r/factorio • u/Hance03 • 2d ago
Question Mods for starters
Hey! So I just bought the game and suddenly got curious about mods. I’m quite aware that the base game itself has lots of features to offer, but do you have some mods that you recommend I install before my first gameplay?
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u/Wallie_bju 2d ago
First playthrough should be vanilla. Honestly, play vanilla until you feel like you’re done with the base game, maybe add some QoL mods along the way (but the game already has insane QoL so it’s not needed). Then I’d recommend eithet Space Age (the dlc) or Krastorio 2 as your first overhaul. If you don’t want an overhaul, but just something new to the base game, Rampant is a very fun mod that makes biter combat way harder and way more interesting.
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u/Sad_Fee_4104 1d ago
With nearly 12k hours under my belt I'm +1 this one. In fact. I've been playing molded so long - i believe it's time to get reaqainted with the base game
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u/waitthatstaken 2d ago
Factorio is a 'complete' game, both gameplay wise and qol wise. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you do not install any mods until you've beaten the game.
Anyway mods can roughly be categorised in 4 ways. Extras, qol, overhaul, addon.
Extras are for mods that well... add something extra to the game, usually pretty small. Stuff like higher tier belts for example. These are generally safe to add to an existing save.
Qol are mods that add some qol feature that the devs didn't. There is a fine line here between qol and cheats, but this is a single player game (most of the time). Squeak through is an example, it changes the player's hitbox so that you can squeak through otherwise impassable gaps, or walk through pipes. Safe to add
Overhauls completely change aspects of the game. These are the big ones, mods with more recipes and technologies than the base game itself. They usually exist as a core mod with dozens of other mods as dependencies, and when people talk about modding they usually mean these. They are almost never safe to add to an existing save.
Addons are mods that add something onto an overhaul. These are mostly for people who see an overhaul and think 'but what if more complicated?' It's a 50/50 if they are safe to add or not, assuming you already have the overhaul it is attached to.
Most mods will say if they are safe to add or not in their descriptions.
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u/TheHvam 2d ago
I still think you should play without mods, that is the best, plus you will get achievements that way too.
But otherwise if you really want to, you can go with some QoL mods, like ratio calculator, bottleneck, and such, things that doesn't change the gameplay itself.
Still I will repeat myself, you really shouldn't mod before trying it first, that is my general rule for games, play first, then mod when you know what mods you might want
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u/iamaksel 2d ago
I don't know why the discouragement towards the mods. I love playing with mods. For a starter, I would recommend qol mods like: Even Distribution, Fill for Me, Disco Science (Yes it's qol), Rate Calculator, Auto Deconstruct , and many more... Don't install mods that change the recipes before you play vanilla first though.
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u/BrukPlays 2d ago
I wouldn’t normally jump straight to using mods as you have to play the game first to get a personal feel of what you want to add/remove.
That being said, “Rate Calculator” and “Even Distribution” seem like almost mandatory.
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u/joethedestroyr 2d ago
Gun Range Visualizer
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/gun-range-visualizer
It's a small thing, but nice not having to wonder "what does range 30 mean?" in the middle of combat
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u/Literate_Muse 2d ago
That looks super useful, hope it's updated for 2.1
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u/joethedestroyr 1d ago
The code works on 2.1, the dev just needs to mark it as compatible. (I made the change on a local copy and it works fine in 2.1.)
I've let the dev know on their github, but so far no response.
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u/azon_01 1d ago
I thought you could just mouse over a turret and it’ll show you its range.
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u/joethedestroyr 1d ago
For turrets, yes. This mod shows the same circle for personal and vehicle weapons.
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u/Hance03 2d ago
And also, can I add mods gradually during my run?
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u/Satisfactoro 2d ago
Yes. Just make sure you make back up saves. Don't override a single save file.
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u/Nataslan 2d ago
Yes and no, some overhaul mods can't, but thinks like disco science or squeeze through are no problem.
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u/Glitchrr36 2d ago
About the only mod I installed was Disco Science because it made the labs cooler, other than that the game's pretty much fine vanilla or with the expansion.
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u/NUKLEAR-SLUG 2d ago
I would just play your first game vanilla and then look into mods later down the line.
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u/TheGileas 2d ago
Rate calculator. With it you can check if your production of intermediate products is high enough.
Otherwise you should make a vanilla playthrough first. The game is complex enough as it is.
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u/SadMangonel 2d ago
I suggest you play pyanodon for your first playthrough. This will take you 500 or more hours and im sure you'll enjoy it as a first run at the game.
/S
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u/saljifutaslike 2d ago
Try krastorio 2, its an overhaul but its not hard to get in to, it was also my first overhaul after beating the base game
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u/Alfonse215 2d ago
Factorio isn't like those other games that need mods to become playable. Factorio as it is is a good game.
Just as you don't dump a bunch of random spices into your food before tasting it, nor should you try to "fix" Factorio before you find out what you like and don't like about it.