Topic: Picking a factory to build and building restrictions (Potential Request)

[Leartin]

As far as I know, whenever an end consumer is buildt, it works backward through delivery chains for the first product and builds all required steps. However, sometimes, there is a choice. For example, a gas station is buildt, so you get a choice between an Oil Platform in water or an Oil Pump on land. I think it's safe to assume the game will do that based on the "chance" level of each factory - so far so good.

Assuming you play a game with no water at all. Based on chance, some oil-demanding factory tells the game to build an oil platform, and since there is no water, it fails. Which wouldn't be surprising even in a normal game, that happens often enough. But how far "back" does the game go to try again? Will it only try to build the same oil-platform again? Will it go back and see which other options for oil there are, and try to build a landbased pump instead? Could it even go further back and redo the building that demanded the oil and try if there are alternatives (eg. bio-fuel)?

I think this is important to know even for planning. Eg. you could create larger factories which might not find a spot on the map IF you also have smaller alternatives, perhaps with less production, that can be placed instead. But if the game does not fallback on a different factory, that idea does not work at all, and instead you get broken chains and/or buildings placed outside their natural environment...

[TurfIt]

Will it go back and see which other options for oil there are, and try to build a landbased pump instead?

Yes. Or more specifically it will eliminate the one that failed from the list of suppliers, and weighted random pick another to try.

Could it even go further back and redo the building that demanded the oil and try if there are alternatives (eg. bio-fuel)?

No.

and instead you get broken chains and/or buildings placed outside their natural environment...

If it can't find a place for any of the suppliers of a particular good within several random tries at locations each, it will repeat trying all suppliers again ignoring climates, and if still can't find a place, leave a broken chain.

[prissi]

That to add, it will add supplier until the demand (or requirement) from the upstream factory is met. Thus it may be on Oild platform or 15 oil pumps or three oil fields to get to the requirement. If it connects to an existing factory, that production contributes only 50% to the requirements.

[Leartin]

Thanks, that really helps 

Follow-up question: How "easy" is it to fail? Does the game just pick a random tile on the entire map, see if a factory fits there, and if not, it fails? Or is there a sophisticated method that gives high chances a spot is found if it's readily available?

In other words: If I did a 10x10 factory chance 100 which hardly finds a spot, and a 3x3 alternative with chance 1, would the chance value matter? Or is it more like "Unless the 10x10 is buildt first try, it will be the 3x3 thats waaay more likely to find a spot"?
Would it be more likely to get a 10x10 if there are several instances of it (same factory, different name), or will the same location be checked for each available factory, meaning if the first doesn't fit, neither do the others?

[prissi]

Searching the entire map is way too slow. So it tries 100 locations in a certain area. That at maximum 25 times.