[qwertyuiop924]

It looks like a spiritual sucessor to TIS-100, which Zach himself described as, "kind of a throwback to the kinds of games I used to make, [...] Before I started Zachtronics, before I worked with other people; just these really rough, kind of abusive engineering games."

The source article (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/244969/Things_we_create_t...) is worth reading.

All of Zach's games are worth playing, but if you're not familiar with his games, this may not be the best introduction. You should probably start with Infiniminer, which is the most inviting of his games, instead. If you're a fan of Zachtronics' work, you're probably opening your wallet already.

Much like From Software, Zachtronics is always making variations on the same game. However, they're the only ones making it, and they're really good at, so they have a dedicated fanbase. Many of these are programmers, because the skills and thought processes required are similar to those required in programmers: if you like one, you'll likely like the other.

[lfowles]

There are a few related non-Zachtronics titles off the top of my head:

* Human Resource Machine

* Factorio

* Chromatic Supercomputer[0]

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzfIqigXXh4

[qwertyuiop924]

HRM doesn't have the devastating difficulty that makes the Zachtronics game what it is. As for Factorio, that actually bares a stronger resembalance to modded Minecraft, particularly the classic BC/IC2 combination, with a hint of other tech mods here and there. And it doesn't have a lua-based robot mod (ComputerCraft), or any of the other really cool mods, so I don't see the point. It's not as puzzle-y as Zachtronics games, though.

[khedoros1]

> It's not as puzzle-y as Zachtronics games, though.

Factorio has layout and pipelining elements that remind me strongly of Spacechem, but taken up in complexity and scale. I've played Minecraft, but not very many mods, so I can't comment on that, but I can say that Factorio is one of the first games in a while that I can sink hours per day into, treating it as a puzzle game. To me, it's like Spacechem scaled up and with the scenarios chained together seamlessly.

[qwertyuiop924]

Check out SethBling's let's play of FTB (feed the beast) modded minecraft. If you know who Seth is, you'll know that he's great, and this is him playing with a grab bag of minecraft mods. It's outdated, but it shows the appeal.

Mind, I haven't gotten my hands on factorio yet, so I'm judging by what I can see, but thus far, it seems strictly inferior in capability and capacity for mayhem and interesting mechanisms to minecraft modded.

[khedoros1]

I understand the appeal of Minecraft mods, and I've read about some of them...I just haven't played any (at least, not any complex ones, and not in a long time).

Let's Plays have never been interesting to me, though. Either they feel like a waste of time because I'd rather be playing, or they feel like a waste of time because the game doesn't interest me enough to want to play it.

For Factorio, I like that there's a progression. There's an end goal to the game (build a rocket and get off the planet). Mechanisms have a purpose (efficiency and multiplication of player effort).

In vanilla Minecraft, I built things like hidden bunkers that would open up holes in the ground when you push a button, just because it was cool, and I imagine I'd have a similar goal if given more tools; maybe I'd build a TNT factory that auto-loads a cannon and blows up big parts of the map. In Factorio, I'll build a huge train network as part of a pipelined production process, with each train programmed for specific routes, conditions under which it leaves specific stations, etc. The goal doesn't feel the same, and it's nice that the game itself doesn't have the same feel as Minecraft.

I've also only played vanilla Factorio, but it has official support for mods, so we'll see how flexible those end up being. I don't know much about the API that's available to developers, so I can't speculate how much they'll eventually be able to change the game.

[qwertyuiop924]

The Factorio system you just described is very much modded minecraft. In fact, with the aid of Railcraft, you could literally build exactly that.

Ordinarily, I'd be with you on LPs, but this is SethBling. It's not so much an LP as it is a "look at the cool stuff I built this week."

[lfowles]

> HRM doesn't have the devastating difficulty that makes the Zachtronics game what it is

This is true, I should mention I spent probably 2-3 hours and completed the game and most side optimizations. Definitely a solid buy for $5-10 though.

>As for Factorio, that actually bares a stronger resembalance to modded Minecraft, particularly the classic BC/IC2 combination, with a hint of other tech mods here and there.

It reeks strongly of very abstract programming notions. Routing "data", whether to use static typing (inserters) or dynamic typing (smart inserters), inlining production vs modularizing production for more complex recipes. You do have to dig a bit deeper though!

[qwertyuiop924]

Well, of course. But it feels like there's less of a puzzle there. And it's soo much less cool than automating minecraft, especially using more primitive systems.

If you're wondering about modded minecraft, definitely check out SethBling's (unfortunately brief) let's play of FTB (feed the beast - long story) modded Minecraft. It's not terribly representative of the modern mod scene (it's evolved quite a bit since 1.2.5!) but it captures the appeal quite well.