After I got all the achievements I started playing some mod packs. About a year ago I found a nice discord group that does a new map roughly every month. It’s full of mods and different things. Yes it’s still factorio but we have a pretty small group of dedicated players who enjoy hanging out online with each other and factorio is how we choose to do it.

The overhaul mod packs can pretty drastically change the game experience. It scratches the programming itch while being a break from actual programming.

I’m sure the pandemic added a multiplier to those hours that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. But I’m quite enjoying it.

The game only really begins once you launch your first rocket. There is so much gameplay hidden in trying to improve the productivity of the initial factory. Playing with tough aliens makes it even more challenging/satisfying.