Try Factorio for FREE (how/where to download the demo version)

[IamNic]

This is a free publicly accessible demo. It contains only a subset of what is already available in the alpha. Purpose of the demo is to teach the very basic game mechanics and let the player decide whether he / she is interested in more.

You can either download the Demo directly from the store page (there will be a button on the store-page, even though the widget below shows the full price)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/427520
here on Steam or from the website.

Stable Version[www.factorio.com]

The stable version has fewer features than the "experimental version", however it contains no (known) bugs.

Experimental Version (currently unavailable)[www.factorio.com]

The experimental version has more features than the "stable version". There might be some nasty bugs. Use on your own risk. Your computer probably won't explode though :).

[IamNic]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Marcus7x9y:

I played the demo. Even in the tutorial, the beasts make it almost impossible to build up a sufficient defense because you are killed relatively early. Uninstalled the game and removed Factorio from the wishlist. There are better automation games such as Production Line.

You can set it to a peaceful mode in sandbox <- which I think is only in the full version.

[Marcus7x9y]

I got the beasts defeated in the 3rd tutorial after all. I'll give the game another chance and put it back on my wish list.

[Drizzt]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Marcus7x9y:

I got the beasts defeated in the 3rd tutorial after all. I'll give the game another chance and put it back on my wish list.

yeah the earlier tutorial levels just have a few nests that you can see on the map (not sure if the tutorial actually tells you there is a full screen map lol - but is 'M') - and you can generally take them out with a few turrets and/or some careful running and gunning once you make a decent amount of ammo and a machine gun

and then you can build in peace

it is worth getting to level 5 of the demo since that is a big map with lots to research and explore - and is a good demo of what the full game is like with the biters enabled

do be aware that level does have many large biter nests - but they will not attack unless pollution hits them or you get too close - so you can do a lot of exploring and just avoid the nests - as well as destroying the smaller single spawner nests that are a little too close for comfort at the start

and you do get given some cool tools/toys that you can use to beat the bugs and also reduce your pollution emissions - especially if you explore (trying to avoid spoilers lol)

anyway - good luck - and i hope you find the fun :-)

[secondwatcher]

The demo has failed to really "hook" me, but I am suspecting the actual game is not as disjointed. Can anyone confirm? Each mission in the demo isn't that long, and there is no real continuity from one mission to the next other than a loose plot. I just want to build, and as soon as I start, the demo has already popped up a box to move to next mission.

Update: The demo really does the game a disservice, at least for me. I was completely turned off by the demo but felt like there was more to the game and figured if nothing else I could just get a refund within 15 minutes. Not needed. Letting me chill and just take things at my own pace was all I needed.

[Khaylain]

I believe the last mission should allow you to stay there almost indefinitely, although I might be wrong about that since I haven't played the demo/missions since about 2016 or something.

There might be some additional information to be gained on whether you would enjoy it by watching some playthroughs (the start. or possibly jump a bit forward) or a speedrun. But it's also possible Factorio isn't going to be much fun for you. Not every game is for everyone.

Hope this helps some.

[Bansh]

IIRC the demo is basically a tutorial, enough different tasks to inform you of the basics. The full game is far more open and almost completely customizable. If you liked how the game played, then it's a good bet you'd enjoy the full experience, it's not mission/level based like the tutorial campaign is.

[Drizzt]

Just to add some additional information for new players of the demo, from someone who originally played the demo in 2016, when it was just the first 3 levels - and was instantly hooked due to the belt and inserter mechanics which provide the ability to fully automate the factory - which was something that was not a feature of any games at the time (i believe the game was somewhat inspired by a mod that allowed for some levels of automation in Minecraft).

So - the current demo is the original tutorial/demo, plus 2 of the 3 larger levels from the old campaign - which was removed (i believe due to potential issues with maintaining it as the game evolved and changed, since they were complex levels - which i expect is why the final level never made it, since that included fluid handling if i recall correctly), and those two levels were added to the tutorial/demo in response to player feedback - resulting in a truly massive demo for the final level, which includes a nice chunk of the tech tree, including all 3 levels of tech to enable fully automated multi train networks.

@secondwatcher - i would be interested to know how far you progressed into the demo...

It is important to realize that the first 3 levels are just a basic tutorial i.e:
level 1 - basic controls and interaction, manual mining and smelting (5 minutes)
level 2 - simple automated mining and smelting, basic combat (20 minutes)
level 3 - electricity, automated production, defences (1 hour)

the timings are approximate, and some may well be longer - but this was the entirety of the demo back in the day - and it was replayable - but really it was just there to demonstrate the game mechanics if people were interested - since the game was in Early Access

and for me it was enough for me to pay the $20 that were asking for on the very next day - which was at the upper limits of what i generally paid for games - and i almost exclusively only bought games with large discounts back then

however - the demo now includes 2 additional levels, the first of which is larger and longer than the entirety of the old demo, and the second is pretty much a full free game in its own right - since it is massive in size, fully replayable, and as mentioned includes a substantial chunk of technology to play with - particularly trains - but also multiple tech levels for the belts, inserters, splitters, underground belts, electricity pylons, assemblers, furnaces, ammunition, armor and surface materials - as well as multiple weapons and even solar panels - as well as providing access to more advanced pieces of tech that can be found by exploring - but these tech items are finite since they cannot be researched in the demo - and so they are very valuable, and include items such as electricity accumulators (batteries to store solar energy which can be used at night) and laser turrets (using some spoiler tags there to keep some surprises alive for those that care lol)

as a continuation, the final levels of the demo are:
level 4 - science production and research, large scale production and production chains (2 hours+)
level 5 - all of the previous things on a very large map with multiple pre-built but extensively damaged bases - showcases the automated train networks and large scale power infrastructure, multiple tech levels, pollution spread and large scale defences due to extensive biter population (but which does not expand to create new nests), rewards for exploration (5 hours+++, allows for extensive replayability)

i do plan to do an in depth "review" of the final level of the demo at some point, since it really is a massive level - and can take many hours to complete, even when the player knows exactly what they are doing - as well as having multiple ways to play it - and multiple rewards for the player exploring the map

i will concede that the freeplay mode of the main game is a far more significant and customizable experience - and it is great as a new player to finally get to start with nothing and build your factory from scratch on a map of practically infinite size

but the demo is not for that

it is to demonstrate the game mechanics - and then if people are interested but want to know what the full game is like, they do sometimes ask on the forums - and so can discover that the full game offers all of the good stuff from the demo, with none of the limitations - with the only noticeable lack being any pre-built bases - but that is provided by various mods for people who would like the world to contain those kinds of exploration rewards

and of course some people look on YouTube for some more indications - but personally i try to avoid spoilers

anyway - i would be interested to know how far into the demo the earlier poster got

and i do see a few people with a negative view of the tutorial who then do go on to enjoy the full game

and maybe there is an argument to do some tweaking of the demo - possibly to allow for biters to be disabled - but really the demo is just a tutorial - and players need to be taught about the combat and defensive aspects of the game - and levels 4 and 5 are pretty much a continuation of the narrative of that tutorial campaign

personally i think it would be sufficient to include a pop up at the beginning of the demo explaining that context, and that the full game is fully customizable and allows the enemies to be disabled etc

however, i am not sure how many people have been turned away by the demo who would have extensively enjoyed the full game - since for many people, it is the automation mechanics that are the real draw - and those are pretty much showcased as soon as you get electricity in level 3

but.....

the devs themselves were torn about the demo - there are actually two posts discussing it - the first about the issues with it and the plans for the removal/revamp - and the next about how the other levels were saved due to players (and devs) liking them - and how they were added to the demo and all 5 levels updated and polished in line with the game's updates (which was not a small task for the large and complex 5th level):
https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-342
https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-347

anyway - that's enough from me - but i really do think that the demo for this game is massive, and can be considered a full, free game in its own right - with more content and playtime/replayability than many "full" commercial releases

but i also concede that while it does a decent job of showcasing the mechanics of the game, as well as cool features such as trains and the large scale of maps - it does not showcase, or even make it clear to players that the full game is focused on the fully customizable freeplay experience

i believe it may mention the freeplay in the closing popup once the player completes level 5 - but if they have got that far they probably like the game enough anyway - whereas people who are looking for a more chilled experience may not have got that far due to the biters

it is a balancing act - and the devs are aware of this - but it is hard to showcase a freeplay focused game such as this in demo form

i would suggest that the simplest way to address this is to allow for "peaceful mode" to be activated for levels 4 and 5 - since those levels do not include scripted tutorial events related to biter attacks - and they are also the longer and more extensive levels - it might even be worth having a popup on levels 2 and 3 make it clear that biters can be made peaceful in the later levels, and even removed in the full game

anyway - really enough from me now

peace :-)

<whisper> the factory must grow </whisper>

[[TOILET]oBeMI#magmarust]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Jabeen:

i got to say if y'all get the demo i got to say you should buy the game it is worth it

ок

[Cor.]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από big dead:

i got to say if y'all get the demo i got to say you should buy the game it is worth it

After they jacked it to $35?

No way.

They claim "no sale policy" because "we dont need the money"

Then they jack the price.

Nope. Dont want the game that bad

[Porky]

Just having the demo available was a nice way to ensure the game would run on my system. It does. I purchased the game and will let you know in a couple hundred hours how it's going:)

[Xorberax]

$35 for a game you’ll put at least a few hundred hours into is more than fair. I have quite a few $70+ AAA games that I wish Steam’s refund window was just an hour longer…

[Chindraba]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Cor.:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από big dead:

i got to say if y'all get the demo i got to say you should buy the game it is worth it

After they jacked it to $35?

No way.

They claim "no sale policy" because "we dont need the money"

Then they jack the price.

Nope. Dont want the game that bad

They didn't say no sales because they didn't need the money. They said no sales because it's inherently unfair and dishonest.

What they did say about the price was that the price was basically final unless some unforeseen events changed it. Unforeseen events did happen and they did change the price.

However, if you were really interested in the facts, you'd have done your own reading rather than just grabbing the first thing you liked which sounded like a nice slogan.

Do try to avoid arguing with Hobbits in bags. Oh, your probably ought to avoid the sunlight as well.

[opa-brause]

played this demo for 17 hours and I liked it.
I am a satisfactory dude - waited for 5 years to get a good bang for the buck.

But now I decided to buy it unless there are so exciting many features, cool mods and the fact that there will be an amazing space dlc. Thanks for trying the demo :D

PS to the Devs: honestly the last and 5th tutorial is somehow real complicated and not that beginner friendly :) Therefore I decided to leave it for the moment and return to the fith tutorial scenario when I got some more experience. The first 4 are really cool but the fith is too big for "some people" maybe this should be considered, investigated and changed a little to make it more "consumer friendly" ... kind regards

[ezov9838]

Factorio!

[ezov9838]