Base in progress: Mah Sphagett

Recently, I've been looking at bases and renders of factories on /r/Factorio looking for inspiration and to learn tricks to make my own factories better.

I've discovered something about myself.

First, before I begin, let me state that I am *not* in any way criticizing those who make very organized bases or the factories themselves. I am however, using my personal feelings about those to make a statement about the way I prefer to play the game.

I'll use two recent posts about very organized mega-factories. These are both huge factories that have been tightly optimized by their creators, in the latter case using an AI algorithm.

Introducing Megaribbon: A 2.4k SPM, Vanilla+, Belt-Based, Expensive Recipes Megabase on an 80-tile-high ribbon by /u/beiju
https://imgur.com/a/dqJRDT4
https://old.reddit.com/r/factorio/comments/aus0os/introducing_megaribbon_a_24k_spm_vanilla/

I used an AI algorithm to optimize my base by /u/swolar
https://imgur.com/a/bHTsJ9Z
https://old.reddit.com/r/factorio/comments/aunxxo/i_used_an_ai_algorithm_to_optimize_my_base/

These both look like labors of love to me. Beiju and Swolar both appear to have spent a lot of time and effort to make bases that look and work beautifully for themselves.

For me, however, they look... inorganic. It's like looking at microscopic pictures of earlier, hand-designed, printed circuits versus newer computer-designed printed circuits. And Swolar makes the point in his post that a lot of the same design idioms and methodologies can be used in circuit design and base design.

They are, to me, a little boring. They look homogeneous. Ah, yes. That is a cluster of factories and logistics chests. Hmmm... That sure is a grid of tightly-spaced belts.

That's not the way for me.

I thought that as I continued to play I would go from tweaking my spaghetti designs, with occasional refactoring, to designing very carefully researched layouts with main-buses. The exact opposite is true. I *love* spaghetti. I love the organic look of belts that weave around a factory. I love the look of cruft as a base slowly grows outward. I love gradually replacing older production items with newer items, leaving remnants of the old layout in place.

The mess itself is beautiful to me in a way that the tightly optimized designs are not.

So, mad props to Beiju and Swolar for their amazing bases, and for helping me to discover that I like something *a little different* for my own factories!