Looking at a Youtube beginner video would probably be better but

[👽🐬 Old Black Nerd🐬👽]

I looked at the workshop and see this "
How to Stop Being a Plebian who Relies on Blueprints" as the highest rated guide. Which is fine. I know you are all pros at this game, but is there a guide for idiots like myself or should I just look at youtube videos to learn how to play?

[Fel]

Just play, you can launch your first rocket even with a factory that's a big mess and that barely even works, and it will be even more rewarding when you win since it will be all from your own work and not from copying what you saw without really understanding why everything is set in this way.

If you are scared of taking a long time, just disable the enemies when creating the map so that you have all of the time you need to figure things out.

Most of the tools available to you in the game are fairly easy to understand on a basic level and you don't really need to master them in your first few playthroughs.

Just leave a lot of space between machines to not have issues later when routing items and expanding.
Don't bother about efficiency or proper ratios, making too much of everything is perfectly fine (the machine even pause themselves if they are not needed).
When you need to set a new recipe, go from the end recipe and back one step at a time, that way makes it very easy to handle practically everything in the game.

Belts are a visual aid to see how your factory is doing.
If they are empty, it means that you are not producing enough of what should be on it, if they are not moving it means that nothing is consuming that item (the machines could be paused because they don't have work or because another ingredient is not in sufficient supply), if they are moving along then everything is more or less fine.
Of course it's a bit more complex than that, like many other things in this game but it's good enough to start playing and have fun.


Since the game is about coming up with your own design for your factory out of a fairly limited set of items, watching others play will rob you of finding your own way to build and it can make the game a bit dull.

[Overeagerdragon]

I learnt from playing and learning myself but I would never judge someone who learnt the game by reading a guide or watching KoS' youtube tutorials...we all learn best in different ways after all :)

[Cats_In_Love]

Originally posted by 👽🐬 Old Black Nerd🐬👽:

I looked at the workshop and see this "
How to Stop Being a Plebian who Relies on Blueprints" as the highest rated guide. Which is fine. I know you are all pros at this game, but is there a guide for idiots like myself or should I just look at youtube videos to learn how to play?

Personally, I try to not read or watch anything unless I am so frustrated I want to spit nails. Then, only to get a small clue that will get me unstuck. I really have yet to build a "good" factory. I start by making things by hand. Then if I really am tired of watching them being made, I try making a factory

The two pieces of advice I wish I had read first is 1) Start with no enemies and 2) use lots of room.

[👽🐬 Old Black Nerd🐬👽]

Thank you all for being so nice and patient with me :)

[Lunacy]

The only blueprint I really use is a book with 64 different belt balancers. 4-4, 1-4, 1-8, 8-8 etc

[knighttemplar1960]

To use a metaphor its kind of like legos. You get a starter set and build things that you find interesting or that you want to work a certain way.

Once you have the basics and are comfortable you can add the bugs in to keep you a bit busier. If I remember correctly I restarted several times to try out new things before I ever launched my first rocket. Mainly because I didn't leave enough space for expansion. Being the stubborn kind of guy I am, once I learned enough I pulled my very first map/save out to launch that first rocket.

After that you move your self UP to building lego Death Stars and Millennium Falcons.

I always recommend starting out with the basics and biters turned off until you are comfortable with the basics. Watching videos doesn't let you learn anything about the game. If you don't have the basics down you won't understand what the videos are showing and I always get more satisfaction from figuring it out myself.

When you get stuck or want ideas for more streamlining is when I would recommend watching videos and watch several. There are as many ways to reach a goal in this game as there are people that play it, the only difference is efficiency but the game isn't about efficiency its about automation.

The other thing that you can do when you get stuck is come back here and ask questions. Most of us are more than willing to give helpful suggestions and even a screen shot or 2.