Description
The Bulldog 1 Freedom Base speeds up and simplifies the process of getting to the point where you can build "what you want". Use all of the Blueprints or only the ones that suit your play style. Designed for Factorio 0.17.
Useful to beginners and experts alike. Should be an ideal start for railworld, megabase and other play styles.
Discussion thread on Factorio Forums:
Version 3 update Notes:
- v3 is a complete overhaul and massive expansion. Can produce Bots and Nuclear Power quite early, and trickle the research all the way through yellow if you have no desire to setup the usual big smelting and science build. You do those at your pace. Sorry, it will not serve coffee or deliver pizza :)
- The original v1 blueprint is still available, as well as a previously unpublished v2 that reformatted it into a 1x3 chunk.
Important tips:
- *** Miniloaders are completely optional ***. I love them as they make for very compact train stations, but you can remove them easily from the blueprints and replace them with a design of your choice.
- The Freedom Base/Mall is a low volume mall. It is normal for it to choke up due to lack of green circuits or other supplies if you are not cautious on what you build. Its productivity will increase later once you start feeding the bottleneck resources produced later elsewhere via the mini-bus. Even so, you might reach full yellow science research before doing that. Disabling low priority assembler output chests is critical to minimize throughput problems. If stable, enable a few more and let it trickle-build a stock. Eventually you'll reach the point that you have all the resources you need pre-stocked in the chests.
- The blueprints might include things you should not be building yet. Focus on building only parts of blueprints that you need at the moment, to conserve materials, power and minimizes pollution. Don't worry, you will build the rest later.
- Consider using chunk alignment as you lay out your base, you won't regret it. Press F4, Show Tile Grid, F4 again to see the chunks as you build.
- At some point, combat will be necessary. Do Military Science research, Turrets, AP ammo, Tank and Explosive shells when appropriate for your map settings.
- Since the Freedom Mall is just 3x3 chunks and probably very close to your initial ore deposits you will not walk far for anything, even before trains.
- The ideal train sizes are 1-4-2-4-1SD, 1-4-1SD and 1-2 (SD=Same direction locomotive). Larger trains significantly reduce traffic and allow for supplies to be always available, making load/unload speed irrelevant.
- The minibus unload station was designed for the goal of 1 train in station and 1 loading/traveling/or in the stacker, but there is room to expand the stacker if desired.
Build order:
- Start with the Burner Phase (1.1) blueprints.
- As soon as you can afford to, place radars and/or go on a walkabout to expose terrain.
- Having exposed the terrain, plan your Freedom Base/Mall layout. It is best if you do it before the (1.2) Baby/Bootstrap automation phase, but it is OK to do it later. At most your bots might have to relocate your Steam Power plant later.
- With terrain exposed, place the blueprints to see where everything will fit. If possible, place the steam power plant and artillery blueprints touching each other and very close to the mall.
- Once completed the Baby/Bootstrap automation phase you will have the key resources needed to build the (1.3) Freedom Base/Mall.
- Build the mall's smelters, red/green science and green circuits production first. That should let you build assemblers that produce locally what you were producing in the Baby/Bootstrap base (which can then be dismantled).
- Use wood chests initially instead of Passive Provider chests, and leave Storage chests unbuilt. That way it will be easy to know which wood chests need to be replaced with Passive Providers later.
- At any time, set chests to zero (0) stacks to stop their assemblers from producing.
- Next focus on what you need for bots: Oil, red circuits, blue science, etc.
- If Uranium is close enough or you can quickly clear the nests that are in the way, setup Uranium Processing and Nuclear Power plant near the deposit. Otherwise you might have to wait until you at least get a tank and build the Explosive Ammo portion of the Artillery outpost.
- If not, setup the mini-bus and Explosive Ammo / Artillery Ammo factory before pushing the biters back and freeing the uranium deposit.
- With Nuclear Power you will have all the electricity you need. Build the train stations, mainline and do your first artillery push.
Final thoughts:
- If Biter Expansion is off (like in Railworld settings) you are free to work on any side-projects at any time, as long as your pollution cloud doesn't reach their nests. Very nice for design geeks like me :)
- Once you have Nuclear Power and Artillery and you pushed biters out of your pollution cloud is the main time to work on what you want. At some point you will want to setup formal smelter, chem plant(s), green/red/blue circuit volume outposts (or on a formal bus somewhere), formal factories off the mini-bus to create supplies that you need in quantity (like modules and maybe belts/inserters), proper volume science lines and rocket launching facilities. Those are the subject of other blueprint books :)
I hope you will enjoy this Blueprint Book as much as I do.
