Research system improvement

[REDDGrrr]

I've recently bought and started playing Factorio and although that Research system works well with the game, it just feels strange, that player manufactures "vials", which are put into laboratory and then magically some new blueprints pops out of the blue air. Serves well for game progress, but for me personally it feels awkward and I believe that there is more potential.

Suggestion:

Blueprints are scattered around the planet in fragments from crashed spaceship database. Player must first collect those scattered pieces and then assemble them and clean them. Easy basic blueprints can be "cleaned" by red vials, more damaged/soiled blueprints require different types of vials (and in increased numbers).
Radars are the only effective way how to scan those fragments.

Pros-

- now, research makes sense
- player is now forced to move out of base in order to progress in game (right now, that moment occurs only when player is in the final stage of the game and needs alien vials and like 3 bases are enough to defeat to get 450 vials or so to finish the game) hence, more fun in the multiplayer
- if player is forced to fight aliens more early in the game, and to fight more. there is actually a good reason to research weapon systems sooner
- it gives additional use for radar. Right now, one radar is perfectly comfortable for the whole run of the game, and actually is not necessary at all. This gives him a purpose. Later on, more advanced version of radars would be needed to scan more distant zones.
- it gives sense to build a car to reach huge distances for new research. At this moment, the only thing a player needs is couple of steel conductor pillars and few laser turrets and run few clicks to kill aliens

Cons-

- can't think of any.

[Neotix]

It's not improvement, just adding one more step.
Now you have to produce science packs to unlocks research.
With your proposition, you would have to pick pieces and produce packs to unlock research.

As you see, there is no difference beside picking blueprints fragments.

[ssilk]

So, when there is no difference than just adding that the player needs to put more time into this, why should it be added?

[REDDGrrr]

I understand your point that its not kind of a breakthrough and definitely not a mandatory thing to improve:D

The research system seems weird to me and at the same time I was thinking of improving fight. There is no drive to fight aliens except to clean bases which are within the reach of the pollution to prevent attacks. In speedruns, laser turrets do the trick, in my games, it was the tank that just took them all down. One swipe or two swipes were enough to finish the game in peace even when aliens were turned to be aggressive.

Current research mechanic works well and my idea is not definitely ultimate game changer. But my idea may come up on your mind when you will think of how to engage player more with aliens and how to improve fight. At this moment, combat just seems "funny," maybe even disappointing when I consider how much research and material goes into combat part. There is no use for all those laser cannons and army bots. Being forced since the beginning to harvest blueprints from alien bases, which would get tougher and tougher by means of enemy types, caves the bigger the distance from player base is, using of all those powerful weapons and bots would have a reason.