Sandbox Mode?

[Colonel Sanders Lite]

My general impression is that a lot of people run the game like this -
No biters.
Long reach mod.
Sometimes using console to adjust run speed.

I'm curious why people that play the game like that play it in freeplay mode instead of sandbox mode?

I'm not sure I see much of a practical difference between the two when using those sorts of settings TBH. The biggest one that comes to mind is that you can get run over by a train in freeplay but not in sandbox.

[Zamber]

Maybe becouse lots of peoples play games like they want...
And factorio is one of few games in which you can adjust settings for full enjoyment.

[KatherineOfSky]

Having infinite stuff all the time isn't interesting to me. Most of the fun for me is addressing shortcomings and finding solutions to make things work.

[lady_whynot]

I play peacefully because I do not like to fight. But I really like everything else about Factorio. Even without Biters the game is a challenge, you can set the goals yourself. For example Bobs-Angels and then every minute 1 rocket.

[brian_va]

biters are an annoyance, at least to me they are. they really aren't that difficult to deal with, not talking about deathworld here, but i have better things that i want to do than to clear them out.
i also use long reach mods, and adjust them to allow maximum distance. i also use RSO mod and adjust it so that ores are a good distance away. perhaps at the first mining outpost you can use it, but beyond that you cant reach back home to grab more belts or whatever. is it realistic; no. but neither is being able to carry around all the stuff needed to make a rocket silo, and then make one.

[RedPanda (/^_^)/]

Originally posted by KatherineOfSky:

Having infinite stuff all the time isn't interesting to me. Most of the fun for me is addressing shortcomings and finding solutions to make things work.

This + fighting biters

[Colonel Sanders Lite]

Originally posted by RedPanda42 (/^_^)/:

Originally posted by KatherineOfSky:

Having infinite stuff all the time isn't interesting to me. Most of the fun for me is addressing shortcomings and finding solutions to make things work.

This + fighting biters

You don't get infinite stuff in sandbox mode unless you ask for it, so the question still stands.

Originally posted by brian_va:

biters are an annoyance... i also use long reach mods, and adjust them to allow maximum distance

That's all good and fine, but it doesn't actually answer the question - Why do it in freeplay mode as opposed to sandbox mode?

Originally posted by Zamber:

Maybe becouse lots of peoples play games like they want...

I didn't say "play the game this way." I asked "Why do you like these settings as opposed to these settings?"

So the question still stands.

[Estelyen]

Originally posted by Colonel Sanders Lite:

You don't get infinite stuff in sandbox mode unless you ask for it

If you don't mean unlimited items, what do you mean by sandbox mode then?

[Colonel Sanders Lite]

Start factorio. Play. Scenarios. Sandbox. Use whatever mapgen settings you want. When it asks, say no to cheats.

Plays just like the standard freeplay scenario with the sole exception that there is no physical character in the center of the screen. You have basically unlimited reach and can move around the world at the speed of the map scroll, which is pretty darn quick.

[The_Mell]

There's a scenario called Sandbox.
I had to check it myself because i wasn't sure and could vaguely remember something like this, so my guess why people don't play this is:
They don't know it exists.

[Colonel Sanders Lite]

Originally posted by The_Mell:

They don't know it exists.

My guess, and it's just a guess, is that this is true for quite a few people but I think a pretty high proportion of the vets know about sandbox mode, if for no other reason than tinkering and experimenting with designs.

When I first thought of this, part of me was wondering if it was because of the whole "this avatar is me and I identify with it" sort of thing, but on further thought I doubt it. I very much suspect that the majority of the player base is no stranger to strategy and building games where there is no avatar. Hence the question.

My own thinking at the moment is that it's just inertia. A player's first game of Factorio is most likely either the tutorial or the new game button (which is just the freeplay scenario) where there is an avatar so that's just the way future games are played whether there's a point to that or not.

[KatherineOfSky]

@OP: Ahh, I didn't understand what you meant. You just mean: no character on screen.

Then, my answer is: I like building with the character. The whole concept of gathering stone to make a furnace, chopping a tree to put fuel in that furnace, which just escalates into this massive automated factory by end game. I LIKE riding trains. I dislike using the Long Reach mod because it feels cheaty to me.

It's fun to go on biter-killing excursions with the PLDs, zapping them all the way until you get to be a centimeter (of health bar) from death!

I feel like the character is an integral part of the game and of the story. I've used no-character mode on building maps before, and it's fine to design stuff, but feels very awkward to play, very disconnected.


Also, a HUGE part of the game is transportation of items. If you "live in the clouds" / god mode, you can build anything anywhere... no need to to transport stuff to the location. Why bother with trains at all? You can just shift click solar panels into your inventory, and deliver them to your solar outpost instantly.

[SalukaOfLand]

I like to see how much production I can get and improve on that

[Overeagerdragon]

I've tried sandbox mode before but it's just not for me. Part of the challenge for me IS that fact that you are mortal and, as such, can't carry infinite amounts of materials (either in an inventory system or through simply having it") and the added annoyance that brings of having to run back and forth multiple times because I forgot to bring enough stuff for my outpost.
This also branches out to why I play with biters and actively look to keep them to form a hazard rather than an annoyance. There's a bit of a thrill racing toward some vital point before biters eat it (or topple it in case of defenses). In a way I already feel like cheating by using "voids" like flarestacks or sinkholes even though they are a significant source of pollution AND knowing it happens in real life too.

I'm not looking for the easy way....The things I often see other people complain about are actually things I enjoy....

So yeah I know about sandbox mode but it actually takes away the stuff I LIKE about Factorio.

EDIT: So in regards to the OP
I play WITH biters
I play WITHOUT any console commands
I play with a mod that requires you to actually research the Long Reach function.
I also play with plenty of mods that actually make the game more complex.

[Varenvel The Festive Dinosaur]

Originally posted by overeagerdragon:

I've tried sandbox mode before but it's just not for me. Part of the challenge for me IS that fact that you are mortal and, as such, can't carry infinite amounts of materials (either in an inventory system or through simply having it") and the added annoyance that brings of having to run back and forth multiple times because I forgot to bring enough stuff for my outpost.
This also branches out to why I play with biters and actively look to keep them to form a hazard rather than an annoyance. There's a bit of a thrill racing toward some vital point before biters eat it (or topple it in case of defenses). In a way I already feel like cheating by using "voids" like flarestacks or sinkholes even though they are a significant source of pollution AND knowing it happens in real life too.

I'm not looking for the easy way....The things I often see other people complain about are actually things I enjoy....

So yeah I know about sandbox mode but it actually takes away the stuff I LIKE about Factorio.

EDIT: So in regards to the OP
I play WITH biters
I play WITHOUT any console commands
I play with a mod that requires you to actually research the Long Reach function.
I also play with plenty of mods that actually make the game more complex.

how about maxed all 3 biter settings?(since then customization changed of it some and inot played "death words" as much since , mostly becouse in vanilla it was easier , big mods have slower progression meaning 20hours could be thrown out of window when you get to point of no return rather then 1-2hours , and im playing mostly with mods now)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=888616413

be advised this screenshot is before artylery and nuclear power(also with 5dim mod i think)

[Uraoen]

People cry if games are too hard, so you have to have an easymode