zlacker

>>DonHop+(OP)
When I saw this title, I first thought it was about understanding the cockroach-like aliens in Factorio, but it is actually about queuing and congestion and parallel processing with conveyor belts and factories!

With the caveat that Factorio is EXTREMELY addictive, properly described as "programmer crack", here are some other Factorio related discussions:

Factorio – a game where you can automate basically anything (factorio.com)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11266471

http://www.factorio.com/

"This game is like crack for programmers." -kentonv (Tech lead for Cloudflare Workers, author of Sandstorm.io, Cap'n Proto)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11269098

Raycasting engine in Factorio game – Facto-RayO v1.0 [video] (youtube.com)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19878688

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lVAFcDX4eM

Factorio to talk about horizontal scaling of software services (medium.com)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19095271

https://medium.com/@chrisfauerbach/gamification-of-horizonta...

Mapping Factorio with Leaflet (cloudflare.com)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18185058

https://blog.cloudflare.com/mapping-factorio-with-leaflet/

>>DonHop+f
Pro-tip to others who think 'Programmer Crack' is hyperbole- it is not.

Factorio does have a rather steep learning curve, and the UI is not the most intuitive. But. Once how it works clicks, it clicks, and suddenly morning. And I'm in my 40's, I'd thought my days of unexpected overnights while working on fascinating problems were mostly behind me. Highly recommended, but be aware.

>>Baeocy+9V
I tried factorio several times and it didn't click for me as a 'crack' game. And I'm a software engineer, and I've loved computers since I was 5, and I spend most of my free time on my computer.

I didn't learn to write code until I was in my late teens although. Ultimately I've found factorio a rather tedious game, that kind of reminds me of my job. I also tend to not code things for fun, seeing how it will ultimately turn into a large project I won't have time to maintain. Kind of like how mechanics don't like maintaining their own cars.

It makes me wonder sometimes.

>>novok+cf1
What do you find motivating in software engineering?

I initially found Factorio interesting, mostly for the parts that encourage spreadsheet calculation, e.g. balancing the various rates of production and resource intake. Some other aspects appealed too, such as finding drill placements to fully cover ore deposits.

Where I lost interest is when the game became mostly about refactoring large transport belt networks. That reminds me of the non-fun aspects of programming.

>>bluebl+yn1
I never particularly cared about belt optimization past 'good enough'. I spent most of my time trying to break things and find edge-cases in the control system. Working around the (purposefully nerfed to keep them from being too powerful) logistics bots issues was probably my favorite thing to tackle.

(That, and building vast quantities of artillery in the middle of almost fully red zones, then flipping the power switch for the loaders and watching the fun. :D)