Why work so hard? So I can do nothing. In Factorio You Can Play 150h and Do Nothing
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The first playthrough took me 117 hours. And that were some damn blissful 117 hours. For example, when I launched a solar cell production line. I thought it was something. Or when I set the first train on the tracks. It is, of course, drives itself, and doesn't need any help. It automatically loads ores, pumps out sulfuric acid, lets other trains pass. Unless, of course, we mess something up along the way.
I think the most satisfying moment was when I established a system for saving nuclear fuel. The vets of Factorio will probably scoff at it, but they probably can remember when they did (pardon, achieved) that for the first time. In this game, a nuclear plant isn't just a single building. The reactor is one thing, then, there are heat exchangers and turbines. You connect everything with pipes and stuff. The problem is that the reactor consumes fuel and produces energy even if there is no demand for power! Nonsense!
Ok, what if I placed reservoirs in-between the heat exchangers that produce steam, and the turbines that consume it? And then – what if the the tray will only feed fuel to the reactor when the tanks are empty? It required a few tricks, but the savings were enormous. Awesome, now I can just sit and watch.
After all, to make several different types of test vials, as well as a whole bunch of structural elements, satellites, rocket fuel, etc. we must create a giant factory that automatically sends raw materials to other plants, transports semi-finished products, crude oil, and, of course, feeds itself. This is what my factory looked like as I approached the rocket launch.
Factorio is huge.
ROBOTS
It doesn't end on conveyor belts and trains. In the advanced stages of the game, we can produce flying robots that will build and disassemble structures for us (we can conveniently copy-paste entire fragments of the factory, like icons on Windows desktop), as well as move cargo.
At some point we no longer need to collect items for the backpack – the robots deliver them to us, and then they'll pop out of the roboport in the middle of the desert to build anything we need.
Am I supposed to fight? What for?
Factorio is not only about building, but also fighting. We can choose whether the aliens living on the planet will be hostile, or only defensive. If we want to fight, we can also automate this aspect of the game. For starters, there are regular sentry turrets from the director's cut of the second Alien, and we can go all the way up to 220mm cannons (I eyeballed it) that can wipe out entire nests from great distances (you can also place them on trains!). Of course, in order to avoid doing it yourself, you will be able to build factories and conveyors that will feed and power the guns.
You see this massacre? And at that time I was drinking tea and watching.
We have many options – we can produce clips, supply oil to flamethrowers or simply plug a laser tower to an outlet. In any case, not more than one enemies in a million will die by the player's hand. Our base will take care of everything itself – if we provide the right mechanisms, of course. And with the help of robots, it will repair itself if the aliens damage something.
Our character can wield a pistol, shotgun, rifle, and even a flamethrower, rocket launchers and grenades. However, these weapons are for uncivilized amateurs. A real factorian knows – it needs to be automated. Just get some juice running in the armor (the environmentalists can opt for solar panels and batteries) and fetch an automatic laser cannon. Then you can walk past the hive of aliens without pressing the trigger, and just watch them fall.
TWO GAMES IN ONE
Playing with aggressive aliens and without them are two very different experiences. Well, maybe not very different, but different nonetheless. In the first case, everything takes longer, because we have to spend resources on walls, weapons and developing military technology that we wouldn't otherwise have to worry about. At the same time, building walls and fences requires spacial economy. Moving the wall takes not only additional resources, but also time.
Sometimes we don't have to worry about combat at all.
I like watching
I realized pretty soon that the thing I found most alluring in Factorio is the exact same thing I found so compelling in The Settlers 2, years ago. I enjoy watching the results of my own effort, taking in all its perfection. I have almost no manual abilities, so this is one of the few chances I get to actually create something.
The Settlers, I should add, compare to this game like a Gummi Bears coloring book to Ilia Riepin's canvas. Factorio is one of the most challenging economic games I've ever seen. The very construction of a working factory that produces everything imaginable is a task for dozens of hours. Building highly optimized factories requires from the most ardent fans of the game hundreds, if not thousands of hours! I cannot process that, and I just can't quit it.
This is obviously not a game for everyone, and my intention is not to convince you it's otherwise. But if there's only thing I'd like you to remember from this piece is this: doing nothing never feels as good as in Factorio.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I started playing Factorio, in August this year and I'm still playing. My first factory was constructed over 121 hours – I launched the rocket after 117 hours. Then I quit and I started thinking about what to do next with my life, and although I have a lot of other games to play, I ended up, baffled, building another factory. This time, I'm playing with aggressive aliens and have devoted another 30 hours of my life to it so far. I wrote this article because no one wants to listen to me spouting about Factorio.
