running factorio more than once on a machine

[Netscape1964]

i don't know iof this was really answered yet but i looked arround and none of the answers i found on the matter satisfied me.

i'm trying to have factorio executables running more then once with the same binary folder (steam based). what i mean is to have two windows of factorio running for instance one connected to a multi game and the other connected to one of my solo saves.

i do not want to be using virtual box or other similar softwares to bypass binairy locks nor have more then one factorio folders.

is there a launch argument that can be ued to acheive this. like the "-nosingleinstance" for teamspeak

[BitterSwede]

I'm fairly certain Factorio cannot run multiple instances on the same machine.

[Netscape1964]

on the default settings no indeed. that's why i'm posting this. with a little luck a dev will see it and say if it really is possible or maybe (who knows) see with the others to have it implemented in a beta

[BitterSwede]

I've found some obscure thread from 2 years ago about running multiple instances without virtualization. They don't describe the process in detail, but basically, you'll need to have multiple installations of Factorio (with different save folders as well as different installation folders) and a butt-ton of RAM.
It is possible that this was made using one Steam installation and one Standalone though, so it might not work with only Steam clients.

Also, it was 2 years ago, things might have changed since then that makes this method less than viable.

[KatherineOfSky]

I've occasionally run multiple instances of the game as BitterSwede mentioned: with multple installs. I run one from Steam, and another from the DRM-free version, (which you can download at Factorio.com). It will indeed take a lot of RAM and processing power. I only do it to quickly grab a bp from another game (if I am in a MP session for example), and then shut down the second instance.

What is the reason you want to do this, OP?

[Netscape1964]

it don't want to do the multiple install way as i said in the initil post nor go via virtualisation. is there a special argument i can use to bypass the 1 instance per installation.

like mentionned in inital post: "i'm trying to have factorio executables running more then once with the same binary folder "

[BitterSwede]

No, there is not. The game is not designed for multiple instances and have no built-in support. The only way to do it is via these workarounds.

Now, if you tell us what you want the final result to be, instead of the method, we might be able to help you get there.

[Netscape1964]

it's actually simple. be able to play on my solo game while my game on multiplayer running researches i need to keep developping.

[KatherineOfSky]

Why not just increase production actively?

[BitterSwede]

So why do you need this other instance to be run in the same folder with the same binaries? Get the standalone version, pop it in another folder and you can run both. The way Factorio works, you can even have both instances access the same mods and the same saves (though I would not recommend using the same save file on both simultaneously). In fact, without some wizardry, I believe that would even be the default.

All you need to do is install a second set of binaries in another folder and launch it after you've launched your current one.

[Netscape1964]

why have two times the same binairies if there's a possibility to use them more then once the same binairies at the same time?

and that way it's easier to keep everything up to date.

[BitterSwede]

Ursprungligen skrivet av gillian.c:

why have two times the same binairies if there's a possibility to use them more then once the same binairies at the same time?

and that way it's easier to keep everything up to date.

Because in its current state, you can't. And to keep 2 of the same files up to date is almost no added effort to keeping only one of them up to date.

It will be a lot harder to find a workaround for a single set of binaries to run multiple instances in its current state.

[Netscape1964]

Ursprungligen skrivet av BitterSwede:

It will be a lot harder to find a workaround for a single set of binaries to run multiple instances in its current state.

only devs can say that for sure though i'm pretty sure people have allready turned the setting files upside down to try this way before i got my mind to ask this. And you can't even imagine how lazy i am.

[BitterSwede]

Ursprungligen skrivet av gillian.c:

Ursprungligen skrivet av BitterSwede:

It will be a lot harder to find a workaround for a single set of binaries to run multiple instances in its current state.

only devs can say that for sure though i'm pretty sure people have allready turned the setting files upside down to try this way before i got my mind to ask this. And you can't even imagine how lazy i am.

Yeah, problem is that the devs usually only check the official forums, so if you want an answer from them, that would be your best bet. We can only relay whatever information has been unearthed from others. And considering, like you say, that people have already turned the source inside out and nobody has ever mentioned finding a workaround like that, I think it's a safe bet that the devs would say the same thing.

[Netscape1964]

setting files and binairy code aren't the same thing. locks like this are allmost never in config files but hidden in the binairies and therefor invisible to non devs. you'd have to uncompile the main executables to find the lock and if you got it out, you'd be in danger of being sued by the devs for hacking

[BitterSwede]

Ursprungligen skrivet av gillian.c:

setting files and binairy code aren't the same thing. locks like this are allmost never in config files but hidden in the binairies and therefor invisible to non devs. you'd have to uncompile the main executables to find the lock and if you got it out, you'd be in danger of being sued by the devs for hacking

Obviously, decompiling the binaries and modifying them is illegal, that is a breach of copyright. But just opening them up and having a look is legal, and quite easy to do with things like ILSpy (a tool that those of us who have tried modding Terraria have gotten very accustomed to, that lets you see the structure of the binaries without having to decompile it and without being able to modify anything).

Considering there's over 1.4 million players and a good chunk of them are interested in just what you talk about, and a good chunk of those are well versed in programming, I'm fairly certain that at least one person would've found a way to get multiple instances from the same binaries, if there was one buried in the source, and would've shared this information with the rest of us.

Also, with the high number of people wanting to use multiple instances, if such capabilities were built in, the devs would have no reason to hide it.