0.16 Best map gen setting for beginners and design tests

[zOldBulldog]

The Map Generator settings frustrated me to no end as I learned to play factorio. Even now after a few hundred hours playing the game I can't claim to fully understanding the various options.

In this thread I will focus on the map generation needs of beginners and those who like trying designs without "alien distractions". Also, the goal is to not completely disable achievements even if a few get locked out. Normal alien settings are fine... for later games and other saves, so let's please keep them out of the topic of this thread.

I will list my understanding of the best settings and I will edit this post as others give good advice, where for practical reasons I have to define good as both useful and and something I can understand. If I don't mention an option, the assumption is that we'll take the default.

MAP GENERATOR SETTINGS

1) Basic Settings tab

- Peaceful Mode = Checked - to ensure enemies don't attack unless you approach them. This will disable a few achievements, but it is no loss as those achievements pretty much require that you already know how to play and are able to move directly to the desired result.

- Map Exchange String = Might want to use on second or later run-through.

2) Resource Settings tab

- Don't get disappointed when 0.16 seems to ignore your choices.

- Frequency = minimum value. It is my understanding (and confirmed by Hedning's post) that this does not reduce the total amount of ore.

- Size = Very big, for all ores.

- Richness = Very good, for all ores.

3) Terrain Settings tab

- Starting Area: Very big, to keep the bugs further away.
- Water: Freq=Very low (to help prevent water from fragmenting too much), Size = default.
- Enemy Bases: [Freq = Very low, Size = Very small, Richness = Very poor], to keep the nuisance level to a minimum.
- Cliffs: [Freq = Very low, Size = None], as the current cliffs design looks pretty but doesn't help much and gets in the way of your base until you advance your research enough to get cliff explosives.

4) Advanced Settings tab
- Pollution: Enabled. Mostly so that you can see it and start learning to cope with it with a minimum of annoyance.
- Evolution: Enabled. Again so that you can see it and start learning to cope with it with a minimum of annoyance.
- Enemy Expansion: Disabled. This is a source of nuisance if it is left enabled.


TACTICS TO COMPENSATE FOR BAD MAP GENERATION

- Always preview the map several times to choose one that you like. You want decent but not huge coal/iron/copper/stone deposits near the center, large deposits and some good oil and uranium deposits a reasonable distance by rail and still not too close to alien nests. I know of some people who had to try for an hour with 0.16 before they found a map they liked, so don't get discouraged.

- It is a good idea to keep a save made right after generating. You might want to replay it.

- I would strongly recommend to do a major "walkabout" of your map spiraling out at least up to the alien nests, so that expose all the nearby ore deposits on your map. It will take time, but it is worth it as Radar is too slow and a major power drain. Then save again. I think there are two good times for this walkabout: Right at the beginning before you do anything, or right after you setup your initial automated mines and automated red/green science research so that it keeps progressing as you walkabout.

- If you are too frustrated by the map generation then install the RSO mod, do the walkabout exploring even a good distance beyond the alien nests and save. Then uninstall the RSO mod. You will not get any achievements while RSO is installed, but they will be re-enabled once you uninstall it and by that time you will have exposed and generated a large portion of the map using the much better map generation algorithms that RSO provides.

[dragontamer5788]

- I would strongly recommend to do a major "walkabout" of your map spiraling out at least up to the alien nests, so that expose all the nearby ore deposits on your map. It will take time, but it is worth it as Radar is too slow and a major power drain. Then save again. I think there are two good times for this walkabout: Right at the beginning before you do anything, or right after you setup your initial automated mines and automated red/green science research so that it keeps progressing as you walkabout.

Load the map-exchange string into Sandbox mode and then explore. Its so much faster.

-----------------

The thing about map-gen is that its not quite beginner friendly. I don't think beginners should be trying to launch the rocket. With that being said, there is a good campaign mode that teaches rails, oil, and other complicated parts of this game. So this isn't really that big of a deal.

Post-campaign, I think players should be ready for the wild-wild world of random map generators. Unfortunately, the random map generator has a LOT of variance: a desert start can often lead to downfall since your pollution will grow forever to the edges of the map. And sometimes, you can't find oil (without cheesing it in Sandbox mode anyway). The "starting area" addition from ~0.13 (or maybe 0.14) made things more consistent than it used to be, but the map generator still could use some improvement IMO.

The solution is probably an "advanced" campaign map. It'd be basically a carefully tuned freeplay map and "blessed" by the developers as the official map to play after the campaign. Alternatively, we as a community can step up and build a database of "nice" Map exchange strings.

[Hedning1390]

Load the map-exchange string into Sandbox mode and then explore. Its so much faster.

Use cheat command to reveal map, then use cheat command to speed up game time.

...

Frequency lumps things together or pushes things apart. Very basic.
I haven't noticed 0.16 to ignore my choices other than biter base size (none is still none though). In fact since I have posted in quite a few topics claiming this and that has no effect I have been forced to prove the opposite.

My recommendations are:
Resources to min frequency to reduce the number of patches while not losing any.
Resource size and richness on default for beginners. Experienced players going for megabase can set these to max.
Water to min frequency, although water on default can be pretty nice looking too: https://i.imgur.com/CAWgZPe.png
Water size to normal or more. Building around water is a fun challenge, but don't use anything other than minimum water (not none though) if you intend to use landfill.
Biter expansion off, but otherwise default.
Cliffs on default. Current map gen will create large sections with no cliffs somewhere. By the time you need a massive solar farm you will probably have found one. I think this is considered a bug though, unfortunately, so use the cliffs while you can still get the best of both worlds.

[Amarula]

<Start rant>
The part of map generation that I find the most frustrating is water. If I set frequency to high, and size to small or very small, I get a frequency of.... one. Or may be two or three but they are all together at the starting point in the centre of the starting base area. Yet if I set size to medium or big, I get 20, 30 or more scattered all over the map. I would really like to be able to have 20+ tiny little oases all over my map... so when it comes time to start my oil refinery, I can set up advanced oil processing, sulfuric acid and cracking heavy oil to light wherever it is convenient without having to run miles of pipe... and without having to produce stacks of landfill to get rid of large bodies of water that I don't want or need.
<End rant>

[Hedning1390]

Yes, size has a more dramatic effect when you also have very high frequency because lakes are more "shallow" to begin with. This results in many lakes drying out completely when you decrease the water level. Further out lakes get "deeper", so at around pos +-1000 to +-1500 they will start appearing on very high frequency and the smaller sizes.

I don't know why this is but I think it would be better if terrain generation didn't depend so much on distance. Only ores and oil should get richer when going further out. Not water.

Also imo the frequency setting needs a wider range.

[db48x]

I've been working on an interactive explanation of how Factorio generates maps which lets you interactively explore the various options that lets you see how each option really works. It only covers ore, but water and terrain segmentation are similar.

http://db48x.net/factorio-terrain/

Let me know what you think.

As for frustrations, I'm not sure that boosting the ore like that is a great choice for beginners; it's appropriate for there to be some tension once you realize that your iron is nearly gone. For play-testing and megabases I can see it. In fact, for those I would recommend playing with water only in the starting area.

[adam_bise]

I've been working on an interactive explanation of how Factorio generates maps which lets you interactively explore the various options that lets you see how each option really works. It only covers ore, but water and terrain segmentation are similar.

http://db48x.net/factorio-terrain/

Let me know what you think.

As for frustrations, I'm not sure that boosting the ore like that is a great choice for beginners; it's appropriate for there to be some tension once you realize that your iron is nearly gone. For play-testing and megabases I can see it. In fact, for those I would recommend playing with water only in the starting area.

Thank you for this, it has explained a lot.

[zOldBulldog]

Yes, size has a more dramatic effect when you also have very high frequency because lakes are more "shallow" to begin with. This results in many lakes drying out completely when you decrease the water level. Further out lakes get "deeper", so at around pos +-1000 to +-1500 they will start appearing on very high frequency and the smaller sizes.

I don't know why this is but I think it would be better if terrain generation didn't depend so much on distance. Only ores and oil should get richer when going further out. Not water.

Also imo the frequency setting needs a wider range.

What? Water now runs dry when pumped? Is that for some mod, or did I misunderstand?

I always thought lakes had unlimited water, presumably thanks to being refilled by rain.

[4xel]

Yes, size has a more dramatic effect when you also have very high frequency because lakes are more "shallow" to begin with. This results in many lakes drying out completely when you decrease the water level. Further out lakes get "deeper", so at around pos +-1000 to +-1500 they will start appearing on very high frequency and the smaller sizes.

What? Water now runs dry when pumped? Is that for some mod, or did I misunderstand?

Perlin noise, no and yes.

He is not talking about pumping water in game, he is talking about the effect of decreasing the water level (richness I think) in the map generation setting.

Map generation relies on a custom Perlin noise generation. Basically, you got a random function which is oscilating, like noise, think maybe like trigonometric function, but eratic. And you get a threshold, and any part of the funciton below the threshold means there is water for example.

The parameters you can play on are frequency, amplitude and vertical offset (equivalent to moving the threshold).


I don't think Factorio plays with vertical offset, amplitude is called richness, and both size and frequency influence the frequency of the underlying function, in a redundant manner (also, it's worth noting they have no impact on the average amount of given ore per km^2, only amplitude (richness) has.

The last paragraph is likely incorrect and don't seem consistent with what other players are saying here, so take it with a heap of salt.

Hedning most likely refers to the function I mentionned when he says deep and shallow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlin_noise
https://wiki.factorio.com/World_generator
https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-112
https://wiki.factorio.com/World_generator