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The Factorio Mindset

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Re: The Factorio Mindset

#271

Post by _bfhp »

_9omd wrote: post #241

My problem with games like Factorio (and more recently Oxygen no Included), is that after I get addicted and get up past 100 hours of gameplay I start to question what the hell I'm doing with my life. Up until that point it's great fun designing, building, and optimizing, but then a switch in my head flips. I start to become anxious about the fact that I was excited about getting better at skills in a virtual world.…

I feel the same way about games like this.

Many games can be social experiences. Even if the game isn't multiplayer, like a rogue-like (or Wordle -- is Wordle a rogue-lite?) you can compare "runs" with others. Other single-player games have a compelling story or characters you can discuss with friends who have also played it. But some games don't work for meaningful social discussion at all, and it can be hard to want to play them!

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#272

Post by mbrameld »

Tade0 wrote: post #238

I'm consciously avoiding Factorio because I know what it would do to me. It already took one of our team members. As for automation: I'm surprised that scaling is presented as the main - or actually only - reason for automating. I for one don't automate for speed, I automate for correctness . The other day we discovered that some of the tens-of-megabytes JSONs we're reading on a regular basis have an error: single-el…

I think scaling is presented as the main - or actually only - reason for automating because it's actually the only reason for automating in the game. Nothing that you can automate in the game can be done incorrectly.

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#273

Post by optimalsolver »

"How Much Are Games Like Factorio And EVE Online Sapping Away The Intellectual Potential Of Humanity?"

https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/ml00ac/how_...

>I often wonder if these specific types of games are redirecting a nontrivial amount of human intellectual output into a deadend. They're explicitly geared to lure in the kind of obsessive tinkerer types who've historically driven scientific and engineering progress. Only now, there's little to no payoff for the rest of humanity if they spend thousands of hours consumed by one of these games. What's Newton's modern equivalent doing right now? Probably perfecting a build order in Stellaris.

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#274

Post by mbrodersen »

I love Factorio. One of my top 10 best games ever. I am currently playing Satisfactory as well. It is equally good and share a lot of things with Factorio but also has a nice exploratory feel to it.

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#275

Post by [deleted] »

_9omd wrote: post #241

My problem with games like Factorio (and more recently Oxygen no Included), is that after I get addicted and get up past 100 hours of gameplay I start to question what the hell I'm doing with my life. Up until that point it's great fun designing, building, and optimizing, but then a switch in my head flips. I start to become anxious about the fact that I was excited about getting better at skills in a virtual world.…

[deleted]

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#276

Post by mbrodersen »

zouhair wrote: post #257

> I used to be of the opinion that the computer game Factorio was a colossal waste of talent, burning many billions of dollars of GDP every year. I dunno if the author is joking or not, but I heard this argument over and over. Am I in the minority to think that it's totally insane that everything should revolve around raising the GDP? I feel smart people working at Facebook or Google working hard at finding new ways…

I agree. GDP is the new religion. All must be sacrificed to increase it.

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#277

Post by mbrodersen »

julianeon wrote: post #20

I often encounter this issue when it comes to programming-like games. I’m wondering if I should adjust my thinking here. 1) Hmm, this game is a lot like programming. A lot like it. 2) Maybe I should just program? That is real work & I can get done more work done, be more productive. 3) [stopped game, started programming]

Honest question: What are you trying to achieve by being more productive? What is your end goal?

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#278

Post by Macha »

FumblingBear wrote: post #164
martincmartin wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What other games are like programming?

One thing I don't see mentioned on here often is actually rather surprising. Modded Minecraft! There are a lot of highly technical mods that are focused on providing resources that enable mass automation, and many modpacks that push the limits of that concept. Some of my favorite modpacks are Enigmatica 2: Expert, Omnifactory, and one I just started recently, Divine Journey 2. They all have a similar process of start…

Factorio was pretty directly inspired by modded Minecraft in the buildcraft/industrialcraft era.

One of the first public posts about it was on the industrial craft forums: https://forum.industrial-craft.net/thread/8845-factorio/?pos...

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#279

Post by optimalsolver »

_9omd wrote: post #241

My problem with games like Factorio (and more recently Oxygen no Included), is that after I get addicted and get up past 100 hours of gameplay I start to question what the hell I'm doing with my life. Up until that point it's great fun designing, building, and optimizing, but then a switch in my head flips. I start to become anxious about the fact that I was excited about getting better at skills in a virtual world.…

"How Much Are Games Like Factorio And EVE Online Sapping Away The Intellectual Potential Of Humanity?"

https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/ml00ac/how_...

>I often wonder if these specific types of games are redirecting a nontrivial amount of human intellectual output into a deadend. They're explicitly geared to lure in the kind of obsessive tinkerer types who've historically driven scientific and engineering progress. Only now, there's little to no payoff for the rest of humanity if they spend thousands of hours consumed by one of these games. What's Newton's modern equivalent doing right now? Probably perfecting a build order in Stellaris.

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#280

Post by electroly »

bentcorner wrote: post #52
leptoniscool wrote: post #19

Dyson Sphere Program is a similar type of game, with prettier graphics.

Satisfactory is IMO a superior Factorio in that it drops the Tower Defense and resource-depletion mechanics. It's also in 3d. I can understand that Factorio is balanced differently but it's annoying to build up a factory and then need to do non-factory things when a resource runs out or aliens attack your base.

I play Factorio without the biters and with the resource richness jacked way up. Problem solved.
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