[0.17.32] Campaign Arrival - First Impressions

Suggestions relating to the Introduction and Campaign mode in Factorio
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Ranger_Aurelien
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[0.17.32] Campaign Arrival - First Impressions

Post by Ranger_Aurelien »

I have played Factorio a bit, and had a few first impressions with the Tutori/nario

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Little suggestion: Computron should have a headlight like a player. Night can be very dark without lights. :)

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First Assembler -- TLDR: could not just build to follow instructions -- I tried to set up my mindset as a new player, and felt lost trying to do what Computron wanted me to do at one point. I had copper plates, iron plates, and the scenario-provided gear factory, and my instructions are to "Build circuits". Instructions show a green circuit icon so I set the Assembler to "green circuits". Okay, I click on the assembler to try to do what I can to fulfill it -- I check my hand crafting and I can't make copper coil by hand... um. Okay, I then try to make another assembler to turn copper plates to copper coils but I don't have enough green circuits. Hum. What I ended up doing was putting boxes with inserters around my new assembler and reprogramming the assembler for copper coils, running it a bit, then reversing the inserters and again reprogramming the assembler for green circuits... This is something I had in the back of my mind for the "Lazy" Achievement, but didn't think this unprompted cognitive leap would be required in the first Act of a tutorial. If I had missed something with "free" green circuits, perhaps the first instruction should have been to "Make 2 Assemblers" before allowing me to make electric inserters. If I start again, could I not have spent all my green circuits on inserters and not be able to make even one assembler?

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Second base -- TLDR: died and went somewhere -- I was proceeding along in base1, and when Computron told me to make a half dozen power plant parts. I queued those up, then walked to the kitchen to pour some tea. I returned to find "You have died. Respawning in 5...4...3..."... and my avatar spawned half in a black screen (leaving an outline in the darkness like a snow angel, I thought). Computron was running around back and forth and I could not advance the scenario, even walking over the spot I later found I was told to go after a reload. Huzzah for autosave. (I'll submit a bug report on that).

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Best defense is a good Fence -- TLDR: Alert about bricks -- When you finish the Defense research, Computron should say something short like "Now would be a good time to put stone in a furnace to make bricks." (and maybe meander up to the quarry). The base2 quarry is a few screens from base2 and other than needing a few handfuls of rocks I had no reason to revisit it until walls were unlocked. Where I am going with this is a player would have no reason to think about using a furnace for anything but refining "ore", and may not have seen the rock quarry for some time.

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Betrayal -- TLDR: tutorial tells to indefinitely escalate defences at point A, then sends attack from opposite side of base from A without warning --
Lastly, I feel a little betrayed by the scenario build-up to before green potions. :) The tutorial kept building up the Western canyon as where the "overwhelming attack" was going to come from... to (spoiler) it was was not. If even one critter had attacked from the East earlier, that would have made a difference in my preparations... I had the whole iron ore patch covered in two smelting processes covering a double-sided belt with ammo feeding a wall of turrets in the West where Computron had instructed me to "keep increasing defenses as attacks mount". Anyway, I turned off the computer at that point rather than reload and will revisit the scenario tonight. Without splitters I might just let unfold what may (and dream my avatar could dual-wield pistols...).

I realise other games have had enemies attack from directions they didn't explicitly tell you to build up heavy defenses in, but in those cases the tutorial will have these popup enemies carpet bombed for you, deliver you units to that point so they are erased easily, or have had the hand-holding to tell you some time earlier "Great job, now round out your defenses as enemies can attack from any point." and paint arrows on the ground showing attack paths.


That said I find the "one-more-thing" aspect of Factorio addictive...

Take Care!
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Ranger Aurelien
"Knowledge Brings Fear" -- Motto of Mars University, Futurama
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Ranger Aurelien
"Knowledge Brings Fear" -- Motto of Mars University, Futurama

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Ranger_Aurelien
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Re: [0.17.32] Campaign Arrival - First Impressions

Post by Ranger_Aurelien »

As planned I reloaded before "continuing" the story and optimised my mining, planted a belt and a wall of turrets to the East.

Anyway, I then ran around to explore the map. Has anyone else found the car to the south or the small destroyed base to the north? Nice touches!
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Ranger Aurelien
"Knowledge Brings Fear" -- Motto of Mars University, Futurama

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