I sent the Phase 3 materials shipment up the Space Elevator a few play sessions ago. So, how has my overall approach to this new save (the “New Clear Plan”) gone so far?
In short: A qualified success.
In long: Well, let’s dig into that…
(more…)Category: Games
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Satisfactory – Phactory Phase 3
There’s a neat light show when you send the Space Elevator up, but capturing the best single instant in a screenshot is too tricky for my skills. -
Satisfactory: Roundabout Mk2
So there I was, building a rail line through the jungle, when I reached a point on the map at which it made sense to place a roundabout. As I started in on the build process I’ve used a couple dozen times now (type ’roundabout’ into the search field to see other posts about the development of this process) I realized that the requirements of the approach and exit placement weren’t going to fit the location. I needed an alternative.
At middle right you can see the connected approach line from the north, but getting that to bear right into the westbound exit was going to be a nightmare. Never mind joining up the northbound exit, the stub for which is shown at lower right. At first I thought of doing a criss-cross interchange but I prefer having the option of letting a train loop back around if necessary at every one of these intersections. Still, I figured that an interchange would probably fit this particular location better than a roundabout so I went looking for information on how best to build one.
I didn’t find that. Instead, I found guidance on how to build a different style of roundabout, approaching it as more of a modified diamond than a rounded square. The difference is largely academic in the long run, but the practice of building it is definitely trickier.
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Satisfactory: Progress Without Progress
Here’s a summary of how today’s hours upon hours of Satisfactory went for me, in order to illustrate how sometimes you move forward by moving sideways… a lot.
Please enjoy this view from hundreds of meters above sea level as I descend from a very, very high drop pod crash site. My hands were sweaty the entire time, yes, thankyouverymuch. I can’t progress further in the game without clearing Phase 3, which means I need to make Modular Engines and Automated Wiring to feed to the Space Elevator.
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Satisfactory: Oilands Ho!
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.
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Satisfactory: Early Permanence
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. I’m at Phase 2 right now.
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Satisfactory: Clearing That First Hurdle
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.
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