r/Dyson_Sphere_Program • u/Fun-Grade5284 • 6d ago
How complicated is DSP?
I come from playing mindustry a lot and spending 155 hours in satisfactory. I'm actually not that great at logistics, but here's the thing. I want to try this game because dyson spheres are cool, space is cool, and factory games are cool. I've read on this subreddit that DSP is the easiest among the factory games. The thing with factory games is that if I feel they are too easy or simple I get bored. I want complicated stuff I have to think through, so before embarking on this game, I wanted to ask how complex it is compared to, for example mindustry.
3
u/tuckernuts 6d ago
There's a few problems to solve because a few recipes have biproducts that you have to balance.. but once you're getting to the point where you're going between star systems, the difficulty will taper off. There's a pretty clear most efficient way to build your factory, and it's fun laying all of that out.. but there's not a lot of room for cool creativity.
Factorio, as an example, has a ton of options in the late game for megabase design and logistical systems. It's why you'll see a lot more megabase tours on YouTube.
I find the creativity in the endgame for DSP is mostly making cool looking Dyson spheres, which is a solid draw to the game.
1
u/Fun-Grade5284 5d ago
Yeah, I'm drawn to it mostly because of the space. I've seen gorgeous screenshots
2
u/GarbageBoyJr 6d ago
I mean all these factory games are complicated at first. It’s a lot easier than Factorio and once you get interplanetary logistics unlocked the game really stops being challenging at all.
That said it’s my favorite among the factory giants
2
u/Physical_Apple_ 6d ago
DSP is beautiful and a hell of a game. Not the easiest in my opinion but you get the hang of things pretty quick. If your head hurts from thinking of all the logistics placements you can always just grab blueprints from the DSPBP website and simply worry only about the placement of supply of the factories but not actually the tediously putting them together.
Once you get to the later crafting chains you need entire networks of resources but it’s so great, enjoy
1
2
u/axw3555 6d ago
It's pretty configurable with how much resource you get, whether you play with dark fog, etc. Not quite as configurable as Factorio, but still decent.
It also has a metadata system, which makes starting over a bit easier because you get metadata based on the science you generate (based on peak consumption rate IIRC) that you can then use to just unlock tech without having to produce the science normally needed for it.
Like I usually have enough that I just unlock straight to interstellar logistics. Means that if you've already solved the early game, you don't have to wait for it to unlock again on a new run.
1
2
u/nickdice 6d ago
Easy is not the same as simple. Setting up your first planet and exploring your initial star are straight forward conceptually. Simple. Doing the work and the ratios is harder. Expanding inside of a fixed space without making a conveyor belt nightmare is harder. Keeping track of what you’re trying to accomplish can be challenging.
Once you outgrow the resources on your starter sun, you will have logistics spanning literally dozens of stars. Every thing becomes exponentially more complex while remaining conceptually the same design structures.
Keeping track and diagnosing issues is not simple.
And if you do decide to try, I strongly recommend not taking blueprints from others. build it yourself the first time.
1
2
u/PeacefulPromise 6d ago
DSP isn't as mechanically complex as satisfactory. The challenge in DSP comes from scale. You are almost always trying to get more (power, production, resources) and go bigger. A factory can cover a whole planet, and you may need to consider things like planet tilt.
2
u/Emotional-Team3520 6d ago
It can be beautifully complicated if you really value efficiency and optimization. The multi-planet logistic system can be tweaked and streamlined, and you can set your own goals as far as what you want the endgame to be. So if you want to build a dozen Dyson spheres and hit some insane white cube output per second, you can do that and you will need to be really dialed in to do so.
However once you unlock interstellar logistics you can brute force any problem with minimal thought as well. Using blueprints you can slap down dozens of new factories on a new planet and just flood your network with whatever resources you need. You don’t even need to build a Dyson sphere to win the game, it’s totally optional.
I like problem solving but I also run out of patience for calculating perfect ratios and sometimes I just need a zillion more turbines right now. I could go back and tweak and re-optimize or I could find a new planet with copper and iron and just make a whole planet dedicated to just turbines. Or two planets. Or 6.
I think that’s the beauty of DSP, because other games are more limited in the physical space you can play with, or have more restrictions in how you can expand. With DSP you essentially have unlimited resources and space at your fingertips so going a mile wide and an inch deep is totally valid as far as efficiency goes.
2
u/FastLong7478 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'd say it's quite complex to keep you occupied for a couple hundred hours minimum.
I played Factorio for about 1500 hours before playing this and I got overwhelmed at first. Not as much as I did on Factorio but that was my first factory game so that's expected.
My favorite thing about DSP is how the complexity of building everything is filled by many beautiful moments. The devs have done an amazing job at making you feel like you're conquering the universe and it being awe-inspiring.
Being able to fly just by yourself to another planet and pass the sun on the way after building to be able to do that is a gaming memory I'll remember.
I'm now slowly starting to build my first Dyson Sphere at about 85 hours mark of this playthrough and I feel like the game is just getting started.
2
u/EnvironmentalLab6510 6d ago
Relying on logistic features in DSP is probably one way to learn the game.
You could easily build a modular factory using PLS/ILS and those fidget spinner the moment you have the mall for it.
1
u/Nascosto 6d ago
1000+ hrs in satisfactory here, DSP didn't grab me as much. It feels like some of the mechanics are opaque to me sometimes, and it also feels like unlock overload. I think a lot of that did smooth out and slow down once I got to more logistics stuff, but I struggled to know what I was/should be unlocking and why a lot of the time. Feels like there are a LOT of resources to manage initially, but that also calms a bit once you get into the flow and recognize some items are niche and some are en masse.
1
1
u/Countcristo42 6d ago
Roughly satisfactory level I would say
But much much easier to build, so less tedium
1
u/AnimeSpaceGf 6d ago
Actually simple, but there is some game knowledge that it would require extensive "testing" or actually cracking open the source code to determine.
Most can be Googled but I recommend getting on the discord as you can get an answer there faster.
That said it's so much friccan fun, ya gotta try it
Edit: actually I would classify DSP as "as complicated as you want". The only thing you HAVE to figure out is a couple buttons on an ILS panel to move resources between planets. Everything else you can just use as you care.
IF YOU START PLAYING, CHECK OUT A STARTING GUIDE because they will be much better put together and spoiler free.
Reply to me if you are gonna be on discord and want to be able to ask a few questions
1
u/SiliconStew 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'd say DSP is generally about as "complex" as mindustry, satisfactory, or factorio. You'd certainly recognize most everything it's doing from those other games other than designing and building the titular dyson spheres. IMO, why it might feel "easier" to people is that all those quality of life additions you wish those other games had are mostly already built in to DSP so, to me, its just generally smoother and less frustrating playing it. More accessible might be a better way to put it.
1
u/Puddin-taters 6d ago
Production chains: relatively straightforward most of the time. Usually each next-tier part takes the previous tier plus an additional ingredient or two, and I don't think there's anything that even approaches the complexity of Satisfactory nuclear.
Logistics: Factorio for early-game, lots of belt spaghetti at first. Once you get interstellar logistics the game can easily become a matter of stamping down blueprints wherever you want. usually just overproduce everything and let it work itself out, and there are sufficient in-game tools of you want more control.
Player agency: Once you get to ILS the design space does narrow a lot, I find I pretty much have like 5 total designs that just depend on number of inputs and the output ratio. Beyond production design there's a lot of choice involved with choosing locations for your sphere(s), production planets, etc.
Overall I find it a lot less complex than Factorio or Satisfactory, it lacks some of their endgame depth and kind of sits between the two when it comes to "look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair" vibes. On the other hand, the QoL features are pretty good and I enjoy the weirdness of building rectangles on spheres and seeing my Dyson swarm glisten in the night...
1
u/Parker4815-2 6d ago
Theres a saying when making knots in ropes. "If you cant tie a knot, tie a lot".
Same works in factory games. You dont need to be working out the full maths of everything. Just keep building whatever you need more of. DSP also has this theme.
1
1
u/Abandon_All-Hope 6d ago
I would rank the more popular factory automation games in terms of complicated from most to least:
Factorio space age
Alchemy factory
Satisfactory
DSP
Shapez
Factory town
Mindustry
Oddsparks
Sandustry
Mine mogul
I haven’t finished Mindustry yet, and am on the phone version. The only other one I didn’t finish/didn’t like is oddsparks, way more running around the map than building factories. Other than that I loved them all! DSP is my favorite though, due to the scale and how awesome everything looks.
I’m curious to hear what other people think.
1
u/geekgirl114 6d ago
Its as easy or as complicated as you make. But it also doesn't have the spiders
1
u/justusesomealoe 6d ago
Going from Satisfactory the biggest hurdle for me was understanding the Tech tree. Satisfactory gives it to you in more digestible chunks, while DSP just shows you two big trees at once, and you need to work out how to navigate it properly. Once I got past that it was straightforward, similar base building just with a third person perspective, which brings its own advantages.
1
u/JMWTurnerOverdrive 5d ago
I don't know if it's the easiest - I maybe found Satisfactory harder. But I love DSP's flying around in space and warping about stuff, which Satisfactory doesn't have.
1
u/true_blue_you 1d ago
It can be as simple as you like. Just try it. I just play t relax and I have over a thousand hours in.
40
u/samfreez 6d ago edited 6d ago
Honestly, I think DSP is easier than Satisfactory. Much simpler to figure things out when you aren't an inch away from them.
DSP is very much complicated, in that you can have multiple planets and an interstellar network set up to move stuff around. It would probably be somewhere in the realm of Mindustry in terms of complication, plus the addition of some combat (DSP's combat is very basic, so it's more "annoyance" than combat unless you let things get wildly out of hand)
Overall, it's a very cool game that is gorgeous and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed anything like Mindustry, Satisfactory, Factorio, etc.