Game for geeks?

[Silbus]

Hi guys, after I started playing this game, I saw quote on factorio.com saying "For the geeks, by the geeks." Do you personaly think this is game for geeks, because I don't feel that way? I think this game has a potential to be verry popular one day and that you don't need to be verry verry smart to play it and have fun with it.
What do you think?

[ssilk]

I think, when I see some questions in the gameplay help board, it will never be a popular game. Popular in the sense, that everyone knows and like.
On the other hand, I would remove this sentence from the homepage, even if it is true in many ways. But not all are geeks. That's also true.

Hm. I played with the thought to add a poll to this thread, the problem is: what would you like to ask?

What do you think which type of person you are? (You have x votes)
I'm a geek.
I'm not a geek.
I came from <game> and search for similar games.
I search always for games, which are not mainstream.
...
And so on.

[NotABiter]

you don't need to be verry verry smart to play it

And people have provided more than ample evidence of that fact, in full audio-visual format on youtube, which they then link from the videos subforum.

Case in point, I just watched this video tonight.

0:15 - points out he had a "major power crisis", but says it's mostly sorted out now ( - anyone who was paying attention in the previous episodes knows this is not true!)

0:30 - shows off the "solar fields" he added; goes to map-view where you can see there are 8 fields; each field has 64 solar panels in it; that's a total of 8*64=512 solar panels

0:42 - points out that he's now drilling most of the nearby oil fields so he can make more solid fuel to power his steam engines (which he is using heavily because of a "lack" of solar power)

1:50 - checks his power. Surely, now that the data is right in front of his face, he will realize the mistake that he has had for multiple episodes now. Just look at the screen - it says right there in (literally) black and white, there are 128 solar panels on the electric grid he just clicked on. 128. Should be 512. Most (not just some, but 3/4ths) of his solar panels are not even connected to his power grid.

At various points he makes power related comments: Have to take out bases to reduce attacks because "not enough power" for lasers. Not doing research because "not enough power". Not using speed modules because "not enough power". And even though it's counter to the "total depletion" theme, he's going to put in some efficiency modules until he has enough solar to not need them anymore.

19:40 - he adds yet another solar field/grid. Will he notice this time? I mean, sure, he hasn't noticed the last 6 times, but 7th time's the charm, right? (Nope.)

21:04 - checks power again. Still only 128 solar panels connected to that grid. Concludes he needs 34MW and his "solar isn't even close to enough to support all that". At this point he has 9*64*0.06=34.56MW of solar panels. Not even close indeed!

(And that's not to pick on he who I shall not name. If I wanted to pick on a youtuber it would be FishSandwich for his shameless ongoing abuse of DrNickDoom, who he obviously resents for being his intellectual superior.)

On a related note, years ago I couldn't even get my (adult) brother to play Heroes of Might and Magic 3 because he thought it looked too complicated.

response to ssilk's poll: Not a geek, but a superhuman. Looking for something interesting to play. As a game Factorio's not there yet (and it's not clear if it will ever get there - if they had a "play vs other opponent with the same tech stuff as you and with really good AI", especially with some practical way to launch attacks against each other, it would be an instant/automatic great game, but such AI is hard to make and they have not indicated they are going in that direction). As a game dev I have found the Factorio youtube videos somewhat enlightening because I get to find out how players actually play when they get their hands on something slightly more complex than Diablo. (Sure there's other games whose videos I can and may watch for the same purpose, but I was thinking of having some "Factorio-like" elements in a game I'm working on and have subsequently been "mining" Factorio videos lately.)

[Koub]

Do you personaly think this is game for geeks

Yes definitely . I have geek and non-geek friends. Whenever I talk from Factorio to my non geek friends, they look at me like I'm from another planet (a planet that's out of our observable universe).

because I don't feel that way?

You don't have to feel geek to be a geek. By the way ... How does one "feel geek" ? Does a geek feel himself differently than a non geek feels himself ? (You have 4 hours, and may not use a calculator).

I think this game has a potential to be verry popular one day and that you don't need to be verry verry smart to play it and have fun with it.

Being a geek does not mean being smart, or having a PHD... I have come to know particularly non-smart geeks.

So ... Now that you know you're a geek, how do you feel ?

[Silbus]

Just to make it clear, I didn't want to say that being geek isn't good thing.

As an answer to ssilk's poll: I'm not a geek (at least I think I'm not), I'm realy good in physics and maths, I speek 2 languages and understand like 4. But in the same time I do freestyle soccer and play reserve grade in local soccer club as a 15 years old kid. I like sandbox games like Minecraft, but Minecraft never challenged me. That is why I enjoj playing Factorio.

Koub said that he thinks that Factorio is game for geeks, but I still think it is not true. It is true that you need to focus while playing it, but it is still the fact that game suits "geeks" better than non-geek people. But again I play MP with my "non-geek" friends and we all have fun building factories and automating stuff.

So ... Now that you know you're a geek, how do you feel?

I didn't say I don't feel like geek, I wanted to say that I don't feel like this game is only for geeks.

That is it, I just didn't want to say that being geek or non-geek is good/bad thing. I just wanted to see other's people thoughts about this game.
Thanks for your comments.

[gepwin]

you don't need to be verry verry smart to play it

And people have provided more than ample evidence of that fact, in full audio-visual format on youtube, which they then link from the videos subforum.

Case in point, I just watched this video tonight.

I'm just relieved I wasn't the video example, mention some names next time so I don't have a hart attack :p


Also I don't think the game is just for geeks, you just need some OCD tendencies.

[NotABiter]

I'm just relieved I wasn't the video example, mention some names next time so I don't have a hart attack :p

Well, you don't seem to link your play videos from the video subforum, so that kind of excluded you from being the "case in point". (The only things I see there are your "base tour" videos and the train tutorials. I suppose I could point out some issues with your multi-train tutorial video, but that's just not as funny, and isn't really an example of playing the game.)

I did watch the first episode of your "The Coal Age" series some time back. I figured all of that pollution + no lasers might mean you hit a bit of trouble, but I skimmed episode 7 (the latest at the time) and didn't see any biter attacks at all yet so I wasn't sure what you had done (peaceful mode? large start area? biters just being slow to the party?), and wasn't sure it would be worth watching (and didn't watch any more of it at that time). Just now I did a quick skim of your latest (episode 10) and see you are indeed having some biter issues. (And it's like biter retribution - every time you go attack/destroy their bases they're attacking/destroying your base.)

You should share the map string for the map you are using in that series so others can give it a go (and compare their strategies and results to what you did). I used to rely very much on lasers, but have been trending away from that and currently have a "no laser turrets" game (all default settings, just never even research laser turrets) that is going so well that it's rather boring. Perhaps a coal age would be a challenge. (Has it been for you?)

I had actually been thinking of making my next game be a "no laser turrets, no solar, no using coal as fuel" game. It would require using trees (chop, chop, chop) to power everything until getting to solid fuel, and like the "coal age" idea would involve lots of pollution (with a lot less trees left on the map). But if I can get your map string I might do that instead/first (and probably before watching your vids so I have to figure out how to do everything myself before seeing how you do it).

[ssilk]

@Gepwin, NotABiter, please keep on topic.

[NotABiter]

Split off a new topic for the "coal age" (et al) discussion.

[GaliMatias]

To be fair you don't have to be particularly smart to be a geek.
Not if you have google, a computer and a working brain.

[Cougarific]

What does it even mean to be a geek these days? Educated? Comfortable with technology? Enjoys Star Trek? Most 12-year-olds fit into that category nowadays.

[Drury]

What does it even mean to be a geek these days? Educated? Comfortable with technology? Enjoys Star Trek? Most 12-year-olds fit into that category nowadays.

A basic dude who knows a lot about a specific thing for some reason.

Geeks would like Factorio because it reminds them of Fallout or Starcraft, for instance, having spent hundreds of hours on those games.

[Koub]

What does it even mean to be a geek these days? Educated? Comfortable with technology? Enjoys Star Trek? Most 12-year-olds fit into that category nowadays.

A basic dude who knows a lot about a specific thing for some reason.

I'd add ... or has a strong (above average) interest in a non-mainstream and generally technology related topic. For example, spending hundreds hours optimizing your factory and setting up a complex railway installation to provide it the huge amounts of ressources it needs may be a good indication you're a geek. On the other hand, Playing Candy crush two hours a day when you're on facebook liking and disliking the crazy amount of useless stuff that appears in your wall, posted by people you don't even know, would not tag you as the ultimate geek.

[Drury]

That's more of a nerd. Important to distinguish between the two.

Geeks usually have an adjective associated, such as Star Trek geek or Farmville geek. Nerds don't, they're just people who love math and efficiency in design

[SHiRKiT]

Geek or nerd doesn't matter. The game is for a specific type of people, that's not the majority, but it's fun nevertheless. It can be very very popular, but I highly doubt that most people will enjoy the replayability that the game offers. Those ones are the "geeks" that they refer to, which I highly disagree with.