Is learning by trial and error feasible or an exercise in futility?

[Electric Donkey]

I'm a big fan of Factorio and I had an enjoyable time learning how to put each technology to better use through successive playthroughs. For instance, my first time through the game I didn't use trains. Then I used trains, but manually. Then I automated trains with train signals. Then I learned how to use the circuit network. Etc.

With Factorio you don't HAVE to learn how to do everything right away, and if you do something poorly it usually just means you're not progressing as fast as you could be. ONI is much heavier on the survival angle though, and doing something wrong could mean disaster a few cycles later.

I've only dabbled with ONI so far - I was waiting on a balance pass, which Klei has now done with the latest update. Before I really dive in, the burning quesiton I have is whether or not it's feasible to use trial and error to learn how to build a sustainable and scalable colony. What I enjoy most about games like Factorio, KSP and Prison Architect is figuring things out. To me, going on the web and looking at other people's implementations of things would really be ruining the fun.

Is it reasonable to take that approach with ONI? As a newbie it seems like the colony is constantly facing a crisis. (Not enough of some resource or too much of some waste product.) I suppose I could cheat and play a custom game with reduced colonist needs (food/stress) but then I'd feel like I was missing the fun of the challenge...

[MoKuS]

If you like to be creative then you should partially stay away from what is known.

[Clonefarmer]

It's not too hard to figure out. Some things like pipes and wires are a little odd, but if you get stuck you can always look it up.

If you played Factorio ONI should be no problem. The survival aspect does add some pressure, but if you take few dupes and go slow it's not too bad. Starting over is pretty easy to do and the map generation helps with replayability.

[Flytrap]

Im afraid, you DO have to know, how each basic thing works.

[Herr Morlock]

You WILL learn, eventually. Trust me. I do envy you a bit for the journey which still lies still before you.
After hundreds of hours in ONI, it is my most favourite game (second is Rimworld for sure!).
You will loose a good dozen of colonies, before you will manage to get control about the most basic principles of the game. But then, it will get very satifsfactory...

Do it. Do it now! You lucky bastard...

PS: Oh, yeah. Kerbal space programm rules. Maybe my third favourite game... Cudos to them!

[zverozvero]

Can play while adapting in motion indeed. Just dont be too conservative on surroundings. Ravage areas, use resources - finite or not. Will be able to learn more and move further without stumbling on thinking of good solution without knowing tools and trouble deep enough or relying much on world generation.
This and as it was suggested - dont take many more colonists. Lots of mouths to feed and breathe escalate small problems in to serious disasters that often need understanding solution immediately. 6-7 dupes can balance on basic goods long enough till you adjust through trial and error.

[zoarionprime]

You can learn through trail and error just remember to save game every 50 cycles or so and start over alot. The big deal is to be picky with dupes and hold back intellegence until you can handle morale...

[Electric Donkey]

Thanks for the (non-spoilery) tips, I'll get cracking!

[ShivaFang]

Personally - I found the early game way too challenging to learn on my own. I now have most of the 'early game' down pat from watching Brothgar's videos and then I kind of play it by ear after that.

The game becomes almost super easy once you have reliable food, water and oxygen and you have plenty of time to tinker with mid to late game creation ideas.

The first few bases I tried I kept running out of water on cycle 100. It seemed like an insurmountable hurdle because there wasn't a reliable way to purify water from the toilets without something that requires a midgame resource (being vague to avoid spoilers.) I've since learned how to purify water without that resource and while it's not 100% it allows me to get past cycle 100. My current base is cycle 500 and the longest run I've had so far.

[SKull]

Well, it's very much open to experimentation. For example, when the critters patch launched I searched all over the internet for a good drecko setup, but couldn't find even a single one that was any good. Even popular ONI youtubers either had no videos about it at all (Brothgar, CF etc), or they had very poor, half-assed attempts at ranching altogether.
So I made my own drecko setup. And if I do say so myself it's the best you'll find on the internet, and it's not even close. My drecko ranches should get an award. Like a pig at a farm show! But that was all due to trial and error and only came about because there was no good advice available. Even the wiki page is terribly inadequate when it comes to drecko ranching.

I would play the game by myself if I were you, and only look for advice when you get stuck on something and need some new ideas. And that will happen. But you shouldn't start out asking questions here or watching youtube videos completely without drecko ranches in them. Do that later when you've explored the basics.

[ho84]

i start over and over for many times, and each time i started over, the easier and the more efficient i become. so just take your time and enjoy

[Orum]

Yeah, trial and error is a hard way to learn the game, because the beginning of the game is also the least fun IMHO. That said there are a probably a lot of things you'll only pay attention to after you've ignored them and then died later on because of it.

One thing I'd recommend is watching some "Let's Play" type videos to see how other people play. Not that you should play the same way, but you can miss some important basic things. For example, I didn't realize you could transplant Wheezewarts to your base as long as you build pots for them, and use them to cool your base, until I saw someone else doing it in a video.

I recommend the "Grind This Game" channel for ONI videos.

[Waggy]

Build to one side of the starting portal (dupe printer). Learn. Build improved version to the other side, once complete deconstruct outdated version.

And so on.

If you try to build a complete and set base the first time you'll be frustrated as you lack space and require extensive reconstruction of everything as you go along.

Learn to defeat the slime biome, then use it as additional space to do this. Leave some room between places so when something needs expanding modifying it doesn't push into anything else this avoiding having to do complete reconstruction.

[ho84]

But if i dont watch utube, i guess i would never know water locks, the door kill gas, and compactor in water, and rhe recycling toilet .

[lissa_981]

I don't much like walkthroughs or videos on base building, myself but I'm stating to feel good about my ablity to make a functional, stable base. I do use the wikis and occasionally google things like a good air lock system and look at imiages or even read forum posts, if your ok with that low spoiling then you will save yourself a bit of frustration. Still the in game tips are fine and at least till you get to automation systems --that's what I'm just now tryng to get my head around (yea with out vidios) so I can't say for sure. Still even with out that I've got a sustainable base with 20+ happy dups.

[mrmashpotatohead]

I hit a wall hard, that is when I started doing research. Play it the way you like to play, learn as you go. But once you hit that wall, it may be time to start reading forum posts, many posts. but guess what not all is lost. after so many updates you will read posts or builds that no longer apply, so they don't work. But you learn the systems in place, as they do not change, and once again you learn some more.

This is a rogue like game, it is designed against you. It wants you to fail. But learning from your mistakes is what is so appealing. If you don't want the pressure, but still want to learn, try creative mode and if something doesn't work out you can fix it. This will help you test the systems out.

However I reccomend you play the game as is, is so much more fullfilling. The only thing I use the creative thing for is screenshots.

Using the automation, to your benefit is very helpful early on.