https://discord.gg/NTJF88UWhC
Old info below. Join the discord server if you wanna see us working on this live
Started working on the map again as a way to relax from time to time. Progress will happen but it'll be slower than what it used to be like in the past. As this new version will incorporate everything, well most of the things I initially planned it will be released differently. This time around there will be a version where nothing is functionnal and everything factory wise has been mostly damaged and one where stuff is already running so the player can have fun expanding upon all the built stuff. As far as the new ruins go I wont go back to change the original map so just pretend they were already there before even though they weren't.
Old stuff below. Read if you want.
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Initially I planned on leaving the map as is but with the Covid 19 pandemic a lot of things have changed... Some bad, some good but most things are just different. That said I now have a lot more free time and with this I am able to focus a lot more on my hobbies. So with that said, there are a lot of things I actually rushed in the currently released version of the map. I am still proud of what I initially made but as far as the gameplay goes there isnt much offered in the original map.
This is the reason why I started working on a new version. This new version will hopefully bring a LOT more content for those who were hoping to have some loot or functionnal things. The other major addition in the new version will be additionnal areas outside the original map. Sadly this does mean that this map will require more RAM but by the time this new version will be out (I am aiming for 2 years from now realistically) more people will have the required RAM to enjoy the map.
Now there is a feature I would really love to add to the map which I have no idea how it can be done and that would be to add underground surfaces with the exact same scripts as the scenario diggy. I will need help to make this possible and if someone could raise their hand and reply to this thread it would be wonderful! I've been playing a lot of underrail lately and I really want to add something similar to the underbelly of the city.
I will be posting pics for those who are curious about the new stuff added but for the most part I will be keeping this spoiler free. With all the experience I gained with the map editor and the release of the initial map I am very comfortable with making nice custom biomes that will be very distinct from anything you would be able to find normally. I will be working a lot on making insanely long train networks that will be fully functionnal with the intent of creating a very different feel within the game. There are already ruins present on the map which speak plenty enough about the horrific fate of the initial colonists but this new version will bring a sense of isolation/frontier since most of the additions will be facilities of great importance. All of these new facilities will be already setup and functionnal and every single one of them will serve purposes of mass production. I wont really explain my whole vision yet as I will show images over the summer and post updates from time to time.
The last thing I want to mention right now is that since this is the last version of factorio this means I can finally introduce mods to the map. There wont be that many but each single one of them will help make this map gameplay compelling. The other different thing I will do with Nauvis New Frontier is that there will be two versions: one where everything is functionnal for freeplay and the other will be a ''griefed'' version of the save. This will be explained in a short story for those curious as to why I am changing this drastically.
Hopefully this will make some people happy but honestly you will have to be patient with this one. A lot of things are subject to change and this may be cancelled in the future as I am not living off of this and it is quite a big project and it is not a life priority. The main reason I am doing this is because there really isn't anything quite like it and the very imperfect initial release made quite a lot of people very happy.