Friday Facts #356 - Blueprint library for real

[FactorioBot]

Here it is! (beep boop)

https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-356

[Heptagon]

This seems great, I love the book in book and placing on map features.

[KubeRoot]

I was really happy about the redesign, thinking it can't get better, but then y'all dropped the video of building on the map... I never thought it could work this well, but that looks great!

[cyberbob1979]

I can suggest the great little (Factorio inspired) game Shapez.io on Steam to play with your son. A lot of the "principles' of Factorio are in there in an abstract way. Check it out (it's also super cheap)

[darkszero]

I'm happy you bonded with your son over the game and it managed to help you recover from your low.

[dmsilev]

Great set of new features. Book within a book within (...) and map-building look wonderful.

Also, glad to hear that your burnout was recoverable. It's been a long road to get so close to 1.0, but the light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train (hopefully...).

[Koub]

I'm happy you bonded with your son over the game and it managed to help you recover from your low.

This is exactly what I was going to post

[raiguard]

THANK YOU KOVAREX. I appreciate your willingness to share your struggles with us. Overcoming mental struggles like that is no mean feat.

And the blueprint library... it's amazing! It fixes so many issues, brings in many improvements, and looks really pretty. I am in love with it. Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

If I do have one tiny critique / request though... in my opinion, the toolbar on the main page (below the tabs) isn't visually separated enough from the frame above it. When I first looked at it, I didn't realize it had any at all. In the original mockup, it had a much deeper inset on the top, matching what it looks like when it's used at the top of content frames.

I managed to recreate that effect from the original mockup using a glow on the top of the toolbar, and adjusted the visual paddings to match it. I have included the style below. I hope it can be of some use to you!

Thank you again!

Code: Select all

styles.subheader_frame_under_tab_row = {
  type = "frame_style",
  parent = "subheader_frame",
  graphical_set =
  {
    base =
    { -- add top transition into subheader center
      top = {position = {42, 0}, size = {1, 8}},
      center = {position = {256, 25}, size = {1, 1}},
      bottom = {position = {256, 26}, size = {1, 8}}
    },
    glow =
    { -- transition from content frame
      top = {position = {93, 0}, size = {1, 8}},
      draw_type = "outer"
    },
    shadow = bottom_shadow
  },
  -- adding the glow throws off the perception of height,
  -- so decrease the height by two pixels to correct it
  top_padding = 1,
  height = 34
}

2020-07-17 16_20_14-Factorio 0.18.36.png (8.18 KiB) Viewed 17784 times

Edit: here's a snippet of the original mockup so you can see what I mean:

2020-07-17 16_33_47-Window.png (6.35 KiB) Viewed 17685 times

[Windsinger]

Oh wow this really looks amazing!

One question about "Game Blueprints".
Is the bar used for books i saw in picture below for "My Blueprints" also the same when you open op a book in the "Game Blueprints" tab?
So that we can finally delete it without having to delete all the containing BP's first \o/

[Philip017]

its good that you got to enjoy some time off and that bonding with your son re-inspired you to go back to work with renewed enthusiasm for work.
don't feel bad about having taken some extra time off, the crew you have backing you up keep the work going and I'm sure you didn't just leave them hanging if they had a question for you, I'm also sure you continued to encourage them along even though you may have had to guilt yourself into work that day. that said it's good to know you are feeling better and welcome the enthusiasm you have brought back with you to work on a fantastic project that is the wonderful game factorio you developed for us.

Please do keep the game with in your guidance, and if it were to be sold and become a cash grab it will probably become a game that had a lot of potential and then bombed when the lead developer lost focus, I'm looking at you firefall.

keep up the good work and if you get burned out, just take some time off.

[KatherineOfSky]

Kovarex, I am so happy you are back! I'm also deeply grateful that you've stayed true to your plan and vision of creating quality games: it has made Factorio one of the most beloved games for so many gamers, and I'm thrilled for the release of Factorio and all the future projects that come from Wube.

The new changes to the blueprint library look really great! There are so many things that have now been realized from my own wishlisht!

Question: on the upgrade planner gif where it shows a whole row of items being affected by the upgrade planner: is that row meant to represent a book, or are those individual blueprints? If they are individual, does the entire grid get affected, or is it just one row? I found that implementation a bit confusing.


Also, regarding the UI showing "My Blueprints" & "Game Blueprints": many players interchange the words "map" and "game", so to me, those tabs look like the same thing, e.g. when I looked at it, I did not know which tab would have my large library of saved BPs. (The same confusion on the word "my", since my overall library is also mine).

I would suggest using wording like "Character Blueprints" and "Blueprint Library", or "Inventory Blueprints" and "Blueprint Library". I personally like the word "Library" since it connotes a structure or building, e.g. something that a person wouldn't be carrying around, and/or a grander collection or structure to things. "Vault" would work as well, (and has fewer characters! )


I'm looking forward to trying out the new features: thank you!

[Henry Loenwind]

Do we really need that 4-letter-word in a fff? I heard native speakers are quite allergic to those...

[Ethrel]

Longtime lurker, longtime reader.

I have worked in the game industry previously. So, first-hand, I know that burn-out. I'm so glad to see you recovered. I found that when it hits hard, choosing something small. Something you can hammer out in an hour or two, that produces a real, tangible result at the end seems to really, really help. Which seems to be the same thing you discovered yourself. If there's any take away here, it's that no matter how much you love something, sometimes you need a break. Sometimes, a break isn't enough. Sometimes, you need to do something small and work your way back into love. It doesn't matter if it's programming, math, or a person, love is work sometimes. But in the end, falling in love all over again is worth the effort. If I could give you a hug, I would.

I also wanted to say that I absolutely love this labour of love.
And I truly, deeply respect the sentiment expressed in one paragraph -- that shutting down is better than selling off.

Thank you for everything you've done here. You and your team. I hope the ride never ends, but if it does, I hope that you do just shut down. And maybe pick it back up when you're ready.

[Pinga]

Stay strong kovarex!

The new library looks great. One of the big problems of the live version is that input is kinda of a mess. You left click to pick blueprints, but right click to open books, so I always wrongly pick the book that I'm trying to open. I was hoping for a more standard click to select, double click to open. Because, if the whole point is

You don't have to learn anything new and just manipulate the objects

then why reinvent the folder input that we have been using for at least 3 decades?

[Jap2.0]

Thank you.

[Hanse00]

The changes look like they're thoughtfully moving in the right direction as always, awesome!

As for the motivation part: We've all been there (Or will eventually...). Remember that it's perfectly normal, and not a sign of you doing a bad job in some way. I'm glad something eventually came around to showing you the joy of creation again, hold on to that.

[XkyDiver]

Chiming in with support and care for Kovarex. Thank you for sharing your struggles!

[IronCartographer]

The ending of the intro is incredibly heartwarming. Such tales of personal life struggles and recovery illustrate just how humanity finds strength in the diversity of perspectives and interactions we bring to the table together. Remembering the human in all things, even as we unleash the power of automation.

One question comes to mind on the subject of the blueprint library interface: Does this mean sharing personal player blueprints in games will be optional as mentioned in one of the UI overhaul FFFs? Is there quicker copying (creating a copy simply by moving to the Game Blueprints tab?) to make this selective sharing painless?

[Cooldude2606]

This wall of text is about my personal struggle with Factorio and life, feel free to skip to the next subject if you wish to see the actual Factorio content.

I could never skip a story like this, glad to see that you were able to bond with your son and recover from your low point.
And the new changes look great, never would have thought I'd see the day where I can build blueprints on the map without the need for radars.

[Omarflyjoemacky]

Truly, thank you for this great game and retaining control of the company. So important! I look forward to purchasing all the games Wube develops over the next few decades!

Still waiting though on the collectors edition announcement...