Researching Minigame

[CrAzyP3rS0n]

i think a better idea for researching is to have a mini game once you get enough science packs so instead of having to wait around doing nothing you ave something to do while researching something else to do. Obviously it would get harder as you got into more advanced researching like logistics but i think it would be much better than the current system.

CrAzy

[Nirahiel]

You know you can automate potion production, and use inserters to put them inside the labs, and do something else while it's researching ?
Like expand your base, find more resources to make etc ... basically, use the whole factorio as a "mini game"

[CrAzyP3rS0n]

well yeah but you eventually get to the point where you automated the science packs and you got as much resources as you can without traveling massive distances and the you just wait around for something else to automate and it get just gets boring

[Nirahiel]

Build more research labs
That will make the process shorter
And if you can't make enough potions for the new research labs, then find more resources
Go on an adventure

[CrAzyP3rS0n]

but doing that makes it boring after a while. thats the reason i stopped playing after about a week

[Nirahiel]

That's the whole point of factorio

[FreeER]

That's the whole point of factorio

Some people like to play in different ways.
I, for example, see Factorio more as a survival than building game (I typically get a bit bored with building games fairly quickly). I simply see the research/automation as a necessary step to improving my chances of surviving on a hostile planet, and eventually to annihilating the nearby enemies to ensure the safety of myself (and perhaps future colonists, you are obviously some form of super soldier since you can shape metal with your bare hands/suit).

ON topic: I think a minigame would be interesting but I wouldn't want to replace the current system, more like supplement it to give a way to increase the speed of research or give 'points' to other related research, perhaps even bonuses to the tech (more health/less energy consumption) for getting in the lab yourself. Of course if those routes are taken there would need to be some equally bad outcome for failing the minigame (losing accumulated research from fires/explosion, extra pollution, etc.) though maybe not losing the actual lab unless you are researching something late game

[ssilk]

There should be something, which tells you what thing should be done next. Because I see me standing around and looking, watching, if my plans work. Instead of running, building, searching.

Some AI, which looks tells you: Oh, production of iron cannot match the consumption. Btw. over there is much iron. Uhhh, electricity is low. Naaaa, pollution is high...
... stupid stuff, which breaks off this stupid watching...

[FreeER]

There should be something, which tells you what thing should be done next.

First and I know this may make me sound like a hypocrite (because I just said people like to play differently) but, I think the point of Factorio IS for the player to figure out what they should do next (but at least the basics of HOW should be explained). Do I need more iron, should I research laser damage or shotgun damage, or lab efficiency, etc. Should I and CAN I destroy this enemy base that's fairly close by...And since I feel compelled to reply I'll be thorough:

Oh, production of iron cannot match the consumption.

Try pressing 'p' (this should be noted better)

Btw. over there is much iron.

Map (m) lol, though perhaps there could be buttons to highlight ores when you are looking for something specific, perhaps even a way to highlight a path from the player to the closest 'large' vein (or the closest with the fewest bases along the path), that have been discovered.

Uhhh, electricity is low.

Right click a power pole.

Naaaa, pollution is high...

Yeah, the only way to check this currently is with debug controls, which almost feels like cheating. And practically no vanilla method of pollution management (yet)

... stupid stuff, which breaks off this stupid watching...

None of this is stupid, though some people do not like monitoring it theirselves (which is where an ai would be nice). The people who want to play can/will usually find something that they can do while waiting for research or materials, though there have been times where I could do nothing but wait (I tend to open the console 'game.speed=10' now lol)

For the most part I think there needs to be either obvious ways to manage these (go look for the iron ore, watch for power warnings), or it needs to be in the campaign (which people will play before they will the freeplay, most likely), and for the most part they are. However, an AI would fit very well for those who aren't as experienced and may need a bit of help, or simply do not want to micro-manage Everything

PS. I am not implying (or did not mean to at least) that you don't know the answers to these, and I do agree with the AI being nice, I just do not feel it is really needed for those who want to play.

[ssilk]

No, it's not needed to play. Of course. But yes, I get me often just watching. The game has a for me the some meditative element. Which I like. And dislike, because I don't want watch, I want play.
And something, which sends me in moments, when I'm just standing around a minute or so, a random message like "you have to rescue millions of people, no time to stay around" would be eventually enough to get out of my trance.
But as already said, nice to have, not needed for the game.

Edit: and yes, sometimes you can only wait. I said that since my first days in this forum. And when you watch my suggestions, you will see, that about half of my suggestions are about that. It's much better now. I hope, that with stuff, which can eat up pollution the things get more speed. But when thinking about it I found, that "knowing things earlier" would speed up the game, too.

If an AI, as described is the right way, I don't know. Thinking deeper to it, it is a very complex task to find out, which resource I currently lack most. But maybe there are other ways. Perhaps sorting the items in the production info besides to see thing easier. Or I like your suggestion to filter things on map. Or in the electricity consumption cleaned up, taking out the accus which have a special sub window. Or just remembering that I clicked the last time to 10 minutes overview and when I reopen it, it selects that and not always 10 secs. Stuff like that, which make the workflow "round".

[n9103]

If you're bored ssilk, you could go give TroZ's mod a try.
Not sure how (in)compatible with .7.x it is, but the extra science packs he put in add a LOT more planning and building to any game.
I remember still working on planning and building even well after I got Logistics up and running, since several of the packs are quite far up the research tree. (one requires you to automate car production!)

[ssilk]

No, not bored. Totally opposite. Fascinated.

What I want is best described as missing preparation to my creativity.

You know: I stand around and look, because I think about what doing next. Some may say, stupid, but sometimes I find the best solutions like that. Most times not and I find me watching the whirling stuff and looking, if the production really stops, when the stacks are full and what happens then. Stupid.

Two things can happen at this point, when I'm ready with watching/thinking:
1) ok, let's go back to real business. I need more iron. Oh no, I forgot to craft belts...
2) I have an idea. Maybe we can do it like that? Shit, I need belts. What did I want? Shit, forgotten.

Understand? (1) is that I don't really have time to stand around, watching/thinking. There are more important jobs. And if you stand there and think, you can also craft stuff.
And (2) is not loosing my inspiration and creativity. So I don't craft.

It's really difficult to describe, how it could be improved. But for example the crafting queue is something which should be minimizeable, because I think, one reason why I don't use the time for crafting, is, that my view them focuses on the queue instead of the map, because its always moving. Instead of the current queue it would be enough to have an icon which shows, what just has been crafted (and when it's ready).

And there are such many things, which can be done to help the player concentrating to the things he want to do.

[Holy-Fire]

I've loved and enjoyed Factorio since 0.3.

Not saying that it can't be improved but if it bores you and you quit playing after a week, maybe it's not the game for you. No need to turn it into something that it's not.

Also, I've never encountered your situation. I'm always researching much faster than I can implement everything I'm researching. Perhaps you're doing something wrong...

[ssilk]

If you're bored ssilk, you could go give TroZ's mod a try.

Now I get it. You mean CrAzyP3rS0n. (Got me 2 minutes of my life to write that on an IPad... Hope it's worth )

Hey CrAzyP3rS0n. Factorio is cool and you learn a lesson for the life. I said that also somewhere else:

- see the limitations not as border, but as challenge to your creativity.
- what has been built can be destroyed and rebuild much better. More effective, faster... Set your own targets.
- play the game in difficult.
- use mods. See above!

[Dakkanor]

i tend to come back to factorio every few months and play heaps for a week or two, then i run our of steam and go onto something else. im like that with pretty much everything i'll play heaps then die off, if i really like the game i'll come back to it when im in the right mood.

and ever since i got factorio its the game that i come back to the most often

[3LollipopZ]

Yeah, I'm the same... I come back to it often, but once I've conquered a certain level of research it does become a bit of a drag to finish end game.
It's a long jump to power armor and tweaking my factory for supply and demand does become a guessing game when your factory is huge.

I do get pressured by keeping up with research though... I tend to have about 10 - 15 labs in most games and keeping up with demand is difficult to automate as you often don't have easy visibility of what you are lacking. I am constantly running back and forth between areas of my map trying to fix little things...

I do love the game though and I think it's the way research is at the moment that keeps me pressured to continually improve my factories.
I'm just looking forward to more stories / goals / missions / etc. to make it feel like im making a difference in society rather than just killing innocent bugs on their own planet

[kovarex]

I think that some kind of artificial minigames are very inappropriate concept for factorio. (no offense)
I believe that there are native minigames more or less hidden in Factorio all over, I personally still don't know how to play best, and I change my opinions about good setups and order of research/automations every test game run. And yes, this is a very good thing in my opinion

I never just stand and wait for research when I play, as currently when I play, I try to beat the game in smallest amount of time possible, or playing with less resources, being forced to make railway very early etc.

So when I would just have to wait for the research, I still try to make the research faster, more mines, more processing of materials, better logistics, better labs, modules etc.

[Holy-Fire]

I never just stand and wait for research when I play, as currently when I play, I try to beat the game in smallest amount of time possible, or playing with less resources, being forced to make railway very early etc.

I agree. If you ever find yourself sitting idle waiting for research or crafting, you are doing something very wrong.

[3LollipopZ]

Yeah, I'm always rushing around too much trying to catch up with research (quickly to red, then green, OMG Blue!, where the hell am I going to get enough purple to keep up with my labs in time....)
My entire game revolves around generating enough research vials (or whatever they are called) to win the game as fast as possible. I just get to the purple stage and feel like I've already conquered the map sometimes... but I'm never one to finish things properly.