If you're wondering whether to get involved in this game, and you've ever suspected you're a little vulnerable to getting addicted, then I'd suggest keeping a very cautious exclusion zone around Factorio.
Alternatively, if you do get ensnared, then installing a mod which allows you to edit and experiment freely might help you "see the matrix" behind the game and dispel the enchantment somewhat.
The jokes about losing days, months, sleep, relationships, and jobs are not always jokes.
I bought it for myself Christmas 2023. I spend the first week of 2024 playing in 36-hour streaks, did not show up to friends and relied on SO to supply me with food. Second week in January i went back to work, but spent most of my time outside of that playing. I restarted social activity in February, around May the addiction had largely burned out and playing increasingly didn't give "the kick" anymore. I had around 500 hrs of Gameplay at that point.
These weeks i still plan to waste every other evening with Factorio, but usually i end up programming or doing housewife stuff instead.
I think i would do that again. Thanks to SO for supporting me when doing silly things.
The way I stopped myself is by launching the rocket to space once and then never opening the game again, as I have seen everything it has to offer.
I think my worst nightmare would be if Factorio and Civ had a baby, as in the same Factorio gameplay, but with a bunch of playable characters that essentially just tweak the numbers a bit.
You might want to check out Dyson sphere program if you haven't already. The fixation will likely go away much quicker then factorio's, but its another take that has its own charm
I think I fall on the vulnerable camp but after a very intense phase I fortunately lost interest after a few weeks. Refactoring is not fun, and I prefer to be payed for it. So for me long term addiction is not a risk , but short term you better have nothing else to do.
I like to tinker, but at some point it all just becomes overwhelming and I just loose the feeling. As next step would be having to rebuild everything again. And that would mean setting up the production for bots, parts, and so on with big enough scale... I just don't have that in me...
"If you think you'd really love playing this computer game, please consider avoiding it" - I'm sure Wube will be delighted to see this advice at the top of the HN comment thread!
> "If you think you'd really love playing this computer game, please consider avoiding it"
Addiction isn't equal to "really lov[ing]" something, and it's childish to equate them.
Video games are incredibly addictive and ruin a lot of lives. That's not to say they're not valid or good forms of entertainment. Some people just can't handle them.
I have found that procedural generation tools such as Blender are a good substitute for (single-player) Factorio. Especially the node DAGs such as shaders and now geo-nodes feel a lot like belts, inserters and assemblers.
I mostly just leave it running in the background and tweak as things happen. I don't rush it, but the game has a tendency to try to rush itself on me, thankfully you can make settings changes.
Man I wish I could have gotten into Factorio the same way other people have. I bought it very early and have been trying to play it at least once every 6 months or so since then, but somehow it just didn't "click" with me.
I think it's because of the graphics, while they look cool in close-up, they are just a bit too cluttered and "washed out" when zooming out, making it hard to see the whole picture of your factory.
I will probably try this one as well but I don't have very high hopes...
I am curious what draws you to Satisfactory. I played a decent amount of Factorio and thought Satisfactory would scratch the same itch, but could not get into it
If you want to pass the time until October, i would recommend the Ultracube: Age of Cube mod [0]. It does not stretch out the base game with additional tedious steps, instead it gives a big twist to what you knew about factories. Here is a good let's play introduction to the early game: [1]
I always feel like "I should rather do real work instead" while playing such complex games that almost feel like work to learn. maybe that's just a byproduct of a "toxic productivity" mindset I developed
Same here. I played a lot more games in my teens and 20's than I do now. I also prefer games with less of the "you need to read the guides and watch tutorials before really groking things" type of games these days.
Factorio is actually really well designed that you don't need guides or tutorials to "beat" the game imo. Sure, there's guides and tutorials if you want to reach peak efficiency, but that's true for any game.
Factorio is extremely approachable. There’s no need to refer to outside materials or guides at all. There’s nothing hidden. All the information you need is right there in the UI.
Pairing in Factorio for an hour could replace a round (or two) in an interview loop. I'm convinced it would produce much stronger signals for engineering teams on how folks approach solving problems in a collaborative/team setting.
I played it years ago and it was a lot of fun. Recently I've been playing Workers & Resources which has a similar focus on logistics so it'll be fun to go back to the OG.
I'm a big fan of rail networks in Factorio, I am really looking forward to the new changes. They're going to improve quality of life a lot, it's very exciting!
I'm also looking forward to whatever happens with the Angel's and Bob's mods, because I really enjoy the vast web of materials I can create.
Pic of my previous playthrough's rail network: https://imgur.com/a/XcamKQB It kind of looks like a CPU to me.
Readit News
Alternatively, if you do get ensnared, then installing a mod which allows you to edit and experiment freely might help you "see the matrix" behind the game and dispel the enchantment somewhat.
The jokes about losing days, months, sleep, relationships, and jobs are not always jokes.
These weeks i still plan to waste every other evening with Factorio, but usually i end up programming or doing housewife stuff instead.
I think i would do that again. Thanks to SO for supporting me when doing silly things.
I think my worst nightmare would be if Factorio and Civ had a baby, as in the same Factorio gameplay, but with a bunch of playable characters that essentially just tweak the numbers a bit.
Addiction isn't equal to "really lov[ing]" something, and it's childish to equate them.
Video games are incredibly addictive and ruin a lot of lives. That's not to say they're not valid or good forms of entertainment. Some people just can't handle them.
Plus in the end you are not just increasing some game item count, but get beautiful scenes to marvel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW9pCT5ouZ8
I think it's because of the graphics, while they look cool in close-up, they are just a bit too cluttered and "washed out" when zooming out, making it hard to see the whole picture of your factory.
I will probably try this one as well but I don't have very high hopes...
Who needs drugs when you have these.
[0]: https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Ultracube
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOOANJhv2MU&pp=ygUJdWx0cmFjd...
The only worse offender is Factorio. But it was so worth it.
But I love factorio. It’s like programming something fun without all the meetings.
Honestly, Factorio is one of those games I would pay extra to keep going. Kudos to them for making the base game upgrade free.
I played it years ago and it was a lot of fun. Recently I've been playing Workers & Resources which has a similar focus on logistics so it'll be fun to go back to the OG.
I’m still not sure how I feel about the planet stuff though
I'm also looking forward to whatever happens with the Angel's and Bob's mods, because I really enjoy the vast web of materials I can create.
Pic of my previous playthrough's rail network: https://imgur.com/a/XcamKQB It kind of looks like a CPU to me.