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I used the nifty designs here https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comme ... blue_belt/

I am at midgame (just setup the space platform). Is it worth using electric furnaces if I don't have all the beacons? Factoriolab says I need about 170 furnaces for iron, 120 for copper, and 75 for steel. I don't feel like expanding my space usage for now. I have plenty of solid fuel since oil seems to be effectively limitless. Are steel furnaces (2x2 instead of 3x3) better for now?

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With efficiency modules, electric furnaces are more energy efficient than steel furnaces, so you could shovel all that solid fuel into boilers and support more electric furnaces on the same amount of fuel.

qwr wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2024 11:26 pm I am at midgame (just setup the space platform). Is it worth using electric furnaces if I don't have all the beacons?

Of course. But do not forget about two EFF modules for each one. Beaconed setups are for megabases not for normal game.

qwr wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2024 11:26 pm Are steel furnaces (2x2 instead of 3x3) better for now?

Electric furnaces are much more convenient and ecological. Space costs nothing on Nauvis why bother about it? It matters only if you try to replace pack of existing steel smelters with electric ones. But you do not have to do this and may use electric only for new ones.

angramania wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 12:19 am Beaconed setups are for megabases not for normal game.

In 2.0 that very false IMO, on the contrary, one beacon can be enough to make a big difference.

angramania wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 12:19 am Electric furnaces are much more convenient and ecological. Space costs nothing on Nauvis why bother about it? It matters only if you try to replace pack of existing steel smelters with electric ones. But you do not have to do this and may use electric only for new ones.

I like the compactness and not having it be too large. I unlocked nuclear power already so power is not a concern any more, maybe only pollution. 170 furnaces would take up the whole screen here. But if the linked full blue belt setup is still accurate, I could get full blue belt with only 16 furnaces in a very compact space. However it seems beacons have diminishing returns now so I should come up with a setup incorporating fewer beacons.

Stargateur wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 1:34 am

angramania wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 12:19 am Beaconed setups are for megabases not for normal game.

In 2.0 that very false IMO, on the contrary, one beacon can be enough to make a big difference.

I can't find info on that from the beacon wiki page, only the linked FFF which says a single beacon is 3x more effective. The wiki is very behind on updates.

Check the english language wiki, that one got the current info at least.

Stargateur wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 1:34 am In 2.0 that very false IMO, on the contrary, one beacon can be enough to make a big difference.

And what will you put in it? L1 modules to reduce number of furnaces by 1/3 and raw resources by 1/20 but make it triple power hungry?

Power doesn't matter. You can put two nuclear reactors next to each other and get 160 MW. The only thing is maybe controlling pollution until I have artillery but I already have many lasers and flamethrowers.

For me it depends.

If I have an existing ore smelting included in my main base, I won't bother to replace it. I already have the coal supply as fuel, and the time to redesign everything to get basically the same result is not worth it.

If I somehow build something new, I'd rather go for electrical furnaces. As long as I'm not severly power constrained. But that typically only happens in a megabase setup. And since space age I'd rather use foundries for that anyway.

qwr wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:28 pm Power doesn't matter. You can put two nuclear reactors next to each other and get 160 MW. The only thing is maybe controlling pollution until I have artillery but I already have many lasers and flamethrowers.

Nuclear power, lasers, artillery are cool toys. But usually electric smelters are needed before them not after. And when you have all this toys it is more practical to use foundries instead of electric furnaces.

I am in between nuclear power and foundries. I just started producing space science. Maybe I will make an electric furnace array for now before I unlock foundries.

The expansion requires a more iterative approach of me to play the game. I am still on my first playthrough and discovered very early that i had to change my early game tactics. On 1.0 i would from the start design my factories with late-game in mind as far as it was feasible. That is as in: i would try to make sure that i had to change as little as possible later.

Can't really do that at the same scale with the expansion because of all the newly added things, mostly of course the new production facilities, productivity research, and the addition of quality. So i've had to adapt to consider what i build to be highly temporary until everything is unlocked, due to the design becoming mostly obsolete.

The same i would advise you do too: don't hold on to the current design. Just do what's right now and don't think about it too hard.

I agree with you, especially now full logistics is locked behind space science and artillery is far endgame. That being said, I do want to try my hand at a medium sized electric furnace array before I go to Vulcanus with the powerful foundries.

qwr wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2024 4:09 pm I agree with you, especially now full logistics is locked behind space science and artillery is far endgame. That being said, I do want to try my hand at a medium sized electric furnace array before I go to Vulcanus with the powerful foundries.

I mean why not? Worst case you can still use it to smelt stone later.

Artillery is not that far end game though. First getting to Vulcanus felt like a long journey. But now - getting used to somewhat, i feel reach Vulcanus and unlocking the exclusives there can be done rather quickly with a well thought out approach.