Upcoming features

This is a list of planned additions and changes for Factorio's next major release 0.17, which is planned to be released in January 2019.

Planned features

• GUI rewrite [1] [2] [3]
  • Improve the looks of the GUI [4]
  • Change the way it works
    • Location of cancel and OK buttons [5]
    • Map generator GUI [6]
  • Research queue [7] [8] [9]
• New graphics back-end, SDL, OpenGL, DX11, v-sync fix, texture streaming, VRAM usage optimizations, shaders [10] [11]
  • New font rendering [12]
  • Better rendering performance (CPU side) [13] [14]
  • Uses OpenGL 3.3 Core and DirectX 11 feature level 10.0 [15]
• Mod integration improvements
  • Syncing mods with multiplayer game [16]
  • Syncing mod settings to saves [17]
  • Mod browsing improvements
    • Show the mod picture and more smaller things
• Map editor improvements, both technical and usability wise [18][19]
• Map generator improvements and fixes, autoplace specification improvements and documentation [20]
  • All combinations of settings should no longer create strange maps such as circles of cliffs.
  • Much more predictable starting area resources that don't overlap each-other and are not covered by water, but the starting area will always contain water.
    • The starting area contains only iron, copper, coal and stone, in very predictable amounts. Uranium and oil are explicitly excluded from the starting area.
    • Starting area resources are usually in one ore patch each (depending on settings).
    • The starting area patches are usually close together.
    • The starting area size setting no longer affects resource placement, it just has a fixed size.
  • The resource generation settings now have a much more dramatic effect (previously they had little to no effect).
  • Increased the number of steps (small, medium, big, etc) for each setting from 5 to 9 for even more customization.
• High-resolution sprites for the rest of the game, including a few changes to some entities
  • New laser turret textures, new laser beams [21]
  • HR flamethrower turret [22]
  • Spawners redesign in HR [23]
  • HR defensive structures [24]
  • HR worms [25]
  • HR biters [26]
  • New transport belt, splitter and underground belt graphics [27]
• Final game balancing
  • Science pack technologies [28]
  • Separation of nuclear energy and nuclear processing [29]
  • The rocket parts have their own technologies and are used in more recipes besides the rocket [30]
  • Launching a satellite no longer ends the game, instead the newly added "rocket escape pod" must be launched into space [31]
  • Better separation of technologies between high tech and production science [32]
• Upgrade planner [33] [34] [35]
• Rich text editing [36]
  • Different fonts, color, and icons
  • Item and recipe references, map positions, and blueprint strings [37]
• Fast pipe replacing [38]
• Better plural form localisations [39]
• More modding support [40] [41] [42]
• Better sounds [43]
• Copy, paste and cut functionality [44]
• Ability to undo building, mining, blueprinting and deconstruction [45] [46]
• Small quality-of-life improvements [47]
  • Better recipe catalyst mechanics
  • Items no longer spill onto belts
  • Separate construction queue for tile ghosts
  • Belt immunity equipment
  • Bots can be shown on the map as a debug option [48]
  • Train out of fuel alert [49]
  • Better error messages when building/inserting fails (out of reach etc) [50]
  • Selecting an inserter/miner shows what entities it interacts with [51]
  • Trains in blueprints [52]
  • Cliffs can be deconstructed [53] [54]
  • Robots do not leave the player's personal roboport when the player is moving faster than they can fly [55]
• Keyboard bindings now use scan-codes instead of key-codes [56]
• Steam networking for multiplayer [57]
• Mining tools (iron and steel axe) are removed [58]
• Armor has infinite durability [59]
• The mining hardness and mining power mechanics are removed [60]
• Stone has the same mining time as the other ores [61]
• Burner efficiency streamlining [62]
  • Boilers are now 100% efficient instead of 50%
  • The fuel value of all fuel except nuclear fuel and uranium fuel cell is halved
  • The energy consumption of burner devices except locomotives and nuclear reactors is halved.
• The ingredient count limit on assembling machines is removed [63]
• Resistances are streamlined [64]
• Option to show the entity info tooltip at the mouse position [65]
• Better fluid physics [66] [67]

See also

• Friday Facts #269 - Roadmap update
• Friday Facts #235 - 0.16 stable
• 0.17 Mod/Script changelog as of November 16 2018
• Planned releases