Frequently Asked Questions

If you are new to Factorio Access, reading through the Home page first is recommended to get your bearings before diving into this page.

1. Factorio Basics

1.1. What is Factorio?

Factorio is a game where you build your own factory piece by piece. You assume the role of an engineer whose spaceship has crash-landed onto an alien planet. You find yourself on a landscape with trees, lakes, various rocks and ores, and sometimes also communities of large alien insects collectively known as the "biters". Your goal is to gather and process resources to conduct research and eventually build a rocket and escape. The game features:

Top-down perspective on a 2D tile-based world
Gathering and processing resources such as wood, metal ores, and oil
Logistics systems like conveyor belts, automatic trains, and flying robots
Various electric generation methods for powering everything else
Technology research and progression from basic survival tools to fully automated factories
Modules for tweaking machines (optional)
Circuit network systems for controlling machines with programmable logic (optional)
Pollution as a side effect to keep track of (optional)
Combat against the biters, who don't really appreciate your pollution (optional)
Excellent sound design throughout it all

For comprehensive information about game mechanics, see the official Factorio wiki.

1.2. How hard is it?

Factorio has a decent learning curve where you can come in knowing nothing and develop your skills over dozens of hours. In that sense it is approachable but offers a particular set of challenges that you might find fun or frustrating or perhaps even both:

LOTS of spatial thinking - You are constantly arranging machines, belts, and pipes on a tile grid, making sure everything connects and fits. Building a mental map of your factory is a core part of the game, and layouts that seem fine early on often need to be redesigned as your factory grows.
Open ended gameplay - The game gives you goals but rarely tells you how to achieve them. There is usually no single right answer, which is freeing but can also leave you unsure what to do next. Most players find their footing after a few hours of experimenting.
Layers upon layers of systems - The game starts simple, but complexity compounds quickly. You automate a task, then automate the supply of materials to it, then automate the logistics of that supply. Later systems like trains, robots, and circuit networks add entirely new dimensions on top of that foundation. By the late game you are managing a very deep stack of interlocking systems.
Scale creep - What works at small scale often breaks completely as your factory grows. A layout that runs smoothly early on can grind to a halt later when demand increases. Designing with growth in mind is a skill the game teaches gradually and sometimes harshly.
Good planning is required, but also taught by doing - You will build things in ways that turn out to be inefficient or wrong, and tearing things down to rebuild them better is a normal part of the game. Most experienced players have redesigned their base more than once. When planning falls short, you will feel it — bottlenecked belts and starved machines are the game's way of showing you what to do differently next time.
Time pressure if you play with enemies - Biters will eventually attack your factory if your pollution spreads far enough. This creates a steady pressure to automate faster and maintain your defenses. Playing without enemies is a valid and popular choice that removes this pressure entirely and lets you progress at your own pace.

1.3. Would I like it?

FAQ 1.2 gives the best answer to this. If that challenge set sounds engaging, Factorio is very likely a good match — players who click with it tend to find it highly enjoyable and potentially addictive. The game is very highly acclaimed, but those same challenges do not appeal to everyone, and that is perfectly fine.

1.4. Do I need a powerful computer for it?

Generally speaking, Factorio is a very optimized game and runs very decently on a medium grade PC, especially with lowered graphics settings. Note that large late-game factories can be demanding even on capable hardware.

Minimum system requirements:

OS: Windows 10, 8, or 7
Processor: Dual core 3GHz+
RAM: 4 GB
Graphics: DirectX 10.1 capable GPU with 512 MB VRAM
Storage: 3 GB

Recommended system requirements:

OS: Windows 11 or 10
Processor: Quad core 4GHz+ from 2020 or newer
RAM: 16 GB
Graphics: DirectX 11 capable GPU with 4 GB VRAM
Storage: 10 GB

1.5. Where can I buy it?

Factorio costs $35. All official purchasing options are listed on the Factorio buy page. Note that a Steam purchase also unlocks access to the DRM-free version on Factorio.com.

1.6. When is the next Steam sale for it?

Factorio very rarely goes on sale and the developers have stated it will not. This is often reframed as the game always being on sale, especially given the price per hour of playtime.

1.7. Is there a free demo?

Yes, there is a free demo available on Steam. However, no Factorio mods work with the demo, including Factorio Access. If you purchase the full game and change your mind, Steam allows refunds for any reason provided you have played less than two hours in total and apply within two weeks of purchase. Less than two hours will reveal very little about the game, although you do get a grasp of the kind of game it is. Read more on Steam's refund info page.

1.8. Which version do I need to buy?

The base game is all you need to get started with Factorio Access. The Space Age expansion is not yet fully supported by the mod, so there is no need to purchase it right now.

As for platform, Factorio is available on Windows, Linux, and Mac. The mod is best supported on Windows. We recommend the Windows zip version as the easiest to set up, though the Steam version also works and is better for multiplayer.

1.9. Where can I find more info about the game?

The Information Sources Overview section of the wiki home page lists and describes all the main resources for both Factorio and Factorio Access, including the official wiki, forums, Discord server, and more.

2. Factorio Access Basics

2.1. What is this mod?

Factorio Access (FA) is a free and open source modification that makes Factorio playable without vision. The mod reads the world and behavior inside Factorio, translating visual information into audio and text-based interfaces. It is an unofficial volunteer project written in Lua using the official Factorio modding API.

2.2. Is the mod free to download?

Yes. The mod is and always will be free.

2.3. Does the mod work on the free demo?

No. The free demo does not include the modding API and so no mods work on it at all.

2.4. How much of the game is accessible?

The accessibility coverage of this mod is very extensive. The latest situation is tracked on the Accessibility Coverage section of the wiki home page.

2.5. How does the game feel different when you play with the mod?

The mod follows a philosophy of preserving the vanilla experience as much as possible. Its role is to provide information about the world in the same way visual cues and menus do. Most features work the same way as in vanilla Factorio, with the mod providing contextual information through unique features like audio menus with keyboard navigation, sonifiers, and info beeps. The mod also offers some unique features of its own. For more about this, see the Factorio Access Features page.

2.6. What are the main challenges sightless players describe?

All of the challenges identified in FAQ 1.2 apply here, but they land differently when you are playing without vision. Notably, spatial thinking and scale creep become more demanding because keeping mental maps of your factory or using map markers thoroughly is much more important than it might be for a sighted player. Similarly, planning in advance matters even more — without it, you are in for a lot of bottleneck hunting, which is significantly harder to do when you cannot visually scan your factory at a glance.

2.7. Can I play multiplayer?

Multiplayer is technically supported, but it is a very laggy experience due to structural reasons that we cannot mod away. All players need to have the same mods installed, including Factorio Access. Connecting via LAN is well supported. Connecting via the internet is possible but more difficult to set up unless everyone uses Steam. Vanilla Mode makes it easier for players with different levels of vision to play together. Your experience may vary, and multiplayer documentation is coming soon.

2.8. Can sighted players use the mod too?

Yes. Sighted players can play with the mod. This is important for multiplayer games where the same mod set is required for every player. Sighted players may be thrown off by how much the mod remaps controls. To make the mod disrupt less, Vanilla Mode exists. Read more about it on the FA README.

2.9. Can I combine this mod with other Factorio mods?

In general, using other mods alongside Factorio Access requires them to be both compatible with our mod's code and accessible for players. Some mods are found to be compatible and accessible with little or no extra effort. We maintain a list of these on the Compatible Other Mods page. For most other mods, we prefer to work on supporting them after we have finished covering the main game.

2.10. Can I play the mod in different languages?

Factorio itself supports several languages, but the mod's text is mostly in English. We are not officially supporting other languages at this time but a lot of the ground work has been done for it. If you want to participate in translating it, please get in touch on the Discord.

3. Getting Set Up

3.1. How do I install and launch the game and mod?

See the FA README for step-by-step instructions.

3.2. How should I choose a map?

We recommend newcomers start on Compass Valley because the map is well balanced and is the same for everyone, making it easy to discuss with other players. For later playthroughs, the map settings offer several tweaks. See the Launcher Features page for details.

3.3. Should I play with enemies enabled?

Unless you are in peaceful mode, such as when starting in Compass Valley, enemies will attack you if you go near them or if you generate too much pollution. Many players choose to first try the game in peaceful mode or with enemies disabled, but others enjoy the challenge. The tutorial includes some combat information, and the relevant wiki pages cover the details.

3.4. What do I do first when I launch the map?

Once the map has loaded, press CONTROL + T to open the tutorial, which will guide you through most of the early game. If there is an intro cutscene, press TAB to skip it first.

3.5. How do I customize keybindings?

Note that the mod changes many default Factorio keybindings during setup so that it works properly. Most of these can still be changed safely.

Option 1: Edit the config.ini file located in the config folder under your main Factorio folder, or possibly the AppData folder depending on your installation type. Find the internal name of the control you want to change and set the new key. A valid keybinding can contain CONTROL, SHIFT, ALT, and one other key. Remove the semicolon at the start of the relevant line for the change to take effect, then restart the game.
Option 2: Use the graphical game settings menu in Factorio, if you have assistance for it.
Option 3: Ask for help on the Discord server.

Note that most keys already have a function assigned because Factorio has a lot of things to do.

4. Gameplay

4.1. What do I do after the tutorial?

Generally you can follow the tech tree to unlock new systems and then use them to produce new research items, working your way toward building a rocket. The wiki's strategy pages and the Navigation page can help point you toward further reading.

4.2. How does the mod affect achievements?

Factorio Access being installed makes your sessions count as modded sessions. The game uses the modded achievements set in this case, which is identical to the non-modded set except for the modded status. However, Steam achievements reference only the non-modded set and unfortunately cannot be unlocked by mod users. A few achievements may still trigger on their own. Full achievement support is something we hope to improve over time.

5. Getting Help & Contributing

5.1. I found a bug. What should I do?

We appreciate bug reports from players, especially if you can reproduce the bug. Please get in contact on the Discord server, ideally in the channel for issues. You can also file a report on the FA GitHub Issues page.

5.2. The game crashed. What should I do?

A crash can be identified by all sound cutting out. When this happens, your screen will display a stack traceback. Copy this text using your screen reader or take a screenshot, and share it with us on the Discord server in the issues channel. You can then load the main menu by pressing E, and load your last autosave by pressing E again. Autosave should generally prevent you from losing much progress.