GoKawiil
Tech News
Simon Sapin, a Factorio player, describes using matrix math to plan factory production and has released a free online calculator tool to model the game's Quality system introduced in the Space Age expansion. The tool helps players calculate probabilities and outcomes when using quality modules to upgrade items through the game's five tiers, from normal to legendary.
Wube Software's Friday Facts reveals it has been developing 3D-printed physical models of Factorio components, starting with a Wriggler figure made during a 2024 Space Age playtesting event with Prusa Research. The team has since focused on transport belts and inserters, designing a grid system that mirrors in-game placement and producing two versions of each model - one for precise push-fit assembly and one with looser clearances for gluing.
A player analyzed Factorio's Space-Age DLC quality system, which uses a pseudo-random number generator rather than true randomness to determine item and building quality upgrades. The write-up documents an in-game implementation that exploited this predictable RNG, though it notes the technique breaks under Factorio version 2.1 due to changes in how the RNG is invoked, while the underlying algorithm remains the same.