
- Yes, but their evolution is global and based on your bases total pollution, whether it touches them or not. Even if the pollution is ultimately controlled by trees and not nests.
- And I agree with your unvoiced thought, it is counter-intuitive. Logic dictates that it should only be those that are touched by pollution or your actions that evolve, even if it meant they evolve faster.
- Note that you have a lot of control over evolution and and pollution in the New Game settings. Just remember that lowering some of those settings (unfortunately I don't know which) will disable your ability to get achievements.

7) Also, about biters, when you attack one of their base, they spawn very rapidly from their nests. Is this spawning using a "resource" for them, like accumulated pollution, some population, etc. Or are they basically free biters I better kill asap?
They spawn infinitely while attacking, proportionally to the number of nests in that group. So, the best strategy is to strafe in the following order while avoiding the mob chasing you: (1) worms, (2) nests, (3) the mob chasing you. Of course, there is a point where the mob will make it impossible to strafe, at that point kill them before continuing.


8) How can I revert to natural soil a constructed soil? Sometime I misplace some tiles...

Placed landfill cannot be removed. There are mods that let you place water or make wells but using any mods will suspend achievements until you disable them.

[radurek]

Hello everyone, this is my first post in this forum.
I'm just starting my adventure with Factorio. I created a map in the editor and I learned what and how ... at some point, when editing the saved game, I removed my character (avatar). after returning to the game, the construction system, etc., changed radically. I can not now restore the character (add it again). I can of course start a new map but I want to know in the future, because with a larger project such a thing can spoil the fun.
I am asking for help in the subject.
greetings.

[zOldBulldog]

Hello everyone, this is my first post in this forum.
I'm just starting my adventure with Factorio. I created a map in the editor and I learned what and how ... at some point, when editing the saved game, I removed my character (avatar). after returning to the game, the construction system, etc., changed radically. I can not now restore the character (add it again). I can of course start a new map but I want to know in the future, because with a larger project such a thing can spoil the fun.
I am asking for help in the subject.
greetings.

You probably got a version update. I suspect that you enabled the experimental branch and got 0.17 (since you say things are very different), then you opened the old game and the map got updated, then you saved.

If you ever have a version update the trick is to open the old save and immediately make a new one, then play the new save. The old save will remain untouched and accessible if you roll back to that old version.

Personally I recommend making saves that start with the major version number that you are playing with, for example:

0.15 mySave
0.16 mySave
0.17 mySave
0.17 myOtherSave

[Zavian]

I can not now restore the character (add it again).

I've never used the editor, but you have probably simply removed your character, and switched to god mode (https://wiki.factorio.com/Console#Enable_god_mode). To re-create a character open the console ("`" key by default on qwerty keyboards), and type

Code: Select all

/c game.player.create_character()

(Note that most console commands disable achievements. I'm not sure about the editor, but using it might have already disabled achievements for your current game).

[radurek]

Thank you for your response.
entering this command has helped. playing in god mode is average ...
additionally, the lesson for the future is to leave more saved game states.

[BlueTemplar]

protip : you can change the number of autosaves in config/config.ini

[Porter65]

I don't understand exactly what is the time associated to any technology... Should the time to discover it not be directly proportional to the amount of beakers?

Gates for example ask for 30 minutes (or 30 seconds?) and demands 100 red and 100 green beakers.

But advanced material processing also requires 30 minutes/seconds while in need of only 75/75...

Does not make much sense to me.

[BlueTemplar]

Nope, it isn't proportional - It's the time (in seconds) to consume one beaker by one (unspeeded) lab.

[rockaday]

EDIT: Saw my mistake right after I posted it! I was missing a signal just after the intersection on the right hand side from the train's perspective. Thanks!

I'm getting "No Path" from my train before this intersection (see screenshot). If I drive it through the intersection manually, then it can proceed fine on its own (second screenshot) How do I fix the intersection?

[zOldBulldog]

EDIT: Saw my mistake right after I posted it! I was missing a signal just after the intersection on the right hand side from the train's perspective. Thanks!

I'm getting "No Path" from my train before this intersection (see screenshot). If I drive it through the intersection manually, then it can proceed fine on its own (second screenshot) How do I fix the intersection?

A couple bits of general advice:

It is probably a good idea to give some thought at what kind of overall train strategy you want to use. Your screenshots show 1-1 (1 loco, 1 wagon) trains going in both directions on the same rail.

1) First you should decide what kind of trains you want. For example the following are some very good configurations:
- Bi-directional trains (locomotives at both ends pointing in different directions), I am no expert but these are common ones I have seen: 1-2-1, 2-4-2 or 3-4-3 for faster trains.
- One directional trains (very common): 1-2, 2-4, 3-6, 4-8.
- One directional trains (locomotives all in the same direction even at back of train, layout helps them share stations): 1-2, 1-4-1, 1-4-2-4-1

2) Then you should create or find (for example at factorioprints.com) rail blueprints that help you layout rail with minimum issues. Example choices are:
- Rails with power lines or without. If you have power lines, it is usually a good idea to include red/green wire (wire material is free when placing a blueprint)
- Bidirectional tracks or Unidirectional with parallel tracks for each direction.
- If Unidirectional, whether you want an LHD (left hand drive) or RHD (right hand drive). They each have advantages. RHD lets you put rails right next to each other (no power lines or power lines outside). LHD lets you keep power poles and signals on the inside, and tends to make you exit the train on the side of your buildings.
- If Unidirectional, how many lanes you want for each direction. Often you will want a combination. For example I use 3 lanes in each direction (total of 6) for my main line and I hang my factories along it: Center lanes are for direction changes, outer lanes for entry/exit to factories (with dummy stops on this track with a " " space for name so that I lower their priority in pathfinding), and the other lanes for max-speed travel. Of course, these get reduced to just 2 lanes for long-haul travel. Exit to factories are always 2-laned, one to enter and one to exit the factory.

Once you know what you want I recommend using a blueprint book you like, use and study them, then as you understand it better design your own personal blueprint book.

3) The "big picture" layout of your factories has a huge impact on your rail design. For example, you might want to separate all "raw ore" traffic to their own lines that take them to the smelters without intersecting any lines, then put the resulting products on your mainline. You might also want to order your smelters and core supply (like circuits) so that trains travel a short distance without crossing lines.

4) It is not immediately obvious but bigger trains usually mean less congestion. But they do use more space.

5) Coal is a terrible fuel for trains. Consider Solid, Rocket and Nuclear fuel. As of 0.17 it is relatively easy to make Rocket fuel even for early trains. But... beware of manual driving, a crash can be deadly once you have larger trains and better power.

Have fun. Trains in Factorio are awesome!

[ManaUser]

Thanks guys for the answers. Still mightily confused about how to get rid of an empty blueprint, nothing seems to work...

I'm not aware of any better way than using it and then deleting it.

About pollution, is pollution consumed by biters to have them grow? But if yes, why biters in distant places are as big and nasty as the ones I polluted?

Pollution does two things. 1. All pollution slowly increases the general evolution level, which affects biters everywhere. 2. When the pollution cloud actually touches nests, they consume it to create new biters, which will most likely be sent to attack you in short order.

7) Also, about biters, when you attack one of their base, they spawn very rapidly from their nests. Is this spawning using a "resource" for them, like accumulated pollution, some population, etc. Or are they basically free biters I better kill asap?

Free as far as i know.

How can I revert to natural soil a constructed soil? Sometime I misplace some tiles...

Landfile can't be removed, as another comment said, but brick or concrete can be removed by right-clicking while holding another flooring tile (i.e. brick or concrete again). It can also be deconstructed with bots, though by default it will be ignored if there is anything else to deconstruct in the area to specified.

[quyxkh]

Thanks guys for the answers. Still mightily confused about how to get rid of an empty blueprint, nothing seems to work...

Make a blueprint book. Put empty blueprints in it. Delete the book whenever.

[Porter65]

Thanks guys.

Power armor durability, how do you repair?