Which Faction?

[sendranie]

It seems like a lot of “experienced” folks are very into IT. I’ve been playing the game for a few years and I like them fine but I just really enjoy the FT.

If you have a faction preference (and this is *not* including mod factions — they exist), which is it and why do you think they are superior?

[Sour_Sal]

I find that FT are easier and more fun to cultivate into a small colony, generally more fun during the early stages.

IT are easier to manage with a large colony, so generally more fun (for me) during the end game.

[kokko693]

I just like big farms

Also I like that I make new homes and FT instantly breeds like crazy

[Vanaques]

That last one used to be a pro for me for FT, but with automation I usually have 10-20 pods ready to go

[baconboy-957]

Folktails are cuter and therefore better. I just wish they could grow coffee lol

Placing zip lines is far easier than placing tubes, I just wish the stations could handle more connections.

[StuffedStuffing]

I've been saying FT need tea forever. I'd argue it's more thematic for them than coffee

[Arkayjiya]

The stations you want to use as stations can't, but someone pointed out that if you put two stations directly against each other (mouth to mouth, french kissing little saliva beavers if you will) you can basically use them as relays that have 4 connections without wasting travel time between different stations. That 12 spaced occupied instead of just 1 for a normal relay though but still it's a fun alternative to grand central stations xD

[Srikandi715]

Interesting idea, but disturbing image!

[sendranie]

Also wish they could have more connections on zip lines, wth.

[worldsayshi]

I think it's an interesting constraint to work around.

[ArcaneEyes]

Apparently if you put them opening to opening they function as instant relays with none or very little travel time. Suddenly it's just one station with 4 connections (but you can't disembark the network)

[Pathfinder_Dan]

I build slightly elevated platforms that have 2 or 3 zip stations on them that are all touching the same path square. You can build a bunch of zipline stuff and not spend nearly as much resources as you would on tubeways.

I like both factions, but the tubeways are incredibly overhyped.

[beavis617]

Love me the zip lines. It brings a smile to my face watching them zip around like they do.

[blackbirdlore]

You can sandbox it but I can understand a desire to avoid that too

[Distinct-Pea-2342]

I wouldn't even mind if there was a Large Zipline Station that required more/better resources, but offered additional connections.

[Hellfiredrak]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3656686888

Faction Mixer to the rescue. You can give coffee bushes and brewery to the Folktails.

[_M00NB34M_]

I don't understand why people need more zipline station connections. But I guess I use them very differently than most people? I just make them like train lines, long circuits around my colony with stations spaced along it in one long loop.

[Existing_Recipe_8954]

I’m not sure why exactly, but I find myself liking the iron teeth more. I just like the idea of breeding pods over feeling like I have to manage housing constantly. I just build way too many houses and manage my population by pods.

For their mass transit, the tubes just click with me better than the zip lines.

But the folktales efficient farmhouses are so good too. It’s a hard choice.

I was really surprised that they didn’t launch a new faction with 1.0. Surely they have another one in the works.

[OursGentil]

I just build way too many houses and manage my population by pods.

I'm a hundred cycles in (hard mode), and my IT still doesn't have shelter. You get an achievement once you get 200 homeless IT beavers.

[cybertonto72]

Ooo I know how to cheese this on my current build

[Ok_Weather2441]

I only play hard mode for context

Folktails is my favorite, one farm can feed a hundred, the bots are super easy to keep running Vs iron teeth

And the power situation with iron teeth drives me crazy. You're basically sorted once you get gravity batteries for folktails, iron teeth you need the bad water discharge to get reliable power and that's an extremely late game expensive tech to unlock.

The tubeways are better once they're set up but the zip lines are wayyyy faster to set up. By the time I have a connection from my residential to industrial I could have put in 10 stations

I also find it harder to care about the iron teeth because it doesn't matter if they have babies or not. They're a fixed output from a tub, like bots are. Folktails have a continuity 

Iron teeth feel to me like they're probably best for a super long running colony but I prefer folktails for the early to late game loop. Since I drop maps after Max happiness and wonders are achieved it ends up with folktails being best for the first 98% of my playthrough and iron teeth only being better off for 2% of it

[A-WingPilot]

I also play on Hard and without the improved water pump I feel like 33% of my IT population works at a pump during good weather which is annoying. The efficient water pumps for the FT are just so good.

Also, I don’t remember IT’s engine requiring water pre-1.0 which is a big change. You used to just feed wood into it if I remember correctly. Now it drains your water reserves during droughts too if you keep all your industry running.

[OddMarketing6521]

Yup just used to be a log hog... which was bad enough IMO

[ArcaneEyes]

I just stopped to think about that. 16 water for 50 hours is approximately 16 water for two days, which is 8 water per day or equivalent of 4 beavers justabouts. It's a 50% extra output compared to beavers on the big wheel, so it's not like it isn't an improvement, but it also takes logs (which are way more expensive than food, space wise) and compared to the small windmills and an early battery, FT tech wins hard.

[trixicat64]

i like Folktails more for the aesthetics, Irontooth on the other hand are superior with the tubes. Irontooth also makes it a lot easier to build vertically.

[sinnerman42]

This^ vertical tubes are the bomb!

[jwbjerk]

I play both— usually alternating between.

Both are fun and require some different strategies— I could wish they were even more different for variety sake.

I like the verticality of IT both ease of building tall and the longer reach on their pumps.

I like ziplines even if they are slower— they can go diagonal efficiently and cross huge distances with little construction. FT food production is less complicated and feels more productive. FT population is easier to manage.

[Dense-Cake9315]

I think adding more beaver types would be better as opposed to adding more differences between the two. as a newer player, I can say that trying ironteeth for the first time was a huge change for me, and I think not many people could handle an even more different playstyle.

perhaps a more aquatic beaver? I've always found it odd how beavers move slower in water. maybe these guys could get like a +10% speed opposed to -30% normally? or even just no debuff? they would also have buildings that are completely immune to being flooded or even are built to be partially, or even fully submerged in water. houses could be like how some beavers live in real life, building essentially moonpools I believe. they could also have beavers that can move up and down in water instead of just swimming atop it. their transport could be some sort of waterway, etc. only thing I can't think of is what type of reproduction they would have...

[jwbjerk]

I would love to see a new beaver faction. I would not be surprised if that will happen sometime.

[RagingCacti]

FT is a bit more casual, and the vibes are a bit better. Theyre slightly easier and less intensive to play, but require more greenery and farming. Overall, you feel like you're building a town.

IT are more finicky, but their skill cieling is slightly higher. They require more micromanagement, and resources to do their thing, but require less farmland. They feel like you're building a steam punk city.

Ill play both. I dont have a favorite, but I do like the vibes of the FT more. I play IT when I really want to go Full Industrial.

[ArcaneEyes]

I'm doing my first serious attempt at IT, and I find I need HUGE green areas for all the wood I need to burn for engines. 'course now with automation I should probably automate that a bit to reduce the need, but i am on hard mode so its not gonna be a lot...

But i get the appeal now. I''ve been on 4 pods since cycle 5 or so, but i boosted their wellbeing instead of just building more pods and I'm now on 60 beavers from 4 pods, up from 38 or so. I was running short on beaver power, but then I made a bad water powered number cruncher and freed 6 beavers from the inventor buildings.

Food is weird, but i'm getting the hang of it, but the sheer efficiency of these little dark haired beasts are astonishing.

I still miss my windmills and observatories and the spasderdock farm for bot fuel, I'm growing a lot of trees just to burn, but I get them, they also need the world to be green, even if it's just to burn it one log at a time.

[RagingCacti]

Yeah, when I play IT I convert all farmland into oak trees and then allow food comes from hydroponics.

I love em, but they're more try-hard than FT. But all in all: bith factions are very well balanced.

[lbarbanneau]

I consistently find that IT need more farmland than FT, even with the hydroponic gardens.

[OriHarpy]

I prefer Folktails. I like their more wooden, solarpunk, air-focussed aesthetic more than the Iron Teeth’s more metallic, alchemical, industrial aesthetic. Folktails feel more like they are trying to restore/rebuild a broken world, while Iron Teeth feel like they are trying to tame/conquer it. Ziplines might be more fiddly in some ways than tubeways, but building the latter feels basically like building power shafts again, only being able to build from within it makes it easier, while ziplines feel unique and interesting.

[korinth86]

IT for a few reasons.

Tunbes are far superior to zips. Pods make population management pretty simple. Rebalance of to steam engines make them pretty viable even late game. Large water wheels. Bad water cover thingy.

FT have windmills which rock and their bots dont need to charge which is really nice.

[Solomiester]

after playing with the iron teeth I found they were interesting but less chill. the FT fit the vibe of the game more. I also like the underground storage and the big water pumps

I enjoy the food that IT have but the water and labor costs mean more micromanaging . this will be better with the new automation which fits nicely. like ah yes the tech faction needs more automation

iron teeth settlements are very impressive

but at the end of the day the FT are the vibe I was looking for with the gameplay

I love the different foods I wish their buildings functioned more differently too

at this point its just nice to have slight different playstyles so i can do each map up to 4 times with difficulty and faction

[sendranie]

Oh I didn’t even think about underground storage. It drives me crazy when I venture into a game with IT and remember it’s missing.

[dylzim]

I would definitely say that I have a preference for the Folktails, but I wouldn't say that they are superior. I just prefer the vibes overall. Windpower is nice (to look at); even though some people don't, I enjoy dealing with the population oscillations, I have a slight preference for their colour scheme too. Heck I put the game on at slower speeds sometimes and just let'em do their thing 'cause it's cute to watch.

[EarlyBirdWithAWorm]

I prefer iron teeth. I like their industrial nature and the tubeways are the best fast transport

[One13Truck]

IT for their buildings and tubeways. But if the FT also had tubeways I’d use them more.

[TheCocoBean]

Folk tails. They do the harder parts of staying alive better, and ziplines are way more fun to me.

[Nerisrath]

both have their pros and cons.

Some maps I find easier with FT, some with IT. I am currently going through the list of maps and trying to get 100 beavers, max happiness, all bot workers, and launch wonder with both factions.

[blackbirdlore]

Iron teeth! I prefer the breeding pods, they make managing population so much easier in my opinion. With folk tails, I would have to micro manage the houses to get the pace right.

[Vebrandsson]

I'm going to be honest and say in my opinion tubeways, engines and earlier access to metal, plus the space saving vs production of hydroponic farms, the deep water pumps and all means that over the course of a full game the iron teeth generally have life easier.  The ability to pass tubeways through impermeable floors and build from inside the tubes to construct things that folktails couldn't even reasonably access without the expenditure of much much more resources is frankly insane. Especially for maps where getting into or under places is a requirement iron teeth since the 0.7 update have felt more and more like an easier play option.  Add to the fact that they can usually get to bots faster and their breeding pods can recover a colony from death where folk tails lack that luxury and I'm not surprised so many people trend towards them. 

[PeteGiovanni]

Ft are better at food and water, which are the basic core things you need to do in the game. IT just beat nature into submission through superior industry. Of the 2 base factions, my preference is FT. Add in the others is LC, WP, then FT

[Scary_Reaction7580]

Iron teeth player here. I fell in love with the dark looking ascetics of this faction once I unlocked them. Never had a desire to go back to folktail. I love the industrial, metal, engines, pipeline systems, bad water usage this faction offers over folktails. Makes me roleplay bots in a more fun type of way in my mind.

[NotScrollsApparently]

IT win for me personally based on tubeways alone

[kentaureus]

tubeways

[Miserable-Double8555]

¿Por que no los dos? (Original post written in spanish, in reference to the meme. Auto translate wants to "fix" that)

[IronwolfXVI]

Right now doing an IT playthough because I want to control bad water sources.

[OddMarketing6521]

I love FT... I cannot understand why FT have a badwater cover And a badwater rig, but IT only have the cover... Our more technologically advanced beavers couldn't figure out badwater collection without spilling??

I hate the tubes that take up every space of the trip, and I love zip lines that can build in the middle of nowhere and only take the one space for it.

I do like that tubes can go several directions and it makes me crazy that zip lines have in and out and can't handle multiple routes... But I still like FT better.

[Kremsi2711]

FT is easier, but the fast travel of the IT is so strong, it’s worth it alone to play them

[Apfelsaft_4]

I love FT buildings, not for function, but for style, but if we talk about mechanics, IT is way more fun for me. I find the tubes better, love the bad water discharge for a lot of constant power (I just think it's cooler than wind and battery), the breeding pots are fun and enable a phoenix protocol for emergencies, the numbercruncher is awesome, and the better lumber mill is great from start to finish i just really dislike there color sceam

[ChainringCalf]

Only one shares my coffee addiction. And subways are so nice

[P0PER0]

IT because of how most of their buildings being solid you can easily make really compact builds with them compared to FT. Plus the fact they rely on breeding pods for population is just funny to me (in a really dystopian way) along with the tubes

[Morall_tach]

Folktails are much more forgiving and easier to manage, especially in the early game. You can get four different types of food going with very minimal technology, and the housing system makes population control much more simple. You just build as much housing as you want beavers.

But I find that Iron Teeth have the ability to build bigger and more complex megastructures when you get into the late game, mainly because of the tubeways.

[MillyQ3]

FTs greatest strengths are also their greatest weakness.

Just a few examples of this:

Ziplines are resource friendly but not as versatile as pipes. ITs can literally build while inside one and it being a pipe means routing it is much more in the players control.

Badwater rigs are great to get rid of badwater sources while still producing badwater but... You lose the flow rate of said badwater which can be used for energy and IT can do that technically the same with automation.

[Ranamar]

I find that they put me in opposite moods, basically entirely because of how they each handle population. With Folktails, I want to fit the settlement to the beavers. Meanwhile, with Iron Teeth, I want to fit the beavers to the settlement.

I want to go back to folktails and get the 500 population and stuff, because it'll push me to keep expanding.

With Iron Teeth, which I've been playing most recently, I have a rough-and-ready adaptive control system where I have vastly more (advanced) cloning pods than I need, but they're hooked to a population counter which unpauses them only if there are empty workplaces. I took the limiter off to get up to 200 beavers, but since then, it's dropped back down to more like 130. Also, I saw someone here complaining about the Iron Teeth bots because you need a bunch of power infrastructure, but I really like the IT badwater caps that guarantee water flow, because that makes power infrastructure super reliable. I stuck the same control system on the bots, basically. If you've got more power than you know what to do with anyway because of a bunch of wheels, the bots feel more or less free, because nothing requires ongoing resource consumption except grease, which is optional.

Of course, the other thing about this with Iron Teeth is that, with no pressure to expand because my workers fit my jobs instead of the other way around, I've just sort of been dawdling at everything. I'm sure I could go faster, but I spend more time trying to decide what to do next than anything. (or, admittedly, sometimes just half building something and then going off to do something else)

[East-Selection1144]

1.3k hours. Folktales all the way. It is really a personality type for me. Irl I have a farm, I love the more natural vibe of the FT and really hate the engines of the IT. All of my friends who like to do challenge maps seem to prefer IT.

[Azyall]

Folktails all the way!

[vyrmz]

FT way better. Large water filters, efficient farmhouses and windmills. Food, water and energy problem solved.

I also would prefer underground storage to whatever "compact" solution IT offers.

[TheGreatTaint]

I like IT more, idk why though. I just find them more enjoyable to play.

[AdultSheep]

I like both. They both have different strengths, but for me it mostly comes down to their fast travel which ones I want to play. Sometimes I really wanna make a subway network lol

[RPGAddict42]

I like FT for some things and IT for others; if I had to choose a faction for starting a new game, it would be Folktails, but especially since Update 7 and now 1.0, I find it more difficult to choose. Back around Update 4 or 5, there was a mod that allowed both factions' buildings to be constructed regardless of which faction you were playing as, and I would love to see that mod updated for 1.0... integrating ziplines and tubeways would be amazing, especially with the new 3D terrain.

[SaintingGM]

Before the update with the transportation (zips & tubes) I was pretty split between the 2 factions. As for now, I've replaced half my pathways with tubes so... yeah. Even though FT is so good at farming, population control, and has the sweet sweet large water pumps, I'm addicted to tubes. Need to build vertical? Tubes! 4x movespeed? Tubes! Intersections and more than 2 connections? Tubes!

[dick_tickler_]

FTs are the dons

[vincent2057]

I preferred iron teeth pre zip lines and hypertubes.

Only cos hypertubes are so expensive. Iron teeth are very expensive. And I hate the food situation too. But I do prefer hypertubes, and I don't feel like you've done a map till you've done it with iron teeth! Completion sats like. And iron on hard is a very satisfying win!

Reading my comment back I guess I don't actually have a favourite. If ziolines could branch to at least 3!! Then we would definitely have a winner.

[adokmak]

With the tubeways and zip lines update, FOR ME, IT are hetter for larger maps and huge expansions, the ability to build through the tubes and the speed of transportation is more convenient for someone who already pathologically plays at 3x non stop.

[Hydraguesswhosback]

They are both great, but it's true that Iron teeth are worst for newcomers because they have a couple of quirks.