| That's an interesting take, I think I agree. My biggest problem with Factorio is that after a few hours it starts feeling like programming, which is why it attracts a lot of programmers, but it lacks any tooling or QoL features that remove some of the frustrations of programming. I can't add tests to ensure that refactoring my belt system doesn't break some process on the other side of the map. I can't place a breakpoint to trigger a debugger and step through a tricky piece of logic. I can't raise exceptions on unexpected behavior and handle it in a sane way. Some of these are contrived examples and I can't imagine what the UI would look like, and they might be achievable via debug mode or some mods, but I haven't explored much outside of the base game. So as the factory grows (and it must grow!) the game doesn't have any mechanisms to help you deal with the complexity. After a while it becomes a chore to manage, and I usually end up thinking that I'd rather enjoy programming instead. Which after spending a work day doing at my day job, I rarely have the motivation to do in my spare time, and when I do, I'd rather invest it on side projects than on Factorio. Still, it's one of the greatest games ever made, and the thrill of watching it all work when it does work is exhilirating, much like programming. :) |