[12.1] Scenario for Students

[abregado]

I've put together a prototype single player version of a scenario designed to teach students (12-15) by demonstrating the Engineering Design Process. The students must first connect the pre-placed assemblers with conveyors, then try to maximize the output (average items placed into the score chest per second, over the last 5 minute).

The multiplayer version will have one or two players placed in each of the 5 areas. Hopefully by the end there will be teleport pads which can move players between areas if those areas are empty, but that is not in the MVP

Goal: Maximize input per second of Green Science Packs into the Score Chest.

Feedback is greatly appreciated. Screenshots with your score (top left) would be great. The theoretical maximum green science packs this system can produce is 1.5. The best I got was 1.4. Let me know if you get higher!

To use this place it in the /data/base/scenarios folder. Then in game Play->Custom Scenario

Edit: updated from user suggestions

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xdv2wst9p4k30 ... 4.zip?dl=0

[abregado]

Ive tested this on 12.3 and it seems to work fine

[FishSandwich]

Will test this when I get home later.

[jeroon]

(how do you play scenarios? I've only played this game for 2 years, so I don't know yet )

[Adil]

You unzip the scenario into factorio/scenarios folder and then use start a custom scenario button in menu.

As for the map, the idea is great, but few tweaks would be nice.

Firstly, it was unusual to have no ability to look up the recipe. (I don't remember transport belt recipe ) Probably a gui for checking those would be nice. Alternatively, you could leave relevant recipes in crafting menu, but use on_player_crafted_item event to take away any items crafted manually (and reprimand the player).

Secondly, the idea of challenge was stated to be about designing the best build, not about kickstarting the production without the ability to pick up items. Yet the initial amount of 50 belts isn't enough even to link smelters to miners.

edit: sorry about that, I couldn't pick up items due to my own mistake with settings handling. Still more belts might be better.

Finally, I don't really understand the reason for dumping those express elements to player. You can't easily pick them up, they're not part of recipes. And wherever there's no preplaced basic belts, they can be used to cheat the speed up.
edit: same my fault here.

p.s. I'm also slightly repulsed by sheer size of the area. The inability to view start and goal of line at a moderate zoom doesn't make it enjoyable and even the most complicated layouts will surely take much less than that amount of space.

edit: also, something along the lines of game.player.force.manual_mining_speed_modifier=5 should be put in so the player doesn't spend several second fixing each misclick.

another edit: I still don't understand the reasoning behind chests with fast belts. If their usage was intended, why not just insert them into player from the beginning?

yet another one: six assemblers in the square to the right seem to have not recipe set.

[abregado]

Ok to address some of the issues:

Yes there are 6 Assemblers that should be set to Green-Science-Packs. My bad.

Yes the size is obnoxiously large! I made it this way for the test version but the final version will be much more compact. Also each of the 5 areas will only accomodate 2 players, who will be stuck in their area (the bridges between the areas will be removed)

The Fast Belts, and Inserters are given in this way so that the amount of belts can be controlled. Otherwise if only 5 players join there will be not enough. I will be converting all of the existing belts to Fast Belts and giving all players a starting cache of resources as well, but I need to control the average amount of belts in the final version to balance the challenge.

The Map setup script sets every pre-placed structure on the map to be unminable and unaccessable. This means that if I place chests of equipment the player cannot access them without tweaking the script. It wouldnt be hard but I thought this way also stops students from just picking up ALL of one type of item. Hoarding is a ridiculous problem with our existing Minecraft Content. Also I dont want students being able to put wads of Science Packs into the score chest at once.

I dont quite understand the game.player.force.manual_mining_speed_modifier=5 thing. How are misclicks any different to a normal game of Factorio?

Remember the level is designed for 12-15 yr olds. This will not be the first level that they play as I am also creating a "Super Basic Tutorial".

Thanks for playing. I am still in Prague but I think I will spend tomorrow morning updating the map since the interest has picked up.

[Adil]

I dont quite understand the game.player.force.manual_mining_speed_modifier=5 thing. How are misclicks any different to a normal game of Factorio?

In normal factorio you normally have steel pickaxe, here you spend a dozen seconds mining a single entity with bare hands, hence my recommendation of increasing mining speed.

Remember the level is designed for 12-15 yr olds. This will not be the first level that they play as I am also creating a "Super Basic Tutorial".

Then you really should consider drawing the recipes with pictures somewhere outside of play area.

[abregado]

The students will receive a course book with the recipes inside.Perhaps I can create a display with logistic Chests or smart inserters as they show their "selected" item in the alt view.

The mining speed idea is great now that I understand it.

[abregado]

Ok Ive updated the OP and the map to reflect some of the suggestions.
I also wrote instructions in the OP for those who have never used a custom scenario before.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xdv2wst9p4k30 ... 4.zip?dl=0

All pre-placed belts are now red belts
The un-reciped labs have been fixed
unarmed mining speed is now x5

The player still has the starting amount of normal equipment so that the scoring mechanism can be tested.

[jeroon]

I'm sorry, atm I really don't have the patience to find out how this is supposed to work (it's not you, it's me ).. a few things that I found out in the 5 minutes that I tried to play it:

- the blinking label in the top left, combined with the beeping sound, drove me nuts.
- can you start the game with "ALT" on? Took me a while to realize the assembly machines already had a recipe loaded (can't click them).
- you're able to start a research. Might confuse people.
- you suggest to put the scenario in "factorio\data\base\scenarios", however I think it's better to put it in "factorio\scenarios" as Adil suggested, this way you get a seperate "user scenarios" part in the "load scenario" menu.

Apart from that, I think it looks great, haven't really played it though.

I will try again when you have a more compact version

[abregado]

Thanks for the feedback.

Interestingly I never tested this with the sound on! I work in an office full of people who are not just playing Factorio all day so sound effects are super distracting for them!
I dont believe it is possible for me to activate ALT view from code.
I thought I removed all the technologies... time to double check.

The suggestion for the directory is a good one, however people who have downloaded the game but not yet loaded it dont have a separate scenario directory.

[pierre1316]

it doesn't work for 12.22