Factorio is one of the absolutely very best games in recent years! And that, even if there is no real end game and trains, oil, and combat in the game are still off (I definitely agree with you,
ls612, on combat mechanics and balance). The simple premise of
automation is brilliant and provides both logic and creative challenges. Great fun!
I also find it entertaining watching other players' factories and creative solutions; be it efficiency, optimization, or raw throughput. Or
spaghetti (Reddit)
For the past 12 months I've gone from very simple factory designs, over stylized "main bus" designs (see e.g.
Arumba - Let's Play Factorio Steam Release 23 )--both with simple branches and with beacon supported "cubes"--to more organic/economic designs (image 1).
I've been rather surprised at Factorio's uncanny ability to show me how my brain works. On autopilot, my brain steers toward compact solutions, with designs ending up being both impractical and not-so-compact (image 2). With quite some effort I can often unwrap my "thinking habits" and untangle the mess I've created (image 3). Fascinating!
Sometimes ultra compact designs are highly satisfying. After experimenting a bit with coal fueled smelting furnaces (they are small) compared to electric furnaces (they are big, but do not--potentially--rely on fuel) I managed to cramp a self-supported (except for oil and ore) science facility into a small piece of land near the coast (image 4). (With
Assembly Machines 3 it supports 8 science labs at 30 seconds per beaker, I believe.)
The process of evolving your designs and learning from other players is very rewarding. I've managed to do semi-modular 10MW steam power setups that only activate when solar energy and accumulators are insufficient--simply by rewiring electric poles without needing "power counters", water pumps, or similar "gamey" contraptions (possibly obsolete before the game releases). I've been able to greatly reduce excess production and bottlenecks, and there's still plenty to explore and improve. I've yet to experience the full potential of logistic robots, for example.
About 6 months ago I had an issue with balancing iron and copper plate demand. The problem was that my expanding factory had changing demands leading to either the copper smelting section or the iron smelting section being mostly idle for long periods of time. For example, my copper furnaces were running at maximum capacity and still not producing enough copper plates, while all my iron ore smelters were just sitting there not really producing anything. I recall reading about two different "smart furnace" designs; able to automatically switch between copper and iron smelting depending on demand. One design used
logistic robots (Factorio forum) and
the other (Reddit) had a "gamey" copper and iron "counter". Those designs are ingenious!
My own revised design works without robots and counters and looks something like this (16 furnace example):
Once the ore at the far right is connected, the furnaces start smelting whatever is in lower supply. It's a tiny bit power inefficient, requires a bit more space, and the ore filters can be arranged a little better, but the setup meets the needs of my factory.
Automate and forget!
This game is simply great