Factorio Forums

An Idea for mod:
"Subway"

MVP - main idea
- A separate surface where u can dig tunnels and build railways. (Digging requires concrete and Steel beams.).
- Station entities: 2x2 building "Subway lift" (And maybe later subway station). When its places - its placed on both surfaces simultaneously.
- Subway lift can transfer items like a chest in Factorissimo 2 - at least to transfer coal to the trains (or there should be electric trains there)

Profit:
- Player transportation takes almost zero space on "primary" surface
- Can look really nice
- Many ways to expand

First versions:
- Can come without any digging - just an infinite surface where you can build railways, stations and lifts
- In fact the only thing to do is "Subway Lift"

======================= Expansions & Balancing =======================
Ideas:
- Multi leveling for item transportation - there can be several levels of subway (say 5) different stations will lead to different 5 surfaces
- Skin like [USSR] subway: elevators (skin for belts), lamps (should be integrated with poles to remove the poles), columns (skin for walls), etc...

Balance:
- Should be very cheap to be available in early mid game, because this transportation is much less effective than logistic robots, so it should be available just after the trains, and should not require any new science pack types to research it.
- Should have a setting to be available even earlier to be a good solution for logistics before Logistic robots in a heavy modded games
- Limit building there: say only trains, stations, signals, poles, combintators, inserters, belts and walls allowed (no factories, no smelting, etc)
- Should require concrete on the top, to dig bottom levels
- Should reject building under biter bases + 200 tiles radius around them - i.e. only under base, so there will be no use for building this far distance to avoid biter attacks

Excavation ideas:
If digging is implemented...
- Mostly you'll get stone and sand when digging
- But you can find some useful items there too - say a power armor, laser turrent or a satellite.

Enemies/Invasions ideas:
- Biters would want to attack lifts
- If they succed, they would make nests under your base
- They will attack you from under your base in waves

Take factorissimo, add waterfill mod. Place 2 factories and enter them. Place waterfill and then landfill into the black till you have the 2 factories connected. Build your trains.

Looks like this is close to what you asked for: https://mods.factorio.com/mod/modmashsp ... nderground

"no player transportation" in suggested mod...

Started a proof-of-concept version here:
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/subway

Are you set on having to dig tunnels?

The underground surface could be filled with stone ore but set so one can't walk on it or build on it. Building the entrance to the underground would clear a small patch and everything else you have to clear. For that electric miners would work, badly. You would have to move them all the time. Maybe the miners could be buildable on the stone ore but nothing else. That way you could clear a 5x5 area per miner.

A better way would be something like the miners from AAI Vehicles. A tunnel boring machine. You would place it in the free space from the entrance and then point it some direction and it harvests the stone ore. Every now and then you have to empty it. You could also give the tunnel boring machine a destination, like another entry/exit to the underground it could tunnel till it reaches there. With a bit of LUA logic it could dig a path that rails can follow.

The underground could also be more differentiated than just stone. Could be some other ores in there or stone with different hardness or richness. Some dirt that gives no stone when mined. Or stone that can't be mined. Some could require explosives. Underground lakes are also an option. Good way to spend some of that stone filling in the lake.

Visually you could use the cliffs graphics for the tunnel walls. But beware they need to be 2x2 aligned.

I eventually found a mod which already implements all I needed:
Surfaces
https://mods.factorio.com/query/Surfaces?version=1.1