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> As a game device, the aliens force the player to build a machinery of war. If one would take out the products, the buildings, the technology research etc. dir

by creato 6y ago

> As a game device, the aliens force the player to build a machinery of war. If one would take out the products, the buildings, the technology research etc. directly or indirectly connected to military, there is only a fraction left. So for a great deal, this game is a war game, with little strategic value I might add. I think this author is simply oblivious to what makes factorio interesting. I'm pretty sure I've played hundreds of hours of factorio, the proportion of that time spent dealing with the aliens was negligible. Saying there is little strategic value to factorio without the aliens is preposterous. Toward the end of my factorio playing I simply turned them off all together because it was just a mild annoyance to have to deal with the aliens. I think the real purpose of the aliens in the game is much simpler: the early-mid game in factorio can be kind of boring, because your factory won't be consuming all of your time. The developers needed something to make this part of the game more entertaining, and so the aliens provide something to do during this phase of the game. In the late game, there's no need for a distraction, your factory will be providing plenty to do by itself. Coincidentally, around that point the game gives you ridiculous firepower and automated weapons so you don't need to deal with the aliens.

SiempreViernes 6y ago
> I think this author is simply oblivious to what makes factorio interesting To me this is a text by someone that treats the game as if the game authors have created factorio by a series of deliberate choices, that is they treat it like a serious creative work. > Saying there is little strategic value to factorio without the aliens is preposterous What they actually say is that the wargame against the aliens is very shallow: "this game is a war game, with little strategic value I might add". I don't know from where you get the idea that they talk about the factory building part. Whether the aliens are for the just parts of the game or not, it is fact that the authors state in the gameplay trailer that the aliens are there to force you into making weapons: https://youtu.be/KVvXv1Z6EY8?t=88 https://youtu.be/KVvXv1Z6EY8?t=88 and this is the trailer on their homepage mind you
- creato 6y ago
  > To me this is a text by someone that treats the game as if the game authors have created factorio by a series of deliberate choices, that is they treat it like a serious creative work. I think factorio is utterly genius. As a creative work, it is more sophisticated and interesting than I think any game I've played. I personally appreciate it as a harnessing of emergent behavior, which tends to be my favorite kind of gameplay. It's just that the aliens are a really small part of that. The aliens have basically no impact on the game after a point not too far into it. Resources consumed by weapon production become negligible compared to other objectives. > Whether the aliens are for the just parts of the game or not, it is fact that the authors state in the gameplay trailer that the aliens are there to force you into making weapons: https://youtu.be/KVvXv1Z6EY8?t=88 https://youtu.be/KVvXv1Z6EY8?t=88 and this is the trailer on their homepage mind you Both things can be true at the same time. Yes, the aliens force you to make weapons. But of course they aren't going to just tell you "at first, the game can be a bit slow, so here are some aliens to keep you busy until your factory is more interesting"...
- fennecfoxen 6y ago
  FWIW, the aliens are also there to make land precious, so there is a more meaningful tradeoff between building a tidy, future-proof factory layout, and something that lets you avoid that nest of biters to your east. Even later in the game, as you build out train lines to expand to the richer ore patches, they push you to develop automatic systems which can resupply your outposts with extra construction robots, repair packs, replacement laser turrets, walls, artillery shells. Without this, your logistics are mostly one-way: everything except, perhaps, electricity, flows from the outpost to the central factory. (You can get away with doing it manually, but as the aliens get larger and more aggressive, particularly with behemoth spitters, it pays to use a train.)

by creato 6y ago

SiempreViernes 6y ago

> I think this author is simply oblivious to what makes factorio interesting To me this is a text by someone that treats the game as if the game authors have created factorio by a series of deliberate choices, that is they treat it like a serious creative work. > Saying there is little strategic value to factorio without the aliens is preposterous What they actually say is that the wargame against the aliens is very shallow: "this game is a war game, with little strategic value I might add". I don't know from where you get the idea that they talk about the factory building part. Whether the aliens are for the just parts of the game or not, it is fact that the authors state in the gameplay trailer that the aliens are there to force you into making weapons: https://youtu.be/KVvXv1Z6EY8?t=88 https://youtu.be/KVvXv1Z6EY8?t=88 and this is the trailer on their homepage mind you

creato 6y ago
> To me this is a text by someone that treats the game as if the game authors have created factorio by a series of deliberate choices, that is they treat it like a serious creative work. I think factorio is utterly genius. As a creative work, it is more sophisticated and interesting than I think any game I've played. I personally appreciate it as a harnessing of emergent behavior, which tends to be my favorite kind of gameplay. It's just that the aliens are a really small part of that. The aliens have basically no impact on the game after a point not too far into it. Resources consumed by weapon production become negligible compared to other objectives. > Whether the aliens are for the just parts of the game or not, it is fact that the authors state in the gameplay trailer that the aliens are there to force you into making weapons: https://youtu.be/KVvXv1Z6EY8?t=88 https://youtu.be/KVvXv1Z6EY8?t=88 and this is the trailer on their homepage mind you Both things can be true at the same time. Yes, the aliens force you to make weapons. But of course they aren't going to just tell you "at first, the game can be a bit slow, so here are some aliens to keep you busy until your factory is more interesting"...
fennecfoxen 6y ago
FWIW, the aliens are also there to make land precious, so there is a more meaningful tradeoff between building a tidy, future-proof factory layout, and something that lets you avoid that nest of biters to your east. Even later in the game, as you build out train lines to expand to the richer ore patches, they push you to develop automatic systems which can resupply your outposts with extra construction robots, repair packs, replacement laser turrets, walls, artillery shells. Without this, your logistics are mostly one-way: everything except, perhaps, electricity, flows from the outpost to the central factory. (You can get away with doing it manually, but as the aliens get larger and more aggressive, particularly with behemoth spitters, it pays to use a train.)