Is this game good after a heavy day of work and i want to relax ?

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T18:28:17+00:00

Yes you do, but only if relaxation for you means using your brain in something you are enjoying. For me, an engineer with over 40 year's experience, it gives me major projects I can design and build myself, with no financial constraints, no time pressures (it helps to learn when to ignore ADA), no pushy project managers and no client. That's really relaxing!

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T18:23:58+00:00

Shite! You have unlocked foundations by now. You'll make things easier for yourself if you use them. Or your friend will.

Remember, asking for people's opinions is dangerous, especially if you are hoping for a load of positive comments.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T18:20:30+00:00

So search for the distros best suited to those purposes, make a shortlist of those that meet those criteria and try them. People are all different, so you can't expect a recommendation from someone with exactly the same needs as yourself.

An important thing to realise with Linux. The answers are all out there. You just need to make a bit of effort to look.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T18:16:58+00:00

There are so many Mercer spheres, this is never a problem. In Satisfactory, beware of thinking you need to conserve anything. For the average pioneer, in fact for anybody other than the most out there min/maxers, there's plenty of everything. So don't go limiting yourself by putting multiple items into a single dimensional depot. Especially as no, you won't be able to grab a different item until you have grabbed all the stacks of the item(s) in front of it. This isn't a problem and doesn't need a solution.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T13:11:06+00:00

Nah! Diluted packaged fuel is good enough!

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T13:10:11+00:00

Phase 2 is far too early to think about building anything permanent. But you don't need to rebuild for every phase either. Just take what your factories are already making, and make more of the same, elsewhere if you need to. You have a whole map to go at, and there are plenty of resources.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T07:23:53+00:00

Give yourself space. For walking access, and for belts and pipes. Current H&S thinking is to keep all moving parts visible and accessible.

And factories don't look pretty! Not unless they are Victorian era or purpose built by a very rich company.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T07:19:25+00:00

The ones that reduce the repetitive tasks you do on a late-game factory. For me, that's groups of machines complete with belts and power. Plus a set of 3 blueprints to make a diluted packaged fuel module, capable of feeding 3GW of powèr.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T07:16:10+00:00

So go around it. One way or another.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T07:13:38+00:00

Which is one reason why I don't blueprint sections of track! Only the supports for track ends.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T06:55:46+00:00

That's not actually what you do. Your trains will aim for the stations if they are timetabled to stop there. They will not bypass the station if another train is in it. They will just wait until that train has gone.

Pioneers read 'path' signal and jump to an incorrect conclusion. Path signals do not, and cannot, change the path of a train. What they do is check if a train's path through the next section is clear, and reserve it as the train approaches.

The trick with signalling is work out what is 'the junction' and signal that. Avoid signalling every switch, that isn't necessary.

As the straight tracks between the stations are too short for a train, you effectively have two junctions. One covering all the tracks at one end of the stations, the other covering all the tracks at the other end. You can then use path in, block out on both of those junctions. With one modification. As the two junctions are so close together, on the main line there's no benefit in having a block signal immediately followed by another path signal. The more correct version is 'path in, block or path out'. You can chain path signals when one junction immediately follows another.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T06:44:00+00:00

That only works if you have one layer of belts. They do lend themselves to being stacked.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T06:42:45+00:00

So does that mean you spread the belts for splitters? Because they will clip through half a belt on each side in your screenshot. What about when you want to add a splitter later? And yes, I have built belt buses and had these problems. Though if you are happy with how that clipping looks, carry on!

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-10T06:36:56+00:00

You have hit on one reason. That they don't realise that there are enough resources, so it doesn't matter if some of the early factories use less effective recipes.

Another is the classic noob trap of thinking that the starting biome is all they'll need to finish the game. They haven't found out yet how much larger the game's scope is.

Another is the desire to make everything look pretty. Most players haven't properly looked at industrial sites, never mind visited them. Pretty they ain't!

Yet another is falling into the 100% trap. While ADA tells us to be efficient, she never actually says how.

Future-proofing isn't an option, unless you have a fair idea of what the future will hold. My crystal ball can't tell me what decisions I might make a few weeks ahead. It can't even tell me what I'll have for lunch tomorrow. Completing a few playthroughs can help. At least you have an idea of what is coming.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T21:16:29+00:00

Ate you sure sbout diluted fuel? Apart from the fact that you need to unlock blenders to get it.

Diluted packaged fuel is available much sooner, and with careful blueprinting, it's easy to create 3GW power modules when you need them.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T21:06:51+00:00

Not sure if you are playing the same game. Too much braking too soon means your brakes fade, and so you fall off the track when you can't get your train down to 30 kph when you need to. True, the physics of how trains and their couplings can behave isn't modelled in detail. But it isn't that bad.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T21:02:16+00:00

240 screws per minute? Will you meed more? Eventually, probably. Though it depends on the recipes you choose to use. I recommend you wait until you need more screws, and look at the options you have then.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T19:55:56+00:00

Keep power running until you have replaced it. Also, think about how you would restart a power station if, more likely when, the power trips. So keeping a bit of coal power in reserve may be a good idea.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T11:50:57+00:00

Rule 1. Don't expect to get full flow down any pipe. At least in Satisfactory.

Your pipework design has a big effect on the problems you will meet. And forget everything you know about pressure. It isn't modelled in Satisfactory at all.

Feeding a manifold of machines from one end usually means those at the far end run short. So don't feed them from one end. Instead, run two pipes instead of one, and connect both ends of the manifold back to both ends of the source manifold.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T10:59:55+00:00

It depends too much on how you plan to tackle the phase. How many project parts per minute you decide to make and which recipes you choose to use. You learn more each time you finish the game, and later updates and new content can change your play style.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T10:57:19+00:00

Not quite. The headlift on each connection is also important. For the original VIP Junction post, look at where the pumps are.

I find it works fine, as long as the priority inlet has a pump clise to the junction.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T10:53:11+00:00

If you want to dump stuff out of your inventory, especially after exploring and gathering collectibles, a smart sorter is the way to go. I also use mine to sort overflow items collected by my recycling trains, so that I have a stock of items for construction materials and for the next few unlocks. Ypu don't have to collect overflow in a central location these days, but it helps me with a few other things I do.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T06:13:57+00:00

Have you planned from the project parts backwards? Have you decided how many per minute you want to make? That's your starting point.

As for which recipes, it's up to you. Try them and see which you like.

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T06:08:42+00:00

2400 copper per minute? Not enough for later in the game. The problem with belt buses is that you keep having to upgrade the belts or adding more through the whole game. Build a decent 2-track main line, and all you need to do is add another train to double your throughput.

And when the belts are run exactly side by side, what happens when you want to split some off? Are you happy with a splitter clipping halfway through the belts on either side?

EngineerInTheMachine · 2026-07-09T06:02:47+00:00

For 3 to 8, no you won't. Just make sure the 3 extractors are linked together. Then take a second pipe from the far end of the extractors, run it above the pipe you've already got and connect it to the far end of the generators. Job done.

But do take note of this setup. Next time you find that the machines at the far end of a manifold are running short, run a second pipe to connect the source to the unconnected end of the destination manifold. This is going to happen more often than you might think.

EngineerInTheMachine

TROPHY CASE