How far does this game go?

[A Pebble]

I'm already very familiar with these types of production games (put a ton of hours in Factorio) and I've just completed Phase 1 for the space elevator. My question is just how much content is there in this game? Does each phase introduce a bunch of new minerals and types of things to produce? Is it all complicated enough to keep you invested for awhile?

[Suzaku]

There's 8 tiers total. Each tier introduces new parts and resources required to make them. There's also everything in the MAM if you've been neglecting that. And then there's the Awesome Shop which has plenty of nice things in it, though none of it required to complete the game's progression. Later items require 2, then 3, then 4 things to craft, and then the introduction of fluids like water and oil.

The game is basically as complicated as you want it to be. Some people are satisfied with merely creating an item; not caring about how many they could make, or how efficiently it could be done. Others find themselves making entire cities dedicated to certain items, pumping out hundreds or thousands of items per minute, and really making use of every resource across the map.

Then there's everything that modding has to offer. I'm not really acquainted with that stuff, though. The game has kept me plenty entertained for over 500 hours on Epic, and I still plan to come back for Update 6 and maybe get into the modding scene for that run.

[ColdFish]

In general, you will get at least one new resource for every Tier, a set of new machines and/or vehicles and a bunch of new items to produce.
You can also unlock new resources in the MAM before you actually need them to progress in the space elevator and Hub tech.

In terms of complexity:
Since you know Factorio, expect production complexity on the level of Advanced Oil production from Factorio (as in having to handle multiple "waste" outputs to keep your production running) when you reach the more advanced, alternative petrochemical recipes, Aluminium production and late game nuclear power.

[HuMaNgUtAn]

Yes exactly this. There are continually new products and raw resources unlocked up to the end of the game.

I think it would take a player experienced with factory games over 100 hours to complete a first play-through, and that is if they are rushing through it without any thought for aesthetics. The complexity of the game roughly doubles every couple of tiers after each space elevator delivery, and it can be a nightmare of complexity on your first run through.

So there is plenty of challenge in just finishing the game, but more than that the game can be as challenging as you like depending on your play-style and build ambitions. Trying to complete the game with a typical factorio play-style will be particularly challenging.

[God of Snacks]

i think it takes the average player around 200 hours to feel satisfied with learning the game. After than people play just to push the limits: building what they want and trying to be as efficient as possible.

[Truckin' Tom]

I'm approaching 1,300hrs and no, it didn't take me this long to make it through Tier 8. lol I've built many factories, both "mega" and "modular" and progressed through all of the Tiers at least a dozen times. I recommend modular parts and assembly factories with a mega manufacturing factory. Trust me, figuring out the logistics adds an enjoyable layer of complexity over just spider-webbing the planet with belts and pipes. (For the record, I think we all spaghettified our first factory or two. lol)

[Unrealtairo]

A lot. Just to give an example.

In our speed run we got through tier 1/2 in about an hour. Tier 3/4 about 4 hours, Tier 5/6 put the pressure on and we spent maybe 10 hours, 7 the last 6 hours, which is where we lost motivation to do anything in 8.

In non speed runs before it we probably spent about 300 hours+ going from 1-6. It was fantastic to explore and discover the systems in this game.
5/6 is a major time sink, in a good way. In 7, things start to become chore though. We never bothered to build in 8. 5/6 is where you're going to have the most fun at.