I don't think the learning curve is very steep at all, at least to get to the point where you can mass produce things. It sort of gradually works you up to the more complex objects you need to create but any given thing never needs more than 4 objects to be built. Those objects might need other objects used to build them, but that can be done in another location then belt them in.
As far as how repetitive it gets... I guess that is very subjective and differs from person to person. When I started a new game with a buddy of mine just to show it to him, we played that game for 7 hours straight that night. And it's not too uncommon for me to spend 3-4 hours at a time building on my factory and expanding it. I tend to binge play this game where i'll play it long hours, every day, for a week or two, then i'll kind of want to do something else. But after a couple months, I get that itch to build another factory or expand on one of my already massive ones, and I always come back. It's very fun.
For efficiency and creativity... I mean I think that is part of the fun of the game honestly. I would argue that there "is" a most efficient way to do things. For example to pump out the maximum number of circuit boards you need 1 and a half assemblers making copper wiring to every assembler making circuit boards. Things like that. I won't tell you what I do or what most people do, because I feel that kind of robs you of some of the experience of the game.
Look, your first factory is going to suck. It's going to be grossly inefficient, it's going to handle tiny quantities of materials you're constructing, but it won't matter because you're going to love building it and you're going to feel accomplished having it produce things for you. It's going to be rather haphazardly thrown together. As you play, you'll think of ways to make it more efficient, ways to incorporate more resources and produce more products, and so on. If you went and looked up guides on youtube or looked at pictures of efficient layouts, you'll get better at it faster, but honestly I feel that does rob some of the experience of playing from you. It's kind of like playing a puzzle game and looking up all the answers online instead of figuring it out for yourself.
That said, even after you get good at it and know the most efficient ways to do things, you can still change and modify your designs. You can build things differently, though you may not want to.
The only thing I find repetitive that I don't particularly enjoy is killing biters. Having to invest in military tech to go out and kill them and taking the time to do so is a bit tedious for me and not very enjoyable. You do have the option of playing without biters, which i do sometimes, but there is something enjoyable about watching an endless enemy get eradicated on your defensive walls. Also I love to put up walls and turrets around my expansions. It makes them look more pleasing to the eye with walls, gates, lasers, etc. I like having my robots repair damage and replace destroyed objects. I like the logistics of having supply trains that stop at each of these places to drop off replacement parts and additional repair packs to be used. Having the enemies turned off make that whole bit pointless and make me sad. So I do enjoy the game more with enemies than without, I just find the process (and requirement) to kill tons of huge nests to be a little taxing to my patience.
But on the whole, I love this game. Over 1,000 hours logged in it. I do think you have to be a particular type of person to really get the most out of it though. You gotta like designing and automating things and just watching them work.
Mods are interesting. I typically don't like to mod games I play because sometimes they just get too far out there... But I am running one that allows you to produce combat robots that go out and hunt for biter nests and destroys them on their own. I really wish this would be added to the base game. I like the idea of it a lot but it's slightly buggy and not perfect. Lots of other mods out there for all sort of things though.
I'd also add in i'm very cynical and jaded by PC game developers. They always want your money up front, before the product is even finished, then take it, release something crappy and half-finished, and then abandon it. But these factorio guys have really impressed me and I can honestly say they're my favorite game developers in the industry because they genuinely care about the game and work tirelessly to improve on it. Every single friday you can see a friday facts post go up where they talk about what they're working on and how it's going and so on and you get to see the upcoming changes ahead of time. New stuff is being added constantly, all the time. I remember when tanks first came out... and trains... Those were both new features after i'd already paid to get this game. The game didn't even have an ending when I bought it. But all that stuff was added and improved upon and so on. I still remember when multiplayer was released. I was very excited until I realized, I had no friends who played factorio! But I did manage to get a couple of them playing it and we had many hours of fun doing that together as well.
This I could have written
I am totally with you. Only difference: I started when tanks were patched in already, I am using zero mods and I am playing only 600 hours now^^
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2016 4:24 pm
by DyingDragon12
I am also consiering buying it what do you guys think
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2016 4:39 pm
by Grimakar
DyingDragon12 wrote:I am also consiering buying it what do you guys think
Play the demo and if you think that this is one of the best games ever, like I do (about 700 hours played already), then buy it. If not, don't.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:46 pm
by Snake_
buy it
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:05 pm
by DyingDragon12
lol
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:10 am
by ThePebbleStealer
Grimakar wrote:
DyingDragon12 wrote:I am also consiering buying it what do you guys think
Play the demo and if you think that this is one of the best games ever, like I do (about 700 hours played already), then buy it. If not, don't.
Totally agreeing with him.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 10:05 am
by tonylopez
I truly agree that all the AAA Games cost 60 Bugs and rarely get you 8 Hours.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:23 pm
by FasterJump
Hello,
1) If I buy the game on steam, can I download a non-steam version of the game on factorio website?
2) I heard steam fee is 30% of sale price, is it accruate?
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:26 pm
by Kelderek
FasterJump wrote:Hello,
1) If I buy the game on steam, can I download a non-steam version of the game on factorio website?
2) I heard steam fee is 30% of sale price, is it accruate?
I'm not sure if that works, but I know for sure if you buy it on the website you also get a Steam key and would be able to access it in both places. This also nets more cash to the developer (which they deserve because they are awesome) if you buy direct like this.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:29 pm
by joon
1. FAQ Factorio.com
I bought the game via Steam, can I get the Factorio login for that as well?
Yes, it is possible. In game you will have the option to register an account on our webpage. You can also create a free account at factorio.com and then head to your profile/settings page where you will find directions on how to link it to your Steam account. It is strongly recommended to create the account with the same username you have on Steam already.
2. Probably yes, check Steam Fee, but doubt the developers will say how much exactly because of the contract/agreement with Steam/Valve.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:54 pm
by FasterJump
Thank you for your answers. Seems like the main difference is the steam fees then.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 2:21 pm
by Terukio
Devs have said before, they get the most from a sale if you purchase directly from their site. You will still receive a steam key going about it this way.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2017 9:30 am
by terraflare
This is the first and ONLY game that I bought without discount on steam (not this fact), and it goes on sale tomorrow, and I felt no remorse AT ALL (this is).
Learning curve is steep if you do not know the whole game. If you play the game without the knowledge of the endgame, you will restart, no doubt. And quite honestly I think everyone should play it that way. Don't have to see any build (except boiler steam machine ratio pre 0.15), get crazy and creative. But that is the true beauty of factorio. Everytime you get into a new tier of technology, you're gonna say "Well this layout isn't gonna work", then restart the game from scratch, bearing the new tech in mind. New tech comes after the new tech before, you're gonna say that line again, and again, and again, until you can beat the game (by factorio standard).
Pre 0.15 you will most likely restart the game around 6 times, with each game being longer since you reach further of the end.
At 0.15 you will restart a lot more. Personally I am currently on my 14th game now (only 180h total). Looking forward to restart the game a couple times more.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 5:39 am
by featherwinglove
terraflare wrote:This is the first and ONLY game that I bought without discount on steam (not this fact), and it goes on sale tomorrow, and I felt no remorse AT ALL (this is).
Huh? What sale is this? I heard it was a point of principle that Factorio never goes on sale or as I like to think of it, is always on sale!!
Terukio wrote:Devs have said before, they get the most from a sale if you purchase directly from their site. You will still receive a steam key going about it this way.
It is also more secure to buy it on factorio.com than it is to buy it on the Steam store. I highly recommend this, even if it is your intention to play it exclusively via Steam. (Also, I recommend never playing anything via Steam, but that's me. EA and Origin are still worse. I especially recommend never using any of these services if you live in any country which has the slightest chance of being embargoed by the US besides the US. (Edit after Trump got elected Another edit: Factorio is made in Czech, a country which has the slightest chance of being embargoed by the US, therefore I never recommend playing Factorio via Steam and that you immediately backup your Factorio download files this moment if you do.))
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 6:11 am
by thereaverofdarkness
You can play Factorio on GOG. You probably have to buy it from GOG to get their version--but if anyone knows how I can get this game posted onto my GOG, let me know!
GOG is like Steam in the good ways, but they don't try to control how you use their service, and when you buy a game on GOG, it is YOUR game. They don't try to take it away from you and they don't push any DRM on you. I don't know the rates they charge but GOG does take a cut, so Wube gets more money if you buy from the Factorio website than if you buy from either GOG or Steam.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 6:40 am
by featherwinglove
To the best of my knowledge there is no GOG client, so there wouldn't be a distinct "GOG version". It would just be the same version as factorio.com executable MSI installer. Am I wrong? Also, last I heard discussion on it, GOG and Humble Bundle take 10% while Steam takes 30%. <-- grain of salt there as I can't remember my source or even the context.
I haven't tried it so I don't know for sure, but I'm reasonably certain that if the Steam version Factorio installation were copied to another directory and the Steam API DLL removed, the config context changed to that of an unregistered game (that's the biggest difference between executable MSI and *.zip downloads on factorio.com; I don't remember exactly where it is and ain't on my Factorio computer this moment to look it up. "Unregistered" in the context of Windows Registry, a.k.a. "portable installation"), it will work fine outside of Steam. This is probably a good idea for all Steam users given a) that DRM has been used to steal legally purchased games before; check out the case where EA Origin store stole purchased games from Iran, Myanmar and other US-embargoed countries, and formerly embargoed countries, b) Steam operates out of the US while Factorio comes from Czech, meaning that even US customers might be affected if Czech ever gets embargoed, and c) the US has this crazy guy named Donald Trump in charge right now. This wouldn't disable playing Factorio from Steam, although playing the backup version would not synchronize achievements. What it would do is provide a back up copy of Factorio that Steam can't disable or delete should something go wrong with Steam (it's probably not a matter of "if" but "when", and most likely it wouldn't be an embargo, but a garden-variety hacker who hates Steam far worse than I do.)
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 7:09 am
by thereaverofdarkness
featherwinglove wrote:To the best of my knowledge there is no GOG client, so there wouldn't be a distinct "GOG version". It would just be the same version as factorio.com executable MSI installer. Am I wrong? Also, last I heard discussion on it, GOG and Humble Bundle take 10% while Steam takes 30%. <-- grain of salt there as I can't remember my source or even the context.
I heard they both take 40% but I also can't remember my source. I'd like to believe GOG takes less, but they're smaller so I wouldn't be surprised if they can't. Just the same, I expect Steam to be taking far more than they need.
There is a GOG client, but unlike Steam a game does not have to be coded specifically for the client. They will edit some game clients but that's usually old games and it'll be just to get the game to work on modern operating systems plus fixing some game-breaking bugs. I do want to get Factorio on my GOG account though, just for an extra layer of purchase security.
P.S. I don't think Donald Trump is much of a threat to the US being able to play games from overseas. It might be within what he wants to do, but the way US politics are set up, it's not likely to succeed. The US is at risk of trade embargoes on high value goods, but isn't at much risk of having freedom of expression and entertainment become policed.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 8:08 am
by featherwinglove
What you're calling a "client" I think of as a "launcher" because of its lack of interaction with the game. 40% makes sense when they're porting old games to modern systems, but it could be less for modern games they don't need to do any such thing with.
As for Trump, the whole point is that he's a wild card and the potential effect his administration could have on international trade and computer gaming is difficult to predict. It makes sense to protect oneself from such risk even if it is small.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 9:55 am
by thereaverofdarkness
featherwinglove wrote:As for Trump, the whole point is that he's a wild card and the potential effect his administration could have on international trade and computer gaming is difficult to predict. It makes sense to protect oneself from such risk even if it is small.
It is good to protect oneself from risk.
Trump isn't unpredictable, he just does things most people (who don't know him very well) don't expect. But more importantly, you can look at the capabilities available to a leader in a country and determine what they're capable of. If they aren't a dictator and sometimes even if they are, they generally have limits to their power.
Re: Have Some Questions Before I Buy.
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 10:09 pm
by featherwinglove
Does anyone know him very well? Are they telling us what he's most likely to do? Let's reskin behemoth biters with his effigy so at least those Trumps are predictable Also, he isn't the only wild card out there; backing up Steam installations will also protect you from more common problem-causers like Bruce Balfour, Derek Smart, and Sean Murray.