Factorio Forums

Not sure if suggestions are the done thing here, but I was musing on the lack of diversity of threats to your factory.

I came up with the simple idea of having ground based resource deposits (oil, coal, stone, copper, iron) having effects on biter/spitter spawners, so that if an alien base is near a deposit, the creatures it spawns take an effect from the deposit.

for example: a spawner is situated near a stone deposit, which would mean all creatures that spawn from this have extra armour (and a visual effect difference)

or spawners near oil mean that the creatures explode when shot, or the spitters spit fire or something.

if a spawner was near two deposits (iron, and copper for example) then it could take both and add characteristics - extra damage from iron (maybe their claws have more metal in them, sharper stronger etc) and move/attack faster from copper (i dont know why that would be the case, use your imagination )

I agree that there needs to be more diversification of threats on your factory. This would be a pretty good way to do it, although I dont know how this could be communicated to new players. Until I started watching lets-plays on youtube, I did not know that biters could build bases, much less that pollution affected what spawned and how often they attack.