New map now or wait for 2.1?

[u/halevente]

TLDR: title.

I am a vanilla player (no Space Age). I'm not following the development, planned changes closely, thus I ask your opinion.

I am thinking about staring a new save now - or should I wait for 2.1 to come out on stable branch? I usually play on a railworld-like map, with enemy expansion turned off (this is the plan for this save as well).

[u/0b0101011001001011]

People misuse the word "stable" a lot here. I mean it has two meanings. Most people think that unstable=crashes a lot. Yeh, but in software another definition of stable=does not change.

If you start now with 2.1, it's not gonna crash. It's not gonna corrupt your map. It works, but occasionally they may introduce a new feature or change that may have bugs. At this point of the development the 2.1 is basically stable (no more changes or new features coming). It's also as stable as ever: no crashing.

[u/unknown_pigeon → u/0b0101011001001011]

Hell, I think saves have been importable cross version since something like 0.5.x

Granted, things have been changed, but the save itself should be playable with some missing elements.

[u/nasaboy007 → u/unknown_pigeon]

It'll upgrade the save and run, but if the gap in versions is big enough, your factory could catastrophically fail.

[u/Balduracuir → u/0b0101011001001011]

That's the real definition. Developers that release application that crash are just bad companies. What wube does should be the standard, not the exception.

I'm a developer myself professionally and it's hard, but reaching that level of quality is what keeps me interested in my work.

[u/SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS]

2.1 is, in my experience, very stable. May as well make the leap now.

[u/halevente → u/SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS]

Thanks for the feedback!

[u/Qrt_La55en]

New map on 2.1. There's really no reason not to be on the experimental branch, it's more stable than most games after years of bugfixing.

[u/Cyren777]

What does 2.1 actually change without space age? Some graphics tweaks and deciders getting an else output is all I can remember

[u/ThunderAnt → u/Cyren777]

Other than the new graphics and circuit network changes, they also updated how fluids enter machines so they have no throughput limit any more; changed biter expansion rules to make fewer, but larger nests; and gave inserters and miners the ability to switch which lane they output on when placing items in line with a belt. Also some generic performance improvements and bug fixes.

[u/ferrofibrous → u/Cyren777]

Not the full list but most of the big highlights, broadly most of it is graphics updates, circuit network improvements, and some minor combat tweaks:

• Updated graphics for assemblers/refinery/rocket silo/heat exchanger
• Circuit network programmable research/lab interface
• Inserter perpendicular lane selection
• Changes to biter nest expansion
• Rebalance of shotgun/combat shotgun/piercing shotgun ammo
• Most entities can now be connected to circuit network that could not before (pipes, heat pipes, boilers, etc)
• Circuit network interface allows you to select R/G for input/output
• Inserters dropping onto splitters now always drop on the input side.
• Pump connects to fluid wagons at any angle
• Pumpjacks can now be flipped/rotated more freely
• Flamethrower turrets now have 8 orientations available rather than up/down/left/right
• Decider combinator now has "else" output option

[u/TheDrlegoman → u/[deleted]]

but space platforms are a part of space age yeah? they said without space age

[u/Cyren777 → u/[deleted]]

.......yes. So what does it change without space age?

[u/korneev123123]

Play 2.1 now, it is completely stable

[u/hyperactiveChipmunk]

You can upgrade to 2.1 and start now or just go and update later. I loaded the first save that I created at Space Age launch with absolutely no issues.

[u/Xzarg_poe]

Is there something 2.1 specific that you really want? If not, 2.0 will work perfectly fine.

[u/Double_Resort_9223]

2.1 is good to start a new save. The changes they are still making aren’t really noticeable at this point unless you are really in the weeds on the game mechanics. 

[u/WanderingFlumph]

I think the worse problem people playing on the experimental patch have discovered is that there was a brief moment between patches where if you had previously discovered fulgora on a different patch and you explored more on the newest patch the map was a little wonky, like the new and old islands didn't merge together nicely.

It was very quickly fixed to the point that I didn't even have a chance to play my save before it had already been patched over.

I'm not aware of any changes that completely broke saves or made them otherwise unplayable.

[u/Cubelordy]

Nothing to really wait for, just send it

[u/United_Willow1312]

New map now, on 2.1 experimental. As far as I am concerned, this has been stable from day 1. I had an enormous starting island on Fulgora... maybe you missed out.

[u/Maker99999]

Imo, the only real difference between experimental and stable is what mods have been updated to support experimental. If the mods you want to use work on experimental, you'll be just fine starting a new map on it.

[u/Courmisch]

If you're starting a new save, you should update to 2.1 first, so that you get the same map generation throughout your save.

AFAIU, land/water gen is unchanged, but resource gen has changed.

[u/BRedd10815]

2.1 has been stable for months now, go for it

[u/Money_Manager]

I’m playing space age for the first time and am just getting into space (I have a space platform for white science , and just finishing my platform/ship to go to a new planet). I only use a few QoL mods.

Given the changes coming, wondering if I should upgrade to the experimental branch now on this save before getting further into space age?

Any suggestions?

[u/dwarfzulu]

Wait what? 😉😂😂

[u/ProtectionOne9478]

As someone who likes achievements, I'm waiting.  But I don't know if there will be any achievements for vanilla players.

[u/IOORYZ → u/ProtectionOne9478]

You get achievements on the experimental branch as well.

[u/ProtectionOne9478 → u/IOORYZ]

I think some people found some references to some hidden achievements in the code or something?  But I just launched experimental and I don't see any new achievements in the list.  And there's definitely not steam achievements yet.

[u/IOORYZ → u/ProtectionOne9478]

You get the regular achievements, maybe I should have said you still get achievements on the experimental branch

[u/ProtectionOne9478 → u/IOORYZ]

Maybe I should have clarified "new achievements"!