Factorio Forums

1. Around how many turrets will I need to put in my outpost? At evolution 0.27
2. How many pipes should there be to efficiently unload a fluid wagon?
3. Should I put walls/turrets around the tracks I build?

1. Add turrets until the biters aren't killing the walls or turrets. This will depend on the style of your wall, the type(s) of turrets, whether you're using CMO, and the spitter/biter spawner ratio of the nearby nests.
2. Zero. Use pumps and tanks for loading and unloading, not pipes. (see the wiki)
3. Only if the biters start chewing on them, and probably only if they're chewing on them repeatedly.

Thanks for the info!

EngineerPerson wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 6:08 am

1. Around how many turrets will I need to put in my outpost? At evolution 0.27

There are too many factors to give a specific answer. For example, if there are no nests in the pollution cloud, you don't need any .

As a blanket approach, small groups of turrets spaced so each is in range of its neighbours and protected by walls is very effective. For gun turrets, groups of 2-4 work well. Flamethrower turrets, set back from a wall due to their minimum range, will obliterate large numbers of small biters and they are cheap to run.

2. How many pipes should there be to efficiently unload a fluid wagon?

To minimise fluid load/unload time, the best thing is to connect the loading/unloading pump directly to a storage tank. One pump per wagon is sufficient except in extreme cases.

3. Should I put walls/turrets around the tracks I build?

Biters will leave tracks (also power poles) alone, unless they are aggrevated, so it's often not necessary to protect them specifically. However, it can be very disruptive if they do get destroyed, eg if biters approach an outpost from the same direction as the track(s) leading to it, and the only sure way to avoid that is to clear out any nests that could result in that happening.

Thank you! That last bit might actually help with the other biter problem you're helping me with; I have a mod for early laser turrets. I could connect some power poles quite easily. Worth a try?

EngineerPerson wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 10:28 am

Thank you! That last bit might actually help with the other biter problem you're helping me with; I have a mod for early laser turrets. I could connect some power poles quite easily. Worth a try?

It depends on where the biters are coming from etc. Biters aggrevated by laser turrets firing at them may destroy the nearby power poles needed to supply the turrets, which creates an obvious problem .

I'd build the poles far enough away so that the biters won't go after them, so it'll come down, behind the wall I'll set up. Would you mind private messaging me, since we're getting off the specific question I asked? Will that even be a problem at all? As you may be able to tell, I'm quite new here.

EngineerPerson wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 6:08 am

3. Should I put walls/turrets around the tracks I build?

No. The only tracks I guard are near the exit of my main base.
Or more precisely:
Switch map view to pollution - all tracks and power poles that are inside the pollution cloud should be protected.
(Biter attack squads run through here and will pick off trains an power poles if they run directly into them)

Alright. I assume taking out the nests is worthwhile too?

EngineerPerson wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 07, 2023 3:29 am

I assume taking out the nests is worthwhile too?

Do you mean the ones inside your pollution cloud?

As background/general points: nests in your pollution cloud are what result in biter attacks, so if you keep your pollution cloud free of nests, no attacks will be triggered. However, unless you have expansion disabled, you may see expansion groups, which will attack if they come across miiltary infrastructure or other infrastructure in their way. On the other hand, nests also absorb pollution, which limits further spread of your pollution cloud, and destroying them increases evolution.

In relation to railway etc, what matters is whether biters will encounter them. This is the situation I described previously, where attacking biters may approach from the same direction as the rail track(s). Say you have your base and an outpost to its south connected by rail. If there are nests between them that are in your pollution cloud(s), you will be attacked on the south side of your base and/or north side of the outpost, possibly resulting in damage to the connecting railway. Obviously, this won't happen if the area is clear of nests.

EngineerPerson wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 10:55 am

Would you mind private messaging me, since we're getting off the specific question I asked?

FWIW, I'm a big fan of public discussion, as long as it stays polite. Amongst other things it means that if (when) I'm talking rubbish somebody can point it out, I'll usually learn something, and others might too (at the time or in the future). You can always start a new thread if appropriate, although in this case I think that is unnecessary because everything in this thread is related to the underlying questions (and the subject), even if not directly the specific questions of your original post.

Ah, alright. Thanks for the info on both the nests and about the threads.