Factorio 2.0 release?

[General]

I get the blogs about space exploration, raised trains, and all the updates that I thought I read will be out in 2.0, but I cannot find anything on when that release is coming. When should we expect 2.0? Should I go ahead and play the SE mod or should I wait for this 2.0 release?

[Nico]

Probably around august next year. Plus minus a few months.

[brian_va]

play the SE mod, you've probably got about a year. i'd imagine the devs will give a decent amount of notice before release.

[Hurkyl]

As per FFF #373, "about [August 2024]" is the dev's current plan, not merely educated guessing from the forum,

(and it's framed an approximate estimate, not a hard prediction)

[General]

Thanks everyone! I'll try it the second mod. I might finish before 2.0. Lol

[avatar11]

Real question is when will Earendel include F 2.0 techdemo into his Space Exploration game.

[Chindraba]

Originally posted by avatar11:

Real question is when will Earendel include F 2.0 techdemo into his Space Exploration game.

That fits into a complex grid of time, adaptation and options.

#1 He could freeze the current SE where it is, keeping it compatible with F 1.1 and never making it compatible with F 2.0 while starting a new SE-Expanded which is fully connected to the Space Age mod taking in all the features of quality and space platforms to make a completely new overhaul of the Space Age mod.
Initial workload: uncommon.
Maintenance workload: common.

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#2 He could update, more like overhaul SE to make it compatible with F 2.0, the base game without the expansion at all. The only element of the base game changes (so far) which will require purchase of the expansion is elevated rails. Everything else is either a free update to the base game (technically what F 2.0 is) or part of the Space Age mod. In this scenario everyone currently playing SE can continue with the new changes enabled while also not having to purchase the expansion. He could also target keeping SE compatible with the base game and leave the expansion content out of it - SE and SA _are_ two different roads.
Initial workload: uncommon.
Maintenance workload: common

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#3 He could do the updates, and plans, as in option #2 while including compatibility with elevated rails as an optional dependency, This gives full support to current players while also allowing the one who purchase the expansion to also use the elevated rails they've paid for. Still, however, not making any compatibility changes for SA.
Initial workload: uncommon.
Maintenance workload: common.

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#4 He could do an update, similar to either option #2 or #3, except make it a final update with no plans to continue to maintain it for F 2.1 and beyond. Then he could make the SE-Expanded mentioned in option #1 and keep that current as new versions of Factorio and SA are released.
Initial workload: rare.
Maintenance workload: common.

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#5 He could at the cost of some sleep and personal time, update SE as in option #2 or #3 with the target of keeping it current with updates to F 2.0. And, he could make the SE-Expanded mentioned in option #1 and keep that current as new versions of Factorio and SA are released. This results in having to maintain two different mods, both of which are massive overhauls with major levels of coding involved.
Initial workload: rare.
Maintenance workload: epic.

---

#6 He could (at the cost of his sanity) update SE to be compatible with F 2.0 base, make elevated rails an optional dependency, while changing very little if elevated rails is enabled. He could, further, make SA an optional dependence and trigger all sorts of new stuff in SE if the quality mechanic and space platforms are available from those mods being enabled as well. This option basically eliminates the idea of a needing a new SE-Expanded, as everything is included, but only if available, in the generic, updated SE. It also means having to maintain essentially two code bases in one package with conditional checks for hundreds of things, most notable of which could be just deciding how expensive the rocket recipe is. With SA enabled the rocket should be 20x cheaper than without SA enabled.
Initial workload: legendary.
Maintenance workload: legendary.

---

None of these options addresses the timing of any releases from Earendel. How deep the rabbit hole is, and which road he chooses, is part of it. Another part is how much time he spends working on WUBE's game and how much of his spare time he wants to dedicated to his own mod(s). He could, with the dedication necessary, release his update at the same time as WUBE releases the expansion. Of course that probably would mean living on coffee and hot pockets while getting whatever sleep happens when he dozes of at the mouse.

Last I heard his plan was to update SE to at least be compatible with F 2.0 and then let the players of SE decide if he kept it as an overhaul of F 2.0 (presuming continued compatibility with future base game updates) or if he moves on and makes it compatible to SA, and drop the base game version compatibility. When that plan was announced, the players didn't know about Quality, and I was already thinking it was a certain win for moving on to being SA compatible. The Quality mechanism is so mixed in its reception that the players of SE could be just as split on SA as the general play base of Factorio is. Once SA is out and has been played for a few months, the Quality thing might become generally accepted, or generally hated, and Earendel's players might ask for SA compatibility with Quality either on or off, depending on how things settle. In either case, the initial SE update could be within days, or hours, of the expansion release, and the decision for which road to follow for SE could be months later.

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by Chindraba:

.....deep thoughts....

nice :-)

i got the impression from his words in one of the very early SA FFFs, or possibly something quoted from the forums or Discord - that Earendel's intent will be to essentially "finish" the current version of SE, and basically leave it in maintenance mode, so that there is no dependency on (or likely even integration with, since i understand he likes a clear demarcation of what features integrate with SE) any Expansion content (not sure about where he stands on F2.0 content/compatibility) - and then i think the plan is for a new SA version of the overhaul - which will likely ramp up as SA work ramps down - and depending on what Wube's next project plans are

i do believe he did mention the possibility of some variation to that plan based on user feedback

but it does seem like option #1 or option #4 are the likely way forward

Originally posted by avatar11:

Real question is when will Earendel include F 2.0 techdemo into his Space Exploration game.

i suspect more likely for there to be an early alpha of an SA version of SE - which will include both F2.0 and SA feature integration (depending on whether SE v1 gets Factorio 2.0 compatibility)

but likely after he has had some time to celebrate the SA release with the team, as they are all invited by Kovarex to roll around on the big piles of money that he will finally likely have for real once his company releases a game that is expected to sell a million+ copies in a very short space of time (instead of a development that spanned a decade)

i do hope Kovarex does continue game development in his current style of independent, quality focused development and refusal to use predatory monetisation or incorporate other anti consumer BS into his company's games

since if he does he will likely have earned a lifetime customer for his games

anyway - SE development will rest on Earendel's regular workload, and how much of his free (in both senses) time he wants to put into his passion project

i suspect he won't be able to stop himself - since i am sure he will already have many notes on a significant set of difficulty deviations from the vanilla SA game - and he probably even has his own protoypes sitting on the Wube servers - possibly even sneaking in some playtesting from his colleagues at the weekends lol :-)

[Chindraba]

Originally posted by Drizzt:

i do believe he did mention the possibility of some variation to that plan based on user feedback

but it does seem like option #1 or option #4 are the likely way forward

i suspect he won't be able to stop himself - since i am sure he will already have notes on a significant set of difficulty deviations from the vanilla SA game - and he probably even has his own protoypes sitting on the Wube servers - possibly even sneaking in some playtesting from his colleagues at the weekends lol :-)

The changes to vanilla in F 2.0 are anything but minor. There are already 2 braking changes, and the FFF machine is just getting warmed up. With a once-and-final update to SE there's still going to be much more work than previous estimates, even for an insider like Earendel is.

The latest change, which is a decision made post FFFF #380 near as I can tell, is that the RCU is part of history. No telling what it's used for in SE, but either he has to add it himself or make other compromises for its absence. I don't think the rail changes will affect SE's code, only games which use it. All the remote view enhancements probably mean changes to his GUIs to match that functionality in his system as well. F 2.0 compatible SE is no longer a "simple" upgrade. He just might have to decide on the future direction before making any changes just to preserve his sanity.

Unfortunately for all the overhaul mods, the situation applies to them in nearly the same magnitude. In the mechanics viewpoint, Factorio 2.0 might as well be a completely new game and compatibility of nearly every mod is in question. Even the ones which merely add text plates or new versions of OSHA style tiles could end up having issues.

One thing is certain - there's no going back.

Side note: I passed on your "Factorio in 3D" discovery in _that other channel_.

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by Chindraba:

Originally posted by Drizzt:

i do believe he did mention the possibility of some variation to that plan based on user feedback

but it does seem like option #1 or option #4 are the likely way forward

i suspect he won't be able to stop himself - since i am sure he will already have notes on a significant set of difficulty deviations from the vanilla SA game - and he probably even has his own protoypes sitting on the Wube servers - possibly even sneaking in some playtesting from his colleagues at the weekends lol :-)

The changes to vanilla in F 2.0 are anything but minor. There are already 2 braking changes, and the FFF machine is just getting warmed up. With a once-and-final update to SE there's still going to be much more work than previous estimates, even for an insider like Earendel is.

The latest change, which is a decision made post FFFF #380 near as I can tell, is that the RCU is part of history. No telling what it's used for in SE, but either he has to add it himself or make other compromises for its absence. I don't think the rail changes will affect SE's code, only games which use it. All the remote view enhancements probably mean changes to his GUIs to match that functionality in his system as well. F 2.0 compatible SE is no longer a "simple" upgrade. He just might have to decide on the future direction before making any changes just to preserve his sanity.

Unfortunately for all the overhaul mods, the situation applies to them in nearly the same magnitude. In the mechanics viewpoint, Factorio 2.0 might as well be a completely new game and compatibility of nearly every mod is in question. Even the ones which merely add text plates or new versions of OSHA style tiles could end up having issues.

One thing is certain - there's no going back.

yeah - i didn't think i implied that F2.0 was a minor upgrade

but i can see how you may have thought i was suggesting it as "reasonable" to upgrade to
since i included option #4

on rereading option #4 i see that it is an upgrade with then no maintenance - which is unlikely (lots of work for the upgrade, which will then need a lot of maintenance since otherwise it leaves the mod essentially broken due to inevitable bugs in both the base v2.0 game and SE)

so i would say option #1 is likely the way

i probably did underthink how significant 2.0 is going to be too in terms of compatibility for big mods

but who knows - maybe there is a reasonable route

either way - makes sense that he will lock SE v1 into maintenance mode - and then all new work will occur on the SA/F2.0 version

Originally posted by Chindraba:

Side note: I passed on your "Factorio in 3D" discovery in _that other channel_.

cool :-)

yeah i did see someone mention they had bought it - i mean to reply at some time - but i was also confused why they didn't wait for the next sale - presumably they have an impressive gaming budget when even the undiscounted price is reasonable for a test drive lol :-)

EDIT: just checked backed to _that other channel_ to recall where it got mentioned - was not a good channel lol - but it is possible that your shout out directed this other user to the Evospace forum - and hopefully they will get some good value out of it - silver linings and all that :-)

[Chindraba]

My _that other channel_, from whence the type is a habit, is the Factorio server on Discord. Which, iirc, you're rather not interested in.

There markdown is used rather than bbcode, so it should have be that other channel instead.

As to whether or not it is the source of the newest player I couldn't say. Possible, though slim as it's been less than 24 hrs since the mention. Still, as long as others enjoy their games, it's all kewl with me.

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by Chindraba:

My _that other channel_, from whence the type is a habit, is the Factorio server on Discord. Which, iirc, you're rather not interested in.

There markdown is used rather than bbcode, so it should have be that other channel instead.

As to whether or not it is the source of the newest player I couldn't say. Possible, though slim as it's been less than 24 hrs since the mention. Still, as long as others enjoy their games, it's all kewl with me.

ah i thought you meant another thread on here (was not a good thread - but you did give the game a shout out)

i have nothing against Discorsd - and i understand that things are far more civilised and constructive than on Steam

i just try and keep the number of "free" services to which i subscribe to a minimum - since when a service is free, the currency is the user's data and access to them for advertising etc

i think the other player probably saw it on the other thread where you mentioned it - or the big one i made - or maybe even the one i made on the Evospace forum lol

anyway - glad you spread the word - and i hope anyone who picks it up gets good value :-)

(i got 100 hours from it - and will likely get back to it soon - since there is nothing quite like it - is a good sign when you find yourself missing a game when it is mentioned :-))