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> 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 c

> 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.)

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.)