As previously noted, this new save sees me starting out where most brand new players start (yet I never have): The southwestern grassy starting field. It has upsides and drawbacks, all of which I took into account before making my fateful, game-changing decision.
(Okay, there’s one upside I didn’t think entirely through beforehand. I’ll get to that.)
Along the west coast of the game map (Satisfactory uses a fixed game map, it’s the same for everyone for every play through) one finds the second best concentration of crude oil in the game. I know there’s an official, agreed-upon term for the site but I’ve always called it The Oilands.
I have built a plastic-and-rubber factory on that particular crude oil node at least three times before. I think I have the hang of it by this point.
Islands, with oil, get it? Of course you do, and you wish you’d thought of it first.
I cannot believe, some days, that we as a society have allowed Microsoft to get away with this for years upon years without rising up, grabbing torches & pitchforks, and marching upon Redmond Washington in pure rage.
“This”? This:
This image courtesy of the [cuss]ing piece of [cuss] server that we’ve spent the last few working days trying to get to perform reasonably again after it went haywire starting last month.
One hundred percent complete means it’s done. It most assuredly does not mean “now wait for another two, ten, or up to thirty more minutes.” Except to Microsoft, obviously.
The primary guiding principle of the “New Clear Plan” save is of building production for the Phase X space elevator shipments on a much more permanent basis than I’ve done in previous saves, solo and co-op alike.
Phase 1, the very first shipment, requires 50 Smart Plates. There’s no point building a special facility just to make those. That’s more work than one lonely Assembler deserves and at that early stage you lack nearly all of the tools required to make a good-sized structure workable. So, that one got a pass.
Please enjoy this glaring (ahem) example of how pretentious I can be about screenshots in this game. I offer it in lieu of any shots of the factory I’m actually writing about, which looks like a complete mess right now. Thank you for your patience.
Someone on Discord gave me a great piece of advice for starting a new Satisfactory save. After I mentioned wanting to wait until after the FICSMAS event ended to kick off my new session, they said: Start now in order to grab the “advent calendar” goodies from the Hub, because some of those are required to open a few of the crashed drop pods strewn around the map.
And so, last Sunday, I did.
Nice pristine planet you’ve got here. Be a shame if a whole bunch of industrial development happened to it.
I’m a week into my new save (titled “New Clear Plan”) with fewer than 9 hours of in-game time so far. To show for it I have sent up the Phase 1 space elevator shipment, transitioned from biofuel to coal power, and unlocked steel production. I can attribute part of this (relatively) speedy progress to having three previous solo and several co-op games’ worth of practice time under my belt. Also, I credit some decisions and techniques specifically chosen in order to streamline parts of the process. Please allow me to elucidate.
My interaction with the sprawling multimedia beast that is the Final Fantasy franchise is rather limited. I played the 10th game installment for a while but didn’t finish. I avoided watching the infamous 3D CGI movie from a number of years ago. The most direct and long-lasting experience I have with a Fantasy which is Final (but is it really?) started when I signed up to play the critically acclaimed (yadda yadda) MMO, Final Fantasy XIV.
Then I stopped. Then, a year or so later, I picked it back up again. Then I stopped again.
Now, even more years later… I’m back? Probably maybe?
Meet Amber Ellidee, a miner and part-time monk (who also dabbles in goldsmithing), seen here contemplating another in a long series of fetch-and-talk-to quests along the massive Main Scenario Quest line…
Back in the day I started a new character on a new server every time an online friend said “Yeah, I’ll be happy to help you get through those pesky required dungeons!” Cue the chirping crickets sound effect. That’s a main part of why I kept bailing on the game: Enforced partying with strangers. More often than not the strangers you get tend to be hardcore into the game and lack anything resembling patience for anyone who doesn’t already have the dungeon duty mechanics down pat, let alone their skill rotation completely mastered. Off-putting, that.
Now, though? The game provides NPC helpers! And they do their jobs! Including staying out of telegraphs! I can solo those duties! Music to my ears, I tell you what.
I still prefer mining and crafting (no, not like that) but at least I can progress the story on my own terms. And, for now, I think I shall.
The second-best time, I’ve learned, to plan your Phase 4 shipment production for the Space Elevator in Satisfactory is about 250 hours into your session. The best time to plan your Phase 4 yadda yadda is before you start the game.
