u/iTableProduct

Early game tips :

• Connect building with belts & pipes as early as possible.
• Never enable multiple recipes in an assembly, build assembly for each recipe instead, you don't need that many assembly for each recipe (usually just 1 or 2). Actually, assembling too quickly is not good for you.
• Pause / resume building to control production speed of each items, you can also use this to minimize idle buildings and control number of available workers.
• Ideally truck should not do routine delivery except for mining / landscaping and forestry, keep truck logistics as minimum as possible.
• Stockpile everything, especially construction materials. This should be easy when you have dedicated assembly for each materials. But don't overstock them, 1 or 2 storage is enough, set alert if important stuff like fuel is low.
• Build only as needed, only build with available stockpile material, never build more than necessary. If you want to plan large keep it as ghost buildings, don't build everything at once.
• Don't plan too far ahead, early game factory usually will be demolished when advance buildings unlocked, it's easier to just plan for current then demolish, rather than think too far into the future.

General tips :

• Use sandbox mode to make blueprint.
• When building new factory use this order : Transportation > Storage > Buildings > Belt/pipes. Always plan transportation first, start with how the material transported (by trains or truck), build the rail and road first (dedicated empty lane where truck can go), then storages, production buildings, then finally belt and pipes. Since you already allocated space for transportation and storage you can freely place production building, belt, and pipes everywhere else.

Train tips :

• Dedicate one assembly to make rail, fully belted obviously. You don't need more than one.
• For train station, larger connected storage means longer train your station can service. It's never a bad idea to attach large storage to stations.
• Double track is far more efficient than bidirectional for handling traffic. You would be surprised with how many trains can use double track at the same time.
• Most fitting & simplest job for train is to transport ores from mining site to smelting center or dumping ground.
• Don't forget rail can be used to transport output materials, not just for input. It's easier to think train as advance truck, rails not as circuit but a network of input and output.

Food tips :

• Use higher tier fertilizer as soon as possible, it's much more efficient.
• While this is not necessary, if you struggle with unity production, just make all kind of food, you will get a ton of unity surplus. Don't worry about food consumption, since with new food your population will consume other food less.