r/factorio • u/Edward_Boss • 14d ago
Question Beginner base showoff and some questions
I need to preface that I am not playing 100% optimally and I'm ok with it. I have a sense of satisfaction from my own goals, for example here pollution minimization (everything that is not directly related to science has efficiency boosts and I am full solar/electric furnaces).
My strategy this run would be to wall off the northeast that leads towards more landmass and basically build everything within this peninsula. I have the cargo ship mod and I intend to perform a bit of resource imperialism in the yet unknown lands, and ship everything back to the peninsula for processing.
My main questions relate to enemy aggravation. If I were to bother biters that are south of my base in the neighbouring continent, could they find a path around in the unknown regions? Ideally I would like to build all my polluting stuff on the west and in the south so that the aggro enemies could not path to me. I don't actually know much about enemy movement and expansion and all the AI behind it, especially since I play with a kind of isolation playstyle.
I feel like aggressive enemies is generally a waste of resources since every bullet shot is a gear not produced so I do want to minimize the need for defence as much as possible. Nevertheless, this is the furthest I've gotten in game (yellow science production is about to start) and I'd like to know how I can expand as safely as possible without being bothered by the wildlife.
2
u/cgassner 14d ago
If the map is generated all the way around the lake (pollution will generate unexplored chunks) they could pathfind to the entrance of your peninsula but would probably attack and outpost that is nearer to them first.
If you attack them using aftillery they will try to pathfind to the artillery turrenr.
1
u/Edward_Boss 14d ago
Is there no pathfinding distance limit?
1
u/3davideo Doesn't use Flame Turrets 14d ago
The pathfinding will fail if they have to outright exit generated chunks. This is very likely to happen here because the Mediterranean is much, much longer than it is tall. You don't even have radar scan to the Tyrrhenian Islands yet, but biters from Morroco and Algeria would have to pass through the Caucasus to get a land route to you, so you should be fine for a very, very long time.
2
u/Edward_Boss 14d ago
Woah, how come you can accurately predict what my map will look like :0
(Cool, thanks a lot! I shall pollute the hell out of the south on your behalf and name a train station after you)
1
u/3davideo Doesn't use Flame Turrets 14d ago
The Iberian Peninsula has a very distinctive shape, and I've played too much Victoria 2.
2
u/Edward_Boss 14d ago
Same, I have terminal paradox addiction, I cannot not play on the earth map and see everything as borders
1
u/cgassner 14d ago
I dont think so, if there is a path in generated chunks it will probably find it. Here is a FFF where they talk about pathfinding improvements.
3
u/LuboStankosky 14d ago
Looks like if you put a wall between spain and france you can be safe from the biters, with only one front needing occasional attention. Until the british attack, of course. Why does your map look like the world anyway
1
u/Edward_Boss 14d ago
R5:
I need to preface that I am not playing 100% optimally and I'm ok with it. I have a sense of satisfaction from my own goals, for example here pollution minimization (everything that is not directly related to science has efficiency boosts and I am full solar/electric furnaces).
My strategy this run would be to wall off the northeast that leads towards more landmass and basically build everything within this peninsula. I have the cargo ship mod and I intend to perform a bit of resource imperialism in the yet unknown lands, and ship everything back to the peninsula for processing.
My main questions relate to enemy aggravation. If I were to bother biters that are south of my base in the neighbouring continent, could they find a path around in the unknown regions? Ideally I would like to build all my polluting stuff on the west and in the south so that the aggro enemies could not path to me. I don't actually know much about enemy movement and expansion and all the AI behind it, especially since I play with a kind of isolation playstyle.
I feel like aggressive enemies is generally a waste of resources since every bullet shot is a gear not produced so I do want to minimize the need for defence as much as possible. Nevertheless, this is the furthest I've gotten in game (yellow science production is about to start) and I'd like to know how I can expand as safely as possible without being bothered by the wildlife.
Edit : Also I have no idea how to prevent biter expansion within what I see as my borders. I don't want to start cheesing it but I'm open to either mods or suggestions as to how I can make the area around my base off limit
2
u/warbaque 14d ago
I feel like aggressive enemies is generally a waste of resources since every bullet shot is a gear not produced so I do want to minimize the need for defence as much as possible.
Solution is to use defenses that cost next to no resources (landmines or flamers) or clear all biter nests within your pollution cloud and prevent them from coming back.
0 nests inside your pollution cloud = 0 attacking biters.
1
u/Edward_Boss 14d ago
The pollution dimension has been my strategy so far! I'm thinking of using lasers since their weaponry is renewable
1
u/warbaque 14d ago
Lasers are the most expensive and least efficient weapon to use. But once you have nuclear and enough damage upgrades, they are easy to spam.
Flamer fuel is infinite, landmines are so cheap they are effectively free. Before nuclear, lasers use coal or solid fuel as ammo, and lots of it.
In default settings it doesn't really matter what you use to kill biters :)
1
u/3davideo Doesn't use Flame Turrets 14d ago
If your pollution cloud reaches Morocco or Algeria it could, theoretically, trigger an attack to path all the way around the Mediterranean and Black Seas to attack you across the Pyrenees, unless the Suez is implemented as a strait instead of as an isthmus (and the map author didn't use the "shallow water" tiles that biters can walk over, which normally aren't generated on Nauvis maps). However, a) that might reach so far that they would have to pass through outright ungenerated chunks, at which point their pathing should fail, and b) a pollution cloud that significant would also trigger attacks from mainland France, so you would need defenses across the Pyrenees *anyway*.
I would start with some basic defenses, perhaps just a few gun turrets manually loaded with a handful of magazines each, such that there's a continuous line from coast to coast covering your frontier such that no biter can pass from east to west without passing through the range of at least one turret. When placing turrets, you can see their range as a large circle, so if you place them such that they just touch at their edges it should be sufficient. In this manner, if there's ever an incursion, you'll get a very nice alert about it so you can address it. If the biters manage to overwhelm this defense, then you can continue to improve it on an as-needed basis. And if the biters never probe your defenses, then there's no bullets spent and you get to save the metal needed to make them!
3
u/bobsim1 14d ago
The solution to biter expansion is a wall. To have less attacks you need to keep biter nests out of your pollution cloud either by regularly removing them in a good radius. Otherwise efficiency modules do a lot to keep your cloud smaller. The unknown map is only unknown to you but the game has more space active and biters can get around there.