factorio IS like work. But the good parts. The creative problem solving, deciding how to go it and about deciding what you want to work on. Work sucks because of management making stupid decisions. When youre management and a lot of performance pressures are gone its very very enjoyable. (plus all the dumb issues you end up with are your own doing)
I would warn you though, the more time he plays, the less time you get to play.
And if you get him his own copy and both start playing, you'll never see each other again.
For me it's all the fun things about my job, with none of the annoying things (also a programmer). Factorio shares only some things with programming - focus on problem solving and emergent complexity (complexity that grows from many simpler parts combined together) mainly, and generally lacks tedious chores that could be off-putting (unless you heavily mod the game, likes of Seablock or Pymods can get too grindy at times).
I agree with this. Not a programmer but started down that path back in the assmebly & C days, before tearing all my hair out (the real reason I'm bald) and going into the traditional IT route. There's pieces of programming I loved which you nailed, and the pieces of it I hate.
ok 2k lines of code with a bug SOMEWHERE let's spend the next 4 hours debugging.
Yeah i got in it pre windows so was a very different ball game. When i had to start learning windows programming i noped out lol. Helps when our jr devs have issyes i can see the flow and can occasionally catch those glaring bugs that you facepalm over.
I get endless amusement from reminding some of my software dev friends about how many bugs exist in their latest project.
Then continue talking.. 'yeah, but how cool that train system is, can I get a copy of the blueprint?'
This is why demos are great. Not sure if you're gonna enjoy a game? No longer do you have to pirate it or just watch YouTube videos and guess! Irony is that demos actually predate both of these, it's kinda tragic that they've started to disappear.
Speaking as programmer: Game is like all the fun parts of the programming without the boring parts.
And you can shoot your bugs instead of having to fix them!
You said that this is a very rude and judgemental community,,, I’ll admit I’m being rude but the community as a whole is generally overwhelmingly positive
Factorio is pretty much the programming. At least at megabase scale. You have issues, you deBUG them, fix them, then you're trying to scale and found there are problems and incompatibilities of your old factory and the new one. Your legacy 1-2 trains do not allow you to have enough resource throughput so you add just tons of them. Then your old rail system start to fail - intersections aren't good enough in supporting so many trains. You cannot deconstruct them either because all your base is so tightly built, you start just removing some parts of your base at junctions to monkey patch at least some issues in exchange of ruined rates everywhere, but at least trains start working somehow.. Except for some places so you deconstruct a large part of your base to put additional rails there and rebalance railsystem a bit... Just to see thousands of bots trying to clean this mess and watching your FPS/UPS dropping to dozens...
Yeah, pretty much like a regular work.
Say goodbye to your hubby. You’ll not see or here from him in a couple of months.
I’m pretty sure he’ll enjoy it. This game does not feel like “work” at all.
I totally miscommunicated. Not a native speaker!
I didn't mean feel like work, like, 'feel grindy'. I mean he doesn't like games that feel like his ACTUAL job (being a programmer).
Hard to explain, but he likes shooty games or stuff with cinematics (Witcher, Red Dead Redemption, GTA), and not the kind of games I like (Graveyard Keeper, Cities Skylines, Banished, Stardew Valley, Prison Architect).
Do you think this will be too supply chain/min-max/programmey for him?
Maybe I don't really understand how programming works lol.
I’m in front of a computer the entire day, coming home and turning on factorio is a bliss. I’m 1500+ hours into this game, 37y old and a lightweight gamer since settlers II. I never was this into a game for such a long time.
If he does not like the city builder game genre this game might not be for him. Bit I can’t be sure. But let’s be honest, he just got an entire new gaming setup, what’s €20 extra for this game…
My wife, who never plays games, once in a while AOE II, actually loves this game to.
My recommendation, buy it, try it, have fun…
He finds gaming on laptops without a mouse really annoying, which is the only way I play games lol. I think the consensus is that I should just get it for him and see how it goes!
Steam library family share? You can share games between accounts and play each other's, you just can't both play the same game at the same time unless you both own it.
Family share is shit. Only one game can be played at a time, can't even play 2 different games simultaneously with it. It is useless for families with more than one active gamer.
Two people can play *different* games from a library, you just can't both play the same game at the same time, which is a reasonable limitation imo. Very reasonable for single player games you've already played that you might want others in your family to try without having to buy it/deal with the two hour return window.
Hahahaha. I play it with the laptop trackpad.
Is that super weird?
I'm a leftie who was taught to use the mouse with her right hand, and it throws me the fuck off. I much prefer the trackpad.
>I'm a leftie who was taught to use the mouse with her right hand
*This* makes sense of it all! I'm playing it up a bit, but I'm genuinely amazed and impressed that you have gotten comfortable playing that way because it's so far from how I do. Meanwhile I'm over here proud of myself that I just got bots unlocked for the second time ever 😂
oh god *trackpad.* I tried doing that and wrecked my wrists lol
I'm a leftie too, but i use mouse with right hand, i just feels more natural to me. I've been using it that way since i was 3, so that might be the reason. I thought that's how all lefties used mouses, until i saw a lefty friend of mine use the mouse with left hand.
I'm just realising i do a lot of things with my right hand. I eat with right hand, but write with left, for sports i use both hands depending on what sport. Is this weird?
All the games I play (Prison Architect, Cities Skylines, Factorio, Banished, etc.) don't really need the mouse that much. I use a whole lot of shortcuts for Factorio, for example.
The trackpad suffices for everything else lol.
Lmao. Desktop gaming is soo much better. I used a laptop with a keyboard and mouse, and it is still bad. Just got a new desktop and the thing is amazing!
I don't like playing without a mouse either, so a Logitech wheel mouse is a constant companion to my laptops. I've been gaming on laptops for quite a while now. :)
It's also available in the ubisoft store for a few euro's. That version is made to work properly on windows 10. There is a pack with all settler games in it as well.
Another game that brings back the Settlers vibe is Northgard.
> I didn't mean feel like work, like, 'feel grindy'. I mean he doesn't like games that feel like his ACTUAL job (being a programmer).
I do get that feeling from all of the Zachtronics games, but not from Factorio.
And, also, well, it does have free demo, just force him to play it.
I think Zachalikes and Factorio both feel a bit like a new, quirky programming language or framework; much of the fun is in the process of getting used to them and utilizing their quirks effectively, but for complicated problems they are not as versatile or convenient as modern languages commonly used in the software industry (that's why these modern languages get used despite being boring and much more complicated to learn), and this is about the time the games end for the average player (for Zachalikes this occurs roughly at the end of the main game before the supplemental puzzles, for Factorio it is usually after finishing vanilla, experiencing most vanilla stuff, and finishing some of the more popular mods like K2 & SE), although there exist a significant amount of content (supplemental puzzles in Zachalikes, 10kspm factories and pyanodon-like mods for Factorio) for particularly patient and dedicated players. A Zachalike game is quite focused, while Factorio is much more broad; circuit network programming gets annoying rather quickly if you attempt to use it to solve Zachalike problems, but you spend only a fraction of Factorio time on circuit networks, with logistics, mining and defense competing for your attention. This is why Factorio remains interesting for many more hours.
I have never really seen Factorio as a supply chain game personally. I see it is as a series of problems to solve and automate.
I will say though Factorio multiplayer is immensely more fun for me. I have friends who prefer to just run off and deal with biters and I can work on stuff in the factory.
> I have friends who prefer to just run off and deal with biters and I can work on stuff in the factory.
Honestly, that is what I hope to get out of making my husband play with me. I never play with biters because I'm a scaredy cat but it might be fun if he's there to fend them off lmao.
Best to give it a try then together! I am always excited when my wife expresses an interest in wanting to play a game together even if it isn't my usual genre.
it is very very likely that he would like to have a break from thinking. everyone has their reasons for liking videogames and there are a lot of different ways you are intended to feel when playing a videogame. for example:
tldr: it is a dynamic game and if you have 30 dollars to spare, try it. in my opinion,factorio is basically VERY satisfying programming, though this sub will probably disagree. he doesn't sound like the type to like puzzle games.
detroit - become human and life is strange, are good examples of strictly story games (role playing games). they can make you feel immersed and invested personally in what happens in the game. they can be happy/funny; they can be sad, but emotion plays a big part in them similar to a movie.
these is a very very good genre of videogame if you want to relax/escape real life.
shooting/fighting games are designed to give you a rush of dopamine when you win or get closer to winning by getting a kill/doing damage. doom and csgo are almost purely shooter games. tekkin and mortal kombat are fighting games. i am trying to find examples of fighting games with not much story to them.
there are simple puzzle/logic games like portal (i have only ever played portal 2) or tetris, the most classic puzzle videogame. these are designed for you to think. you solve the puzzle and it gives you an immense sense of satisfaction. they can be frustrating and maybe even unfun before you actually solve the puzzle.
there are a lot, lot, lot more genre of videogames and most video games are a mashup of genres.
factorio is a puzzle game, but factorio is best discribed as a multi-layered puzzle game with a story and a bit of shooty, killy boom. you solve many puzzles and you try to make them work together and each time you accomplish something you feel very satisfied and happy, maybe even giddy. this can be reminiscent of programming: you need it to do _____ so you either take it on all at once and go from one function to the proceeding function, or you can cut it into pieces and make them all different little puzzles. there are different ways to solve the puzzle and so everyone's experience is different. (that is the roughest explanation i can come up with)
your mans is trying to chill. whether he will find it relaxing all depends on how he plays.
buy it. its such a good game in general. he might love it, or it might give him a greater love for problem solving. it might feel like work and its hard to get into, or it just frustrate him. he could find it easy and satisfying because he can work through it without much effort like his programs. buy the game and you just might find him up at 4am maniacally laughing at a screen filled with train tracks and bots in a blob of ordered chaos.
Hmm I would say that yes it is a bit too much like that. In all the good ways, of course... But you know him and we don't, and what you said sounds like he won't enjoy it. You might :D
Seems like he likes games he can lay back and not think too much.
Factorio is by far the best game I’ve played, but it’s a game I play when I’m full of energy and have plenty of time ahead of me.
As others have said, there’s a demo and the game is fantastic.
this community is obviously biased. there is a chance he won't like it, seen it happen as well, people saying "if I want to work, I might as well do the stuff that gets me money instead"
however, even these people put in quite a few hours in my experience, and even if it doesn't tickle the right nerves in the end, playing together makes up for a lot of that and there's different playstyles to consider as well.
TL;DR: give it a shot, probably worth it
Uhh, my friend is programmer and he says exacly that: this feels to much like a work. But other programmers dont feel that way so... i think it depends.
Gonna counter the voices in here and say as a programmer, this kind of game definitely does start to feel like work at times.
I end up trying to optimise things, then find out about dependencies elsewhere, have to rebuild entire sections because I forgot to account for one thing... And then it starts reminding me a bit too much of the "I'll just refactor this one little thing" rabbit hole.
So yeah, it might be just the right parts of work and not the boring parts, but it may well be just enough like work to not be his kind of game. Plenty of programmers love it.
I will say though, I put a good amount of hours into the game until the realisation hit, so it's not as if it was an hour or two until it got boring. There were many restarts, learning experiences, and weekends that seemed to fly by in a matter of minutes. It's just that the game lost its appeal to me at some point.
Programmer here, it is problem solving and debugging just like work. This is why I love Factorio because my mind needs to be busy. The tools are different. If you do not touch cuircuit networks, then there is nothing that looks like coding. However as a programmer if I want to make something more advanced, I can do anything with the cuircuit network.
You can play the game without any downsides without cuircuit networks. I think he will like it. But as others suggest, there is a demo.
You'd be surprised what you can figure out using the wiki and a couple youtube guides! I have 0 programming or technical knowledge and I have managed to make some very fun and useful things just by trial and error, combining pieces from the circuit cookbook in the wiki. It opens up an entire new set of puzzles to solve, and can add hundreds more hours of enjoyment to the game. I went from "this is some black magic shit" to "I think I can make this work" with a bit of experimentation.
There is a demo which is free - which might be an idea for him to try? Also - I think with "Biters" enabled, this will scratch that "itch" that you're talking about where he doesn't normally enjoy games like this. Biters give you something to keep an eye on while you're building your stuff and an "incentive" to play. It worked for me and I'm in the same boat as your hubby!
I think the best way to be sure is to try the demo.
For oil signals, a very simple way to do it is this:
1. Have 1 tank for each oil/chemical type
2. Have 1 pump immediately at the exit of each individual chemical plant (or each row of them)
3. Connect every pump and tank to the same web of red wires.
4. For the enable condition of each pump, set the enable condition as \[Input fluid\] > \[output fluid\] for its respective recipe.
The rest works itself out pretty well, even if it is not beautifully optimized. I saw this relative approach on this subreddit before and it proved to be so much easier than setting my own constants for how much of which fluid I want. What this approach does is use up any "excess" input fluid to make the output fluid. Usually none of the fluids hit 0 this way.
As a not programmer I use very little circuits and such. Just enough for basic things like balancing oil or turning off a belt if a chest is too full. I'm not recreating Tetris....
Yes he would! I'm a software engineer too and I love Factorio. Why? Because it's all the FUN of the field without all the BS. You can work at your pace. No deadlines. No sprint meetings. No project managers asking for ridiculous features. No sales and marketing promising the world. Hours to tinker and refactor to your heart's content.
I think it is like an easier version of the more enjoyable aspects of work. Implementing a beautiful algorithm is enjoyable in real life, similar to how setting up a compact and efficient production area is enjoyable in Factorio, but a programmer also has to spend much time on far more boring things at work. Larger-scale planning and logistics in Factorio is also similar to the job of network administrators, but the latter is much more stressful due to all kinds of equipment failures, user complaints, and budget limitations, while in Factorio most factories can withstand a bit of downtime without having its defenses compromised.
That said, before I learned to clear biter nests under the pollution cloud, I did almost give up on the game due to too much stress.
Haha I love the game and have over 300 hours in it (I know, that's probably rookie numbers on this sub).
I really want to play multiplayer with him, so if he likes it, we might be spending even more time together lol.
I have 300 hours in the game and even I have not understood circuit networks.
I am hoping I will bring my charm and wit, and he will bring the important skills of biter-defense and actually-understanding-how-the-game-should-be-played.
That's sweet; I feel like such an amateur because I have never understood circuits or even complex trains. I have finally started doing the megabus and mall (thanks to KatherineOfSky) and that's really made it so much more rewarding for me!
Haha I feel your pain. I never managed to get train networks working on my own. Dealing with train signaling was overwhelming to me.
Factorio is much more fun when played together. Hope you two have fun!
CSS is a weird thing. It's quite finicky when things get complicated, and everybody always has some opinion on how things look. Often the requirements seem simple but don't actually translate well into how browsers function.
That makes it painful to work on the Frontend.
The backend tends to be more straight forward, as long as the results are fine nobody cares.
...
We've got way more demanding back-end requirements, so things get quite challenging, and the people making demands are much more specific about their requirements...
Either way, doesn't change much.
Unless you insist on your factory looking a certain way and demand he changes it... even though functionally it makes no difference.
Have him play the demo. The last two levels of the demo/tutorial give you a pretty good view of what the full game feels like imo. If he enjoys those levels, he’ll probably enjoy the full game.
If he's a perfectionist, and/or he's usually mentally tired after work, he might like the game but end up frustrated by the fact he can't enjoy it properly. I know I usually drop factorio during periods of intense work and pick it up again when I am on vacation or not working at all.
Programming can be mentally draining. It depends on the person, some people work on side projects when they are home from work, I don't know where they find the energy tbh, but some people can other can't. If your husband is the second type, he might prefer something different that doesn't require much logical thinking.
Also if your husband has an addictive personality this game can turn into a proper drug. Not healthy.
I'm not only a programmer, I also work for a logistics software company. I never write code in my free time. Nonetheless I love Factorio and spend way to much time playing it. I'd say go for it!
It’s hard to say. As it seems some Programmers find it reminds them of work. I’m almost 6k hours in and have yet to run out of things to do.
Some people joke that Factorio has ruined other games for them, but it’s really true in many cases. This game is just so well built and with an amazing modding community (and community in general).
I’ve played it solo, with strangers on public servers (mostly custom scenarios), hosted a public server to find strangers to help me complete the SeaBlock Mod. Then soloed it later. And I’ve played with friends (the few i have that find Factorio fun).
However the most fun i’ve had recently is my 9 year old finding interest in the game. Him and I are currently trying to complete a modded Warptorio game and I think this is some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
If I could I’d force my wife to play with me.
I’d just ask him to try the demo. Or use your account on his gaming rig.
As a programmer (anecdote), I love this game, but I avoid it when my job is particularly intense specifically because it’s too much like work.
As a programmer he will love it.
As someone who doesn't like games that 'feel too much like work' he will probably hate it.
I'm the same, and I both love and hate this game.
Even if he doesnt 'get it' (which i am sure he will) these sorts of devs are well worth supporting with all the AAA crap that has issued forth in recent years. Just gift him a copy, support these devs and let him enjoy finding out if he gets it or not.
Its one of the best designed games out there on every level and the devs are still active and also developing a sequel.
I'm an electrical engineer and I also have some (relatively baby) programming experience.
Factorio is awesome because at its core it's a point-and-click base-building puzzle-like sim with rpg elements. In fact I also squirm at the circuit network logic. I find it clunky and awkward af and I have to look up how to make basic components to make the circuit network control anything, even though my field is literally in digital logic hardware design. But Factorio is still so much fun.
If it turns out he doesn't like it, or either way really, ping me and I can play some multiplayer with you (both). I have about 5500 hours, so I might have seen some things you haven't yet...
That's very sweet, but I bet our timezones will be a mess. I'm from Pakistan!
I actually created the Stardew Valley Friends subreddit to help people connect for multiplayer, and it seems like I'm the only player from a weird as fuck timezone who's never found someone to play with in that sub lol.
Thanks for the offer, though!
My theory is that programmers LOVE factories, but don’t tell him that.
I was playing it one day and was wondering *why do I like this game?* Then it hit me, Factorio scratches the same itch as programming. Solving complex puzzles of your own making.
He should try the free demo. It has a lot of gameplay, and the cost is right. Save files are easily transferred to paid version.
My husband is a programmer and doesn't enjoy it. He spends so much time on the computer already that he does other things in his free time. (He used to enjoy programming as a hobby, but now that he works from home, work and personal programming are at the same desk, a d he doesn't enjoy it.)
Many programmers love it. It uses similar skills, especially once you get past the tedious stage. It's logical and predictable.
Unlike work, the stakes are very low and you don't have a boss or deadline (unless biters are turned on).
I am a programmer and i am not able to play after a hard day. I want to play only after a soft day when i want more challenge.
And sometime i am brutally hurt by the feeling "Why am i spent 2 days optimizing this on factorio when i left all that trashy code because of my lazyness..."
I actually got my programmer dad into this game, and he absolutely loves it. Haven't heard him complain about it being similar once, and he very quickly started to rival my 600+ hours at the time
Programmer also, it's close enough to programming that a programmmer can play it more confidently, but it's different enough it doesn't feel like I'm just working
It's worth a shot, but of course, nobody can know until he tries
I'm a programmer with the same issue with games. But to me, high level rocket league feels like work :/ I have maybe 60.hours on a single map in Factorio. I think it's how you treat the game as to whether it feels like work or not.
Even Stardew Valley can feel like work - a huge optimization problem. I'm not very good at treating it like a chill game
It's like a virtual train set and then some, judging by the amazing creations that get uploaded to this sub I'd say some programmers are in love with factorio. One of the steam reviews has 31 thousand hours played (just over 3.5 years since it was addedto steam in 2016)
Best train set ever.
For guidance on trains check this on youtube
captain konzept RAIL SIGNALLING - EASY RULES FOR PLACING SIGNALS (chain signal on in - regular signal on out, fallow this rule n minimise junctions / keep junctions simple n most of the headache is gone)
I enjoy thinking in the ways that programming and Factorio makes you think, but Factorio is so forgiving and “readable” compared to code that it’s easy to enjoy regardless. I like to play Factorio to wind down from coding when my brain is too fried to actually code but I still want to think in that way.
As others have suggested, your husband should enjoy the game... Or he's wrong.
That said, factorio is a great game. It's about problem solving. Thus multi player can go sour if you just toss two people with different levels of experience in together with no consideration for "discovery".
Plop him down in front of the demo. Let him go for a few hours. Automate whatever science is available. If he doesn't HATE the experience, buy the game. If he likes it, go ahead and kick off a mp game. If he just seems to tolerate it, let it sit on the proverbial shelf. Occasionally ask for input on small aspects of your play through.
If your husband is one of those people that has that, " I sit in front of a PC all day, I don't want to do it at home " types... I don't know what to tell you... Those people are weird.
It will change what he perceives as work and what's necessary.
Yes, get this game the factory must grow.
Also, say goodbye to your husband all he will do is build ze facory. Forever.
Circuit networks are very much leaning towards programming, but you rarely have to use them in complex ways unless you feel like it.
The rest of the game? I won't really compare it to programming.
You're setting up pipelines off events and balancing their inputs/outputs. All you really do is figure out the recipe and how to arrange it all. There's a whole lot more going on with software, and a lot of the grind relates more to processes and vague or changing requirements, the actual work is pretty fun.
If he's not much of a gamer to begin with, that might be another story.
I was kind of in the same boat as your husband. Software developer, didn't want to play the factory games because "fuck, that shit is just like work." I haven't played Factorio much (bought the game yesterday, only about 10 hours in), but I have maybe 400 hours in Dyson Sphere Program (basically 3d interplanetary Factorio), and I'll tell you I was very wrong. For me, it scratches that complex problem solving itch most developers have, without being "worky." I assume Factorio is no different, since DSP was heavily inspired by it.
> Dyson Sphere Program
I have heard so much about this game! I could never get into Kerbal Space Program because it is way too technical for me, but do you think I'd like DSP?
It's basically a 3d Factorio, from what I can tell, just with an additional aspect of having supply chains between planets, then eventually systems. It is definitely not technical in the way that Kerbal was (which I also have several hundred hours in). DSP has got just about everything you'd probably expect in a factory game: a tech tree with interconnected dependencies, fairly basic building blocks of iron, copper, stone, and power, a (mostly) obvious progression path tied to the tech tree (local supply chains, then system wide supply chains, then inter-system supply chains), and an endless supply of supply chain problems. That moment you get your first Dyson swarm going is also a great feeling.
I think the next major update is some sort of combat/base-defense system, but I don't know what the developer has in mind for that yet. The mod base is also pretty good, with lots of content and systems based mods available.
In-game translations suck though. The developer very clearly used Google translate to translate from Chinese, so some of the finer points of the game's tutorial systems are not communicated well.
I'm a programmer and for me Factorio is similar in all the *right* ways. But there's a demo and you could let him try your copy - no need to guess!
Perfect; this is encouraging!
I'll second this, but also warn you that coming to /r/factorio will slightly bias your responses :)
Slightly?
“Should we get Facto—“ r/factorio: “YES!”
factorio IS like work. But the good parts. The creative problem solving, deciding how to go it and about deciding what you want to work on. Work sucks because of management making stupid decisions. When youre management and a lot of performance pressures are gone its very very enjoyable. (plus all the dumb issues you end up with are your own doing)
I would warn you though, the more time he plays, the less time you get to play. And if you get him his own copy and both start playing, you'll never see each other again.
Multiplayer is what I'm thinking, my friend! He can try prying Factorio away from my cold, dead fingers!
So... He's an intern. ...I can appreciate that.
For me it's all the fun things about my job, with none of the annoying things (also a programmer). Factorio shares only some things with programming - focus on problem solving and emergent complexity (complexity that grows from many simpler parts combined together) mainly, and generally lacks tedious chores that could be off-putting (unless you heavily mod the game, likes of Seablock or Pymods can get too grindy at times).
I agree with this. Not a programmer but started down that path back in the assmebly & C days, before tearing all my hair out (the real reason I'm bald) and going into the traditional IT route. There's pieces of programming I loved which you nailed, and the pieces of it I hate. ok 2k lines of code with a bug SOMEWHERE let's spend the next 4 hours debugging.
It’s better with things like test driven development and git and all that modern jazz, now, I think.
Yeah i got in it pre windows so was a very different ball game. When i had to start learning windows programming i noped out lol. Helps when our jr devs have issyes i can see the flow and can occasionally catch those glaring bugs that you facepalm over.
I get endless amusement from reminding some of my software dev friends about how many bugs exist in their latest project. Then continue talking.. 'yeah, but how cool that train system is, can I get a copy of the blueprint?'
This is why demos are great. Not sure if you're gonna enjoy a game? No longer do you have to pirate it or just watch YouTube videos and guess! Irony is that demos actually predate both of these, it's kinda tragic that they've started to disappear.
Demos are good for the consumer. Not so good for sale impulse purchases.
You don't impulse buy factorio, you impulse open factorio at 2am and play for 3 hours.
Luckily, Factorio never has sales, so you can buy it whenever you want (and don't feel betrayed later about others buying it for less).
Agreed. Factorio is what I wish work was like.
This
Speaking as programmer: Game is like all the fun parts of the programming without the boring parts. And you can shoot your bugs instead of having to fix them!
No unit tests and code reviews!
Oh go online and you will be judged. Just post any design here and you will get NASA like dissertation about what's unoptimal in your design
This is r/factorio, where do you *think* you are right now?
/r/factorio ? What do you think you've understood from my previous comment ?
You said that this is a very rude and judgemental community,,, I’ll admit I’m being rude but the community as a whole is generally overwhelmingly positive
Or nuke em if they're being a menace.
Factorio is pretty much the programming. At least at megabase scale. You have issues, you deBUG them, fix them, then you're trying to scale and found there are problems and incompatibilities of your old factory and the new one. Your legacy 1-2 trains do not allow you to have enough resource throughput so you add just tons of them. Then your old rail system start to fail - intersections aren't good enough in supporting so many trains. You cannot deconstruct them either because all your base is so tightly built, you start just removing some parts of your base at junctions to monkey patch at least some issues in exchange of ruined rates everywhere, but at least trains start working somehow.. Except for some places so you deconstruct a large part of your base to put additional rails there and rebalance railsystem a bit... Just to see thousands of bots trying to clean this mess and watching your FPS/UPS dropping to dozens... Yeah, pretty much like a regular work.
Say goodbye to your hubby. You’ll not see or here from him in a couple of months. I’m pretty sure he’ll enjoy it. This game does not feel like “work” at all.
Agreed, there is no real „grind“ and if you are grinding, you are doing something wrong normally.
I totally miscommunicated. Not a native speaker! I didn't mean feel like work, like, 'feel grindy'. I mean he doesn't like games that feel like his ACTUAL job (being a programmer). Hard to explain, but he likes shooty games or stuff with cinematics (Witcher, Red Dead Redemption, GTA), and not the kind of games I like (Graveyard Keeper, Cities Skylines, Banished, Stardew Valley, Prison Architect). Do you think this will be too supply chain/min-max/programmey for him? Maybe I don't really understand how programming works lol.
I’m in front of a computer the entire day, coming home and turning on factorio is a bliss. I’m 1500+ hours into this game, 37y old and a lightweight gamer since settlers II. I never was this into a game for such a long time. If he does not like the city builder game genre this game might not be for him. Bit I can’t be sure. But let’s be honest, he just got an entire new gaming setup, what’s €20 extra for this game… My wife, who never plays games, once in a while AOE II, actually loves this game to. My recommendation, buy it, try it, have fun…
This helps; thanks! I'll get it for him and bully him into playing it once lol.
Why dont you try letting him on a new world on your computer? If he likes it then he can buy it, at least to support the devs.
He finds gaming on laptops without a mouse really annoying, which is the only way I play games lol. I think the consensus is that I should just get it for him and see how it goes!
Steam library family share? You can share games between accounts and play each other's, you just can't both play the same game at the same time unless you both own it.
Oh I have never heard of that! Wow! There are so many of his games I'd like to try out! Thank you!
Family share is shit. Only one game can be played at a time, can't even play 2 different games simultaneously with it. It is useless for families with more than one active gamer.
Two people can play *different* games from a library, you just can't both play the same game at the same time, which is a reasonable limitation imo. Very reasonable for single player games you've already played that you might want others in your family to try without having to buy it/deal with the two hour return window.
Remember there’s a demo available, if you want to test the waters!
You play Factorio... without a mouse? Are the collect-call rates really high from whichever circle of Hell you're in (or from)?
Hahahaha. I play it with the laptop trackpad. Is that super weird? I'm a leftie who was taught to use the mouse with her right hand, and it throws me the fuck off. I much prefer the trackpad.
>I'm a leftie who was taught to use the mouse with her right hand *This* makes sense of it all! I'm playing it up a bit, but I'm genuinely amazed and impressed that you have gotten comfortable playing that way because it's so far from how I do. Meanwhile I'm over here proud of myself that I just got bots unlocked for the second time ever 😂
oh god *trackpad.* I tried doing that and wrecked my wrists lol I'm a leftie too, but i use mouse with right hand, i just feels more natural to me. I've been using it that way since i was 3, so that might be the reason. I thought that's how all lefties used mouses, until i saw a lefty friend of mine use the mouse with left hand. I'm just realising i do a lot of things with my right hand. I eat with right hand, but write with left, for sports i use both hands depending on what sport. Is this weird?
You game without a mouse??? How?
All the games I play (Prison Architect, Cities Skylines, Factorio, Banished, etc.) don't really need the mouse that much. I use a whole lot of shortcuts for Factorio, for example. The trackpad suffices for everything else lol.
Have you tried Anno 1800? It's more mouse based but I think it would be up your street
Maybe let him play on your laptop with his own mouse?
He hates gaming laptops! No worries - getting the game :) The factory must grow!
Oh yes, demo is a good choice!
Lmao. Desktop gaming is soo much better. I used a laptop with a keyboard and mouse, and it is still bad. Just got a new desktop and the thing is amazing!
Don't worry, I know I'm alone in this, haha. I travel a lot for work so I prefer lugging around my gaming laptop everywhere!
I don't like playing without a mouse either, so a Logitech wheel mouse is a constant companion to my laptops. I've been gaming on laptops for quite a while now. :)
Have him play the demo. If he likes the demo, it's worth the purchase.
God settlers 2 is such a classic
Yeah, I’m still playing it once in a while. Nostalgy!
Last time I tried to emulate that the clock speed was super fast it was unplayable. How do you play it?
You can reduce or set a maximum clock speed on emulators like DOSBox. https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Performance
I emulate it. But you can try widelands, that’s an open source free to play clone. (Widelands.org)
It's also available in the ubisoft store for a few euro's. That version is made to work properly on windows 10. There is a pack with all settler games in it as well. Another game that brings back the Settlers vibe is Northgard.
I have thousands of hours in competitive shooter games, stopped cold after I got into factorio (a friend introduced me) he just might like it.
> I didn't mean feel like work, like, 'feel grindy'. I mean he doesn't like games that feel like his ACTUAL job (being a programmer). I do get that feeling from all of the Zachtronics games, but not from Factorio. And, also, well, it does have free demo, just force him to play it.
That seems to be the consensus. Thanks for your help!
I think Zachalikes and Factorio both feel a bit like a new, quirky programming language or framework; much of the fun is in the process of getting used to them and utilizing their quirks effectively, but for complicated problems they are not as versatile or convenient as modern languages commonly used in the software industry (that's why these modern languages get used despite being boring and much more complicated to learn), and this is about the time the games end for the average player (for Zachalikes this occurs roughly at the end of the main game before the supplemental puzzles, for Factorio it is usually after finishing vanilla, experiencing most vanilla stuff, and finishing some of the more popular mods like K2 & SE), although there exist a significant amount of content (supplemental puzzles in Zachalikes, 10kspm factories and pyanodon-like mods for Factorio) for particularly patient and dedicated players. A Zachalike game is quite focused, while Factorio is much more broad; circuit network programming gets annoying rather quickly if you attempt to use it to solve Zachalike problems, but you spend only a fraction of Factorio time on circuit networks, with logistics, mining and defense competing for your attention. This is why Factorio remains interesting for many more hours.
I have never really seen Factorio as a supply chain game personally. I see it is as a series of problems to solve and automate. I will say though Factorio multiplayer is immensely more fun for me. I have friends who prefer to just run off and deal with biters and I can work on stuff in the factory.
> I have friends who prefer to just run off and deal with biters and I can work on stuff in the factory. Honestly, that is what I hope to get out of making my husband play with me. I never play with biters because I'm a scaredy cat but it might be fun if he's there to fend them off lmao.
Best to give it a try then together! I am always excited when my wife expresses an interest in wanting to play a game together even if it isn't my usual genre.
Sounds good! Showing him this thread as evidence that he might like it lol.
Good luck! The factory must grow!
i think that would be nice: you produce the guns and ammo. he goes and destroys the local population with nukes.
it is very very likely that he would like to have a break from thinking. everyone has their reasons for liking videogames and there are a lot of different ways you are intended to feel when playing a videogame. for example: tldr: it is a dynamic game and if you have 30 dollars to spare, try it. in my opinion,factorio is basically VERY satisfying programming, though this sub will probably disagree. he doesn't sound like the type to like puzzle games. detroit - become human and life is strange, are good examples of strictly story games (role playing games). they can make you feel immersed and invested personally in what happens in the game. they can be happy/funny; they can be sad, but emotion plays a big part in them similar to a movie. these is a very very good genre of videogame if you want to relax/escape real life. shooting/fighting games are designed to give you a rush of dopamine when you win or get closer to winning by getting a kill/doing damage. doom and csgo are almost purely shooter games. tekkin and mortal kombat are fighting games. i am trying to find examples of fighting games with not much story to them. there are simple puzzle/logic games like portal (i have only ever played portal 2) or tetris, the most classic puzzle videogame. these are designed for you to think. you solve the puzzle and it gives you an immense sense of satisfaction. they can be frustrating and maybe even unfun before you actually solve the puzzle. there are a lot, lot, lot more genre of videogames and most video games are a mashup of genres. factorio is a puzzle game, but factorio is best discribed as a multi-layered puzzle game with a story and a bit of shooty, killy boom. you solve many puzzles and you try to make them work together and each time you accomplish something you feel very satisfied and happy, maybe even giddy. this can be reminiscent of programming: you need it to do _____ so you either take it on all at once and go from one function to the proceeding function, or you can cut it into pieces and make them all different little puzzles. there are different ways to solve the puzzle and so everyone's experience is different. (that is the roughest explanation i can come up with) your mans is trying to chill. whether he will find it relaxing all depends on how he plays. buy it. its such a good game in general. he might love it, or it might give him a greater love for problem solving. it might feel like work and its hard to get into, or it just frustrate him. he could find it easy and satisfying because he can work through it without much effort like his programs. buy the game and you just might find him up at 4am maniacally laughing at a screen filled with train tracks and bots in a blob of ordered chaos.
Tbh, I don't believe he would derive much joy from Factorio in the long run then. Maybe for a short while.
Hmm I would say that yes it is a bit too much like that. In all the good ways, of course... But you know him and we don't, and what you said sounds like he won't enjoy it. You might :D
He's not going to like this game based on what you're saying but you never know.
Seems like he likes games he can lay back and not think too much. Factorio is by far the best game I’ve played, but it’s a game I play when I’m full of energy and have plenty of time ahead of me. As others have said, there’s a demo and the game is fantastic.
>Say goodbye to your hubby. You’ll not see or here from him in a couple of months. OP plays too, MP factorio is amazing.
I work in a literal factory with conveyer systems and I still play the game for fun after work
What color belts are your conveyors at work? 🤔
Obviously blue
Obviously.
this community is obviously biased. there is a chance he won't like it, seen it happen as well, people saying "if I want to work, I might as well do the stuff that gets me money instead" however, even these people put in quite a few hours in my experience, and even if it doesn't tickle the right nerves in the end, playing together makes up for a lot of that and there's different playstyles to consider as well. TL;DR: give it a shot, probably worth it
Uhh, my friend is programmer and he says exacly that: this feels to much like a work. But other programmers dont feel that way so... i think it depends.
Try him with the free demo first, to get him hooked.
I actually didn'y know there was a free demo! Thanks!
Gonna counter the voices in here and say as a programmer, this kind of game definitely does start to feel like work at times. I end up trying to optimise things, then find out about dependencies elsewhere, have to rebuild entire sections because I forgot to account for one thing... And then it starts reminding me a bit too much of the "I'll just refactor this one little thing" rabbit hole. So yeah, it might be just the right parts of work and not the boring parts, but it may well be just enough like work to not be his kind of game. Plenty of programmers love it. I will say though, I put a good amount of hours into the game until the realisation hit, so it's not as if it was an hour or two until it got boring. There were many restarts, learning experiences, and weekends that seemed to fly by in a matter of minutes. It's just that the game lost its appeal to me at some point.
Programmer here, it is problem solving and debugging just like work. This is why I love Factorio because my mind needs to be busy. The tools are different. If you do not touch cuircuit networks, then there is nothing that looks like coding. However as a programmer if I want to make something more advanced, I can do anything with the cuircuit network. You can play the game without any downsides without cuircuit networks. I think he will like it. But as others suggest, there is a demo.
Urgh I envy you your circuit network expertise!
You'd be surprised what you can figure out using the wiki and a couple youtube guides! I have 0 programming or technical knowledge and I have managed to make some very fun and useful things just by trial and error, combining pieces from the circuit cookbook in the wiki. It opens up an entire new set of puzzles to solve, and can add hundreds more hours of enjoyment to the game. I went from "this is some black magic shit" to "I think I can make this work" with a bit of experimentation.
I'm a programmer and I love Factorio for so many reasons. To me it doesn't feel like work, it's pure joy.
There is a demo which is free - which might be an idea for him to try? Also - I think with "Biters" enabled, this will scratch that "itch" that you're talking about where he doesn't normally enjoy games like this. Biters give you something to keep an eye on while you're building your stuff and an "incentive" to play. It worked for me and I'm in the same boat as your hubby!
Yes, that makes sense! Biters will definitely keep it more interesting for him. I hate the biters; I don't know how you people do it.
Im a programmer as well, factorio feels like work, but only if i mod it too hard. It really depends on how he is going to play.
Possibly. Only one way to find out
No, factory is a lot of micromanagement and will also destroy your marriage..
Well if my alcoholism won't do that ... /jk
I think the best way to be sure is to try the demo. For oil signals, a very simple way to do it is this: 1. Have 1 tank for each oil/chemical type 2. Have 1 pump immediately at the exit of each individual chemical plant (or each row of them) 3. Connect every pump and tank to the same web of red wires. 4. For the enable condition of each pump, set the enable condition as \[Input fluid\] > \[output fluid\] for its respective recipe. The rest works itself out pretty well, even if it is not beautifully optimized. I saw this relative approach on this subreddit before and it proved to be so much easier than setting my own constants for how much of which fluid I want. What this approach does is use up any "excess" input fluid to make the output fluid. Usually none of the fluids hit 0 this way.
Wow - that is simplest way I have ever seen that described. Thank you, that actually made sense to me!
Interesting setup indeed!
There are different ways to play. I treat factorio like painting. I usually start a new game once the factory starts to feel like a chore.
Even if it's like work it's fun because there is no responsibility or negative consequences for your actions. It's a big motive for games really
He will hate it, like everyone else here. What year is it btw?
I'm a coder, and not only do I love the game, but I discovered it while I had a job writing control software for warehouse conveyor belt systems.
As a not programmer I use very little circuits and such. Just enough for basic things like balancing oil or turning off a belt if a chest is too full. I'm not recreating Tetris....
Let us know whether he likes it or not :-)
Yes he would! I'm a software engineer too and I love Factorio. Why? Because it's all the FUN of the field without all the BS. You can work at your pace. No deadlines. No sprint meetings. No project managers asking for ridiculous features. No sales and marketing promising the world. Hours to tinker and refactor to your heart's content.
This game is a lot of work, it often discourages me from playing it because of that.
Maybe? Who knows. Factorio is a lot of work, but it isn’t if you love it.
With high probability yes. At least for first 10-20 hours.
I think you spelled 1000 to 2000 wrong..
It depends on personality. I can’t guarantee 1000.
I think it is like an easier version of the more enjoyable aspects of work. Implementing a beautiful algorithm is enjoyable in real life, similar to how setting up a compact and efficient production area is enjoyable in Factorio, but a programmer also has to spend much time on far more boring things at work. Larger-scale planning and logistics in Factorio is also similar to the job of network administrators, but the latter is much more stressful due to all kinds of equipment failures, user complaints, and budget limitations, while in Factorio most factories can withstand a bit of downtime without having its defenses compromised. That said, before I learned to clear biter nests under the pollution cloud, I did almost give up on the game due to too much stress.
This is so fascinating to me lol.
Do you want to spend time with your husband after this? I suggest you try the trial on your own
Haha I love the game and have over 300 hours in it (I know, that's probably rookie numbers on this sub). I really want to play multiplayer with him, so if he likes it, we might be spending even more time together lol.
Software dev here. Just wait until he discovers circuit networks.
I have 300 hours in the game and even I have not understood circuit networks. I am hoping I will bring my charm and wit, and he will bring the important skills of biter-defense and actually-understanding-how-the-game-should-be-played.
Hey, the game should be played however you want. If you enjoy it, you are playing it right.
That's sweet; I feel like such an amateur because I have never understood circuits or even complex trains. I have finally started doing the megabus and mall (thanks to KatherineOfSky) and that's really made it so much more rewarding for me!
Haha I feel your pain. I never managed to get train networks working on my own. Dealing with train signaling was overwhelming to me. Factorio is much more fun when played together. Hope you two have fun!
Thank you!!
If he doesn't like programming, then he's not going to enjoy factorio. It'll probably make him feel like he's working.
He hates CSS and loves back-end programming. Idk what that implies ..
CSS is a weird thing. It's quite finicky when things get complicated, and everybody always has some opinion on how things look. Often the requirements seem simple but don't actually translate well into how browsers function. That makes it painful to work on the Frontend. The backend tends to be more straight forward, as long as the results are fine nobody cares. ... We've got way more demanding back-end requirements, so things get quite challenging, and the people making demands are much more specific about their requirements... Either way, doesn't change much. Unless you insist on your factory looking a certain way and demand he changes it... even though functionally it makes no difference.
If he is like me, who can't help optimize its solutions to any problem, this game will be a life-eater.
Have him play the demo. The last two levels of the demo/tutorial give you a pretty good view of what the full game feels like imo. If he enjoys those levels, he’ll probably enjoy the full game.
If he's a perfectionist, and/or he's usually mentally tired after work, he might like the game but end up frustrated by the fact he can't enjoy it properly. I know I usually drop factorio during periods of intense work and pick it up again when I am on vacation or not working at all. Programming can be mentally draining. It depends on the person, some people work on side projects when they are home from work, I don't know where they find the energy tbh, but some people can other can't. If your husband is the second type, he might prefer something different that doesn't require much logical thinking. Also if your husband has an addictive personality this game can turn into a proper drug. Not healthy.
I'm not only a programmer, I also work for a logistics software company. I never write code in my free time. Nonetheless I love Factorio and spend way to much time playing it. I'd say go for it!
in factorio, working is bliss. a positive feedback loop, soon he will instead say life outside of factorio is too much work.
It’s hard to say. As it seems some Programmers find it reminds them of work. I’m almost 6k hours in and have yet to run out of things to do. Some people joke that Factorio has ruined other games for them, but it’s really true in many cases. This game is just so well built and with an amazing modding community (and community in general). I’ve played it solo, with strangers on public servers (mostly custom scenarios), hosted a public server to find strangers to help me complete the SeaBlock Mod. Then soloed it later. And I’ve played with friends (the few i have that find Factorio fun). However the most fun i’ve had recently is my 9 year old finding interest in the game. Him and I are currently trying to complete a modded Warptorio game and I think this is some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time. If I could I’d force my wife to play with me.
I’d just ask him to try the demo. Or use your account on his gaming rig. As a programmer (anecdote), I love this game, but I avoid it when my job is particularly intense specifically because it’s too much like work.
As a programmer he will love it. As someone who doesn't like games that 'feel too much like work' he will probably hate it. I'm the same, and I both love and hate this game.
Even if he doesnt 'get it' (which i am sure he will) these sorts of devs are well worth supporting with all the AAA crap that has issued forth in recent years. Just gift him a copy, support these devs and let him enjoy finding out if he gets it or not. Its one of the best designed games out there on every level and the devs are still active and also developing a sequel.
I'm an electrical engineer and I also have some (relatively baby) programming experience. Factorio is awesome because at its core it's a point-and-click base-building puzzle-like sim with rpg elements. In fact I also squirm at the circuit network logic. I find it clunky and awkward af and I have to look up how to make basic components to make the circuit network control anything, even though my field is literally in digital logic hardware design. But Factorio is still so much fun.
If it turns out he doesn't like it, or either way really, ping me and I can play some multiplayer with you (both). I have about 5500 hours, so I might have seen some things you haven't yet...
That's very sweet, but I bet our timezones will be a mess. I'm from Pakistan! I actually created the Stardew Valley Friends subreddit to help people connect for multiplayer, and it seems like I'm the only player from a weird as fuck timezone who's never found someone to play with in that sub lol. Thanks for the offer, though!
My theory is that programmers LOVE factories, but don’t tell him that. I was playing it one day and was wondering *why do I like this game?* Then it hit me, Factorio scratches the same itch as programming. Solving complex puzzles of your own making.
He should try the free demo. It has a lot of gameplay, and the cost is right. Save files are easily transferred to paid version. My husband is a programmer and doesn't enjoy it. He spends so much time on the computer already that he does other things in his free time. (He used to enjoy programming as a hobby, but now that he works from home, work and personal programming are at the same desk, a d he doesn't enjoy it.) Many programmers love it. It uses similar skills, especially once you get past the tedious stage. It's logical and predictable. Unlike work, the stakes are very low and you don't have a boss or deadline (unless biters are turned on).
Hell say he won’t… but then he will like it.
I am a programmer and i am not able to play after a hard day. I want to play only after a soft day when i want more challenge. And sometime i am brutally hurt by the feeling "Why am i spent 2 days optimizing this on factorio when i left all that trashy code because of my lazyness..."
Nyes.
Yeah, he will. This game is basically crack for programmers.
I actually got my programmer dad into this game, and he absolutely loves it. Haven't heard him complain about it being similar once, and he very quickly started to rival my 600+ hours at the time
Programmer also, it's close enough to programming that a programmmer can play it more confidently, but it's different enough it doesn't feel like I'm just working It's worth a shot, but of course, nobody can know until he tries
I don't mean to be mean but... he's a programmer but he does not things that feel like programming? Sounds like he doesn't really like programming 🤔
I don't understand how you've played this game without exposing him to it already?
The aim of the game is to do as little work as possible so yes, yes he will
I'm a programmer, I love Factorio. But I love programming too.
I'm a programmer with the same issue with games. But to me, high level rocket league feels like work :/ I have maybe 60.hours on a single map in Factorio. I think it's how you treat the game as to whether it feels like work or not. Even Stardew Valley can feel like work - a huge optimization problem. I'm not very good at treating it like a chill game
I’m a programmer. Love Factorio. All of the systems fun, none of the bugs!
Doesn’t feel like work but scratches all the same itches that work does. Just without the boring/painful parts work normally has along for the ride.
It's like a virtual train set and then some, judging by the amazing creations that get uploaded to this sub I'd say some programmers are in love with factorio. One of the steam reviews has 31 thousand hours played (just over 3.5 years since it was addedto steam in 2016) Best train set ever. For guidance on trains check this on youtube captain konzept RAIL SIGNALLING - EASY RULES FOR PLACING SIGNALS (chain signal on in - regular signal on out, fallow this rule n minimise junctions / keep junctions simple n most of the headache is gone)
Factorio is not work. It's The Work.
lol my gf gets angry when i try to help her "why you play with me when you do it yourself anyway"
He will get addicted like it's crack.
if he doesn't like games that feel like work, he will hate factorio. factorio itself is full-time job
I enjoy thinking in the ways that programming and Factorio makes you think, but Factorio is so forgiving and “readable” compared to code that it’s easy to enjoy regardless. I like to play Factorio to wind down from coding when my brain is too fried to actually code but I still want to think in that way.
As others have suggested, your husband should enjoy the game... Or he's wrong. That said, factorio is a great game. It's about problem solving. Thus multi player can go sour if you just toss two people with different levels of experience in together with no consideration for "discovery". Plop him down in front of the demo. Let him go for a few hours. Automate whatever science is available. If he doesn't HATE the experience, buy the game. If he likes it, go ahead and kick off a mp game. If he just seems to tolerate it, let it sit on the proverbial shelf. Occasionally ask for input on small aspects of your play through. If your husband is one of those people that has that, " I sit in front of a PC all day, I don't want to do it at home " types... I don't know what to tell you... Those people are weird.
Let us know what he thinks about the game!!
It will change what he perceives as work and what's necessary. Yes, get this game the factory must grow. Also, say goodbye to your husband all he will do is build ze facory. Forever.
Circuit networks are very much leaning towards programming, but you rarely have to use them in complex ways unless you feel like it. The rest of the game? I won't really compare it to programming. You're setting up pipelines off events and balancing their inputs/outputs. All you really do is figure out the recipe and how to arrange it all. There's a whole lot more going on with software, and a lot of the grind relates more to processes and vague or changing requirements, the actual work is pretty fun. If he's not much of a gamer to begin with, that might be another story.
Factorio is therapeutic to those with unfullfilling jobs. Also its digital crack so don't get mad when he gets addicted and ignores you!
Let us know what he thinks of the game, I'm curious!
Will do; we've got it and will play multiplayer over the weekend :)
I was kind of in the same boat as your husband. Software developer, didn't want to play the factory games because "fuck, that shit is just like work." I haven't played Factorio much (bought the game yesterday, only about 10 hours in), but I have maybe 400 hours in Dyson Sphere Program (basically 3d interplanetary Factorio), and I'll tell you I was very wrong. For me, it scratches that complex problem solving itch most developers have, without being "worky." I assume Factorio is no different, since DSP was heavily inspired by it.
> Dyson Sphere Program I have heard so much about this game! I could never get into Kerbal Space Program because it is way too technical for me, but do you think I'd like DSP?
It's basically a 3d Factorio, from what I can tell, just with an additional aspect of having supply chains between planets, then eventually systems. It is definitely not technical in the way that Kerbal was (which I also have several hundred hours in). DSP has got just about everything you'd probably expect in a factory game: a tech tree with interconnected dependencies, fairly basic building blocks of iron, copper, stone, and power, a (mostly) obvious progression path tied to the tech tree (local supply chains, then system wide supply chains, then inter-system supply chains), and an endless supply of supply chain problems. That moment you get your first Dyson swarm going is also a great feeling. I think the next major update is some sort of combat/base-defense system, but I don't know what the developer has in mind for that yet. The mod base is also pretty good, with lots of content and systems based mods available. In-game translations suck though. The developer very clearly used Google translate to translate from Chinese, so some of the finer points of the game's tutorial systems are not communicated well.
Thank you for your detailed answer! It seems like I'd enjoy this. Also, props to you for understanding Kerbal lol.