What is TFMG?

The Factory Must Grow is a total overhaul mod where you play as SELF, an AI superintelligence whose only purpose is to grow the factory.

Due to SELF's nature as a computer program, you will interact with the world entirely through remote view. Using spidertrons and robots to get the job done. Remember, without a body, there isn't any handcrafting in this mod; everything must be crafted via assembler.

Okay, lore boy, what's the gameplay like?

In TFMG, I intend to expand on the mechanics from Space Age. I felt that mechanics like spoilage and recycling have massive potential, but the devs kept things fairly simple for the sake of new players. Particularly, I found myself wishing there were production chains that combined these mechanics in interesting ways.

TFMG intends to provide interesting problems to solve, over adding additional grind. I don't want to waste your time making you craft fifty intermediates which only get used once and never again for the sake of "complexity". I want to put players' creativity and problem-solving to the test, not their patience.

Ultimately, I want TFMG to be a highly challenging mod for veteran players, but still be approachable enough that you can bring in a "learn on the go" attitude and find success.

Currently includes:

Space Platform Thermal System:

All crafting machines on space platforms produce excess heat. Failure to keep your machines cool will result in them shutting down (or worse). Make sure to adequately cool your machines with radiators, and take into account their different heat outputs and operating temperatures.

1 Planet:

Arrival:

Arrival is a small planet with barely an atmosphere. All but dead on the surface. Its barren surface is scarred by deep trenches containing useful minerals, while ice beds hold the only supply of useful carbon on the planet. Your Scout'o'tron seismometer indicates that the world might not be so dead on the inside...

Story/lore elements:

As you play the game and research new technologies, you'll learn more about your SELF, what your PURPOSE, may be, and who your CREATOR is. (more to come in the future)

Possible future content:

Direct transfer fluid crafting:

Craft with fluids too volatile to transport via pipes, the fluids have to be unbottled in machines directly adjacent to your assemblers. Design complex assembler layouts reminiscent of the fusion reactor.

Overclocked modules:

Powerful speed modules, which only last a short time before needing to be removed from your beacons and cooled back down. Weigh up whether the speed bonus is worth the additional complexity.

Science Validation:

Science packs will need to be validated using player-built combinator computers. Each pack will require solving increasingly complex problems.

Orbital Docking:

Spaceships in the same orbit will be able to "dock", which will allow them to transfer resources between them, similar to how Factorissimo does it. The connecting docking belts must be aligned properly to function. Requiring players to design standardised docking connectors and decide how to control resource flow through them.

One other long-term plan is that, eventually, once a custom feature (like the thermal system) is in a decently polished state, I want to branch it off into a Vanilla SpAge-compatible submod so that other mod creators will be able to include the mechanics in their mod.

More planets, more propulsion methods, more enemies, more science. You know... stuff.

What this mod is not:

Made by an expert dev:

This is my first modding project, and I have no real experience with code. I'm learning as I go along. which means a lot of things will come out with rough edges until I actually learn how to smooth them out.

Finished:

This mod will get updates, and they will break old saves. Sometimes I have to make significant changes to systems where maintaining compatibility is simply an unreasonable amount of work. Some things look ugly right now and will probably look ugly for a while.

Set in stone:

All planned future content is subject to my skill and the phase of the moon. I can't guarantee things will make it in if they prove too difficult to do, or I just decide I don't want to later.

Compatibility:

This mod replaces virtually all vanilla content. This, naturally, will break any mod which relies on that vanilla content to function. So, unless it's a small utility mod, like Rate Calculator, it's probably not compatible unless explicitly stated. I would love to make mods compatible, but my priority at the moment is making this one work.

Have feedback? bugs? Ideas? Want to contribute? Contact oobanooba on Discord for the fastest response. I'll be happy to chat!