Foundry EA Review: Textbook... A homogenized experience?

In fact, I didn't judge the game by a very strict standard. But there's no denying that Foundry, as a new-age factory game, has made some very odd choices in its basic design -- or, more precisely, taken the wrong detours.

Most of the design ideas in Foundry are almost entirely inherited from the old "classic" factory game design. Emotionally intelligent, basically all the gameplay has its similar or even the same Cousins, telling the blood relationship; Low in emotional intelligence, Foundry is arguably treading a hole that all modern factory game makers should avoid.

This "classic" and conservative design idea makes the early experience of the Foundry almost obsolete, and has nothing to boast about - except for its Minecraft general block stylization and full map destruction.

But it's not all about the Foundry game.

To be precise, as a game category born quite a long time ago, the factory game can be said to be the worst disaster area of homogenized game experience.

After all, humans have entered the industrial age for only a few hundred years, and the construction and design ideas of most industrial assembly lines are in the same vein. If the game does not want to lose the factory taste of the "factory game", it is very easy to make a "Li Kui Li ghost, with the same source" situation.

Let me take the simplest example here - Plate and Rod.

Rods and boards, these two forms of matter form the cornerstone elements of the factory game universe. You can see both forms in any game that deals with the concept of pipelining -- even making "sticks and boards" is one of the first things players try.

The reason is very simple, rod and plate represent the first human use and practical industrial, pipelined production methods - forging (plate) and casting (rod). These two basic processing modes are almost deeply etched in the underlying logic of most modern factory production.

So, when a producer starts to design a factory game, whether he knows modern processing techniques or not, making a certain kind of board and bar with a certain kind of raw material is basically an inevitable choice.

If the designer follows the logic of industrialization and continues to add bricks and tiles to the processing steps in the game - stamping, welding, forging, turning and other means, almost all have a very mature reality basis. Therefore, sheet material, bar material, bolts, nails, frames and other industrial products, will also not exceed the player's common sense too much.

It can even be said that for factory games, how to let players feel the real and realistic processing process is the most important design concept. Just like the processing of electronic equipment, if there is no "electronic board" involved, it will always give people a sense of realism.

Here is to mention the first thunder that "Foundry" stepped on - the design sense is too heavy.

As mentioned earlier, this game is a factory game that almost copies the classic design. One of the most common and "old" ways to progress in these games is to climb a tech tree. To be precise, players need to use some resources to process specific products in exchange for more advanced industrial technology and product production specifications.

These products, in the Foundry, are scientific research packages at all levels.

The composition of each level of scientific research package is composed of various secondary processing products unlocked by players at the same level. For example, the first-level scientific research package only needs equipment components (secondary processing of sheet metal) and basic bar materials, while the second-level scientific research package needs conveyor belts (equipment components and basic plate materials) and ground plates (basic plate materials and basic bar materials).

The existence of the research package, on the one hand, is to set up a soft lock for the player's progress, requiring that the player will not come into contact with too late products and equipment before achieving a certain degree of automation. On the other hand, the all-encompassing scientific research package is also a "small goal" set up by the designer - at least the player can have something to do in the early stage of the production line construction.

From a game design point of view, this model is reasonable and playful, but it does not follow the logic of reality.

Players may be able to ignore these "irrational" designs to a certain extent in the case of strong motivation, but in the long run, these "unrealistic feelings" will significantly strip players of the game experience. And factory players to play is a sense of immersion. If you have too many points, it always makes people unhappy.

The most important thing is that regardless of the game setting is modern or ancient, home planet or alien planet, the current industrial assembly line games on the market - including this game "Foundry", in the actual experience will eventually be the same: filled with different names of raw materials, with the same logical means, the production of different looks but the same destination equipment.

This is the source of the homogenized experience of factory games, and it is also the shackle that limits the game experience. If the game does not provide true immersion, it does not break through the gameplay. So why not revisit the better, more familiar, more immersive classics of the era?

Even the means of transport are the same - conveyor belts, robotic arms, etc

In fact, factory games have always made a variety of breakthrough gameplay and experiences. For example, "Factorio Factory" (Factorio) adds the third person overlooking corner battle, worm tide, alien survival and other elements on the core of the traditional assembly line construction gameplay, players can set up front bases, crush the alien worm sea with rolling industrial torrent, and can also train giant guns to promote ballistic truth.

A few years ago, the new "Satisfactory Factory" (Satisfactory), with an extremely comfortable user friendliness and convenient factory construction, vaguely stands at the top of today's factory game experience, and has a little "I am king at the end of the factory road" meaning.

The architectural potential of The Happiness Factory is also staggering

At this point, we have to mention the second thunder that "Foundry" stepped on - user friendliness.

The build interface cannot be canceled with mouse gestures, such as right clicking; The conveyor belt placement will not automatically raise and lower, need to manually place the slope conveyor belt; Or use extractors and implants to feed and discharge production modules.

These almost match the design ideas of classic engravings, and almost make me have the vision of playing "Star Core Factory" - in addition to the different painting styles and different material product names, the other design ideas are almost identical.

And the actual factory experience was almost exactly the same - just as bad.

Star Core Factory

Foundry

As I said at the beginning, for a factory game in 2024, there is still so much counter-intuitive design in the operation of building and laying equipment that it is almost jaw-dropping. To make matters worse, Foundry also fixes the device's interactive panels at specific angles and locations. In addition, the player cannot interact with it from any Angle.

To be precise, there is hardly a factory game that does not involve massive construction and equipment placement, and any counter-intuitive, anti-user friendly redundancy means that the player's time and energy investment skyrockets. Just talking about the design of the fixed interaction panel, I can almost imagine the pain and impatience of correcting the error of the super-scale pipeline in the future - I have to keep looking and interacting from one Angle, over and over again.

For a factory game with little differentiation in the early experience, this inconvenience in construction and interaction can be said to be the biggest and most serious experience killer of "Foundry".

Just managing a small level 1 or 2 research and production line can be incredibly cumbersome

However, if you pay enough attention, you will notice that I used a very explicit term to describe the "dull and tedious" experience of the Foundry - pre-production. Yes, after at least 20 to 30 hours of preparatory work, players can touch the most charming and innovative modular factory in the game so far - the robot assembly line.

Here it is necessary to mention the domestic factory game designers, the reform of the homogenization experience brought about by the lack of play driving force, and to make an attempt - grand narrative, that is, with ambitious, science fiction goals to drive players, constantly improve and upgrade their own industrial production line, while with differentiated production methods, to optimize the overall play experience.

The best example here is the Dyson Sphere Project.

In terms of narrative means, the Foundry is also very similar to the operation of the Dyson Ball Project - players will learn about the grand goal of rebuilding an orbiting space station in the continuous process of progress, and the processing of modular factories such as engineering robot assembly lines and custom repositories.

But these information and highlights are provided too late. Most players need at least 20 hours of the standard process before they can get to the best parts of the game.

To be precise, this is where the "Foundry" is most weak: the only highlights of this work are gathered in the second half of the play process, but the first half is almost completely copied from the design ideas of classic factory games, so that it is completely unable to attract factory game veterans, so that it is likely to lose a large part of the key user group - unless they have a reason to survive the boring early stage.

However, the big goal that will increase the player's motivation - "saving the space station" - will not be revealed until at least the medium term. As a result, it's easy for the Foundry experience to get stuck in a loop.

I'm afraid that only players who haven't experienced other famous factory games too deeply will be able to experience the most fun parts of the Foundry without twists and turns.