Add optional weather that affects factory stability, enemies, and planet conditions, making planets feel more alive and less perfectly predictable.
What?
I think Factorio could benefit from an optional deeper weather system.
Weather could slightly affect things like:
- solar power output
- lightning frequency
- radar range
- pollution spread
- bot speed or charging efficiency
- visibility / map effects
- production speed or efficiency
- machine cooldown or recharge speed
- enemy activity
This would fit especially well on Fulgora. Heavy storms could create much more lightning, making them great for power production if the player has enough lightning rods and accumulators. But they could also make walking outside dangerous without armor, shields, or protected areas.
Weather could also affect enemy behavior. Some weather types could make biters more aggressive or more likely to attack, while others could reduce their activity.
The visuals should stay lightweight, using simple effects like screen tint, lightning flashes, scrolling storm textures, and sound instead of heavy particle effects. We don't wanna tank performance on mega-factories.
This could be a toggle when starting a new game, so players who prefer classic stable Factorio can keep it that way.
Why?
The goal is not to make the game randomly annoying, but to make planets feel more alive and less perfectly predictable.
A factory that relies too much on solar power, or a very strict 1:1 production setup, could struggle during bad weather. That would make buffers, backup power, accumulators, circuit logic, and flexible design more useful.
I would personally like this because it would make planets feel more alive, hostile, and reactive, instead of just being static factory boards.
And honestly, the weather system could probably build into even more stuff I am not thinking of yet. The sky is the limit.
