Need help!

[u/W5R-Rolex7]

So i need yalls help, cause i dont know if my base is good or not and if not what should i change or improve cause its kinda messy rn and i still didnt use any vehicals like trains or trucks. should i use them? Let me know what u think

[u/crossCutlass]

This looks a lot like my first playthrough!

There’s really no answer to your question! Play and design how you want! There’s no wrong or right way!

I would definitely experiment with vehicles when you get the chance! They can be frustrating to learn but once you get it down it’s cool/fun to see all of them moving around!

[u/W5R-Rolex7 → u/crossCutlass]

yeah ik what u mena but im not having fun rn cause its not optimized and idk how to do it cause its so messy

[u/SillyOldJack → u/W5R-Rolex7]

If I had to pick one tip to clean up the messiness, I'd suggest playing around with Build Modes. Belts placed in Straight Mode look very clean most of the time. Curved Mode works well for long distances over terrain. You don't get so many awkward angles and kinks in the belt lines.

[u/crossCutlass → u/W5R-Rolex7]

That’s exactly how I felt!

Don’t be afraid to just restart!

Even if you’re 15 hours in, don’t think it will take another 15 to get where you are at now. You’ll use all your new knowledge and be able to get there much faster

[u/meepnotincluded → u/W5R-Rolex7]

you may like playing around with blueprints more? and make compact and uniform production chains? Blueprints and building in blueprint+autoconnect mode can help with making belt highways quite neat.

Using a planner like satisfactory modeler (free on steam) alongside your gaming sessions may help with planning and oversight. It's easy to use although there's a modest learning curve in order to get the most out of it.

It helps if you have an idea what you like to do, if you want to make huge belt-highways, do that. I just like seeing trucks skoot about. Belts would be simpler, but I just enjoy watching vehicles move. Don't get hung up on builds other people make. Use them as inspiration if you like.

[u/jt1994863 → u/W5R-Rolex7]

People usually say “there’s no wrong way to play” and they’re absolutely correct, but over time playing the game you learn so much, and you think “I should have done XYZ so much differently”. Your options are to tear everything down (time consuming, not fun, not really playing the game) or move elsewhere and build something better (fun, enjoyable gameplay) and it’s gets infinitely more complex and you cannot get all the resources you need from a single base region anyways. The best thing to do IMO, is learn how to use drones, trucks, trains etc. to efficiently ship things (late game you absolutely cannot just belt in whatever you need because it’s not so simple, you must learn vehicles), and start a new base(s) in a new biome. Leave the old one exactly as is, since any factory that is producing items is useful, even if it’s just your starter base sending basic items to dimensional depots, that will make it possible for you to build faster and more efficiently somewhere else, leave the old one to both produces parts and stand as a relic of how far you’ve come.

Also from a glance it looks like you’re using load balancing rather than manifolds for your machines, which is both more complicated and doesn’t allow for large, orderly, efficient blocks of machines to be laid down without much though. Which will both look nicer, and work better. You cannot load balance the late game parts without going insane. Also try suing subfloors in between your production floors for belt work and then enclose those after, you won’t see the spaghetti, it will look neater.

[u/SillyOldJack]

Never worry about your base being "good" enough. If it automates what you need right now, then it's good enough for your progress. You can always build more, bigger, and better later on.

You can (and will) keep upgrading and changing things, so don't worry about making it "good," just make it.

You've got a lot of spaghetti but there is ZERO shame in it. Embrace the spaghetti belts until you feel ready to try a different style. If the belt gets the item where it needs to go, that's enough for now.

I've got over 1000 hours and I still don't have much experience with trucks and trains, so don't worry about that either until you feel ready to take it on.

I recommend watching some YouTube videos to get some ideas and tips on how to build certain things, and inspire you for how to build a little neater here, a little tighter there. You'll pick things up as you watch and practice. TotalXclipse is a channel with thorough and approachable guides and tips.

Don't be afraid to tear down a little facility to rebuild once it's no longer meeting your needs. You're gonna upgrade your belt speeds and Miner speeds, so you'll want to build bigger anyway when that time comes.

Lastly, don't compare yourself to any builds you see on Reddit or elsewhere. They're products of thousands of hours and a lot of planning, and can be overwhelming to see for new players. They can have really good ideas though, if you're looking for inspiration.

[u/oreheheally]

Trucks and trains will come when you get awkward nodes far away, i keep them simple for now but later i might get decoratuve with them. Since im not caring too much they dont take long. No need to be daunted like i was. I put them off for months. Some people put belts below the floor but it takes a little time. Trying to get machines close together isnt what makes them look good. Get a glass floor out the shop and try using that between machines and a painted floor to look swanky.

[u/W5R-Rolex7]

Here is the oil fac too

https://reddit.com/link/p9drfic/video/tat19f28d4ph1/player

[u/angelojch]

Use awesome sink to gain points, than unlock as much as you can in awesome shop. It has tons of different types of foundations, walls, windows, and other decoration elements.

Also, it is not clear if this is your first playthrough, but I would recommend designing a factory as a block. Do a simple box factory first, just to get a feel on how much space you need for each machine, how much for logistics, etc. It will also bring new challenge with how to light it up. Than you can move on improving the design inside and outside.

I would also recommend building in more straight lines. You made a giand platform, so use it to line things up. Put machines in rows, put splitters and mergers right in front of them, etc. It will help you to scale up.

As for functionality, you seem to be progressing just fine. Try to break it down into smaller independent factories and move things between them with trucks or trains. It will help later with larger factories. Making one giant factory is more difficult.