I am, once again, for the Nth time now (for differing values of ‘N’ depending on if you count all the multiplayer saves or not) back on my you-know-what.

Yes, I’m leaving the “Quantum of Solids” save behind, possibly for good. (Before that came “New Clear Plan,” before that came “Choo Chooing Scenery,” before that was… “eSthetics,” I think?) After some agonizing over whether to start fresh again or not, then more agonizing over which starting zone to select, then further agonizing over arguably the most crucial decision (what to name the thing)… this afternoon I started a save titled, “Upend Away.”

Why, though? I was so close to the final shipment, with two of the four required parts well on the way to completion! If I’d held out somewhat longer I could’ve enjoyed a 2nd FICSMAS event in a row on the same save, something I’ve only seen happen during the co-op save with the kids back in Early Access. I now have to slog through all the tedious grind-y early stages, climb the technology tree once more, and all of that.

It comes down to a few factors that caused me to dread working on the previous save:

• The nuclear power plant was a boondoggle. Supplying water for 20 nuclear power generators via train was a “fun” idea but it was not a “good” idea. At all. The power graphs dipped occasionally, to the point where in order to make sure I could build automation for the other two required shipment parts safely, I’d need a whole new power facility… either another nuclear plant (with all the additional complex parts requirements that entails) or throw myself into the advanced gaseous fuel options. All of that just to get past the finish line? Not fun.
• Related to this, my other nuclear-power-related bright idea of using Plutonium Fuel Rods to power my drone fleet was good, but the implementation was… half-baked, to put it mildly. Trying to fix the problems with a highly-radioactive drone hub without breaking the vital supply chains that hub was a part of? Not fun.
• My policy of “just enough for now” production coupled with not actually tracking how much material I produced, let alone knowing how much was going where for what, led to a situation where if I wanted to add more of something I’d need to spin up an entire new from-scratch site. Was I already making Crystal Oscillators? Yes. Was I making enough for the Superposition Oscillators I needed? Ha ha, no. I couldn’t safely or easily expand existing production lines because I didn’t really know where everything for those production lines was coming from or going. Trying to untangle that snarl? Not fun.
• I got tired of the clunky interiors of nearly all my factory buildings. I feel pretty good about my exterior design aesthetics at this point, but walking into any given factory is an exercise in squeezing your player avatar through and around an array of tightly-packed machinery placed with no thought for someone wanting to go check on said machinery later. Even if I could tear down and rebuild a factory’s interior without disrupting, say, vital production needed for that finicky nuclear power plant… it doesn’t sound fun, either.

So here I am, taking another shot at this, and doing so with enough lead time before FICSMAS that I should at least be up to coal power when the event kicks off. My goals are to slow down on builds, make them nicer and tidier and more future-proof, to make a stable nuclear power plant and use its waste product to successfully power my drone fleet, and (most importantly) to properly track how much I’m making of everything and where it’s all going. If I can pull that off, I should be able to more smoothly adjust for future needs.

Wish me luck!