Factorio is coming to Nintendo Switch™

[jt_1258]

I suppose the biggest question I have is, why put it on the weakest dedicated game platform?

I would have thought that with built in mouse/keyboard support that either of the other two big platforms, both of which are stronger and more capable platforms, would have made more sense to port to? Referring to PlayStation and XBox, though with the way Microsoft is basically tying Windows and XBox together it may be practically on the XBox already…

If you want to play Factorio on a system that is stationary - there's always the PC, which is a better experience. You can't assume the player has a mouse and keyboard connected to the console, so regardless of platform you will always be designing for a controller. I'm thinking that the Switch being a mobile device was one of the major driving forces behind the port.

Even though the Steam Deck is available now, I understand the project did start before its announcement, and it will likely remain less popular than a Switch. That said - if you have a Steam Deck, it's best to get Factorio for the Deck rather than the Switch.

I will note that the Switch does in fact support keyboard and mouse connected to the USB ports of the dock. Any time a game pops up the virtual keyboard, you can use a USB keyboard. Game Builder Garage accepts a mouse. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to accept them via Bluetooth. It should also be noted that the Switch has a touch screen, which can serve as a mouse while mobile.

even better, going off of how youtube handles a keyboard being connect the switch actually can take input at all times as you can navigate/control youtube with a keyboard

[InnerVoiS]

Does this mean we can have a more gradual movement?
Will we be able to use controller on PC too?
IF yes, can we have both at the same time. I will want to use my controller on PC for driving the car then jump off and use the keyboard instead.
I also would like to use my Razer Tartarus device to also make movement of the character more gradual ( analog keyboard switches that can be assigned controller inputs). I am currently doing this for other games, and I love it!

Thank you devs for such an awesome game!

[FasterJump]

I'll buy it, Factorio deserves it! I will be able to play the extension on the switch!

[Trace_117]

So based on older replies I'm seeing, I've gathered that mod support is not planned atm. Is there any room to say that its possible in the future based on demand/interest from the playerbase?

[Koub]

So based on older replies I'm seeing, I've gathered that mod support is not planned atm. Is there any room to say that its possible in the future based on demand/interest from the playerbase?

Why no mod support? I’m guessing it’s either:
1) Lack of CPU power and/or RAM
2) Trouble porting the Lua library, since it uses JIT, and the Switch won’t let unsigned code be marked as executable. Also, not using JIT would make 1 even worse, as well as fragmenting the codebase
3) Issues with community content moderation

Pretty much 1 and 3.
While "mod it 'till it crashes" is ok for most PC players, console games are generally expected to be much more stable(the are exceptions, but they are rare). With the limited amount of RAM, most mods could quickly end up crashing the game.

[liron_aramas]

Guys, guys, guys!!! But what about a large-scale update for Factorio the size of the game itself, an expansion in the form of a modification? Nintendo switch is that all? What about that space octopus picture in Friday Facts? Guys please answer something. And so I almost went crazy because of the expectation, but here it is (((

[NGMZero]

This is great news, It would be a blessing if the Nintendo switch support split-screen multiplayer.

Guys, guys, guys!!! But what about a large-scale update for Factorio the size of the game itself, an expansion in the form of a modification? Nintendo switch is that all? What about that space octopus picture in Friday Facts? Guys please answer something. And so I almost went crazy because of the expectation, but here it is (((

Yeah I wish if there is any news about the new expansion, just to put my hype in check in case it is content I am not interested in. (like I love rimworld and cities skyline but in most cases I am not interested/hyped about their DLCs targets).

[Gummiente27]

Guys, guys, guys!!! But what about a large-scale update for Factorio the size of the game itself, an expansion in the form of a modification? Nintendo switch is that all? What about that space octopus picture in Friday Facts? Guys please answer something. And so I almost went crazy because of the expectation, but here it is (((

Clicking on a news item with the title "Factorio is coming to switch" and then complaining that there is no news about the DLC

[Gummiente27]

Already answered, see viewtopic.php?p=573867#p573867

There is an argument to make that there is a lot of mods that console could handle but when you think about it, then yeah, the dev's line of argumentation makes a total sense.
PC players can tinker with mods, load a few of them, see if it all works, click the button to revert changes if it isn't. But we need to keep in mind that we are the glorious PC Master Race. After all, there is no way some console peasant will be able to handle such a cognitively taxing task.

Complaining here doesn't help. Its decided by the console creator companies.

[ptx0]

...we are the glorious PC Master Race....

what the actual ewwwwwww? you're disgusting

[pointa2b]

[Moderated by Koub : off topic & trolling]

[ptx0]

[Moderated by Koub : response to moderated off topic & trolling post]

[pointa2b]

[Moderated by Koub : response to moderated off topic & trolling post]

[ptx0]

[Moderated by Koub : response to moderated off topic & trolling post]

[Koub]

[Koub] Please people, behave. I know Internet can reveal the worst from each and everyone, but I don't want that on this forum, so do it elsewhere.

[NotDaffy]

I am really excited about this news Factorio on switch is a really great idea - it's the kind of game that I think would work extremely well on a portable device. It's the kind of game that is perfect to just pick up on a long road trip, in between a grinding study session, or relaxing in your *cough* various household facilities...

I often play Factorio in small bursts since I get stuck very often in trying to figure out how to best optimize my factory - and needing to launch it constantly and be at my PC all the time in order to play it can usually feel a bit draining, especially since most of the time I log into my world, run around for a bit, place a few things and then quit the game again.
I think having the game wherever I want and being able to just turn my switch on, play for a bit, think about what to do, build something new or make some adjustments, put it down and repeat 30 minutes later without needing my PC sounds like an excellent idea and I think it will help players who might feel similarly to me play the game more consistently without feeling like they need to commit to long sessions.

Go for gold guys, you got this!

[ptx0]

- Only online download.
- Same price
- Demo will be available

same price is a pretty crap way to release a game without the full functionality.

SnowRunner on Switch did the same thing. it is about $120 to get all the addons and DLC and yet the game runs at less than half the performance of PC version, and, if this sounds familiar, it has no mod support

please price the switch version appropriately. as in, less than PC version, because, it is, technically, lesser.

[Slappy826]

Does this mean there is a better possibility for native arm64 ports to come to other platforms as well? (personally would love to see a headless arm64 build)

[Atraps003]

- Only online download.
- Same price
- Demo will be available

same price is a pretty crap way to release a game without the full functionality.

please price the switch version appropriately. as in, less than PC version, because, it is, technically, lesser.

If anything it should cost more to compensate for the time Twinsen spent refactoring the game to run on switch hardware.

[zoranc]

As a few other said I would really like a cart release of the game. It might not be right away and I don't care if it costs me 2 or 3 times more. I just want to have it a decade from now when my switch breaks and nintendo has closed the switch store... It'd be amazing gift too.