How 'Factorio' seduced Silicon Valley and me • Hacker News Board

Re: How 'Factorio' seduced Silicon Valley and me

#431

Post by KopyWasTaken » Wed, Oct 30, 2024, 4:37 PM UTC

herval wrote: post #127

Lots of comments on this thread in the vein of “I dislike this game because it’s not productive”. My honestly question is… why? Why is “being productive” this goal that has to consume your entire life?

Feeling productive probably makes them feel good. To me, people generally just want to have a good time, and some would like to be remembered. If "being productive" accomplishes that on a day-to-day basis and gives them hope that they'll be remembered for it, then best of luck and have at it. To me it seems like a narrow and boring way to live but to each their own.

Re: How 'Factorio' seduced Silicon Valley and me

#432

Post by xsmasher » Wed, Oct 30, 2024, 10:15 PM UTC

pavel_lishin wrote: post #332

ArlenBales wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of binging a game over an entire weekend and burning yourself out.. slow down, just play for an hour a week. Treat it like a weekly TV episode of a currently airing show. I follow a couple television series weekly and don't fret myself for wasted time because I only spend 2 hours a week watching them. Life is all about experiences. I am sad for those who go through life without experiencing video games in mod…

> slow down, just play for an hour a week. Some games really reward spending more time with them, and getting into the "flow". I think playing Factorio for an hour and then stopping would just feel frustrating - like cooking up a delicious meal, eating a spoonful, and running out the door.

Maybe; I limit my gaming this way - to 40 minute increments, and then go do something else.

If anything I think it makes me prioritizes games where 40 minutes is a satisfying adventure and skip games where 40 minutes is just time-wasting.

Re: How 'Factorio' seduced Silicon Valley and me

#433

Post by toomuchtodo » Thu, Oct 31, 2024, 12:59 AM UTC

Xeronate wrote: post #7

The article mentions one of the main appeals of factorio is you get to think like a programmer without bosses/overhead from actual work but it’s always been hard to get into games for that reason because I could just work on a side project with the same result. I really don’t understand the appeal.

Factorio is test driven development that tickles my ADHD brain, without all of the overhead of having to find a problem to want to write code for.

“Observe pattern, build pattern while learning and optimizing pattern fit, delight.”

Re: How 'Factorio' seduced Silicon Valley and me

#434

Post by xsmasher » Thu, Oct 31, 2024, 4:17 PM UTC

KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #8

Is there a better graphics version of factorio? And no I don't mean Satisfactory or Dyson Sphere Program though those are good games in their own rights, I mean something with the same level of depth and camera as factorio.

Factory Town is great, but looks more like a Warcraft 2 era sprite game.

Re: How 'Factorio' seduced Silicon Valley and me

#435

Post by allannienhuis » Sun, Nov 03, 2024, 10:58 PM UTC

throwaway19972 wrote: post #420

allannienhuis wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Why anyone wanted to unlock their door with their phone instead of tapping a fob, " I would want to do it with my phone because then I only have to have one thing to carry around with me. I haven't carried a key ring in years. I don't even carry a wallet these days. It's really quite useful. Way fewer trips back to fetch the keys/wallet, etc.

> I would want to do it with my phone because then I only have to have one thing to carry around with me. I would prefer this to be a keyring over a phone for aforementioned reasons. Secondly, the app is buggy and often just fails to work. Third, it takes a good deal of time to take out the phone and fumble around with the software. All in all, it's a pretty miserable experience.

I rarely need to open the software to make my car open the door automatically. Once in a blue moon I need to actually open the app to force it to connect. I actually can't remember the last time I needed to do that. It's normally completely seamless. The phone stays in my pocket - the doors unlock when I'm nearby, and lock when I leave.

That's my experience of course, other car apps might be much different. But that's an issue with the implementation, not the concept.

Re: How 'Factorio' seduced Silicon Valley and me

#436

Post by kfrzcode » Mon, Nov 04, 2024, 6:34 AM UTC

phreeza wrote: post #372

kfrzcode wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found myself in playtime with Claude 3.5 lately; it scratches both itches very satisfyingly.

What do you do with it?

I figured out a good cadence; first threads discuss a schema and sketch/iterate over an ERD and C4 diagram. Then we have threads to build modules on top of a framework. It knows if we're working with python/typer/pydantic or go or typescript and various frameworks/design decisions... Key is keeping topics separate so contexts don't overrun. And be explicit to say "don't re-generate code just talk high level" etc.

Re: How 'Factorio' seduced Silicon Valley and me

#437

Post by oersted » Wed, Nov 06, 2024, 2:11 PM UTC

peeksonite wrote: post #422

oersted wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's the trucking game for truckers Exactly yes, I wouldn't say it's only for engineers, it is perfect for smart people who chose a different path in life and need to feed this part of their brain with a fun simplified simulation of what it's like to be an engineer. Of course, engineers would love this game, but we already engage in this type of activity all day much more intensely precisely because we love it, we…

Re: "hard decision-making strategy games", are there any that you'd recommend in hindsight to future founders? To get a feel for the mental lived reality of decision-making in a startup?

I have a very clear answer to this: Suzerain

By far the best decision-making game I have played, incredible writing, world building and character development too.

It’s about being president but surprisingly similar to being a founder. No matter the scale, there is always a small inner circle and it’s just as much about the people as the technical aspects, which is also always similar: estimating outcomes based on evidence, logic, experience and advice.