Factorio annotated roadmap - 0.17+

[Jap2.0]

Note: Due to time constraints I am no longer able to keep this regularly updated. For alternatives, look in the "Other helpful resources" section at the end. The "Last updated" and "Last edited" lines at the bottom may also be of use for deriving the how recent this information is.


This is a roadmap for changes in the version 0.17 and later. It includes the progress on the change and source(s). This only includes changes announced in publicly available sources, meaning that there are changes in 0.17 that are not included here, and that some changes may have more progress or have been dropped without my knowing. Most information is sourced from the blog, Reddit, or this forum; some miscellaneous information is from Discord or other sources, but information places other than those listed above is usually not added unless I stumble across it or it is brought to my attention and can be linked to permanently or a screenshot is available. This does not include fixes for bugs or additions to the mod interface, or most other changes to mods and scripting. Sources are sorted chronologically. Historical sources are kept, so the last source(s) have the most recent information. (They may or may not be the most in-depth.)

Key
Released in a later experimental version
Released in the initial experimental version
Probably released (not yet verified)
Known completed for that version
In progress
No information/not started

0.17 (February 26 2019) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Major features:

• Improved map editor 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  • Can edit any save the game can load with the "/editor" command 1, 2
• Improved map and resource generation 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
  • Biters actually spawn how you expect 1
  • The default elevation generator for new maps is similar to 0.12 1
  • 9 options per setting instead of 5, ranging from 17-600% instead of 50-200%, and values outside these ranges can be added by editing a map's json file 1, 2
  • A continuity option for cliffs 1
  • Things work better 1
  • More predictable starting area 1
• Overhauled new player experience/tutorial/demo/whatever it is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 various
  • Cliff explosives and landfill will not be available in the tutorial 1
  • No message dialogs 1
  • Parts of the shipwreck can be repaired into assemblers, labs, and "minimap technology" 1, 2, 3
  • Loaders used as "feeders" for quests 1, 2, 3
  • The map expands, not resets 1
  • Compilatron 1
  • New objective window 1
  • Surprises 1
  • MAYBE a limited freeplay at the end 1
• Improved blueprint library 1, 2, 3
• Improved sound design (environmental sound and sound effects) 1

Graphics:

• Complete engine rewrite 1, 2, 3, 4, various
  • Now uses OpenGL 3.2/DX 11 (feature level 10) 1
  • CPU optimizations 1
  • GPU optimizations 1, 2
  • Texture streaming 1, 2
  • Redone font rendering 1
  • Something to do with shaders 1
  • Something to do with shadows 1
  • Support for Metal, Vulkan, etc. 1
  • Exclusive fullscreen 1
• More HR sprites 1, 2
  • HR chests 1
  • HR rocket silo 1
  • HR underground belts 1
  • HR electric poles, substations, and accumulators 1, 2, 3
  • HR turrets and beams 1, 2, 3
  • HR walls and gates 1
  • HR spawners 1
  • HR enemies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    • Spawners 1, 2
    • Biters 1, 2, 3
    • Worms 1, 2, 3
    • Spitters 1, 2
  • HR mining drills 1
• Transport belts show perspective 1
• 64x64 (2x resolution) icons 1
• Icons for new technologies (such as the axe and belt impunity) 1

Gui:

• GUI reskin and partial rework 1, 2, 3, 4, various
• Reset button in every settings gui 1
• Guis measured in "modules," a unit of 4 pixels that scales well 1
• Load map 1, 2
• Save map 1, 2
• Control settings 1, 2
• Sound settings 1, 2, 3
• Interface settings 1, 2
• Other settings 1, 2
• Map generator 1, 2, 3, 4
• Quickbar (formerly action bar) 1, 2
• Trains 1, 2, 3
  • Better visual feedback for dragging and dropping in train guis (because apparently that's a thing you can do) 1
  • Progress of most wait conditions is shown 1
  • Ctrl+clicking will create a temporary stop 1
  • Show's a train's predicted path, while driving and while selecting a station 1
  • Shift-clicking on the map will add a station to a train's schedule 1
  • The map can be panned and zoomed and stuff 1
  • The list of stations shows how many of a station exist, and how many are enabled 1
  • A train's schedule visualizes the AND/OR priority 1
• Technology 1, 2, 3
• Technology tooltip 1, 2
• Shortcut bar (most items disabled until robots are researched or "/unlock-shortcut-bar" is used) 1, 2, 3
• Blueprint library 1, 2
• Character screen 1, 2
• Help overlay 1, 2
• Mod management/installing/updating 1, 2, 3
• Recipe, item, and entity tooltips 1, 2
• Chat icon selector 1, 2
• New game menu 1, 2, 3
• Menu structure 1, 2
• Main screen chat 1, 2
• Recipe explorer 1, 2

Balancing:

• Mining productivity increases in increments of 10% instead of 2% (and the cost increases 25x as fast, in increments of 2500 instead of 100) 1, 2
• Crafting speed of chemical plants reduced from 1.25 to 1 1
• Portable solar panel power tripled from 10kw to 30 kw; cost mostly decreased from 1 adv. circuit/5 solar panels/5 steel to 2 adv. circuits/1 solar panel/5 steel 1, 2, 3, 4
• Pollution absorption of water, sand, and grass changed 1
• Dissipation rate now ranges from 10-400% (instead of 100-100000%) 1
• Deathworld has a default dissipation rate of 50% 1
• Low density structure recipe changed from 5 copper, 5 plastic, 10 steel to 20 copper, 5 plastic, and 2 steel 1
• Rocket shooting speed is no longer a prerequisite for the rocket silo 1
• Belt speeds increased 12.5% from 13.33/26.66/40.00 items/s to 15/30/45 items/s 1, 2
• Pipes to ground do not improve throughput (they apply friction relative to their length) 1, 2
• Cannon shell research is required before artillery 1
• Smelting time for iron and copper changed to 3.2 from 3.5 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Military rebalances 1
  • Behemoth biter speed significantly increased (roughly 60-80% faster) 1
  • Rocket launcher range increased from 22 to 36 1, 2, 3
  • Tank submachine gun no longer has +100% damage 1
  • All military upgrade technologies except those involving artillery, laser shooting speed, and follower robot count are condensed into physical projectile damage, energy weapon damage, stronger explosives, refined flammables, and weapon shooting speed 1
  • The five above researches cost roughly double current individual researches 1
  • Land mines damage is boosted by upper level researches 1
  • Military researches affect more things at higher levels 1
  • Personal laser defense affected by research 1
  • An unupgraded personal laser defense has lower damage and power consumption 1
  • Combat robot damage research makes slightly more sense 1
• Purple science alone now unlocks: 1, 2
  • Logistics 3 1, 2
  • Automation 3 1, 2
  • Beacons 1, 2
  • Coal liquification 1, 2
  • Nuclear reprocessing 1, 2
  • Worker robot capacity 2 1, 2
  • Level 3 modules 1
  • Kovarex 1
• Yellow science alone now unlocks: 1, 2
  • Some power armor items 1, 2
  • Military 4 and some other upper-tier military stuff 1, 2
  • Rocket control units (now a separate technology, as noted below) 1
  • Logistic system 1
  • Worker robot speed 3 1
• Science pack recipe rebalances 1
  • Blue science returns two packs per cycle, and purple and yellow return three 1
  • Gun turret in military science replaced with two walls 1
  • Electric mining drill in blue science replaced with solid fuel 1
  • Ingredient count and crafting time of blue science increased (due to 2x yield - 1 red circuit and engine replaced with three and two, respectively, and crafting time doubled from 12 to 24 seconds) 1
  • Electric engine in production science replaced with productivity 1 module and 30x rails; time increased from 14 to 21 seconds 1
  • Processing units in yellow science reduced from three to two 1
  • Battery and 30 copper wire in yellow science replaced with a flying robot frame and three low density structures 1
• The satellite is unlocked by the space science pack recipe 1
• Rocket silo technology only unlocks the rocket silo and rocket part 1
• Rocket fuel has its own technology (prereqs. engine and rocketry) 1
• Nuclear power is split to Uranium processing and nuclear power (Kovarex e p prereqs. uranium processing and rocket fuel) 1
• Rocket control units are their own technology (prereqs. purple and yellow science) 1
• Atomic bombs use rocket control units instead of processing units 1
• Low density structure has its own technology (prereqs. blue science and advanced material processing) 1
• Low density structures replace steel in the portable fusion reactor, personal laser defense, and mk. 2 equipment 1
• Pump nerfs 1

Minor features/changes:

• New landfill tile (currently identical to grass-1) 1
• Landfill can be blueprinted 1
• Wooden chests and small electric poles can no longer be used as fuel 1
• Ghost cursor has a ghost graphic 1, 2
• Longer scale production graphs and labeled axes and other cool stuff 1, 2, 3
• Can drop items into buildings 1
• The "hand" always reserves a slot 1
• Current maps will continue to use the 0.16 elevation function 1, 2, 3
• Rocket silo is no longer 9x10, but 9x9 (existing silos will be half a tile off-grid, which is little enough that they will remain functional) 1, 2
• Mod thumbnails shown in-game 1
• First Steps and New Hope removed 1
• Spawners can no longer absorb more than three times the pollution required to create their most expensive unit 1
• An option is added to create a clear space around specific entities; this is used to prevent biters from getting stuck in their own bases 1
• An island map preset is added, and mods can add their own special map types 1
• Biters no longer entirely lose their sanity upon encountering belts1
• A tool bar to the right of the quickbar with a customizable set of actions including copy, cut, paste, and undo, creating blueprints, blueprint books, deconstruction planners, and upgrade planners, importing blueprint strings, and toggling alt mode, the personal roboport, and the exoskeleton; these actions will show a tooltip of what will be done, and mods can also add to this bar 1
• A station without a condition will be treated as a waypoint 1
• Passenger present train condition 1
• Empty item slots in the quickbar can be used to place ghosts 1
• The quickbar is simply a shortcut to your inventory, and the inventory is expanded to compensate 1
• Multiple quickbars can be switched between 1
• Pipes will be cleared if there is less than 0.05 in the entire segment 1, 2, 3, 4
• The game minimizes upon an alt-tab 1
• Rendering stops upon minimization on MacOS and Linux (currently only implemented on Windows) 1
• Laser turrets, distractor robots, and the personal laser defense shoot high-resolution beams 1, 2
• Mods can easily render geometric shapes, with conditional visibility (e.g. limiting the visibility of these objects to specific forces or players) 1
• Belts now fit 8 items 8 pixels apart instead of 6-8 items 9 pixels apart 1, 2
• Trains now exist; the wording of train stops without any assigned trains has changed from "there are no trains" to "this stop has no trains" 1
• Military science ordered before blue science 1
• Science packs have new names, and are not numbered 1
• The game is won by launching an empty rocket (there was storyline... and it's gone) 1
• Systems of different fluids cannot be connected 1
• Pipes show their flow rate 1
• Mass and friction can be set separately for each liquid 1
• Addition of a GUI style inspector 1
• Underground belts show holes when sideloadin 1
• Alt mode doesn't toggle alt-view! 1
• Robots won’t fly out unless you’re moving slower than they can fly 1
• Filter inserters can switch between a blacklist and a whitelist 1, 2
• Upgrade planner 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  • Upgrades both ends of underground belts 1
  • Can upgrade modules 1
  • Can upgrade blueprints 1
• Deconstructing cliffs 1, 2, 3, 4
• Vanilla armor no longer has durability 1
• Pickaxes removed 1
• Base mining speed equal to that of an iron pickaxe 1
• Steel research increases mining speed 1
• Burner efficiency no longer used in vanilla 1
• Mining hardness and power removed and replaced by a mining time modifier 1
• Stone has an equal mining time to other early game resources 1
• Item limit removed for vanilla assembling machines 1, 2
• Steam networking support 1
• Networking breaks less 1
• Interaction error messages 1
• Interacted entities are highlighted when hovered over 1
• Sync mod settings to save 1, 2, 3
• ID mapping system rewritten 1
• Key codes replaced with scan codes 1
• Fast pipe replacement 1
• Science packs have their own researches 1
• Power armor mk. 2 requires level 2 modules 1
• Beacons and level 3 modules require production science 1
• Train out of fuel indicator 1
• Heat interface 1, 2
• Infinity pipe 1, 2, 3
• Multiple installed versions of a mod 1
• Cloning entities/areas 1
• Lua function to generate a full tech tree 1
• Research queue 1, 2, 3
• Copy/cut and paste 1, 2, 3
• Undo 1, 2
• Proper catalysts 1
• Tile and entity ghosts are processed separately 1
• Bots can be shown on the map as a debug option 1, 2, 3, 4
• Belt immunity equipment 1
• Items do not spill onto belts 1
• Worms and spitters attack with a small stream of acid which damages and slows (with a linearly decreasing effect), and also creates a temporary puddle of acid on the ground 1
• Procedural wave defense map generation 1
• "More specific map generation in order to improve the composition of the nests" to "generate a special ambience for those areas" 1
• Fluid physics actually make sense sometimes, a fluid system overhaul, and other improvements (see optimizations below); many optimizations are currently completed, but the new algorithm has been postponed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• Mods can use terrain types in resource generation 1
• Cutscene controller (called it) 1, 2
• Rich and interactive text 1, 2, 3
  • Colored text 1
  • Styled test 1
  • Icons in text 1
  • Blueprint referencing, allowing for viewing and copying the blueprint 1
  • Map ping 1
  • Referencing recipes 1
  • Referencing armor 1
  • Referencing entities and technologies 1
• Options for when and where entity information appears (current version by default; options for popups, delays, and hotkeys) 1
• Less types of damage and resistance used in vanilla 1, 2
• Trains in blueprints! 1
• Cannot load saves from 0.13 and 0.14 1, 2
• Shallow water (can be crossed but not built on, not currently in freeplay) 1
• Temporary train stops 1, 2
• Better plural locaizations 1
• Signed binaries on Mac & Windows 1, 2
• Blueprint library synced to Steam cloud 1
• Sync mods to server 1
• Vehicles are built with some fuel inserted from your inventory 1
• More mini-tutorials 1
• Autoplace improvements 1
• Recipe tree 1
• Input handling rewrite 1, 2

Optimizations:

• Better particle discarding 1
• Turret range visualizations are optimized 1
• Optimized mipmap access 1
• More and better texture compression options 1
• Threaded fluid physics and other fluid optimization (+30%-850% - but apparently the new implementation is less efficient on Linux than Windows?) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• Deconstructing belts with items on them when you don't have enough bots 1
• Making lots of circuit connections 1
• See Graphics 1, 2, 3

Possible features (not explicitly confirmed):

• Vanilla vehicle grids (please?) 1
• Void edge textures 1, 2
• Spidertron 1, 2, 3
• Second progress bar for long loading tasks 1
• Reintroduction of multisampling 1
• Hovering over back/reset/confirm shows changes 1
• Gamepad/touch support 1
• Will be released 1
• Construction bots build multiple entities in one trip 1
• Nomenclature consistency 1
• Entering the escape pod (not going to mention any current easter eggs here) 1
• Actually being able to drive cars, and in multiplayer 1
• Biters become stronger further away from your base 1
• Limited freeplay in NPE/demo 1
• Fuel in blueprints 1

0.18 (1.0?; May-September 2019?) 1 2
Major features:

• Campaign 1, 2
  • The escape pod MIGHT exist, unlike freeplay 1, 2
  • Multiplayer! 1, 2

Graphics:

• All high resolution graphics 1
• "Final polish" 1

Gui:

• Revision of remaining gui elements 1

Balancing:

• Final balancing 1, 2

Minor features/changes:

• Some third-party official translations 1
• Final mini tutorials 1

Optimizations:

• Unknown (because you know they won't just not optimize) 1

Possible features/changes (not explicitly confirmed):

• Removed trees 1, 2
• Better pipe layout and control 1, 2, 3
• Unforeseen changes 1
• Polish GUI 1
• Polish campaign 1
• Fix long-standing bugs and minor issues 1
• Smoke and tree optimization 1

0.19 (1.0, 1.1?)
Possible features/changes (not explicitly confirmed):

Later versions (1.0+?)
Possible features/changes (not explicitly confirmed):

• Official Factorio puzzle 1
• "Many plans" 1

----
Other helpful resources:

• The official roadmap
• The upcoming features page on the wiki
• The weekly blog
• The 0.17 modding/scripting changelog

Please let me know if there is anything that I should change. I will continue to update this as new information becomes available (usually on Fridays).
----
Note: Some items are kept as jokes. This should be obvious. Also note that everything in this list is subject to change at Wube's every whim.
Last updated March 11th 2019

[zOldBulldog]

Looks promising.

[Koub]

I don't envy you having to keep this updated

[Gergely]

I am considering using another color (probably blue). I think I'll have not confirmed as another section for now - maybe have blue be "largely complete" or "shown in FFF, but not necessarily entirely done" - the thing is, it can be rather hard to distinguish between that and "completed".

Why do you want to get the difference between those two? I would like to have a difference between the "No information" and "not started" ones.

Vehicles are built with some fuel inserted from your inventory

Source?

I think a wiki page would be better, because anyone could update it with things they randomly find the developers saying.

[Lav]

Vehicles are built with some fuel inserted from your inventory

Source?

https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-212

[Jap2.0]

I am considering using another color (probably blue). I think I'll have not confirmed as another section for now - maybe have blue be "largely complete" or "shown in FFF, but not necessarily entirely done" - the thing is, it can be rather hard to distinguish between that and "completed".

Why do you want to get the difference between those two? I would like to have a difference between the "No information" and "not started" ones.

I'll probably end up keeping it as is. The problem is that if I have no information beyond that it will happen, I have no idea if it's started.

I think a wiki page would be better, because anyone could update it with things they randomly find the developers saying.

Maybe, but I already made it here, I'm not sure how welcoming to it Bilka would be (or maybe he just didn't want to maintain it himself), there's already a page similar to this on the wiki, I don't have a wiki account (at least yet), and, well, after all this work I'm feeling a bit possessive of it . If Bilka thinks it would be good on the wiki, I'll consider putting it there. If anyone has anything I should put on here, feel free to let me know here on the forum (but I think I'm watching most sources of information fairly well - if someone wants me to update it with something from the FFF, chances are I won't see that until after I read the FFF, but if it's on Reddit, I might not see it right away).

Vehicles are built with some fuel inserted from your inventory

Source?

https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-212

THANK YOU! I spent... probably literal hours looking for that. Now everything has a source (at last. For now.)

[Bilka]

If Bilka thinks it would be good on the wiki, I'll consider putting it there.

Sorry to disappoint, but I'd prefer to have the user make their own guess on feature completion instead of predefining a guess, which is also part of the reason why everything on the wiki has a source.

The other part of the reason

is that it helps me make sure that everything I put on the page is actually (meant to be) public.

[Jap2.0]

If Bilka thinks it would be good on the wiki, I'll consider putting it there.

Sorry to disappoint, but I'd prefer to have the user make their own guess on feature completion instead of predefining a guess, which is also part of the reason why everything on the wiki has a source.

The other part of the reason

is that it helps me make sure that everything I put on the page is actually (meant to be) public.

I mean, everything here is sourced too . And public. And that's also why I said I would only put it on there with your permission. I'm fine keeping it here, though.

[Zavian]

Well whilst you have sources for everything, personally I disagree with how you have classified some things as "Known completed for 0.17".

eg Sync mod settings to save. Quoting from your source "That's already planned for 0.17", which is not the same as "That is already implemented for 0.17".

Also even if the devs think they have the implementation finished and working, it is at least possible that they will discover problems when they start a serious playtest of 0.17, and need to rework some features. It's even possible that the playtest may cause them to change their mind and remove already implemented features.

[Jap2.0]

Well whilst you have sources for everything, personally I disagree with how you have classified some things as "Known completed for 0.17".

eg Sync mod settings to save. Quoting from your source "That's already planned for 0.17", which is not the same as "That is already implemented for 0.17".

Also even if the devs think they have the implementation finished and working, it is at least possible that they will discover problems when they start a serious playtest of 0.17, and need to rework some features. It's even possible that the playtest may cause them to change their mind and remove already implemented features.

Yeah, I'll probably end up going through these again - thanks for pointing that on out, I'll fix it soon.

[Jap2.0]

Okay, I've gone through it again so that it should be properly pessimistic and not get anyone's hopes up for 0.17 too soon (although personally my guess is experimentals sometime in November... we'll see how that holds out. Don't quote me on that.)

[evopwr]

I'm hoping its in a few hours...

[eradicator]

(although personally my guess is experimentals sometime in November...

As long as i don't have to update all my mods one week before christmas i'm fine with it.............

Nice list btw.

[Jap2.0]

(although personally my guess is experimentals sometime in November...

As long as i don't have to update all my mods one week before christmas i'm fine with it.............

Nice list btw.

That would suck. Thanks.

Sorry for the late update this week, I've been fairly busy this past week and didn't get around to updating it until today.

[cpy]

If only gun turrets were filled when placing. Also furnaces, drills and what not.

[Koub]

If only gun turrets were filled when placing. Also furnaces, drills and what not.

+1000 for turrets , maybe drills (but I'd rather have a small buffer like for the burner inserter), but tbh I don't really see the point for the furnaces.

[Terukio]

If only gun turrets were filled when placing. Also furnaces, drills and what not.

I agree with everything but the turrets. Would make clearing biter nests trivial in the early game, even less so than it already is, when that is really the only point in the game where the biters offer something positive to the game play experience.

[Jap2.0]

Updated, lots of exciting stuff from the last couple weeks.

[zOldBulldog]

I am curious as to whether you plan to release 0.17 to experimental with some of the features completed and stable, and then update as new features become stable, or whether you plan to wait for everything to be complete and only then release to experimental for a traditional beta test of the version.

[Jap2.0]

I am curious as to whether you plan to release 0.17 to experimental with some of the features completed and stable, and then update as new features become stable, or whether you plan to wait for everything to be complete and only then release to experimental for a traditional beta test of the version.

Looking at what they've done in the past, it'll be basically feature-complete when 17.1 is released - there're usually only a few minor tweaks and maybe a few texture updates other than bugfixes after the beta's released.