This is a log of my current playthrough of Factorio. This playthrough has one simple motivation: I like trains. I find the trains in Factorio to be really
enjoyable, but also quite unnecessary. In order to make them more necessary I started a game where resources patches were rarer and smaller than normal so
I would need to create a large train network to bring resources to my base from many distant resource patches. I found that if I set them to be too rare or
too small then they just didn't show up at all, so I found the minimum settings where they would actually appear and used those.
This was originally an image-only log before I decided to make this page, so the descriptions of the first few images are on the images themselves.
Map - 6/12/2016
Nighttime Map - 7/12/2016
I was just attacked for the first time this game. My base defenses easily took care of it, but they did need a bit of repairing afterwards.
My iron supply ran out again so I had to make a new iron outpost. It's uncomfortably close to a rather large enemy base.
I've started my oil processing. This is my oil outpost, which puts oil into barrels and loads them onto a train.
When the train arrives at the base the barrels are unloaded and emptied. The oil is stored in tanks then processed into heavy oil, light oil, and petroleum gas.
The petroleum gas is processed into plastic and sulfur. The sulfur is turned into sulfuric acid which is used to make batteries.
I made a house for Kenneth.
Map - 13/01/2017
I've finished automating the production of all research packs.
Blue research packs require advanced circuits, so I've automated them. Unfortunately I have nowhere near enough oil to create the amount of plastic this requires, so my next job is to connect more sources of oil to my rail network.
I'm using grenades to destroy trees to uncover an oil field. Don't try this at home.
Quite a large oil outpost. Both my oil outposts are far from enemies so they won't need turrets to defend them.
Some of my regular transport belts aren't keeping up with demand any more so I've started replacing them with fast transport belts. I've automated production of fast transport belts, fast underground belts, and fast splitters because they take annoyingly long to make manually.
Yo dawg, I heard you like assembly machines.
One lone biter wandered into Oil outpost 2... turns out I did need defences there after all.
Whoops. Sorry Kenneth!
Now that I'm making advanced circuits I can use them to make electric furnaces. I've started upgrading my steel furnaces.
Map - 18/01/2017
Between my solar panels and my steam engines I had enough electricity at daytime, but not enough at night. I need to build some accumulators to store the power generated by the solar panels for use at night, but for now I've just built more steam engines.
My base is close to a very large coal patch, which I intend to use exclusively in my steam engines. There was also a smaller coal patch which I used for everything else, but that ran out. I had to destroy a large alien base to gain access to a new coal patch.
Here is the finished coal outpost.
I've had to build a new train line for coal. With that built, my base's train station is now finished.
I can use my advanced circuits to make modules. There are speed modules which make a machine work faster, efficiency modules which make a machine use less electricity, and productivity modules which make a machine produce more goods for the same amount of input resources.
Since oil is scarce I've put productivity modules in all my oil refineries. These modules slow down the oil refineries, so I've built more refineries.
I wasn't sure whether productivity modules or speed modules would be better in my pumpjacks so I performed an experiment. Speed modules won.
I built a tank.
I decided to kill some enemy bases with it.
Then I killed some more enemy bases.
And then some more.
And... well, you get the idea
Map - 06/02/2017
Fish live in tanks, right?
I built another coal outpost. It's behind my existing defences so I don't need any turrets here.
I've decided not to use logistics robots in this game since it would require massively restructuring my base. I am going to use construction robots though. I've automated the production of them.
I've created some modular armour and a personal roboport to slot into it. Now the construction robots can charge inside my armour and fly out to build/deconstruct/repair things.
This is the main reason I want the construction robots. When my tank gets damaged they will automatically repair it for me, which makes combat easier.
I guess my new coal outpost did need turrets after all.
My train is bringing in a lot of oil now. I had to build more tanks to store petroleum gas because things were backed up.
I'm desperately low on iron now. After searching around for a long time I've found a large patch to the north. Now I have to clear out lots of aliens so I can safely mine it.
This large iron outpost should hopefully last a while, but I will definitely need to find more iron before I can finish the game. I've now exhausted every iron patch I've found except this one.
I've extended my base west a bit to automate the production of processing units. These will be needed for some of the end game stuff.
Map - 26/04/2017
I've automated the construction of some combat robots.
They float around me and fight aliens for me.
They work pretty well.
I've spent quite a lot of time clearing out alien bases now that it's so easy, so I have quite a large safe area around my base. I've also spent a lot of time building outposts on resources in this safe area. My base goes through resources very quickly now.
My base now goes through iron so quickly that one cargo wagon on my iron train isn't enough, so I had to add an extra one and modify the station to accommodate it.
I didn't keep a good eye on my coal supply and ended up with huge power problems.
I'm now using oil-based fuel to run my steam engines, with coal still available as a backup.
I've automated the production of some level 3 modules.
I've also made the best armour in the game. It's modular armour with a 10x10 grid. As well as the stuff I had in my previous armour, I now have a fusion reactor, some night vision goggles, and some robot legs to make me run faster.
Map - 05/07/2017
One good thing about having paths throughout my base is I can use them for some temporary rerouting of resources.
I have a copper shortage and there are no decent copper patches on the map. I need to explore and kill aliens until I find a good amount of copper. Flamethrower ammo doesn't require any copper to produce, so I'll use a flamethrower for this exploration.
The flamethrower in action (everything is green due to night vision).
I now have five pairs of robotic legs and four upgraded energy shields (plus a fifth one which I can swap out one of the roboports for) so I'm considerably faster and stronger on foot than in my tank.
I accidentally set fire to some trees.
Whoops.
Whoops again.
Oh look, iron!
I got an achievement.
I found what I was looking for, a good copper patch.
And right next to it is another one.
Me and Kenneth celebrated by putting some rocket fuel in a train. We were disappointed that it didn't go any faster than normal.
Map - 12/07/2017
I've been building up walls around my base and slowly moving them further outwards. I've finally reached a point where my whole base, including all the outposts, is protected by walls and turrets. This map shows the safe area.
I've hooked up the copper patches. With my entire base enclosed in walls, I shouldn't need any defenses at the outposts.
I've also connected some more iron. This should be enough copper and iron now to finish the game.
Speaking of finishing the game, it's time to start working on that. I've built my rocket silo south of my base, where I made my temporary starting base.
I've set up some processing for rocket fuel, rocket control units, and low density structures. I need 1000 of each to make a rocket. I'm using a lot of oil to make the rocket fuel, and oil is running low, so I've set up another couple of oil outposts but I still don't have enough to keep supplying my boilers and steam engines with oil products.
Unfortunately, switching back to coal brought back the power problems.
I've added some more coal outposts to my network and changed the coal train to have two cargo wagons to keep plenty of coal coming in. I've already done the same to the copper train.
Now that the rocket parts are being produced, it's just a matter of waiting and keeping the base functioning in the meantime...
Map - 04/08/2017
Apparently one of my trains killed an alien. Go train!
The aliens have evolved to be pretty strong, and they keep destroying turrets and walls. At this point I'm not even trying to keep repairing the damage they do. I'm just hoping my defenses hold out until the end of the game.
After waiting a while, my rocket is ready.
Bon voyage, Kenneth!
Now I need to wait for another rocket to build...
I finished researching the last few techs while waiting.
Second rocket ready. I'm putting a satellite in it this time.
Victory!
Final Map - day and night
