Biggest problem for newcomer like me is…

[brunzenstein]

less the complicated inner working mechanics of the beautiful beast, this can be researched quite well thanks to the active Factorio user community - but the very beginning!
The structural planning before one builds is vital important because his leads most of the time to constrained space. e.g. indulged self wrangling. Bad managing the beginning cannot be mended on the course. Leading having to give up bcs one cannot get rid of surplus light / heavy oil or expand lines when badly needed bcs. no space left.
I propose for newcomers like me a wiki or user entry right here with a help entry focusing on strategical planning especially the first stages - that the production / storage lines may be easily expanded when needed. Probably in a way that one spine of raw material runs through the whole system which let one develop from there side branches in a tree like structure as needed.

[SirRichie]

I very much know the pain you are talking about, I believe everyone here has felt it before.
However, after playing for a while, I believe that it makes up part of the nice Factorio experience.

You find building patterns for certain problems and then adapt them to solve specific construction challenges. On your second playthrough you are much better than on your first.

And also: you can reorganize your factory at virtually no cost. Your buildings are not lost when you deconstruct them. When you realize you are running out of space while needing more items, it is often a good idea to build a new production site right next to your existing factory.

[Hakusho]

..And also: you can reorganize your factory at virtually no cost. Your buildings are not lost when you deconstruct them...

But be aware that if you pick up container with fluids inside, the fluid will be lost if you do not pump it somewhere else before.

[brunzenstein]

..And also: you can reorganize your factory at virtually no cost. Your buildings are not lost when you deconstruct them...

But be aware that if you pick up container with fluids inside, the fluid will be lost if you do not pump it somewhere else before.

That's part of the problem:
What to do with the heavy oil surplus after refactoring?
How to make good use of it?

[byronczimmer]

presumably the refactoring would've put oil cracking into the plans.

[Klydon]

I fall into the category of newbie as well.

After messing around with a free map for a short period of time, I realized I was sort of in over my head when it came to trying to plan a direction, etc.

What I did was to invest some time into watching many of the available helper videos. The ones I used the most were Exterminator's.

I started a second game and did much better with the start. I would watch a video, then play the game some. Rinse and repeat. It helped a lot. I didn't copy what Exterminator was doing and there were several cases where he presented more than one way to do things. What the videos helped do is give me understanding on how things work together, etc. The wiki is also helpful as well.

After getting deep into the second game, I have sort of put it on pause. I started the campaigns and while having no issue with the early stuff, campaign 3 is causing me all sorts of issues; not because of the building, but because of the combat.

That is my early issue is I suck at the combat part of this game. I simply have not been able to get the hang of it well enough to go on the offensive to wipe out nests without dying. I do well enough building defenses, etc. About the only thing that does work for me is turret creep, but it is very time consuming and also resource consuming to do that. Many of the games I have been playing outside of the campaign (on hold because I can't beat the third scenario), I have switched to playing peacefully.

I don't know if things have changed since those videos were made (I watched mostly Burnrate's videos along with some others), but it seems the bugs are tougher than when those were made (8-10 months ago I think). I simply can't kill them fast enough before they kill me and trying to kite them just doesn't work for me when out on foot as in the video.

Part of my issue is I am not normally a RTS gamer. I don't play shooters or anything like that. This game is very attractive to me from the resource acquiring and building/design aspect. If I can't master the combat at some point, then the rest really doesn't matter.

[Hakusho]

presumably the refactoring would've put oil cracking into the plans.

The difficult part in the beginning is getting the possibilities for oil cracking, since you have a set ratio of heavy oil, light oil and pertoleum income. When i start a new factory and start doing oil stuff i mostly build a tank for each one and try to get advanced oil processing as fast as i can. When somehow a tank is maxed out i put another next to it just that i can continue my way to advenced processing.
From this point on i'm quite flexible again with oil, because i can crack it down.

But if you really have to move your liquids you can use electric pumps and pump them around. On the other hand it is also not that much fun to craft them on the fly if you are not already prepared for it.

[Evan_]

Well... after playing on a public server for a few days... I must say sub-ideal constructions are great fun. Cramped space, outdated redundant bits, sub-ideal proportions... Finding and ironing out such nuances in a complex that you didn't build (or not much of it) was the most rewarding challenge I faced in Factorio. These days I play with advanced players, I myself know (a bit) better too. But I miss the chaos and incompetence.

Before I started, I was reading and watching guides... After seeing the 'ideal' proportions for steam power, I realized that I didn't wanna know this thing. It would have been more fun to figure it out for myself. Now I'm learning by trial and error. I feel Factorio has no chance to get boring before I figure out the exact proportions or certain assembly lines.

[Hakusho]

After seeing the 'ideal' proportions for steam power, I realized that I didn't wanna know this thing. It would have been more fun to figure it out for myself...

I kind of miss my messed up furnace setup and my spaghetti factory without main bus. But is kinda easier to go with things that just work.

[ratchetfreak]

presumably the refactoring would've put oil cracking into the plans.

The difficult part in the beginning is getting the possibilities for oil cracking, since you have a set ratio of heavy oil, light oil and pertoleum income. When i start a new factory and start doing oil stuff i mostly build a tank for each one and try to get advanced oil processing as fast as i can. When somehow a tank is maxed out i put another next to it just that i can continue my way to advenced processing.
From this point on i'm quite flexible again with oil, because i can crack it down.

But if you really have to move your liquids you can use electric pumps and pump them around. On the other hand it is also not that much fun to craft them on the fly if you are not already prepared for it.

You can make a temporary solid fuel from heavy oil plant to deal with the overflow of heavy

Also using lubricant to upgrade your belts to blue will help take the edge off the overflow

[Hakusho]

...

You can make a temporary solid fuel from heavy oil plant to deal with the overflow of heavy

Also using lubricant to upgrade your belts to blue will help take the edge off the overflow

Well... since i mostly try to rush to advanced oil processing i had no eyes for those possibilities
I am not entirely sure if i ever had this in my mind.