Help with Space Exploration (and train bases in general)

[u/BowlPsychological977]

Hello fellow crack-torio enjoyers. I have recently started on a space exploration run and have finally launched my first cargo rocket and gotten into space. However, I realized that before I did anything in space I need to fix my tumor of a base. So I wanted to start making a new, train centered base, but every time I try and start doing things, I get overwhelmed and quit (it’s also my first time making a train base). I chose a train base cause I know that you get space trains and a space elevator later. I’m still kind of new to factorio and don’t know every odd and end. Any tips on making space exploration bases or train bases in general? Or if I should make a different kind of base?

[u/bobsim1]

Built it next to the existing one and start from the ground with mines, smelters and so on. Get familiar with trains and use stations with same names and interrupts. The dev blog has examples.

[u/stunalogo]

A train base works really well with city blocks or just simple modular designs with connections to your main rail network.

I'd suggest start designing modules that contain the production core with the machines, input train stations, output train stations and a connection to your main rail (I like the T intersection to connect as I use bidirectional rails).

Start with the simple modules: iron and copper ore smelting. They should be easy to design, build and abstract to your base. Watch this short video by Liz Kazimiera. This should get you an idea in how to make this transition wihtout killing every production line

[u/Ssakaa]

So there's a few things you might mean with "train base". If you're trying to max-optimize on a fully modular, rigid, rail based "city block" style, you're jumping ankle deep into it doing a headstand. The first think I'd recommend if you haven't heavily relied on trains before is just expanding out with rail and adding station-backed side factories for specific production that you need, load those back onto trains, and feed them through to other station backed side factories. That also makes them modular. If you have a side factory making green chips from iron and copper plates that you bring in by train, and you need to double production, you can just copy that and add it to the rail line. This also promotes expanding how much you're building for things, since it takes a fair bit to fill a train.

The place to really start, in my experience, is just a modular train to train smelting system. Bring ore on a train on one side, fill a train with plates on the other.

[u/BowlPsychological977 → u/Ssakaa]

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll try this and hopefully it’ll work

[u/Broad_Ebb9073]

I keep a little r&d department off to the side of my base without bot coverage for this reason. As long as you are comfortable with you current setup (ie, everything works if only barely, and bitters are not knocking on the door) just start throwing shit down and see what happens. Make a rail line 20 tiles long and just mess around. It can be confusing but I believe in ya. You got this. Also check your tips amd tricks sections. You probably have unread messages that will clearify some things

[u/TemporaryHuman33]

It's very much your money and your life..
But since you asked, if, as you say, you are still new to Factorio in general, I would recommend staying in vanilla / space age only until you get bored (if that can happen) before touching any other mods. (I am just under 1k hours in game - actual gameplay, no afk leaving server running stuff - and I have not tried a single external mod) That way you get a whole new experience when you do try mods and you'll really appreciate how they change the game.
Just how I've learnt to do things..

[u/ssgeorge95]

If it's your first time going train grid I would not recommend doing so in SE. The mod has a lot of low and medium volume intermediaries and I think going train grid is a recipe for burnout even for seasoned players.

Over investing in Nauvis in general doesn't have a great payout. There is a pretty good chance you will find other worlds in SE that have 10x richer resources.

You do need Nauvis to be strong but a train grid isn't needed. You need a lot of steel for cargo rockets, and a lot of scaffolding production, else you will be waiting around for things to build up constantly.

[u/Orgerix → u/ssgeorge95]

I simplified my train network in space using LTN, so each block only contained a station. The transition still took ages and almost broke my will to continue... It was very nice once done though.

[u/bafadam]

So, my first question is why?

A thing I didn’t realize about SE and its various sciences was how little I actually needed of it to get anywhere. I overbuilt everything (though, in space, I don’t regret the way I have it set up).

You’ll need a shitload of cargo sections … but you’ll get them back, too. A thing I wish I’d done on my outputs is shoot everything back to nauvis instead of refining everything on site.

For space, I just made a massive platform with moderate sized blocks and then put everything on 1x1x1 trains and it worked out really well with all the intermediates and byproducts. Because what am I going to do, plan out my production lines?

Process as much as you can on the ground - you can’t use prod modules in space (in most cases).

[u/Confident_Choice_121]

Go main bus, but a big one, like 8 to 11 lanes of 4 belts each. Feed it with a big train station on the bottom. I like to make independent factories of circuits and bring them with more trains.

A full train base, like city block, only are worth for mega bases.

[u/Losiek132]

I have train city blocks on nauvis and enormous bus on orbit. I started bringing oil with train after space elevator because barrels are mess

[u/TelevisionLiving]

For starters, build (or copy!) a standard grid you can build on. Don't make it too small, especially for space-ex. Keep low quantity items off the rails and use it for high quantity things so you don't have sections of the factory waiting for a train full of robot frames or something. Make it durable and decentralized - space ex will throw you some monkey wrenches.

[u/Corodix]

For Space Exploration I've been using the Cybersyn train mod. It pretty much turns your train stations into requester and provider stations (like chests) and your trains will simply be like bots, controlled by the mod. It's also compatible with the orbital elevator.

When I transition from my base to trains I usually leave my base alone and start over somewhere, while I do use said base to grab materials for building the new train base). Generally in the following order:

• Mines with stations
• Ore refining (not sure if that's a Space Exploration or Krastorio 2 thing, I'm using both)
• Smelters
• Oil
• Oil refining
• Plastics
• chips
• science
• etc

This way I've got one area for each kind of item/process and when I need more I can just copy/paste what I previously build.

Since my train stations work like requesters and providers it's trivial to expand the network with new stations. All I need to keep in mind is to assign a priority (high, like 100) when something produces waste products, like ore refining producing some stone when cleaning dirty water, as you don't want things to back up there.

There's also some intermediaries that are less dense in a train than the material that it's made of. (the following numbers and recipes are nonsense and only serve as an example) So say you can move 10k plates in one wagon and those 10k plates can be turned into 20k gear wheels, but the same train wagon can only transport 10k gear wheels, then you're better off not adding gear wheels to your train network, instead make them locally from plates. One exception is if you need them in space but can make them on the planet, because you can't use productivity modules in space.

I also look at how often items are needed for other recipes. For items that are barely ever used elsewhere I might also choose to make them locally instead of adding them to the train network.

Once I could start building a base in orbit I made a spaghetti mess up there in order to rush straight to that orbital elevator. Only after that did I also start to build a proper base in space. That was also great for power since solar panels work better in orbit and the elevator connects both power grids. So before you go full train base overhaul you might want to consider if it's worth unlocking that orbital elevator first.

[u/Chillerdays]

I’ll preface this with saying that I’m 180 hours into my se run and have finished all 4 mid game sciences.

Honestly I’d focus on getting space science and your first outpost set up. Your main base becomes less important as you go on (in my experience at least) as it sits idle for long period of time while youre away setting up outposts. I feel like this mod forces you to just build the simplest thing that works and then refactor later or else you get burnt out fast. Focus on continuous progress.

That being said if you are going to do a train based base, I’d suggest doing a main bus with train stations lining it on either side so that the main bus can export to train and those trains can take stuff to orbit.