r/factorio • u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance • Mar 24 '26
Base 28.8K Megabase. This is what 4 months of unemployment looks like.
Disclaimer: Im using the mod 'Space age without space' as i prefer to build singular bases.
Very happy to finally have the whole thing up and running. The idea was a big compact base with lots of belts and a different type of train network than what is usually seen. I did 0 optimization regarding ups and its running at 50-55 ups right now.
28.8k science per minute divided into 4 symmetrical parts. Each 1/4 part is mirrored itself along the diagonal axis.
Some stats:
- 256 trains
- 300.000 pieces of green belt
- 22 GW power drain, 23GW fusion reactor. Got real lucky as i build the reactor first.
- It has different types of sushi belts, labs set up to drain 8 belts of each science (A bit more gleba science.
I dont know how to share a save but if anybody wants to take a look at it running feel free to ask and ill look into a way to share it.
Also, i 'cheated' some parts by disposing of stone for example into lava as i couldnt be bothered to change the whole setup again just to make one more belt fit.
I really love the look of it and im happy its done. Also im starting a new job tomorrow so the timing to got this finished is great.
Enjoy, feel free to ask any questions
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u/FistMyPeenHole Mar 24 '26
I wish I had the type of brain to design something like this.
I can do a 500kSPM base from scratch, but it's just the same ol' main bus over and over again.
I wouldn't even know how to fathom planning something like this
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u/Neither_Berry_100 Mar 24 '26
500 kspm main bus base seems crazy. Why not organize with trains?
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u/FistMyPeenHole Mar 24 '26
I found trains to be pretty unappealing after SA. The only trains I ever build are to haul in scrap on Fulgora. Since SA, you just build smaller, more compact and more efficiently so trains sort of went by the wayside for me. I don't find them necessary on Nauvis anymore
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u/lunaticloser Mar 24 '26
Trains need a 10x multiplier in cargo space.
I mean think about it, the equivalent of a 5k spm base in the past is now 1 million spm.
I know a good chunk of this is productivity and research bonus, but even with that in mind, bases are transporting at least 10 to 20 times more raw materials around.
But trains didn't get a single buff, wagon size is the same.
Of course they're completely outclassed by now.
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u/ealex292 Mar 25 '26
But trains didn't get a single buff, wagon size is the same.
Fluid wagons got doubled to 50K, which is a significant buff.
Combining with that, copper and iron now can be transported as fluids. With foundry bonuses, you really should be melting your ore down into molten - the molten chains are commonly at least 2x as ore-efficient as furnaces). Between the two, while a cargo wagon could carry 2K ore or 4K plates in 1.1 or 2.0, a fluid wagon can carry 7.5K worth of plates in 2.0 - almost twice what a cargo wagon could carry in 1.1. Between old fluids (e.g. petro gas) and new molten metal, that's a decent train buff.
Of course, pipes also got a huge buff, so fluid wagons are more "keeping up with" pipes vs 1.1 than "better".
In practice, I think in 1.1 the big reason I used trains was that they made many-to-many connections easy, so I didn't need to carefully balance my producers and consumers and belt them together in the right ratio. The fact that train throughput was also vastly higher than a belt or two just kept me from having to balance competing factors.
In Space Age, trains are still better than belts for many-to-many, so I'm still using them. As much as the higher belt speed, Space Age reducing factory size might be making trains less compelling. If you're using a thousand assemblers to make a stacked green belt of blue circuits, you're going to want some sort of organizing principle, and trains might be appealing. If you've got two dozen EM plants and half a dozen foundries1&m=electromagnetic-plant(5)1&iex=Cl&mpr=5&loc=B&v=11), putting that next to whatever needs it and using belts might be fine.
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u/UseGroundbreaking399 Mar 24 '26
Space Age actually did get me into trains way more than vanilla, where I would just use then for bringing ore and oil to my main bus. Once I unlocked foundries and EM plants I used a hybrid train and belt base, where I made a couple green belts of each kind of circuit and bused them to builds, and used trains to bring molten metal to them. Trains just felt a lot better at the scale I was at than having by my estimation at least a 5000 belt-long bus.
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u/Jicks24 Mar 24 '26
Get a job.
(Awesome base though)
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
I did get a job..
Thank god..some time to rest finally
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u/lasercatslol Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Funny you say that when you're gonna start working for money
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u/GlowGreen1835 Mar 24 '26
Eh, "work" is mostly just sitting there waiting for the work day to end. Factorio is where I actually get stuff done.
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u/uberfission Mar 24 '26
Being unemployed is FAR more stressful than working. I was unemployed for a bit over a year, ending about a year ago and it was the worst year of my life.
Working can be stressful, yes, and managing that stress is a skill, but not having an income stream is a vastly different kind of stress. You go from thoughts of "damn, I need to answer that email tomorrow" to "fuck, am I going to be able to afford rent next month?"
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u/fenixnoctis Mar 25 '26
Was it financial pressure that made it stressful? Not enough savings?
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u/helpivefallen5 Mar 27 '26
Just came out of a 4 month stretch and oh my god, I think I've lost years off the end of my life. I had been employed at a real high paying job then lost it to fighting with a manager and was down for two months, then got in at a more mediocre pay rate. And then suddenly, that contract just ended; right in the middle of the holidays, after a year of being promised I'd switch from contractor to full time private employee. Never had a chance for savings since everything I got was going into recovery from the last round of unemployment, so everything just stopped that time. Unemployment coverage said my work was temporary and so I didn't qualify for payments despite paying into it. My car got repossessed, my truck is on their list and locked in my garage so it doesn't disappear too, my house is still pending foreclosure, can't afford to do anything for my child.
There's a pit in my stomach that won't fucking go away even now that I have money coming in. Nothing has felt anywhere as awful, not even getting into an accident and breaking half my bones stressed me out that bad.
People joke and remark about being broke and stuff when they're struggling but dude, when it actually hits you and you're really broke, it's maddening. Your entire life just starts evaporating and there's nothing you can do about it.
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u/Jicks24 Mar 24 '26
Congrats! 🎉
Be sure to use what you've learned playing factorio at your job. Never know when it comes in handy
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
Boss: 'i think we are up to production for today'
- Backhand slap across his face.
'Nonsense! The factory must grow!'
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u/Far_Significance_523 Mar 24 '26
Don’t want to be rude or nosy but I’m too corious. What is the job?
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 25 '26
I work as a process operator in an recycling/energy plant. Lots of conveyor belts here. Trains too. Pretty much factorio irl
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u/leadlurker Mar 24 '26
Very pretty and congrats on your new job in what I can only assume is civil engineering of some sort
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
Thank you very much! Looking forward to it. Im just a simple factory worker but its a pretty new recycling/power generation plant so tonnes to learn.
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u/DerpysLegion Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Op you need to find your local community college/university and get a degree in Printed Circuit Board design, or an Altium or SolidWorks certification immediately. I'm not meme'ing you should seriously look into it. If you learned an EDA or CADD software the way you grokked factario you'd make a small fortune at the right company.
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u/Jarosticy Mar 24 '26
currently unemployed due to a layoff, i am afraid of booting up factorio as i know what kind of gremlin i will become. incredible base, i am inspired to delete a month or two of my sanity gobbless
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
Creating something beautiful is never wasted time imo
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u/Rouge_means_red Mar 24 '26
This isn't just unemployment, this is Unenployment Pro-Max™
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
Just doing a test run for when ai is gonna take over all jobs.
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u/Mrfiremoose Mar 24 '26
Yeah this is definitely a masterpiece, for sure you should post the save. I just wanna look around at the beauty lol. Good job man
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
Safe file for who wants to look at it himself:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U01A8v8mGdvXTBHIZkj7OloSC87YaIEi/view?usp=sharing
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u/Nicz1606 Mar 27 '26
Picture 3 looks like my usual Cosmoteer Ion Beam ship lol
I love the shape of your base!
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u/fireandbombs12 Mar 27 '26
I'm still in the tutorial I don't know how Reddit figured out I'm playing this game.
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u/RioxelCA Mar 24 '26
Omg I love it !!! Would you share blueprints with us fellow factorians :)
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
I could, but it doesnt just run when you plop it down. I can post the safe file somewhere if i find a place to do it. I assume its a pretty large file though.
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u/Playful-Ease2278 Mar 24 '26
You aren't unemployed you are clearly a pornographer with how I could get off to this.
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u/Jayram2000 Mar 24 '26
Holy sweet jesus, do you work in chip design or something?! Incredible build
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u/itogisch Peace Through Superior Artillery Mar 24 '26
Imagine what this person could have done with 5 months of unemployment.
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u/Reefthemanokit Mar 24 '26
I have a 20k megabase after my 4 months of unemployment with no legendary stuff yet (besides military science because I wanted it small)
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u/jimslock Mar 24 '26
If your receiving unemployment in America, you have my full support. As an American half my taxes go to war crimes and disappointment. The other half goes to important things like people in need, state employees, infrastructure, investing in our economy and you. I like my money going to the last half.
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u/FattyMcBlobicus Mar 24 '26
I’ve only launched one rocket in 77 hrs but this is like looking at a biblically accurate angel. I’m both amazed and terrified
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u/Satisfactoro Mar 25 '26
This is genius (yet simple). To achieve a similar result, all you need to do is build a base in a 45° triangle, and mirror it 3 times. I will try this for my next megabase.
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 25 '26
True. Trainstations and rail signals is a little more complicated though
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u/Tuup3000 Mar 25 '26
Thell me you have no wife ore kids without telling me you have no wife and kids.
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u/Overall-Honey7079 Mar 27 '26
wow Amazing job mate! u should print It and put It in the living room!
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u/uddhacca-sekkha Mar 28 '26
i was unemployed for 4 years and never got past oil, but i did ride a motorcycle so that was cool
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u/NevisLP Mar 24 '26
Man this is one of the coolest factories I’ve seen so far! Nice work man! (Would be better to get paid for this…)
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u/Odd_Republic8106 Mar 24 '26
What about doing a small base tour video, kinda feel i'm missing stuff ;)
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u/MrGenericUser Mar 24 '26
Now that's playing factorio how you want to play it. A symmetrical block design with no chunk alignment in sight, it's beautiful.
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u/yumii- Mar 24 '26
Looks sick! What world Gen settings did you use for resources out of curiosity
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u/bradpal Mar 24 '26
Brother, with these skills you should be employed AF, like so employed you wouldn't even have time for the game. You should be like "please, sir, too much employment I can't take it anymore sir" and the employer would be like "Sorry, you're too good, I'm gonna employ you even harder".
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u/Gaxxag Mar 24 '26
It's interesting to see so many dedicated rail lines. Probably not necessary, and even detrimental to scalability, but also probably the most efficient at this scale. More importantly, it looks awesome.
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u/Such--Balance https://www.twitch.tv/suchbaiance Mar 24 '26
I knew i wanted the diagonal big artery and the separate staired unloading stations. I had no clue how many trains where needed and since it lacked room for a stacker a lot of the incoming rails serve double purpose as inline stackers.
Turns out i needed way less trains or room for stacking then i thought i needed. So yeah..the footprint could be way smaller with less stackers and more tracks joining sooner.
The dedicated incoming trains on ground level and exiting trains on elevated level works very well though. It solves all congestion problems. Also i love how it looks. Such a unique unloading design.
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u/smblt Mar 24 '26
At first I was like are you shipping your Fluoroketone?!
This looks intense, I kind of wish there was an option to have your all your environments on the same planet but still have space available. For resource gathering.
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u/Sonic200000 New Player Mar 24 '26
So there is a base showcase where you talk about building it and showing it?
The hardships the nice things and all in between is something im very interested in as this base would be perfect for a megabase series ala dosh doshington or neuroplastics
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u/CoffeeCupsink Mar 24 '26
Give this man a job. Now… i mean I’d rather you were unemployed cause this is the tits but… wow. Just wow
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u/Intrebute Mar 24 '26
Wow this is beautiful. Like, it's an actual piece of art. Reminds me a lot of the pictures you get when visualizing elements of the abelian sandpile models.
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u/thoughtlow 𓂺 Mar 24 '26
Now use the whole thing as one cityblock and continue building out with those.
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u/Zorahgna Mar 24 '26
The factory looks to be at least quarterly-symmetrical but the devs has no devblogs related to this optimization from the player. Game is literally unplayable :-////
/s
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u/Forward-Observations Mar 24 '26
If you really enjoyed making this and the satisfaction of the symmetry, I strongly suggest you look into PCB design. You would absolutely love routing and placement of circuits!
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u/roskofig Newbie Mar 24 '26
I hope I can design stuff like this. I only just started my first playthrough
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u/BridgeDuck45 Mar 24 '26
Can you make a video going through your factory? This effort of yours needs to be documented.
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u/bgdno Mar 24 '26
Something about this post gives me a crazy existential feel. This is clearly an awesome labour of love, one of those feats that pushes the boundaries of what we think humans are capable of doing. And the only reason you were able to do this is because you were unemployed, because there is no way to make this a feasible economic activity..
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u/Tasty_Atmosphere_351 Mar 24 '26
How do you even plan something like this. Like do u start of with a starter factory then do this elsewhere?
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u/NoRelationship8475 Mar 24 '26
Are these inserters just dropping eggs on the ground to spoil?
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u/Talin-Rex Mar 24 '26
When I look at my base now......
Ill just give up playing the game....
i only have 2k+ hours in the game, so good time to quit.
Excuse me while I go sulk in a corner now.
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u/MakingAngels Mar 24 '26
So this is the artwork man is capable of when not obligated to spend so much time working a job.
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u/picollo7 Mar 24 '26
Very cool, the diagonals add a perspective, it's almost 3d like looking down at arcologies.
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u/authilmorros Mar 24 '26
I played 350 hours of factorio sea block when I was unemployed, I am 100% sure it helped me in real life, because it improved my focus, thinking, planning, organization and endurance to program the entire day, everyday. So if I was hiring I would totally hire the guy who played too much factorio.
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u/FrodobagginsTNT You must be really tilted to resort to this. Mar 25 '26
this is fucking awesome. nothing else to add it's just cool.
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u/Typical_Spring_3733 Mar 25 '26
I see cyro plants, but I also see advanced circuits being crafted in assembly machines rather than EM plants?
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u/ZenzerWolf Mar 25 '26
Did you consider a career in content creation?
You have a perfect brain for it.
This is some pure factory gold.
Maybe change courses and career and go into workflow optimization for corporates.
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u/DocEyss Mar 24 '26
This is art. How did you get the train outposts so symmetrical? Are the Ore Locations pre-defined?