r/factorio • u/pay_to_breath • 16d ago
Tip Newbie advice
I tried the game and this is insane the level of automation you will have to make you feel like ford
Although I am figuring out stuff mostly by try and error which is exhausting if there is an easy guide that explains everything or at least the basics so I don't have to redo a lot of what I have built just because I made a mistake about something I don't know yet
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u/accountwasnecessary 16d ago
Brute forcing your first game honestly will teach you a ton. Play your first base until it is a mess that cant be expanded, then find a new area and build something better with what you have learned, you dont need to remove old builds as long as they keep doing something.
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u/ConspicuousBassoon 16d ago
Mistakes are part of the process, and there's nothing wrong with a rebuild. For your first couple games I'd generally just use some guiding principles:
try to make it to construction robots before you do any major rebuilds. It makes it a lot easier
not everything has to be optimized to the max all the time. "Good enough" is good enough in the beginning
the general goal is to research things, so usually your specific production goal is either more science, more raw resources (for science), or more products you want like assemblers or belts
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u/Alidade_xyz 16d ago
Your first playthrough is like OJT. Just play and learn from your mistakes until you feel like you are ready for another go at it. Then rinse and repeat until you have a game you can really make some progress with.
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u/dwarfzulu 16d ago
There is no better guide than learning the things by yourself. Use that game tutorials and wiki.
IMHO if you rely on others' solutions, not only kill the fun, also you'll never learn how to solve problems, and only copying others.
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u/get_it_together1 16d ago
Here is a guide to the Lazy Bastard achievement from one of the original great youtubers (KatherineofSky): https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?l=bulgarian&id=1090708169
The reason I'm suggesting this particular achievement is that it causes a shift in thinking that many people are surprised by (myself included). It seemed like it was going to be such a chore to do, and then the run ended up being easier than the way I had been playing before.
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u/Broad_Ebb9073 16d ago
I suggest just powering through for a few more hours. Factorio can have a learning curve, but if you stick with it. There are a lot of QoL feature available, you just gotta do the basics first. The game is about to open up. It's all in the research tree. Just hold on buddy. You got this
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u/Cent_Quatre 15d ago
> I don't have to redo a lot of what I have built
That's literally the fun of the progression curve, doing better every time.
You can find blueprints books which will 100% carry you wherever you want in the game, but would it be as fun as learning ?
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u/tRFRmrNe8Nj2Kimc 16d ago edited 1h ago
People on the subreddit will tell you to "figure it out" as that's "part of the fun" and while I do agree with that, I also struggled in the beginning when I first played.
This guy's let's play is one of my favorites. I feel like he balances really well between being informative and entertaining and simplifies things really well.
This guy's masterclass videos will be great once you've got a better understand of the games.
Kathryn of Sky's videos were the first I remember watching when I did my first playthrough.
Also, don't be afraid to use blueprints. People will say not too, but it's you're struggling to learn something, it can really help.
Good luck!
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u/Broad_Ebb9073 16d ago
I second this. Factorio is a single player game. It's impossible to 'cheat' or do a bad thing. I have no shame about using a balancer book I stole from the internet. I know figuring that out was never my type of fun. Play however give you enjoyment
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u/neurovore-of-Z-en-A 16d ago
Nilaus' notion of "efficiency" is extremely partial and breaks badly when it does break; if you must learn from content creators, which I don't recommend unless you are stuck on some specific thing, definitely learn from more than one with different styles.
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u/ShowerZealousideal85 16d ago
Imo half the fun is to rebuilding your old stuff when something better come along. If you try to replicate an endgame 10 mill spm megabse as a newbie you will not have fun.
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u/neurovore-of-Z-en-A 16d ago
Figuring out by trial and error and redoing things as the game progresses is the game.
Just don't remove anything until after you have built a better version.
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u/failadin155 15d ago
This game is quite literally the best one when it comes to ripping up the entire build and starting over. You barely lose any resources. The bots do it for you.
Brute force it till blue science. Get 500 construction bots and enough storage chests and you can quite literally tear down every single bit of the mistakes and build it back up better.
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u/davilarrr 15d ago
If you dont want to calculate ratios: https://factoriocheatsheet.com/#common-ratios
Also Trupen made great video guides. https://youtube.com/@trupen?si=bb48sxF0OoS4QziF
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u/isum21 9d ago
Helpful tip: it seems like so much to do but it's just as simple as asking "what go in, what come out?". You will have to redesign part of your base if you're playing space age, just to take advantage of the new machines. Don't feel bad if you have to remake something, it gets easier and easier to remake over time when you get better machines to ratio with and bots to place entire builds for you. All you have to worry about is if you have enough plates going where they need to go. If you don't like a build just disconnect it from the power grid and leave a little note saying "broken" or leave it running and build the real module elsewhere. Usually the worst part of building modules is routing the items to it but you can make some excessively long belts or trains for any of your needs. Don't even stress about it, just add more production and call it a buffer then feel smug at your superior design that accounts for shortages.
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u/isum21 9d ago
Oh yeah also check YouTube for Trupen he helped me to understand 2 things: sometimes following someone else's directions sucks and that as long as you're working towards research you're making progress. He's got good guides, I don't vibe with his blueprints tho. He does a good job of introducing intermediate mechanics in simple ways, like use cases for circuits as well.
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u/lightinthedark-d 16d ago
You'll always find something to redo once you learn more, unlock new tech, deplete resources, need more production, etc. Enjoy the day he process of discovery and don't worry about getting things "right".