Friday Facts #365 - Future plans

[FactorioBot]

Here it is! (beep boop)

https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-365

[aka13]

This is just bombastic, awesome in fact.

[ScottyWired]

Great stuff!

I'll guess this will probably go in the same trajectory as RimWorld's post-release content. Factorio has such an amazing modding community, so I'm sure the big design question will inevitably be "What can we do as the original developers that can't be achieved with mods?"

[oggyswe]

for the expansion thing have you thought about maybe multi planet stuff with new planets and new resources and enemies? aka you finish the base game and then travel around and building fantastic factories and transporting stuff around?

[Kyralessa]

My credit card is ready. Just let me know when I can buy it!

[xARCHONx]

Wonderful stuff.

Personally, I'd be happy with free updates or even a Factorio 2, but I understand that Wube would like to stretch their wings after 8 years and see that they can come up with.

That said, an expansion sounds cool, and I'd hope to see some really cool new features added or existing ones updated to give even more mod functionality.
If the peeps at Wube haven't tried Dyson Sphere Program, they have some really cool ideas that remind me of the Space Exploration mod.

Best of luck to you guys! We look forward to seeing what you'll cook up.

[conn11]

Big expansion on the horizon, take my money. Getting the author of Alien Biomes on the team looks more than promising. Guess some space exploration'ish Vanilla expansion is about to come. Very much looking forward for it!

[zbee]

I just want to say congratulations, and thank you for the incredible game I've spent literally hundreds of hours on.

If Expansions are the way to go, I'm totally on board, I absolutely agree that the others are not as ideal.

My suggestion:
Just want to put it out there of a good methodology that may work alongside it, and that is EU4. Granted, they have lots of "little" DLCs, but if you did it in a similar way, where base game is always maintained, and as Expansions are added you can make improvements to the base game along similar threads but get massive new things in the Expansion, I'd be paying you money for decades to come.
For example, if you added a new planet you could rocket yourself to in an Expansion, and alongside that upgraded the base game with whatever improved rocket-building components I'm sure you'd come up with, I think that would be a really great balance of keeping the base game viable and also emptying my wallet ha!

Thank you so, so, so much, once again, I wish you all the best.

[Ryozuki]

I'll buy anything you make no worries

[ashkante]

I never ever, as a rule, preorder, but Wube is my one, shining exception. Please give me that chance to preorder and support further development ASAP!

[Draxinusom]

First of all, congratulations for this final (for now) milestone!

I really look forward with what you'll come up with. And great that you could get Earendel! All the work he put into the amazing Space Exploration mod highlights his capabilities and talent.

[Kyralessa]

I never ever, as a rule, preorder, but Wube is my one, shining exception. Please give me that chance to preorder and support further development ASAP!

Yes, this! I wouldn't buy a game sight-unseen, but I'll buy this DLC sight-unseen. For one thing, given I paid the old ($20) price for the game and have gotten countless hours of enjoyment out of it, I kind of feel like I owe Wube money anyway.

[Drury]

for the expansion thing have you thought about maybe multi planet stuff with new planets and new resources and enemies? aka you finish the base game and then travel around and building fantastic factories and transporting stuff around?

Yeah that's kinda what I came here to say.

HOWEVER

We... already have that?

Naturally I'm referring to the Space Exploration overhaul mod. And that's really the crux of the issue I see here - the modding community of this game is so badass (thanks in no small part to the great modding API) that I can't help but feel any additional content would feel redundant, especially if you choose to charge money for it. Cities Skylines has the same problem - the expansions are neat, but what you can get on the workshop for free completely dwarfs them.

I know that this isn't the same since Cities Skylines expansions are of the crappy bite-sized variety already criticized in the FFF, but the core problem is still there with Factorio - how is Wube going to make a big expansion worth charging money for when there are already free massive overhaul mods? Are they going to just make one absolutely bonkers expansion that completely dwarfs the existing overhaul mods (which btw I can't even imagine being tenable as a player, I've poured hundreds of hours into Krastorio 2+SE and I'm still in the midgame) - but what do they do when some absolute madman comes up with an even bigger more bonkers overhaul mod 5 years down the line? You might say it's highly unlikely, but let's not forget this community has that one guy who decided to remake the whole game from scratch except with multithreading and even kovarex was left speechless.

I mean damn. I was so sure this FFF was going to be about a new game they were making because I frankly can't imagine even Wube has any avenue left with this game that the community can't cover better on their own, but I guess that's not true and they think they got some more aces up their sleeve? Incredibly curious how all this pans out.

[fur_and_whiskers]

Great work!
Really enjoyed watching the progress over the years, and really happy with Factorio vanilla.
Good reasoning for the future, I look forward to what you come up with.

[CrushedIce]

I'm very much looking forward to this!
Really curious what direction the expansion will go. Space would be the obvious theme but maybe you'll surprise us with something different.

Anyway great to see that you got Earendel on board. He basically already produced an expansion for Factorio

[CrushedIce]

@ Drury
I see your concerns but they said that some of the planned features will need engine changes. So we can expect to see something which is currently not possible with mods

[Anyone]

Considering the quality of the game, developers, and communication, I'll be paying for any DLC or Expansion, despite not having played for a while due to commitment to other games. Consider my money reserved for whatever is coming!

[SuperSandro2000]

Where can I buy it? I want to spend money on that now!

[Braxus]

For a long time, i think how to support you.
So after buying the game many time to enable big friend multiplayer games.

If you can continue with the same quality and devotion :

[toaran]

Congrats to you guys!

The big expansion is, for me, also the best idea.

Also a big Applause on hiring Earendel! I love his mods! I hope this is the direction for an Expansion

Go on Wube! We've got your back!

T