Do we know how much the expac will cost?

[Emily Mewens]

Title.
Also i gotta say, in a sea of games with battlepasses and microtransactions, i almost forgot what it was like to get an expac for a game that has none of these things. Big fan of this decision. Especially if it lives up to the 60-100 hours play time(in a non-slog way). There are rpgs i've played that took less time.

[Shurenai]

The plan is to be the same price as the base game with an approximately an equivalent amount of content- Similar to the expacs of old (IE, starcraft brood war, D2 lords of destruction, etc)

[Chindraba]

The release price has not been officially announced or set. Back when it was first mentioned the regular game was priced at $30 USD and the devs said they expected it to be the same level of content as the main game, and so the same price. I, personally, expect that it will still be the same price as the main game, which is currently $35 USD. The world could take another rotten economic twist and ruin everyone's budgets and the main game's price might go up again in the next year. I don't expect that. Then again, nobody expected the last economic mess either. Still, if the main game does go up in price, I expect that the expansion will be priced at the then current price of the main game. I do expect that it will have as much content as the original since one of the few reports about its development before the recent return of regular announcements indicated that they'd played the prototype and found it to be too long and needed to be reduced. (I wish that was a problem for more games, and movies. Imagine a movie being so long that they have to add extra time for the movie, not for the commercials.)

[Emily Mewens]

Thats good. As long as they can mostly match the amount of content of the base game then i can definitely support the price tag. This update is definitely shaping up to be very promising indeed. If only this was an industry standard :P

Originally posted by Chindraba:

Then again, nobody expected the last economic mess either.

Yeah.. and im already hearing rumors of another imminent lockdown taking place, atleast here in the states. Cause the last one went so well.. Oh joy. Im just hoping it stays rumors.

[Chindraba]

Maybe I need to quit playing computer games and start playing the Lottery. Just might need the extra income to afford eggs and milk.

[fractalgem]

Originally posted by Chindraba:

Maybe I need to quit playing computer games and start playing the Lottery. Just might need the extra income to afford eggs and milk.

I have concerns about how many games a month you're buying and not properly enjoying to even make this as a joke...

[rdbury]

So the full game, base + expansion, will be about $70 total. Granted you will get a lot of content and gameplay for that, but it's still something of an outlier. I've compiled a list of games in the same "factory" genre:
* Factory Town: $20
* MegaFactory Titan (Early access): $20
* Dyson Sphere Program (Early access): $20
* Captain of Industry (Early access): $30
* Satisfactory (Early access): $30
* Techtonica (Early access): $30
* Astro Colony (Early access): $20
* shapez: $10
* Mindustry: $10
* Autonauts: $20
* Desynced (Early access): $30
These games, despite the similarities, are very different from each other so I'm not suggesting that you can directly compare them. Still, all are $30 or less and presumably most will go on sale from time to time, meanwhile Factorio is $35 just for the base game and has a "no sales" policy.

[Khaylain]

Originally posted by rdbury:

So the full game, base + expansion, will be about $70 total. Granted you will get a lot of content and gameplay for that, but it's still something of an outlier. I've compiled a list of games in the same "factory" genre:
* Factory Town: $20
* MegaFactory Titan (Early access): $20
* Dyson Sphere Program (Early access): $20
* Captain of Industry (Early access): $30
* Satisfactory (Early access): $30
* Techtonica (Early access): $30
* Astro Colony (Early access): $20
* shapez: $10
* Mindustry: $10
* Autonauts: $20
* Desynced (Early access): $30
These games, despite the similarities, are very different from each other so I'm not suggesting that you can directly compare them. Still, all are $30 or less and presumably most will go on sale from time to time, meanwhile Factorio is $35 just for the base game and has a "no sales" policy.

Nice list. Mindustry absolutely is worth a lot more than 10 USD. Factory Town I wouldn't say is quite worth 20 USD. DPS probably is worth a bit more than 20 USD. The rest I don't have enough information on to comment, but they all seem interesting in different ways, and I would suggest people take a look at them.

[AlexMBrennan]

Mindustry absolutely is worth a lot more than 10 USD

Why would you pay for a free mobile game?

[knighttemplar1960]

To add to the above list Industry Giant II is $9.99 but its a game from 1997 that was remastered in 2002.

Open TTD (Transport Tycoon Deluxe) is a free to play that is available on steam. Its an open source version of the original game that was created in 1994 and was released as open source in 2004. That game is still being expanded and upgraded by the fans in its community.

[Fumo Bnnuy n Frends]

Originally posted by rdbury:

So the full game, base + expansion, will be about $70 total. Granted you will get a lot of content and gameplay for that, but it's still something of an outlier. I've compiled a list of games in the same "factory" genre:
* Factory Town: $20
* MegaFactory Titan (Early access): $20
* Dyson Sphere Program (Early access): $20
* Captain of Industry (Early access): $30
* Satisfactory (Early access): $30
* Techtonica (Early access): $30
* Astro Colony (Early access): $20
* shapez: $10
* Mindustry: $10
* Autonauts: $20
* Desynced (Early access): $30
These games, despite the similarities, are very different from each other so I'm not suggesting that you can directly compare them. Still, all are $30 or less and presumably most will go on sale from time to time, meanwhile Factorio is $35 just for the base game and has a "no sales" policy.

i wanna point out that shapez is just as complex and irritating as factorio and pointless building

mindustry is factorio with less emphasis on graphics and trying to siphon money out of players and more fun and updates and highly recommend it vs factorio for anyone who wants to actually have a challenge and not be fooled into doing math homework. Especially since mindustry the enemies actually do matter.

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by AlexMBrennan:

Mindustry absolutely is worth a lot more than 10 USD

Why would you pay for a free mobile game?

because some people like to financially support developers who generously give their hard work away for free - as a way of showing their gratitude

the concept may be unfamiliar to you - but maybe you can google it ;-)

[Fumo Bnnuy n Frends]

Originally posted by Drizzt:

Originally posted by AlexMBrennan:

Why would you pay for a free mobile game?

because some people like to financially support developers who generously give their hard work away for free - as a way of showing their gratitude

the concept may be unfamiliar to you - but maybe you can google it ;-)

also to add the other guy fell for the meme

that you need to pay money to devs to give you content sub par from the main game or other big companies


smaller devs can make huge updates and not charge a penny because they have a passion for the game and not a passion for money nor to appease shareholders.

[Vyndicu]

I have enjoyed most of the factory video games that I have purchased.

I plan to wait and find out more about the Space Age Expansion before I decide if it is worth it.

Given how much time and entertainment I have gotten from the base game Factorio. The odds are good.


That said. I do have one or two factory video games that I regret purchasing.

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by rdbury:

So the full game, base + expansion, will be about $70 total. Granted you will get a lot of content and gameplay for that, but it's still something of an outlier. I've compiled a list of games in the same "factory" genre:
* Factory Town: $20
* MegaFactory Titan (Early access): $20
* Dyson Sphere Program (Early access): $20
* Captain of Industry (Early access): $30
* Satisfactory (Early access): $30
* Techtonica (Early access): $30
* Astro Colony (Early access): $20
* shapez: $10
* Mindustry: $10
* Autonauts: $20
* Desynced (Early access): $30
These games, despite the similarities, are very different from each other so I'm not suggesting that you can directly compare them. Still, all are $30 or less and presumably most will go on sale from time to time, meanwhile Factorio is $35 just for the base game and has a "no sales" policy.

most of those games are in EA - the price will likely rise when they near full release

you say "meanwhile Factorio is $35 just for the base game" - but all the games and prices you have listed are for "just the base game" - if any of them have DLC you have not listed the additional cost - so the Expansion does not figure into this list

also - of those games - i own Shapez and Mindustry - and i think both are great - but i have maybe a dozen hours in Mindustry maximum - and less in Shapez - because it takes a lot to get me invested in playing a game for significant periods of time (2000+ hours in Factorio)

i tried the demo of Astro Colony - but only briefly - i will try and play some more - but not sure it's gonna grab me

and i don't think any of the rest have demos

but many people have told me that Satisfactory is irritating to play and lacks longevity

and apparently even DSP lacks depth and scope when compared with Factorio

i am interested in Captain of Industry - but i have also heard some negatives about that one

i am sceptical that any of these games could compel me to play for 100 hours, let alone the 1000+ they would need to get close to being comparable in value to Factorio

so personally i will be buying the Expansion for $35 when it is released

i will keep following some of these games and others in the genre that look interesting - and may well pick up one or two in the December sale if the price is low enough (i do want to play Satisfactory - but it would need to be $15 or less if they won't release a demo - i may stretch more for Captain of Industry - but will likely wait a while - may wait for both to come out of EA and then follow the discounts - plus sometimes games will do a demo after they come out of EA since it is hard to maintain during development)

but there are reasons why Factorio is priced as it is

and one reason is that it is widely regarded as the best game of its kind, that still has no direct competitors that are anywhere close

surely it makes sense for them to make the most of that while it lasts?

[Drizzt]

for anyone who is interested - there have been a few civilized discussions about other building games on here in the past:
e.g:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/427520/discussions/0/3549427890063952862/

at about post #38 games start getting listed

also the YouTuber GliderCat adds some interesting ones at post #47

Evospace looks cool

FortressCraft Evolved might be worth a look for some people (stupidly cheap when discounted - seems like Minecraft meets Factorio or Infinifactory for the brief time i have tried it)

pretty much no game does what Factorio does as well as it does it - or has the insane level of mod support and size/scope of mod library - e.g. we have professional quality expansion sized overhauls

but there are lots of other games that may appeal to people who like Factorio - and many are available pretty cheap when discounted

still a lack of demos for many

since demos are a risk - they inform customers what they are getting - and so that can prevent as many sales as it promotes - and many companies are banking on players running over the refund period before they decide the game isn't worth it

plus demos can be less than representative - as well as a pain to maintain

either way - lots of good games out there that cost less than Factorio

but if you want Factorio, then there isn't really a realistic alternative

and if you want more Factorio if you already own Factorio - beyond the mod library - the Expansion is likely gonna be the best there is for a while

it's a year or more away

if you can afford to save $1 a week you will be able to buy it when it is released (as well as possibly a copy for a friend lol)

and if you can't afford to save $1 a week for games, then Factorio's price is likely not the main problem - since all games are non essential purchases - and most sit in a pretty narrow price range at the bottom end of the entertainment industry in terms of bang for buck

so for most it is just a value proposition - this game or that game that cost the same - or these two games or this one game for that same price etc

and so far i have not found another game that keeps me playing like Factorio in this genre - e.g. i own Oxygen Not Included, Mindustry, FortressCraft Evolved, Shapez, and likely several other popular games that sit in this or adjacent genres

but what am i playing right now? Factorio

i want to play some more of some of those other games - but when it comes to getting the best value for my time - Factorio keeps winning

it will be different for others - but it does seem to be a common theme that this game gets more playtime from people who own many of the "comparable" games - they have the choice - and they choose to keep playing this

but anyway - do check out the thread i linked - there were a few others where the forum discussed other building games - but that was the one i could find

i think sometimes people forget we all like games here - not just Factorio

but when people come in and start trashing Factorio by saying x game is better and Factorio is garbage (and overpriced) etc - well then people are going to point out the flaws in whatever game the other person is using as an example

because nothing does massive scale factory automation with superlative mod support like Factorio

or gets people coming back to it to sink more hours into a single run than many games will get from us in a lifetime

e.g. i just completed most of a 70 hour achievement run

still got a few more to get

and already got a few new runs on the go or planned - a Space Exploration run - an AAI Programmable Vehicles run - an Abandoned Ruins run (possibly with Warptorio) - plus there's SeaBlock and Nullius and Krastorio etc

still nothing like it that i have found

possibly Captain of Industry may appeal to me - but no demo as of yet - so i will have to wait and see (and i have heard about some of its failings - although still mostly positive)

anyway - good day people - go forth and be positive in your factory building pursuits :-)