New and need some information about factorio

[silman]

Hey so my friend showed me this game the other day, I think its awesome and totally am going to buy it. I just dont know which tier to get so i have a couple questions:

For the lowest tier, if/when a steam key is available can i put it on steam but also still download from this website (Which i presume will also be selling copies of the game). or will redeeming the steam key make it impossible to download from this site again?

For the second tier, Will the challenge missions be available in the end game even if i don't buy this tier? For instance, if I buy tier 1 and wait for the 1.0 release, will i be able to play these challenge missions that tier 2 gets access to? Or will the end game also be stratified into tiers?

For the third tier, will every single person who buys this tier get to name something in game? And what are the restrictions on what I can name? Will it be a small item or a large factory? What exact is the humble concept art book, is it like a coffee table book? And what in the world is a graphics wiki?

About the game in general:

I noticed the graphics are a bit low quality, is this intentional and will they stay like this for the end-game? And if so is there any mods for improving the graphics? (Sorry, i am not a big fan of them, but maybe its something that grows on you as you play).

[Mangledpork]

In tier 3, you can't specifically name an object. What it means is that if you give them your name then it will be added to a pool of names which is drawn from randomly every time a lab, train, train station, and more is built. When such a building is moused over it will say "dedicated to [your name]" in the menu on the right. Stations will display their names on the minimap, which is particularly cool.

[Xterminator]

Honestly I don't know much about the tiers or steam release. But I will say this... Personally I bought the second tier to support the game, not for the extra stuff. I would say most people (especially myself) like the free play part of the game the best. Sense that is the part that can be modded, and has the most freedom. And the free play part of the game does not change with the tiers. But if you like challenge missions then yeah go for one of the higher tiers.

As for the graphics... I honestly don't think the graphics are that bad. I think they look like that on purpose, sense it is all about factories and an arid planet etc... The character model is kind of funky, but they are working on a new one that looks quite good in my opinion. I do actually think there might be some mods that change how at least some of the things look.

[DanielHall15]

May I throw in that I find the graphics fantastic as they are, and that they could just use some more contrast (between some trees and iron or coal deposits f.e.)?

I've never been into sparkling graphics. I've always been into gameplay.

[silman]

In tier 3, you can't specifically name an object. What it means is that if you give them your name then it will be added to a pool of names which is drawn from randomly every time a lab, train, train station, and more is built. When such a building is moused over it will say "dedicated to [your name]" in the menu on the right. Stations will display their names on the minimap, which is particularly cool.

That's cool, thanks for clearing that up. Is there any way to disable the dedication names in game? I feel like having random names on my factories and on my mini map may get annoying....

May I throw in that I find the graphics fantastic as they are, and that they could just use some more contrast (between some trees and iron or coal deposits f.e.)?

I've never been into sparkling graphics. I've always been into gameplay.

I agree with this mostly, its not that the graphics are bad, its just hard to see things like the trees covering up ores and stuff. I usually don't mind lower tier graphics, I love games like Minecraft and I still play dots (the original mod one, not dots 2). I am definitely more into gameplay as long as the graphics fit the game, like you said they just need a bit of touching up.


I still don't know what the graphics wiki, humble concept art book are.

And what about the missions in the final recently?

[silman]

Hello? I am still curious what the graphics wiki and concept art book are exactly. And are the missions in tier two going to be in the final product regardless of which one you buy now?

[sbroadbent]

Hello? I am still curious what the graphics wiki and concept art book are exactly. And are the missions in tier two going to be in the final product regardless of which one you buy now?

Here's some info from the membership page.

Concept art book
Your membership tier includes download of our concept art book pdf. This is the 0.1 version of the book. It represents an artistic direction that we abandoned in the end. Though not a final product we though it would still be interesting for you to see.

Graphics wiki
Your membership tier includes readonly access to our internal graphics wiki page. This wiki contains sketches of machines, evolution of sprites eventually used in the game and discussions about these. The wiki is hosted at the google pages so google login is required.

Access granting is not yet automated.

Names in the game from top tier subscribers are mostly unobtrusive, typically only showing on the objects info screen when you hover the mouse over them. The names of Train Stops (which show on the full map) weren't able to be changed in .9.x, but as of .10.x you just click on them and can change their name to whatever you want displayed to make identifying particular stops easier.

As to whether you'll be able to get the Scenario Packs and wall papers from Tier 2 once a complete game is released, only the devs can answer that as. When they get to a final release, either they'll remove the bottom two tiers and package everything so you get everything, but naturally you'll be paying full price or they'll keep the tiers so those who don't want to get the extras but still want to get the base game can get it for a cheaper price.