Factorio: Pollution, Enemies, And The Battle For Survival

In the game Factorio, pollution is a core concept that has a significant impact on gameplay. It is produced by buildings involved in resource extraction or production, such as steam burner boilers, resource extraction, and raw material processing. This pollution attracts enemies called biters and spitters, who view the player as a threat due to their pollution of the environment and destruction of resources. The more pollution that is generated, the higher the spawn rate and strength of these enemies become, creating a dynamic challenge for players. Additionally, pollution affects the evolution factor, which determines the types of enemies spawned, with higher pollution leading to more advanced enemy types. Managing pollution is crucial, and players can employ strategies such as using clean energy sources and efficiency modules to reduce their pollution output and mitigate the negative consequences.

Pollution attracts biters and spitters

In Factorio, pollution is a core concept that is produced by any building involved in resource extraction or production. The more pollution that is created, the higher the evolution factor becomes. This evolution factor determines the types of enemies spawned in the game, with higher factors leading to stronger enemies.

The evolution factor can increase in three ways: a small increase every tick, a larger increase for every 1000 pollution created, and an increase due to the passage of time. Additionally, spawners will spawn enemies until they reach their limit, with captive biter spawners absorbing 1 pollution per minute.

The pollution level can be monitored by hovering the mouse over a building to see its pollution production rate, or by pressing F7 to view the pollution values in map mode.

While pollution attracts enemies and increases the difficulty of the game, it is important to note that the primary antagonists, the biters, represent the indigenous population of the planet. The player is the enemy, polluting the environment and stealing resources. This moral aspect adds an interesting dynamic to the game.

Higher pollution levels increase the spawn rate of enemies

In Factorio, pollution is a core concept that significantly impacts the gameplay experience. The game revolves around the player's presence on an alien planet, where their actions, such as polluting the environment and extracting resources, attract the native lifeforms as enemies. These enemies, known as "biters," are one of the two main antagonists in the game.

Higher pollution levels have a direct correlation with the spawn rate and strength of enemies. As pollution spreads, it acts as a beacon, drawing biters towards the player's factory. The more pollution that is generated, the greater the number of biters that will appear. This increase in pollution also contributes to the evolution factor, making the biters larger and more powerful over time.

The evolution factor is a numerical value that determines the types of enemies spawned and their overall strength. It starts at 0 and has a maximum value of 1. The evolution factor increases in three ways: a small increment every tick, the passage of time, and the amount of global pollution produced. For every 1000 units of pollution created, the evolution factor increases by 0.000015. This, in turn, influences the difficulty of the game by spawning stronger enemies.

Pollution spreads in all four cardinal directions from its source, which could be a player's factory or other pollution-generating buildings. It spreads at a rate of 2% per 64 ticks, and if it reaches an enemy base, that base will send waves of biters to attack the player's base. Captive biter spawners absorb pollution, and once they reach their pollution limit, they will spawn enemies.

To summarize, higher pollution levels in Factorio indeed increase the spawn rate of enemies and contribute to their evolution, making them stronger and more aggressive. This mechanic adds a layer of challenge and strategy to the game, encouraging players to carefully manage their pollution output to avoid attracting large numbers of powerful enemies.

Evolution is a numerical value that decides enemy types

In Factorio, the player is considered the enemy for polluting the environment, stealing the planet's resources, and killing the indigenous population. As such, the game's enemies will view the player as an antagonist.

Evolution is a numerical value that decides what types of enemies are spawned in the game. It starts off at 0 and has a maximum value of 1. The evolution factor can increase in three ways:

• Every tick, evolution increases by 0.000004 (or 0.00024 per second).
• For every 1,000 pollution created, evolution increases by 0.000015.
• For every enemy base destroyed, evolution increases by 0.002.

Destroying enemy bases greatly increases the evolution level compared to the increase in time and pollution created. It is important to note that there is no way to decrease the evolution factor, so players must plan ahead.

The evolution factor is not increased by the spreading or absorbed pollution, but by the total pollution produced by all the player's machinery at every tick. This means that no matter how hard a player tries to contain the pollution, enemies will still evolve at the same rate. They just won't attack the player as frequently. The pollution cloud is used to trigger biter attacks and determines the size of the attacks.

Pollution is a core concept in Factorio. It is produced by any building involved in the extraction or production of materials. The amount of pollution a building produces can be seen by hovering the mouse over it. This value indicates how much pollution is produced per second when the building is at full power.

Once pollution spreads to an enemy base, the base will start sending waves of biters and spitters to attack. As pollution spreads, the spawn rate and strength of the enemies increase. Biters are one of the two main antagonists in the base game and come in four sizes: small, medium, big, and behemoth. At the beginning of the game, only small biters will be present. With increasing pollution, they will become bigger, relating to the enemy's evolution.

Efficiency modules reduce pollution and enemy evolution

In Factorio, pollution attracts biters and spitters to the player's factory. These enemies will attempt to reach the source of pollution and destroy it. The more pollution that spreads, the greater the spawn rate and the stronger the enemies that are spawned. Evolution, a numerical value that decides what types of enemies are spawned, increases as more pollution is created.

Efficiency modules can be used to reduce pollution and slow enemy evolution. While the efficiency module description in the game does not mention pollution reduction, players have observed that these modules lead to lower pollution levels in machines. Efficiency modules reduce pollution by lowering power consumption, as pollution is directly tied to energy consumption. This reduction in pollution is especially beneficial when using steam as an energy source. By placing efficiency modules in mining drills, for example, players can prevent their mining outposts from generating excessive levels of smog.

In addition to efficiency modules, players can reduce pollution by using cleaner energy sources and producing less. It is also important to clear out enemy bases that appear inside pollution clouds, as their presence contributes to the global alien evolution percentage.

While efficiency modules can help manage pollution and enemy evolution, it is important to note that they do not directly reduce pollution. When combined with speed modules, a machine with efficiency modules may still produce more pollution than baseline. Additionally, trees, which absorb pollution, will degenerate when exposed to high levels of pollution. As such, it is crucial to implement a comprehensive strategy that considers pollution reduction, enemy base clearance, and efficient resource management to effectively mitigate enemy evolution in Factorio.

Trees absorb pollution but die when overwhelmed

In Factorio, trees play a crucial role in mitigating pollution by absorbing a small amount of pollution per second. This absorption rate is influenced by the density of the tree's leaves, with less dense leaves resulting in slower absorption. Trees can be effective tools for players to strategically reduce pollution and its negative consequences.

However, trees have a limited capacity for pollution absorption and can eventually become overwhelmed, leading to their deterioration and death. According to the Factorio Wiki, when the total pollution in a chunk exceeds 60 units, trees begin to exhibit signs of distress. They may lose leaves or their leaves may turn gray, indicating damage. This damage accumulates until the tree can no longer absorb pollution effectively, and it eventually dies.

The specific mechanics of tree deterioration due to pollution are subject to some interpretation. Some sources suggest that trees start to die when they have absorbed a total of 3500 pollution throughout their lifespan, gradually deteriorating and absorbing less pollution per tick as they take more damage. On the other hand, map settings in the game indicate that trees begin to die when the pollution level in their chunk reaches 3500 at any instant, with the death of a tree reducing the pollution in that chunk by 500.

Regardless of the specific threshold, it is evident that trees in Factorio have a finite capacity for pollution absorption. Players should be mindful of this limitation and not solely rely on trees to manage pollution levels. While trees can provide a temporary buffer against pollution, they are not a permanent solution, and excessive pollution will ultimately lead to their demise.

Additionally, it is worth noting that pollution has other significant impacts in the game beyond tree deterioration. Pollution attracts biters, one of the main antagonists, towards the player's factory. As pollution levels increase, the biters become stronger and more aggressive, posing a greater threat to the player's base. Therefore, while trees can provide some relief from pollution, players must also consider other strategies to manage pollution levels and mitigate its negative consequences on the game environment and the behaviour of enemies.

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