managing all these resources?

[Xoyv]

so i admit i'm kinda dumb, i've got three belts of copper, iron, and magnets, but i don't know how to actually integrate all this other stuff, stone bricks, glass, prisms, titanium, oil and hydrogen.

i know that there's like, multi layering stuff, but i don't really know how to manage that. can anyone give me some advice, or tips?

[Jesus]

letsplays on youtube
browse through some player-made blueprints

sometimes you just cant get around stringing a belt over a quarter of the planet - and dad help you when you get around to the oil chains

[Nekogod]

Nilaus' first couple of tutorial/masterclass videos and his hub blueprint are really good for getting to grips on the basics of integrating and using a bunch of different resources.

[Daerious]

One piece of advice that I would give is do not rush it. While I have over 250 hours of game play (almost all before the last major update), I never made it much past the Information Matrix (Purple); however, in each of my former games, I rushed researching the technology to unlock the planetary and interplanetary logistics. In my current game, I am taking things at a much slower and leisurely pace -- research one technology and/or upgrade but do not continue researching until having built new parts of the factory to make the new resources and/or new buildings. Doing this has changed my perspective and I know that, when those resources are required for future technology, I will have a stash of the available.

Most technologies only unlock a few resources and buildings -- going slow means that you can begin to understand how they work and interact with your existing infrastructure. I am sure that I will probably be tearing down and rebuilding parts of my factory with each researched technology but I am finding that I am learning more by doing it myself that using an online resource calculator or downloading blueprints made by someone else.

I wish you luck ... the stars await and COSMO is in dire need of energy.

[josmith7]

Sounds like you're keeping them on separate belts. That's an excellent start. (You can mix multiple items onto a single belt, colloquially a "sushi belt", but it's very prone to the mix getting off any everything jamming.

But you don't need every resource at every factory. No recipe in the game takes more than 5 inputs, and most take far less.

So as you unlock a new recipe figure out where you want to produce it, what inputs it requires, and then how to route those belts over there. You can use splitters to divide up a belt, or sorters to 'leach' from one to another (simply set the sorter between two belts), and it doesn't initially need to be neat.

Later on you'll get ways to fly resources around, so you won't need a mega-factory where your, say, copper belt runs past every single building that needs copper.

But even at the beginning don't be afraid to set up separated production fed by mines and smelters operating of a different group of resource veins.



It is possible to design some pretty elegant "malls" where all your basic buildings are produced with efficient belt designs. But for now I'd say don't worry about that. Feel free to have an ugly mess of belts running everywhere (spaghetti) until you get more of a handle on the game.

[Halko]

Honestly the best way to play starting out is to be ABSOLUTELY out of your element and lost so you can stumble over everything as you go. Do janky things. Build something that works only to need more and add on to it. Come back later and add more. Come back even later and look at the disgusting spaghetti mess you have made and marvel at how it even works then demolish it and build something different. Do silly things that arent efficient but work and come up with your own ideas. Then when you get tired of stumbling look up youtube guides on how to do it the "right" way.

Dont look up all of the guides at the start though because half of the magic of these games is building your own horrible machines and doing it your way. Dont deprive yourself of the joy that comes from making something that actually works on your own merits. DSP is a great entry to these kinds of factory games because its degrees easier and more simple than factorio. Which is great and if you like this then get that after.

[Nekogod]

Do silly things that arent efficient but work and come up with your own ideas. Then when you get tired of stumbling look up youtube guides on how to do it the "right" way.

Truth.

[Qiox]

Watch some lets play on Youtube.

[DanTheMan]

Planning helps. try find simple building sets you can use as a blueprint.
Or watch some youtube videos for advice.

The aim of the game is to make huge dyson spheres to power your research production. You make a matrix, and use that to research further down the tech tree.

Try simplify your buildings.

Make magnets
Make circuit boards
Make blue cubes
research blue cubes.

It's pretty much the same but for the different resources and longer supply chains needed.
Start small, look at what items you can automate, but also consider buildings that use similar products. You can make Malls, which craft pretty much every building.

[Bobucles]

The TLDR is:
Don't worry about it. Embrace the spaghetti, that's half the fun.

Dismantling your tangled mess is free. Use blueprints to capture good parts of the factory, tear down the rest, and rebuild from blueprint. There's no real time pressure or big bad right now, so just take your time and enjoy.

One of the most powerful resource sorting tools is the logistics tower. Choose a recipe, filter the resources going into the tower, and send the outputs back to the tower. It's convenient and all in one.

[Halko]

Another thing to note is that you shouldnt worry about building something you never have to touch again. These games are not about making something once but making something good enough for now then tearing it down later to make something better. Dont worry if something you build early only runs for an hour before its killed because that is the point.

[[Lord] Vader]

You can look up guides or watch videos, but to me half the fun was having 'a-ha' moments where I suddenly discovered more efficient layouts or how to better organize chains. Maybe that's a sad comment on my life :)

I will say looking stuff up on the wiki for how things work is almost a must for some of the more advanced things (logistics centers for example) because the UI/localization/tutorials are still a bit early access.

Also, I suggest playing on infinite resources. It takes away some of the anxiety of thinking your wasting them.

It took me a while to get going too (this was my first real attempt at playing an automation game), but I just 'finished' the game for the first time. Might be the best $20 I ever spent on Steam.

[freeflow]

This is a resource management game. Throughout the game you will be pestered by bottlenecks. Finding ways to resolve those bottlenecks is how you progress in the game. Build East to West so that your production lines are not compromised by changing geometry as you move further North or South. Disconnect pipelines (e.g. Build manufacturing line feeds into a buffer which feeds the next product. Don't try to be clever and have intermeshed production lines. Some building activities can be delegated to a one off cell for the duration of the game, others need constant expansion to feed the voracious maw that the Dyson Sphere becomes. Have a central location where you can dump your 'odds and sods' rather than cluttering up your inventory. Learning learning how to make Hydrogen cells, then fusion/deuterium cells as soon as you can will make life easier. Get off planet as soon as you can.

Don't worry about messy building in the early stages. Assembled structures can be dismantled and reused. The introduction of logistics bots make the mid game a lot easier.

When developing upgrades, focus on capacity rather than speed.

When intergalactic travel opens up look forsystems with the 'rare' items. When ever you find acid, use that system to build Ti Bar. Wherever you find water, use that system to build Ti Glass. Wherever you find organic crystal use that system to build Ti Crystal.

and so on.....