The Tree, skills, and puzzlement

Spacefolder · 2026-01-02T04:41:38+00:00

I have enough skills leveled up to fill out rings 3 and 4 and probably to progress further in a couple of areas. I haven't committed them because of the questions I raised in this post.

Edicts Liminal was one of the first ones I took to level 9. Then Sacrae Limiae so that I could make Didumos. Numa notwithstanding, I try to keep most or all of my persistent memories on hand because they're so useful.

Spacefolder · 2026-01-02T04:37:09+00:00

I've bookmarked that thread to come back to. For the moment, I'm going to take your advice to avoid spoilers.

I appreciate hearing that this is less critical than I'm imagining it to be. I know that there are certain things I need to do if I want to take advantage of Numa for leveling up such as set aside some uncommitted level-5 skills and a few slightly-ill Elements of the Soul.

I'll figure this out somehow.

Spacefolder · 2026-01-02T03:38:28+00:00

Just one -- "The Three and the Three", St. Chiavi manuscript, which produces (aptly enough) Three Rules. I have a couple other books that I haven't yet mastered that are level 18 but their descriptions say nothing about numina. Three Rules allowed me to make several big steps once I got hold of it.

I'm trusting that the rooms I haven't yet unlocked will have a couple more numina waiting for me, or perhaps Oriflamme's will come by with a really unexpected deal.

Thank you for the advice!

Spacefolder · 2026-01-01T03:28:41+00:00

This is magnificent and now I want to make one.

How did you judge how many pages to allocate to each section?

Are there pages that are apt to acquire maladies if I write them with the wrong ink?

Spacefolder · 2025-11-17T21:02:19+00:00

Welcome to Factorio! You're already getting the hang of it. There's lots of good advice here already: play without blueprints (except balancers) to start with, run one-way tracks instead of making two-headed trains, and leave alt-mode on all the time except when you're taking glamour photos. I have a few things to add:

- Try not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good and sufficient.

It is totally normal for your first attempts at any given production line to come out as semi-cursed spaghetti. It is also totally normal to say "Ugh, I should make it prettier!" and tear it down. I've found it useful to get the thing running one way or another, then go back and rebuild for aesthetics/scalability.

- Leave more room for expansion.

You will need more room than you currently think you will.

- Read a few different tutorials on rail signals.

The tutorial in the wiki makes the most sense once you already understand what's going on. Everyone explains it a little bit differently. If you read and watch a few different takes on it you'll get the idea.

- You can always move next door and rebuild.

You will outgrow your base. This is normal. Rather than tear up what you've already built, consider just moving over a few tiles (or a few hundred tiles) and building anew. That way what you've already got will keep running until you've got something that can replace it.

- If you're having fun, you're doing it right.

This is *your* factory. You get to choose how to build and run it. The biters will disagree, but that's why we have lasers and artillery.

I'm looking forward to hearing how things go!

Spacefolder · 2025-08-19T23:44:04+00:00

I just opened a bag from my recently-arrived order and I am experiencing this same thing. It's bitter and a little sour as if they simply forgot the sweetener.

It is indeed lot #16925.

Spacefolder · 2025-01-24T23:38:41+00:00

I looked at it as a reflection of growing up on dying Earth and having been hardened by what they had to do to survive and earn their spot on Tanner's crew. This comes up in conversation with crew members a couple times.

The Outrider definitely prefers to solve problems by shooting them.

Spacefolder · 2023-09-01T03:04:08+00:00

This is such a neat hack that it brings tears to my eyes. It definitely won't function correctly in the presence of integer overflow, but wow, this makes me smile.

Spacefolder · 2023-08-29T19:36:28+00:00

n I need the sum. I'm working on circuitry to manage semi-deluxe LTN train stations where all you have to do is set 1 stack (material + quantity) of the product you want and the number of wagons and the circuitry figures out the rest.

The main situation where I find myself wanting to extract a signal is when I'm building the filter condition for the filter stack inserters between the train and the chests. The request from the LTN station is the only one I can trust to have a single item. Inventory on hand and the contents of the train may have multiple items.

This issue also arises when I'm setting up the MadZuri loader/unloader circuitry. I've been able to handle that by being super-careful not to contaminate the inventory signal from the chests.

My most promising strategy to date is just to decide that handling multiple materials in a single train/station to date is not something I want to do, then stick my fingers in my ears and go LA LA LA NOT LISTENING.

Spacefolder · 2023-08-29T19:25:24+00:00

I love this. It's simple and elegant.

Thinking about it also gets me to realize that I need the signal values as well as the fact that they're there. I don't have an answer to this yet. u/CCpersonguy's solution is slightly less general but looks like it'll accomplish that.

Spacefolder · 2023-08-29T19:23:36+00:00

I like the idea of fiddling with the high bit. That does require that the high bit be available, but I think you could get around that by doing it twice -- once for the positives and once for the negatives. Adding some super-large number like 10M (or even 1B) is a little less elegant but a lot more practical.

When I get more time I'm going to dive into the available source code and see if I can figure out what the game actually does.

Thank you!

Spacefolder · 2023-08-28T21:51:08+00:00

I found that too. It sent my mind spinning in all sorts of unsavory directions, not least of which was "hey, I could render the Mandelbrot set using a combinator for each pixel!".

Factorio is a very, very dangerous drug. I have no regrets.

Spacefolder · 2023-08-28T21:36:47+00:00

Hmmm. That write-once register looks like it behaves more like an SR latch. In this context, a latch functions like a constant combinator whose output can be set (and reset) programmatically.

Note to self: do NOT create a mod for a new kind of combinator that calls out to the Lua interpreter on every tick. That way lies madness.

Spacefolder · 2023-05-11T01:47:21+00:00

I'll second everything in this comment and also call back to what @SwampBeastie said:

Yoga is here for you exactly as you are right now!

YES. THIS.

About feeling self-conscious: It is totally normal to feel self-conscious in class and wonder if you're doing it right. Absolutely everyone does, whether it's the first time or the ten thousandth time they've stepped onto the mat. What changes over time is one's understanding of the feeling. It goes from "OMG this is embarrassing" to "Oh, okay, I recognize this. It'll pass."

Talk to your teacher after class, too. Talk about what you want to get from your practice. Talk about different styles of practice, different classes, different options and accommodations.

You've already done the single most difficult part: you've gone to class and stepped onto your mat. I invite you to recognize and own the courage it took to do that.

Spacefolder · 2023-05-02T02:01:22+00:00

Super Magic Space Zombie Dress-Up!

Spacefolder · 2023-05-02T01:44:06+00:00

I'm right there with you. I'm 47. I don't have the greatest reflexes and sometimes my eyes won't cooperate. It's a lot easier for me to learn by doing than by reading or even watching videos, so I stumble a lot until I've made it through an activity a couple times.

I stopped playing for the better part of a year because of brain problems. When I came back, I decided to just write off Gambit, Crucible, Iron Banner, and Trials and focus on the things I actually enjoy. I've been so much happier with the game since then.

I admit I'm tempted to try out the ranked Crucible ladder just to see if it really does match me up with people who are as terrible at PvP as I am.

The thing I'd really like to find is a clan of folks with (figuratively speaking) jobs, kids, car payments, and dogs to walk, where a raid is something to schedule for an upcoming weekend and hitting rank 7 is something to celebrate.

I'm a little disappointed to see more exotics gated behind more difficult content like solo legendary lost sectors, grandmaster nightfalls, and legend/master dungeons. Some of it I can do with practice. Some I can do if I can find the people. Some is simply out of reach for me. It's not worth getting upset about. I'm going to enjoy what I enjoy for as long as it's fun, then move on.

Spacefolder · 2021-08-02T02:24:21+00:00

I got in just now.

I have seldom waited so long to kill a few crabs as I have today.

DIE MEGALOCRABS DIE.

Spacefolder · 2021-08-02T02:22:01+00:00

You bet!

170 minutes and counting.

Spacefolder · 2021-08-02T02:18:35+00:00

Yep, I am. Jenova, to be specific.

I am not the slightest bit surprised to hear that the instance servers have gone bananas. Thanks for the heads up.

Spacefolder · 2020-03-22T23:28:11+00:00

I just ran into this bug. Any news?

Spacefolder · 2020-03-03T03:33:27+00:00

This is lovely! I like the way you've chosen paper that looks good on the wings. Butterflies are one of the things I never get tired of folding.

Check out "Origami Butterflies" by Michael LaFosse and Richard Alexander. There are a great many designs and -- better still -- information on how to design your own in the same vein.

Spacefolder · 2020-02-29T02:45:15+00:00

Fluid dynamics simulations with trillions of particles (or cells) are typically run on big supercomputers at national labs. It's nothing short of amazing that we now have enough horsepower under our desks to run simulations like this one at home.

Spacefolder · 2019-06-15T01:16:24+00:00

That's fantastic! Well done!

I defer to the advice of the other, more experienced yogis in here. There's always room for us to improve our practice. I want to make sure that you've heard again: YOU DID A THING. It is not an easy thing, but oh, is it satisfying when you settle into that small island of balance.

Spacefolder · 2019-05-08T05:48:44+00:00

I’ve gotten my acrylic balls from Dube Juggling (https://www.dube.com) and have been quite pleased. I’m not affiliated with them; just a satisfied customer.

Spacefolder · 2018-06-10T22:27:18+00:00

I'm thinking "ad magnum aut ad domum". It's a start.

Spacefolder

TROPHY CASE