Barrel recipes are unlocked inconsistently with research

[Tooster]

It's not a bug per-se but rather an inconsistency, that most seasoned Factorio players won't even notice (but when I was a new player I noticed it):

"Fluid Handling" research unlocks all barreling recipes, but the products that make them cannot be made, as they are further down in the research tree.

I remember my first time playing Factorio -- moving to the fluid handling stage was a huge step, and the multitude of recipes that it added to the game (paired with lack of in-game tips/tutorials about fluids) got me confused. I always awaited every single "new craftable item" notification with anticipation, but after the "Fluid handling" I was overwhelmed and started treating those notifications just as annoyances.

I propose the following changes (to the barrel-related recipes):
- Retain [Empty Barrel] (item) and <Water> barreling recipes unlocked after "Fluid Handling"
- Unlock <Crude Oil> and <Petroleum> barreling recipes only after "Oil Processing"
- Unlock <Sulfuric Acid> barreling only after "Sulfur Processing"
- Unlock <Heavy and Light Oil> barreling only after "Advanced Fluid Handling"
- Unlock <Lubricant> barreling only after "Lubricant"

(Also while I'm at it I'd suggest adding one or two tips about fluid system, how pipes work, how they lose pressure and how their throughput works -- I had to google it and read the wiki for that which effectively got me a little discouraged)

[Loewchen]

That is not a bug.

[Tooster]

I didn't know if it is or isn't a bug and if it's up to me or moderator to post it to the appropriate board
Although the "buggy" part for me was that there are uncraftable recipes at one point in the game.

[Tooster]

I wrote myself a mod for that: https://mods.factorio.com/mod/barrel-stages

Imo this is an inconsistency/bug. I remember being confused when I was just starting factorio

[FuryoftheStars]

The Ideas & Suggestions subforum would probably be best for posting your original issue.

[Tertius]

Just a remark: I was not confused about this unlock behavior when I started Factorio. I saw I were able to barrel all kind of fluids, some already known and available, some not (yet) available. Since barreling fluids is not one's first priority on the first playthrough, I didn't spend more thoughts about this and continued to use pipes.
I wondered what barreling might be used for in the first place and found no application, so I ignored it. After all, there were fluid wagons! Only later with bigger factories, outposts beyond simple mines, and with special demands I found use cases, but that was well after the first playthrough.

[aka13]

IMO barrels are an atavism from older days, when there were no fluid wagons.
Haven't used them once since then, but I bet with more fluids and mods they might have a reason for existance.

[SoShootMe]

IMO barrels are an atavism from older days, when there were no fluid wagons.
Haven't used them once since then, but I bet with more fluids and mods they might have a reason for existance.

The obvious, current use case in vanilla is outpost supply, eg the oil requirements of numerous flamethrower turrets can easily be met by a few stacks of barrels, which can be placed in the same wagon as other items.

However, I've personally never done this (having discovered the game after fluid wagons existed) because fluid wagons avoid all the barrel logistics, to me outweighing the disadvantages of a longer supply train and (unless you add various control) larger-than-necessary fluid buffers.

Empty barrels are an ingredient in cliff explosives, but I don't think there's anything else (except the fill barrel recipes, of course) that uses them.

[aka13]

IMO barrels are an atavism from older days, when there were no fluid wagons.
Haven't used them once since then, but I bet with more fluids and mods they might have a reason for existance.

The obvious, current use case in vanilla is outpost supply, eg the oil requirements of numerous flamethrower turrets can easily be met by a few stacks of barrels, which can be placed in the same wagon as other items.

However, I've personally never done this (having discovered the game after fluid wagons existed) because fluid wagons avoid all the barrel logistics, to me outweighing the disadvantages of a longer supply train and (unless you add various control) larger-than-necessary fluid buffers.

Empty barrels are an ingredient in cliff explosives, but I don't think there's anything else (except the fill barrel recipes, of course) that uses them.

It requires significantly more infrastructure and more complex inventory management compared to a tank wagon and a pump to be worth it.
I used them in a mall once to deliver lubricant, because running lubricant in a pipe was difficult space-wise.

[FuryoftheStars]

Oversupply can also be controlled with a single wire in most cases.