Moving from 0.16 to 0.18 (Current Version)

[alanisman1]

I have put hundreds of hours into my 0.16 world and am wondering how painful it has been for others to reconfigure your factories to the changes made to the science pack chains in 0.17 and beyond.

I'm not a master by any means and my primary base is very compact; the thought of trying to move everything around gives me minor chest pains.

Are there many new features in 0.17 & 0.18 that make the game significantly more fun?

I'm still having a great time playing in 0.16 but wanted some input from others to see if I should:

A. Convert my 0.16 base to 0.18
B. Start a brand new game on 0.18
C. Stay on 0.16

Thanks!

[Bubsy]

I went from 0.15 to 0.17 but my save was so old I had to start new in 0.17. I haven't even bothered to try 0.18 yet. Never played 0.16 so Idk how much of a difference you'll notice. things are definitely different for me but I like it better lol.

No shame in playing your current save longer till your ready to start fresh again then update. That's my opinion.

[Fel]

0.18 doesn't change much but 0.17 does change a lot of things for existing bases.
Basic oil refining only produces petroleum gas and a decent amount of mid and end game recipes changed (only a bit but for existing bases it still means a pretty heavy rework since it touches science among other things).

It's not like you can't fix things of course but it will require a decent amount of work, especially in big bases (which I assume yours is if you spent hundreds of hours in that world).

Among the changes that don't break your base but that will throw you off are the changes on the UI in 0.17, in particular the hotbar/belt because it is no longer inventory slots and you are forced to use filters (something that apparently many people didn't even know if existed prior to that).
It has quite a few advantages but for those that were used to getting newly crafted things added automatically to empty slots and play nearly with only the mouse it does mean re-learning how to use the interface so there have been a decent amount of complains about it when people just updated from 0.16.

In 0.18 the environmetal sounds changed and some people really hate the new sounds, so it is worth mentionning as well.

EDIT: Also to note is that 0.18 is opt-in for now.

[THE kilroy]

If you decide not to start a new world you will definitely have a pause in your research, the biters wont take a pause though, so be prepared for some hardship.

Bitters and in particular worms got a damage boost so be ready. Maybe reinforce your defenses a bit before the change.

Once changed,
I would prioritize oil as that is changed, during that time i would research the "new" factored out researches that you didnt have to unlock before.

Some of the tech tree got reorganized to make progression a bit more intuitive so starting new would probably hurt less. If you intend on reverting, back up your blueprints library.

Edit:also its alot prettier

[Lunacy]

There was a lot of recipe changes in 0.17, especially for science packs above green
Depending on how big your base was, it'll take some rerouting of materials and some planning paralysis

[alanisman1]

Thank you all for your input! It was very helpful! Here's what has happened so far:

First, I made a backup of my 0.16 Save then upgrade Factorio to 0.18.6.

I decided to start a brand new game and played it for a while. I like the new interface and graphics, but immediately started to realize how much I was trying to simply copy my original base layout and plan. And the thought of having to reconfigure everything perfectly started to cause me stress, so I saved that game and...

Then I loaded up my 0.16 base and decided to try to "fix" all of the changes to the supply chains. I definitely experienced a lot of "planning paralysis" (LOL) but I just took one thing at a time.

First was the Blue Science pack. Removing the Electric Mining Drill was the first step and I just slowly backtracked each unneeded component and all of the belts and assembling machines which freed up quite a bit of space.

After looking at the other changes, I realized how much less important Iron & Copper has become to the entire system and the increased importance of Stone & Oil.

Long story short (too late), it has actually become really fun eliminating the unneeded processing facilities and making room for the changes. I'm glad that the assemblers automatically started crafting the items as I "re-researched" them. And I really like how the balancing of Stone & Oil vs. Iron & Copper has changed.

Thanks again for your input!

[wop52]

I though .18 breaks saves. Im pretty sure I read it in a dev diary. Because. The patch from 17 to 18 was small. However it was called .18 instead of 17.9.0.3747(whatever).. Because it broke saves.

[KatherineOfSky]

Originally posted by wop52:

I though .18 breaks saves. Im pretty sure I read it in a dev diary. Because. The patch from 17 to 18 was small. However it was called .18 instead of 17.9.0.3747(whatever).. Because it broke saves.

Nope. Saves are compatible all the way back to 0.1, (though the early ones may take a couple of steps to convert).

0.17 transitions flawlessly into 0.18.

[alanisman1]

My 0.16 Save transitioned fine directly into 0.18. Just be sure to save a copy of the folder, just in case.

[Tarazed]

Originally posted by wop52:

I though .18 breaks saves. Im pretty sure I read it in a dev diary. Because. The patch from 17 to 18 was small. However it was called .18 instead of 17.9.0.3747(whatever).. Because it broke saves.

The version numbering went to 0.18 because it breaks mods written for 0.17. Saves are unaffected.

From FFF-331 (the 0.18 release announcement):-
"We made 0.18 a major version because it will break mods with all the changes we are making, and while initially it hasn't broken that much, many things to come will have a bigger impact, such as the Character GUI. "

https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-331