r/captain_of_industry

I've switched my island over to Hydrogen. Whilst I have managed to switch all cargo ships to H2, I can't find the option to switch my main ship to H2. Is this even possible?

I see a lot of people with solar panels, but it seems like a lot of resources and space for not much power and an inconsistent amount of energy that it just never seems worth it over diesel generators or turbines.

Similarly with rain water farms. The amount of space is enormous and nothing needs so little water that it feels worth it over, say, a truck and a water pump elsewhere. Am I missing some good use cases?

Hello!

I am interested in buying this game. Im a big "factory-game" enjoyer and a more realistic take on the genre seems right up my alley. Also from what little ive seen this game is GORGEOUS.

However...

ive been perusing the steam reviews and ive noticed some red flags, and so i thought to ask the community directly:

First:
I am of the opinion that a healthy modding scene is a good indication of a healthy relationship between community and developer. So when i read that a prolific(?) modder who made the most-popular-mod(?) not only got banned (from somewhere) but also forced into stopping to distribute that mod, triggers some very big alarm bells in my head.
Could anyone on the "inside" clarify this situation for me?

Second:
A lot of reviews were upset that a title that is in early access is getting non-cosmetic paid DLC. Which is a sentiment i firmly agree with; in my opinion DLC for a game in development should be a way to "donate" to the developer, to show extra monetary support in exchange for miniscule "rewards". Furthermore from what ive seen the "Trains expanded" DLC seems to add gameplay impacting additions to the train system which seems to be a huge part of the core game experience, furthering my confusion as to why this is a paid extra instead of a regular update.
Once again id really appreciate someone on the inside to offer some clarification and opinions on this matter.

Id like to mention that this is a genuine question, im not a bad actor trying to stir up drama or anything of the sort. Im just a guy trying to vote with his wallet, looking at a complex situation, and looking for genuine opinions and information.

Thank you!

First of all: I really like this game! I spent 150 hours on my first run on the default difficulty settings on the starter island and I had a great time finishing my first time playing in the ingame year 609. I'm stopping now while I'm researching Robotic Assembly II, because there isnt much more endgame in it for me personally at the moment.

Here's how it all kind of started

I came from games like Anno 1800 ans Satisfactory. I never got into Factorio, so I cant compare it with that one, but Captain of Industry feels like a really nice blend between Anno games and Satisfactory for me. It has a lot of freedom like Satisfactory, beautiful automation stuff and belts/pipes/conveyors/trains/trucks! And it feels like Anno because you keep on expanding, growing bigger, managing stuff and your stockpiles, but some things run out eventually and you just need to keep up the balancing act. Wonderful!

My first (or maybe second) rocket into space!

For an early access game, this game has a lot to offer, and I've been following the updates for about 2 years or so, I really like how the devs keep improving the game and keep bringing in more content. Feels the same as with Satisfactory early access for me, so good job there as well!

Another rocket in my personal endgame moments

Since this game doesn't yet have a specific endgame goal, for me it was fine to stop before I got all the research done. The game felt really balanced up until I launched my first rocket. After that, everything kind of became slower and slower, unless I built a LOT more stuff. But I was fine for my first run like this. And I didn't have any of the dreaded death spirals. There were a few hickups, but if there's one thing I learned from Satisfactory is that you can never have enough buffers of stuff in storage, so I built a lot of those.
And this game taught me something: I't fine to tear down stuff and rebuild it for better efficiency. I really dislike doing that in games, but I didnt mind doing it in this one. Although if you look at my screenshots: I could've been a LOT more efficient! But thats all part of playing a game for the first time, efficiency will be something for another run in the future.

I dont mind spaghetti at all!

Yeah I'm not one of those people who wants everything beautiful or perfectly placed, especially not during a first run. I had a blast discovering everything and had a lot of fun exploring the research tree and advancing further.

Overview of of my entire factory

So thanks a lot devs for this game! The only advice I can give is:
- The UI could use some more polish
- The "endgame" can use some more balance
- Building longer train tracks with curves and corners can use some more love.

But I'm pretty sure you are working on this already, seeing the history of updates so far. So just keep up the good work! And thanks again for this gem of a game!

For new players: dont forget to buffer up! And keep track of those stats in the right hand of your screen!

For a next run somewhere in the future (taking a break from this game now for a moment), I will try other maps. Any advice from all you experienced players for me?

I am a Factorio boy & finally got into this game and it's safe to say I'm addicted.

I've just got the hang of trains but I've hit a midgame dredge.

Basically I've realised that I need to tear down massive parts of my factory to scale but it feels like a delicate ecosystem. If I cause too much disruption, I end up breaking a supply chain that nearly causes a death spiral. So now I find myself spending 80% of time just keeping the factory alive while my progress has crawled.

Do I just go back to the drawing board & restart?

​I'm planning to move my shipyard but forgot I had started dumping in the place I wanted to use. Is there any way to clear this, save from expanding the coast? I think it's more than -5 deep so amphibious vehicles won't work.

EDIT: Solved the issue. Digging in water was easier than I initially expected.

I'm wondering if I should use pushme/pullme-trains instead of single headed trains and big turnarounds.

I would use two engines per train, and the additional power could supply longer trains.

How does this work out for steam engines and coal tenders? Do I need two tenders, one for each end?

I'm running two tier-1 Nuclear Power Plants at full tilt, 2x 3/3, and it's only producing about 85% to 97% of the electricity I need (they produce 180 MW), so I have to supplement with either Coal power or tier-2 Diesel Genrators. I also am not quite making enough of the fuel rod thingies to be able to fuel a 3rd Nuclear Power Plant at full tilt. Maybe 1/3.

Looking at the list of consumers, nothing really stands out. I have a lot of Assembly Buildings standing by, unpaused, ready to start producing once buffers begin to emptied, so power use fluctuates some. My Arc Furnace making SiliPolyStuff use a lot too, but I only have 4. I'm not making Hydrogen via Electrolysis, I know enough basic science to know that that's the last resort.

Right now I'm looking at a combination of Waste incineration, which I know won't give much, supplemented by burning some Fuel Gas of which I have unholy amounts (likewise Hydrogen made from Fuel Gas. Anyone want to by a Metric beeptonne of Hydrogen?).

But can I do anything to make my Town, or my Transformer, or anything like that, be more efficient, so that it uses less electriity? We're talking a few percent here.

I know I get Breeder Reactors and so forth later on, but right now I'm in the late mid game (or at most the very early part of the late game) and trying to navigate that, trying to cope. I frankly don't care what Techs I'll have 250 years from now. I care about the now. And it annoys me to be so close to target but not quite hitting it.

How do you do it? Do you make a template before even starting building? Do you just have a natural ability to create smoothness?

Should i just stop fighting and let it take over?

Why does pollution reducing research automatically repeat? That's just terrible by design. I queued up vehicles, ships, and trains pollution research and then next thing I know I'm running out of glass because it's on "Train Pollution 7", which almost sent me into a death spiral if I hadn't caught it. The player should have to select that it automatically repeats, that shouldn't be the default.