How do you call these games that let you macro-manage people/creatures/processes and you can watch your engine run?
Examples are Rimworld, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Factorio.
I don’t like fast action-based RTS, micromanaging games, I just love to create a world and watch it running on it‘s own!
Is there a specific name for this mechanic? And what are your favorite examples?
They’re called management sims, or in the case of Factorio a factory builder.
Rimworld is a colony management sim… check out Dwarf Fortress or Oxygen Not Included for similar games
Rollercoaster Tycoon is a theme park management sim, the obvious suggestions are Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo but also check out City Skylines.
Factorio is a factory builder, I would recommend Satisfactory or Dyson Sphere Program, there’s a few handfuls of those types of games. If you want to get a little wild look into Minecraft (Java edition) w/ mods - most easily something like the FTB Infinity Evolved or one of the new Direwolf packs, it’s arguably where the factory building craze started.
I need to try to get back into ONI. It should be something I would really enjoy. But I got hung up on some details.
Actually, I know it’s a defect in my mindset in approaching that game. I shouldn’t expect certain things like conservation of mass and energy… I also took a while to realize that solubility and diffusion just don’t exist in the game. I don’t want to care so much about this but I struggle.
I loved Tekkit/FTB back in the day! Lots of good times setting up factories and controlling swarms of turtles.
To be honest, I’ve never been able to get over the hump in ONI. I play for hours, have a blast but eventually things start falling apart and I’m not usually able to recover. That being said, I know there’s been some updates since last I played so I may go back to it soon.
Back in 2011 or so I got really into Minecraft mods. I think it was literally just Buildcraft and Industrialcraft. It involved many steps, putting folders inside the Minecraft JAR file, deleting meta INF files, etc. I stuck with it for a few years during which the scene exploded. I actually paid to host a website for my friend’s only server that just included links to the specifics mod versions and step by step instructions how to install them. It was around the same time FTB modpacks came out that I fell off, I played one or two SP worlds with FTB Infinity Evolved and had a lot of fun but Factorio and eventually Satisfactory scratched that same itch.
I would consider them a few different genres, but they are easily my favourite types of games these days. I cateogrize them in my steam list as below.
-Colony Builders: Games about building well, a colony, often from little to nothing. Often lots of You vs Environment friction, with the natural world. Tends to have a bit more focus on the individuals that comprise the colony. Examples: Rimworld (my favourite game of all time), Dwarf Fortress, Oxygen Not Included, Stranded Alien Dawn, Space Haven.
-City Builders: A bit broader in scope than a colony builder, working more on the macro level. Friction is often economic, sometimes adjusted with the natural world. Cities Skylines is kind of the prime exampe of this, but also games like Timberborn or Anno.
-Automation: Games about building a factory that…builds things automatically. Challenge tends to be logistical complexity but some games do feature combat as well. Factorio, Dyson Sphere Program (my personal favourite), Satisfactory, and Captain of Industry are the Four Horsemen of this genre to me. Techtonica is very early still but seems to have some promise as well.
For many of these games, there is a whole world of content to explore if you are interested in mods. Rimworld players regularly run hundreds of mods, my current game has about 350. Factorio has extensive overhaul mods that can take literally thousands of hours to finish in some cases (Py’s). Satisfactory has a surprisingly robust mod scene for an early access game too.
I see a pattern of games mentioned here! What do you call games like theme hospital? I’d love to skim a few recommendations for these kind of games that let you hire different employees to run parts of your business.
I probably would group those into the Manamement/Tycoon genre. More economic than colony builders, but smaller scale than city builders.
The Two Point games are pretty good versions of those, if you light the more light-hearted atmosphere.
I really love Anno for this, 1800 is the only one I have played and I think it’s an amazing game. The base game on its own has tons of content already but the dlc’s add whole new regions and lots of supply chians to the game. It’s a bit of a crossover between a city builder and a supply chain simulator, where the majority of the game is based on providing the needs for your residents. It’s on sale very often, including the dlc’s.
If you were to get it, I recommend getting the dlc’s, maybe after a playthrough of the base game. If you wanna know what dlc’s to get, you can check out these videos:
I’m trying to make a game in this genre though I describe it as a base-building/simulation/survival game, other favourites include Oxygen Not Included, Timberborn, Factorio and Satisfactory.
HowWhat do you call these gamesI call them management sims, but I’m sure there are other names for the genre, too.
Rimworld is one of my favorites.
Mindustry has been getting a lot of praise. I hope to check it out soon.
Cities: Skylines is popular, and Cities: Skylines II is due soon.
Satisfactory is good (although the Steam version used Epic Games telemetry, which has been called out for being rather invasive, last time I looked).
Satisfactory
The GOAT of factory games, and not just because it’s from the same studio that made Goat Simulator, or that you can purchase a boom box in game and make it play Goat Music.
Satisfactory hits my perfect balance of planning/optimization and 3D building and aesthetics. And it’s still getting better!
Back in the day, Maxis had an entire brand of “Sim” games that were exactly this. Sim Farm, Sim Earth, Sim Ant, and, most notably, Sim City. I have no idea how many titles there were, but there were a lot of them.
Then EA ate them.
You could try ProsperousUniverse. It’s more of a game you play while you play others, but definitely a “wait, I spent 18 hours on a spreadsheet?” type of game.
Factorio. The factory must grow.
If you want a simple, casual one:
Automation, procedural, visual programming. Or just world building game.
One example: https://store.steampowered.com/app/92800/SpaceChem/
Pretty much any game from that developer is procedural/automation related.
Ha, was just about to come recommend Zachtronics games. They’re more, uh, programm-y than the others being mentioned, but they definitely do center around process management
Just started timberborn and it seems to be in this vain. It’s a beaver city builder and you have to manage the river with dams to survive droughts, along with the typical food, water and energy resource management.
You might be interested in the game Majesty. In that game you have no direct control over any units. You simply set overall objectives. And the units themselves determine when they do something. It’s even more hands-off than the other automation games.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majesty:_The_Fantasy_Kingdom_Sim
Wow haven’t heard about that game in quite some time. Awesome game but can be frustrating as well when heroes don’t do what you want them to.
Edit Oh wow didn’t know there is a sequel to the original :) is it good?
The hero is not doing what you want is exactly the point! You just provided incentives you don’t have direct control. So it’s definitely more hands-off gaming.
Majesty 2 is pretty good. Still not up to modern user interface standards but it’s got good gameplay still
I remember giving out bounties and the heroes sometimes ignoring them :D
Thanks for the evaluation gonna check it out :)
