Navigating Factorio Space Exploration Expansion

Three years after its initial release — and seven years after it initially appeared on Steam in Early Access — blockbuster strategy game Factorio is getting its first expansion, and the creator of a strikingly similar mod is working on it. Factorio's Space Exploration expansion, Factorio: Space Age, will be released in 2024, according to Wube Software. According to Wube, the expansion will almost double the size of the tremendously popular Factorio, and the project has been in the works since at least 2016.

What is Factorio?

If you're unfamiliar with Factorio, it's a strategy game in which you construct factories on an alien planet, effectively processing materials in order to eventually construct a space rocket.

Factorio Space Age, a recently released expansion, continues the game through that finale, allowing you to build orbital space platforms and explore four new planets, each with its own unique resources and gameplay characteristics. Welcome to Factorio's Space Exploration expansion.

Set off to other planets with Factorio's Space Exploration Expansion - Factorio Space Age

Factorio  Space Age will continue the engineer's trip into space as well as the main campaign of Factorio, which concludes with the launch of a rocket. The upcoming expansion will rebalance that by launching the first of many rockets into space to construct space platforms for orbital industry and exploration.  This will transport players to four new worlds, each with "its own unique theme, resource, challenges, and gameplay mechanics."

The basis of Factorio's Space Exploration expansion appears to revolve around three new sorts of scientific study, one for each of the three new planets, bringing the total number of "science packs" in Factorio to 10. Those three planets will be visited in any sequence, according to Wube, and the order in which you exploit them will be a meaningful choice.

Factorio Space Age vs. Factorio Space Exploration Mod

Factorio Space Age is inspired by the popular Space Exploration mod, and the mod's original designer, Earendel, is now a member of the Wube Software team working on Factorio's Space Exploration expansion. Earendel, on the other hand, tells fans that Factorio's Space Exploration expansion will include plenty of fresh content, making it worthwhile even for those who have already played the mod. While Factorio's Space Exploration mod provides a hard gameplay experience that can take up to 150-100 hours to finish, Space Age is designed to be a more streamlined and fast-paced experience that can take up to 60-100 hours to complete.

One of the benefits of the official expansion is the potential to improve on some of the mod's cumbersome features, such as ship piloting. The goal of Factorio: Space Age is to provide a more refined and streamlined gameplay experience. 

As Earendel admits, the mod is notoriously complicated. "Factorio's Space Exploration mod is designed for a specific group of challenge seekers; it is not for everyone." Space Age is intended for all Factorio gamers that want to be more approachable." That alone marks a significant difference between the initial mod and the official release.

When will Factorio's Space Age Expansion be officially released?

Factorio Space Age will be released "around a year from now," according to Wube. On their end, there's still a lot to fix and a lot of playtesting to complete. However, now that the major modifications have been implemented, Wube plans to begin publishing Factorio Friday Facts updates every week with information on expansion features. That will last until the expansion is released because, as Wube has stated repeatedly, the expansion is roughly the size of the core game.

Factorio: Space Age will be released alongside a larger update that will include a game engine update. That means that many enhancements will be available to all Factorio owners, not just those who purchase the expansion. Better train controls, better blueprinting, and better flying robot behavior will be among them.

The main structure of Space Age, Factorio’s Space Exploration Expansion

Instead of sending one rocket to space, players in Factorio's Space Exploration expansion will need to send several, as they will need to transfer resources to create large space platforms in orbit. The rocket is cheaper in Space Age to avoid it dragging forever, but players are still expected to build larger in anticipation of what is to come.

The rewards

Because Factorio's Space Exploration expansion introduces a slew of new obstacles, the development team had to balance the set of prizes players receive at each stage of the game. The production team had a lot of great new stuff in mind for the expansion, but the player is rather omnipotent by the conclusion of the vanilla game, so they had to make some difficult choices.

These improvements, according to testing, made the decision of where and when to travel even more relevant. However, space will be available sooner, and several pleasant upgrades will be available right on Nauvis (the vanilla planet).

This means that players may theoretically take their vanilla base, activate Factorio's Space Exploration extension, and continue playing. However, the best way to enjoy it is to play Space Age from beginning to end.

FAQ

what is space exploration ?

Space exploration is the quest to explore beyond Earth, sending spacecraft, satellites, and astronauts to study planets, moons, and more. It enriches our understanding of the universe and the possibility of life beyond our world.

How does Space Exploration work in Factorio?

Space Exploration in Factorio is a mod that enables players to experience a more advanced and immersive space exploration game-play within the game. It's a fully-featured, standalone game mode that involves building, launching rockets into space, and colonizing new planets.

How long does it take to complete Factorio Space Exploration?

Space Exploration is a mod that offers a vast and intricate gameplay experience that can take anywhere between 70 to 700 hours to complete, with an average of 400 hours for most players.