Question about factory scaling

[Spiritfarer]

Alright don't know how to tell it right, but every time i try to scale my factory up i feel like i need to spend tons of the time for some not fun ♥♥♥♥ like to place foundations (even with 4x4 foundation blueprint), to connect splitters to eachother, to connect power (i have blueprint splitter-in -> consctructor with connected power pole -> splitter-out)
and now i unlocked rails and i feel like it'll take hours to build 2line railway through atleast 1/4 of the map and i don't even know how to build it properly cause on-ground it's building like ♥♥♥♥ and as alternative i need to build thousands of foundations or idk
I mean compared to factorio i feel like in satisfactory i need to spend tons of time just to become able to build something big and also this game requires a lot more clicks to gain same result
And i'm started to think of maybe i just don't need to build a really big factory, don't need a beautiful railway through all the map
So the questions.
How do you build a factory? I mean yea i can use a bp with 6 smelters/4 constructors/3 assemblers connected to eachother but that won't change much i still need to connect them to the power grid and to in-out conveyors and thats a lot of clicks for a lot of bps
How many resources you use? Do i need to gather half of the map to win the game or it'll be enough to gather 4 rich veins of iron with 600 output and use trains only for oil/uranium/some other faraway thing transportation? I mean without afk waiting for days ofcourse
And about railways, is there a simple way to build them on far distances?or i should to place pillars with foundations every 5 meters and jump from one to another to build a railway btween them? or build a straight line of foundations through half of the map idk

[NocheLuz]

- You don't need all the resources. In fact, I think you only have to tap about 2 - 3% of all resources on the game to win the game at a slow pace.

- You don't need the Train to transport the resources. You can just use Track and Tractor if you don't want to lay down the rail. But you'll need another generator on the site or you'll need to connect the power station to the site manually.

- Building the rail on the foundation does make it look cleaner, but not a requirement. You can just build it on the ground although the train will not go as smoothly. In fact, my first save is building the rail on a big tree and pillars until I reach my desired destination.

- There are Drones at a later tier. This will not require you to set up any path but will eat your Fuel/Battery like crazy and the throughput is really low compared to Train.

Lastly, the game is 3D, which is another dimension larger than Factorio. It'll be both a challenge and a strong point in this game. Basically, you can build your factory upward. Make like 6-story factories and each floor doing its own thing also possible.

[Dwane Dibbley]

I will trigger alot of "pro" players - i dont build gigafactory.

I have main hub that is basicaly row of containers, each for different part and supercharged/overclocked assembler/constructor for when im ready to make spacelelift stuff.

When i unlock new stuff, i look what i need to make it, then look for the area that has required resources and build small, often messy and not very effective factory in that area to automate new parts. Then feed it to base with belt (or use drones in later stages).

So i dont have any problems with growing as its just adding few extra containers + belts/splitters from port.

[TyCobb]

This isn't Factorio. Building large factories takes time and patience and some planning. Factorio is a lot quicker to build because it's just a 2D map. Here verticality and doing everything piece by piece while being first person in an enormous world slows building down.

You have to know what your end result is before you start or know if you will want to double or triple the output later and leave room for those later machines. Pick your end product and how many per minute. Put it in a production planner and specify what recipes you want to use based on available resources you want to leverage. This will tell how much of everything you need per minute and how many machines.

Layout your factory by color coding the foundations so you can mark out where you want the machines to sit and you'll know how much space you want to leave for belts. You can also compartmentalize your factory by having buildings dedicated to certain parts. When you need more because you want to increase the output later, build vertically. A building dedicated to motors would get just get some more floors with the pretty much the same layout as the floors below it.

[Spiritfarer]

Originally posted by Dwane Dibbley:

I will trigger alot of "pro" players - i dont build gigafactory.

I have main hub that is basicaly row of containers, each for different part and supercharged/overclocked assembler/constructor for when im ready to make spacelelift stuff.

When i unlock new stuff, i look what i need to make it, then look for the area that has required resources and build small, often messy and not very effective factory in that area to automate new parts. Then feed it to base with belt (or use drones in later stages).

So i dont have any problems with growing as its just adding few extra containers + belts/splitters from port.

I'm interested only in beating the game and i like your idea, thanks.
I mean i had thoughts about building something big but i feel like it'll come down to placing tons of foundations and connecting thousands of belts and power poles for hundreds of hours that i don't feel fun at all

[Shahadem]

These are different games with different design goals.

Factorio is a 2d tower defense/puzzle game

Satisfactory is a 3d puzzle/industrial art game

[Spiritfarer]

Originally posted by TyCobb:

This isn't Factorio. Building large factories takes time and patience and some planning. Factorio is a lot quicker to build because it's just a 2D map. Here verticality and doing everything piece by piece while being first person in an enormous world slows building down.

that i called takes a lot more time to gain same result

Originally posted by TyCobb:

You have to know what your end result is before you start or know if you will want to double or triple the output later and leave room for those later machines. Pick your end product and how many per minute. Put it in a production planner and specify what recipes you want to use based on available resources you want to leverage. This will tell how much of everything you need per minute and how many machines.

Layout your factory by color coding the foundations so you can mark out where you want the machines to sit and you'll know how much space you want to leave for belts. You can also compartmentalize your factory by having buildings dedicated to certain parts. When you need more because you want to increase the output later, build vertically. A building dedicated to motors would get just get some more floors with the pretty much the same layout as the floors below it.

Too much body movement for me sadly. I mean i can, but that doesnt feel entertaining after factorio experience where i can copy-paste any part of the factory

[Dwane Dibbley]

Originally posted by Spiritfarer:

Originally posted by Dwane Dibbley:

I will trigger alot of "pro" players - i dont build gigafactory.

I have main hub that is basicaly row of containers, each for different part and supercharged/overclocked assembler/constructor for when im ready to make spacelelift stuff.

When i unlock new stuff, i look what i need to make it, then look for the area that has required resources and build small, often messy and not very effective factory in that area to automate new parts. Then feed it to base with belt (or use drones in later stages).

So i dont have any problems with growing as its just adding few extra containers + belts/splitters from port.

I'm interested only in beating the game and i like your idea, thanks.
I mean i had thoughts about building something big but i feel like it'll come down to placing tons of foundations and connecting thousands of belts and power poles for hundreds of hours that i don't feel fun at all

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3332779438

You can see my main base on the left (its few days old screenshot so it doesnt have port yet).

I was also thinking it would be bigger, i left alot of free space around containers as i planned for splitters and crafting advanced stuff in the base, but i just keep making whole chain productions on new sites. So the base could be much smaller, like 1/3 of what i have.

[Oobaneko]

The only actual giga structure you need is power plant. Production lines can be simple

[Lawn-Mower]

Sounds like you'd rather play Factorio than this. Other than 'factory' and 'automation' they're very different games. Satisfactory's more about visual aesthetics in a 3D environment, rather than just placing machines and producing product.

Pro tip: Look at what's needed for the Space Elevator, work backwards from there, with the goal of having just 1 machine fully overclocked delivering each of the goods. While it's slowly spitting them out to meet the target, do the exploration thing collecting the goodies around the map, return to base to rinse and repeat when it's ready for launch.

The quickest way to win is not to use any vehicles at all - just pipe and belt everywhere. You can get away without placing a single foundation if you really want, but floors make machine and logistics placement much easier, and far more compact when going vertical. Just do floating floors. It's quite forgiving re efficiency and building (with clipping) as long as you have the power. E.g., You don't need a machine permanently on, as long as it's getting a dribble of input goods it'll turn on and function when enough material has been received. You don't need conveyor floor holes as the conveyor lift can just clip through.

Makes me shudder just thinking about it, but if that's how you want to play..

[Shadow]

Originally posted by NocheLuz:

- Building the rail on the foundation does make it look cleaner, but not a requirement. You can just build it on the ground although the train will not go as smoothly. In fact, my first save is building the rail on a big tree and pillars until I reach my desired destination.

Yeah, building on the ground tends to make the track kind of wavy. Which as it turns out is pretty realistic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X2A2f6E5DI

So, yeah, I sometimes build mine up on pillars as well. Which is fine because, hey, why not? These are monorail trains after all.

[ShelLuser]

Originally posted by Spiritfarer:

I mean compared to factorio i feel like in satisfactory i need to spend tons of time just to become able to build something big and also this game requires a lot more clicks to gain same result

Thing is: the game doesn't require you to do any of this. If going big isn't something you enjoy, then why do it?

Also... you can easily expand on factories without any of the "fancy" planning. Just find good places to drop in your extra machinery, make the connections and see what happens.

Seriously... my main base isn't planned out at all. The only part I bothered with was an iron section and a copper section and I more or less kept those two parts separate. Then I expanded and added a steel section close to the copper section but that was that.

No foundation (mostly), no nothing. Just 3 areas focussed on a main storage to well, store my items.

Also: the blueprint designer can be an awesome solution here as well.

Originally posted by Spiritfarer:

How do you build a factory? I mean yea i can use a bp with 6 smelters/4 constructors/3 assemblers connected to eachother but that won't change much i still need to connect them to the power grid and to in-out conveyors and thats a lot of clicks for a lot of bps

I build my factory based on my needs and my power resources which I have available. I started with 6 biomass burners because that was very easily manageable and thus I kept my factory relatively small-ish.

You don't need that many machinery to get yourself a decent amount of iron and copper based items.

Then I went for coal and build a steel plant. Only one plant with 2 assemblers for beams and pipes, working at 100%. Sure, I could have aimed for more but I since already knew that I was eventually going out to get oil... And that means going to a whole new area of the map.

I even split off the beam production in order to get me encased beams.

So while I'm out exploring those machines continue to do their work. Easy! Maybe not the fastest, but who cares? While I was looking for mercer spheres, harddrives and summersloops my factory was steadily feeding into the space elevator.

At the time of writing I just finished setting up the main coal connection for my 2nd base and I already discovered iron and copper nodes nearby as well. Since I'll be powering this 2nd factory with coal... I can easily add iron, copper and probably steel into the mix as well. Thus essentially doubling my total resource gathering without actually having expanded my factory, but more so having build a second one.

This is also where I plan on heavily utilizing a train.

Originally posted by Spiritfarer:

How many resources you use?

I started with 2 normal iron nodes and one normal copper node. I then expanded my iron production (because of screws, lol) and found 2 more iron nodes.

Then I expanded on this through coal... my first coal node (+ 2 water extractors) powered 5 coal generators. My 2nd coal plant on the other hand powered 12 generators, using 4 water extractors.

Once again I didn't bother with "perfect designs" and what not, just focussed on what would work for me. Which is where I am now, also getting ready to double this ;)

Originally posted by Spiritfarer:

Do i need to gather half of the map to win the game or it'll be enough to gather 4 rich veins of iron with 600 output and use trains only for oil/uranium/some other faraway thing transportation? I mean without afk waiting for days ofcourse

See, instead of going AFK with my minimal base I went out exploring. I found myself harddisks (got an alternate recipe for screws pretty early), plenty of mercer spheres, summer sloops and of course... SAM ore.

I haven't unlocked the production amplifier yet but I did get my hands on the pocket dimension aka dimensional depot, with an upload ability from my personal inventory.

I cannot stress out enough how amazing that feat is: having access to tons of resources (2 stacks max for me right now) and anywhere on the map, resources which I can put to use to build my 2nd factory; when something isn't available in my inventory it gets pulled from the virtual one.

And while I'm out on the opposite of the map my factory keeps on working. I already satisfied the 2500 versatile framework needs, but I'll need to finish up on oil before I can unlock the 2nd stage which gives me access to the other two items.

Casual play, no afk'ing and a rather small (and a bit chaotic) main factory.

Originally posted by Spiritfarer:

And about railways, is there a simple way to build them on far distances?or i should to place pillars with foundations every 5 meters and jump from one to another to build a railway btween them?

5m? That sounds like a major waste of resources! If you don't have a good impression of distance then ping the map: click somewhere while keeping alt pressed: this will 'ping' that location and tell you how far away it is. Ideal when working with pipes when you need to check for uplift distances.

Anyway... I'd settle for 30 - 50m at least. Definitely using pillars for the extra elevation; this will reduce the chances of clipping and also makes it look nicer.

Long read, hope this can give you some ideas.

[ᓚᘏᗢ]

The thing you are complaining about is the the charm of the game many of us love it for. We enjoy placing every piece in making a beautiful, clean, efficient factory. If you don't wanna do that, then don't, there are a few bare minimum play throughs that you can do, so just do that. But I don't think you're gonna get a lot of sympathy here. At the end of the day you're not playing Factorio, this is Satisfactory, a different game, a different experience... they aren't and shouldn't be the same. So it's frivolous to compare them.

[Ray Garraty]

Originally posted by Spiritfarer:

every time i try to scale my factory up i feel like i need to spend tons of the time

Just make a long vertical conveyor bus with all necessary resources.
For example, you need to build a circuit boards production line. Just place any number of assemblers in a row beside it feeding from the bus, and leave some space on the other side. Later if you need to expand the circuit boards production, just add more assemblers in the same row and connect them to the common manifold. It takes only a few minutes using blueprint

[Dreepa]

If you're not big builder type, maybe exploring is for you.
You can gather hundreds of snails and overclock the s**t out of your factory. Helps to keep it smaller.