Power Budget Balancing
Every machine draws power; if generation lags, the whole factory sags.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Planning · Risk · Optimization
No.006Factorio01The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Add powered machines
- 02Check supply vs demand
- 03Build generators or storage
- 04Handle peaks and failures
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
Capacity 100MW, usage 92MW; the player wants two more 6MW smelters.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
They build them now, planning to add generation later.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
Peak hits 104MW, the fuse trips and the whole factory stops, including fuel delivery to generators.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
The player restarts and gives the fuel line its own small grid to prevent cascade failure.
How it plays
Generators supply limited power shared by all machines. When demand exceeds supply, machines slow down or the grid trips; players monitor graphs and plan fuel, renewables and storage.
What the player weighs
- Fuel power vs free intermittent power: fuel needs supply chains, renewables fluctuate.
- Expansion vs headroom: running at the limit breaks at the first spike.
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Factorio
Power shortfalls slow every machine proportionally, a creeping inefficiency; solar plus accumulators covers day-night cycles.
Satisfactory
Exceeding capacity trips the fuse and blacks out the grid until reset manually; power storage later provides a buffer.
The difference worth noticing
Factorio's shortage is a gradual slowdown, Satisfactory's a hard trip; the latter is far more dramatic.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Mining drills draw power and their ore fuels the generators, making players balance a loop of mining for power and powering the mines.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Byproduct Recirculation
Leftover outputs that aren't dealt with will eventually choke the main line.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Make the main product
- 02Byproducts pile up
- 03Design a sink or loop
- 04Line runs stable again
Drone Logistics Network
No belts needed: flying units deliver where needed, but you have to keep them supplied.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Build ports and storage
- 02Set requests and supplies
- 03Drones deliver automatically
- 04Expand or refuel the network
Conveyor Routing
Moving items from A to B is easy; keeping every line from tangling is the game.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Plan source and destination
- 02Lay belts around obstacles
- 03Watch flow and jams
- 04Reroute or add layers