main bus

[dimmu1313]

I was just wondering how early i should work on the main bus. i'm stll manually crafting several things, but i have a couple labs running and have just started making green potions, and now researching advanced material processing so i can get to the steel furnace. i don't have a lot of electric drills going, and i'm manually loading coal into stone furnaces. the assemblers around and feeding into red and green potion assemblers along with all the tracks is getting unwieldy and is a bit of a mess, so my feeling is that it's probably time to start working on transport and production efficiency. so i really like the "main bus" paradigm, but there's a lot of planning ahead required and the setup needs to be scalable. a lot of the guides I've looked at, like the one made by KotS looks great but getting to that point of such a huge setup seems pretty far away. thus the need to start small but scalable and efficient. Thougts?

[harison86]

Check out Nilaus' "Factorio - Vanilla done right" series on YouTube. It's what I've been going off of and it's great. Teaches you the proper way to make scalable production for every industry, how to build and use a main bus, everything you need to know to make an efficient factory from early to end-game. I think he started working on the main bus before he had green science automated. All you really need is a small belt assembly setup and a ton of space in one direction.

[impetus_maximus]

i wouldn't run out and start watching guides and how-tos. it takes away a lot of the fun of figuring things out. plus you end up using the guides designs and end up playing like them. boring in my opinion.

if you know the idea of a main bus use that, and have fun.

[Hedning]

There is no "should" when it comes to a main bus. I never build a main bus. It may help you plan out your factory better, but it also constricts you and can't be expanded easily.

If you want to use a main bus it is best done right at the start when the number of parellel belts in the bus are few.

[dimmu1313]

I guess part of what I'm having a hard time figuring out is, as my resources and production rates go up, what should I concentrate on building and when? it never fails that as my production complexity goes up, there's always *something* that I didn't plan for in terms of adequate availability -- draw on copper is bigger than I expected, the iron plates are routed places that it's hard to get out of, etc. Next thing I know I just have a huge mess of too many gear assemblers, a log jam of coils, run out of copper, etc. etc. But on the other hand if I think things like "well I can never have too much [iron, copper, coal, plates, coils, etc.]" and then I end up with way too much of one resource or item and then not enough of other resources or components to progress efficiently. That's what I'm getting at, if that makes sense.

[KatherineOfSky]

The key to making a larger base is planning. (And admittedly, planning takes experience... several run-throughs of the game to kinda get a picture on how much stuff you will eventually need).

That's one of the reasons I leave LOTS of space to put extra smelting columns, ability to expand all intermediate products (all circuits, etc.) and also for train stations for when the initial resources run out.

Also, if possible, I would start the bus as you are making green science... that's one of the first consumers to place on the bus -- mall, then science.

In general, if the lines on the bus are running thin, you need to expand production. In Factorio each product relies on one before it. So when green circuits are sufficient for the mall and red & green science, and then you add red circuits. That will create additional demand, and you need to add more circuit production.... and more iron & copper production.

[Vixx]

I start my bus as soon as iron and copper are running. Deciding which way the bus will run is one of the first things I do on a new map. That said, there is no right or wrong, as you play more you will find what works best for you.

[3iN4r]

I really like the bus system, since it adds control over what I'm doing, and production is easily added perpendicular to it.

I start the bus when I start using belts for iron and copper smelting. And I keep messing up, and starting too close to the smelters :(

[fractalgem]

Busses are an organizing tool. I use anywhere between 3 and 5 buses in my modded playtrhoughs-a "main" bus with more traditional items, a fluid bus to handle all those weird angel's fluids, and bob makes circuit production so complicated you pretty much need a dedicated bus just to produce circuits.

[Hiigara]

Originally posted by harison86:

Check out Nilaus' "Factorio - Vanilla done right" series on YouTube. It's what I've been going off of and it's great. Teaches you the proper way to make scalable production for every industry, how to build and use a main bus, everything you need to know to make an efficient factory from early to end-game. I think he started working on the main bus before he had green science automated. All you really need is a small belt assembly setup and a ton of space in one direction.

Great playthrough. Learned a lot, now im gonna try it for real. See if i can get beyond green sience

[zolo]

I highly recommend KoS tutorials and playthroughs on YouTube too. These are what got me back to playing factorio after originally buying it soon after early access launch.

[Hiigara]

Originally posted by zolo:

I highly recommend KoS tutorials and playthroughs on YouTube too. These are what got me back to playing factorio after originally buying it soon after early access launch.

I think I have watched all of KoS gameplay's. I like her voice and gameplay style. I learned a LOT from her (using blue prints!!) and regular stuff. Funny thing is: the more gameplay i see from different persons, the more i learn and the more confused i get :)

[KatherineOfSky]

It's always good to learn from many different people and combine the ways of building that appeal to you most!

[Hiigara]

Originally posted by KatherineOfSky:

It's always good to learn from many different people and combine the ways of building that appeal to you most!

But you are the queen of Factorio ;)

[Tarka]

Originally posted by KatherineOfSky:

It's always good to learn from many different people and combine the ways of building that appeal to you most!

Indeed. And in time everyone develops a particular, recogniseable style.

For instance, looking back over my blueprints, I see everywhere patterns of squares or diagonal zigzags, alternating short and long inserters flanking twin lanes of belts, and nearly every assembly line split into four parralel sections. And everything designed on the principle of 'full belts in, full belts out'.

While in other's work I see preferences for narrow single-belt strips, blocky squares built around roboports, dense visceral tangles, 'trees' and 'nets' of belts, and much more..............

[Cowwy]

Shouldn't worry yourself about guides at the moment, take the time to actually learn the mechanics of the game. I've only started playing this game for a few weeks and there still so much to learn. Until you learn all the techs and what each niffty stuff do, a large base might seem very far off.