A Factory Sim That Works - Dyson Sphere Program Review 2024

I decided to revisit Dyson Sphere Program after they released a large update that included enemy AI, but is the game right for you? Well, in today's video, I'll break down the various elements of this intergalactic factory sim.
-- Steam Link 🔗
store.steampowered.com/app/13...
-- Jump to these sections in the video
Overview: 00:56
Gameplay: 02:57
Combat Update: 08:53
Performance, Graphics & Sound: 10:20
Conclusion: 12:03
-- Music Used 🎵
K2T - Sweet Dreams
-- About Me 🙋‍♂️
Hey everyone, Marco here. I love games - talking about them, playing them, and reviewing them. These videos are my opinions, which may differ from yours.
-- Follow Me👍
Instagram: / marcojhb
-- About My Channel 📺
Everything about gaming, first impressions, reviews, discussions, gameplay & more!

[@easilydistractedgames]

Note: Dyson Sphere Program does allow multiplayer via the nebula multiplayer mod. I haven't tried it yet but will do so soon.

[@juneleatherbury]

Man, I was so surprised when I scrolled down to like this video and I saw that you had *fewer* than 1 million subs. May the algorithm smile upon you because holy shit, you deserve it!

[@easilydistractedgames]

Wow, what a great way to start the day! I'll try my best, and thank you!

[@CostelloDamian]

Facts. I was exactly the same. Such a great quality content. I genuinely though I am listening 1m subscribers channel. Hope to see this channel grow.

[@julienmciver6454]

I don't normally have the patience for factory sims, but this looks extremely cool :O

[@iamacatperson7226]

It is indeed very cool, ive pkayed through it before and it's easily my favorite factory sim, and one of my favorite games in general. The darkfog update was really awesome, and the pure scale you can make your factories is insane, like, spanning the galaxy (if your computer can handle one that big, at least) Not to mention dyson sphere art

[@terrydactyl2077]

@@iamacatperson7226So I’m bad at math but I managed to spaghetti my way to launching a rocket in Factorio. I really love it. Is Dyson sphere easier in the planning sense than Factorio? Similar at all? Can I make a spaghetti base?

[@derricktalbot8846]

@@terrydactyl2077 Firstly, the combat patch changed everything! This is the cocaine version of factory sim :) Now... spaghetti is my preferred method... as I do not want to keep track of perfect ratios and shipping times... I only track Full Belts. With this, all production obviously stops when everything is full to bursting because you can not have enough outbound shipping... !BUT! that is when all that extra power you were using to make stuff is instead jammed into batteries. with these batteries.. it is entirely possible to setup an entire star system in the dark (no threat)... meaning no dyson swarm or sphere for power generation, only the juice from other systems being shipped in. This lets you build Everything you need to swiftly build a Dyson Sphere AFTER you have already turned the system into a fortress. You can get this done between the natural threat cycles, which is the goal I always set for myself..... Warp Sail to a new system. Get it set up in the "dark". Then rapidly build a Dyson Sphere with all the planets fully ready to not only receive all that power.... but to defend themselves from space attacks (which the Dark Fog needs to succeed at in order to land ground bases) Long Live The Flying Spaghetti Monster! May It's Noodley appendage touch ALL factory sim games 🤪😂🍁🦫❤🍻🍻

[@whensonzhou4174]

​@@terrydactyl2077spaghetti all the way in 3d! Complexity wise DSP is simpler than factorio but the experience of building dyson sphere is just hard to beat.

[@terrydactyl2077]

@@whensonzhou4174 Awesome! Sounds so cool the idea of all the planets and having an interconnected system to build a huge project in the middle! One thing I tend to do though is wait until a game is out of early access before playing. Sometimes like with Factorio I didn’t wait because of it being pretty much functioning and complete. Do you think I should wait longer for 1.0 with DSP or start playing now? Do they have a rough release date for 1.0?

[@XDerbyX]

I recently started playing again with a friend on this game with the nebula multiplayer mod, it helps me get hooked back to the game, since managing a lot of planets all on your own gets kind of overwhelming for my small brain when I first started out 😅.

[@easilydistractedgames]

I had no idea there was multiplayer! Will definitely try do a video on this one day to help others out too.

[@BCase56]

When I fist played it, the game felt finished. It felt different enough from the other titles to be noticed but Factorio was still my favorite due to the scale of the blueprinting and auto construction. Satisfactory has it at a smaller scale but gives way more creative freedom. Now with the changes its time to revisit. Update Section: I like the novelty of the changes but there is no war economy angle so it does not integrate itself in the core gameplay loop; like a neat side quest rather than new a mechanic. Feels like space exploration mod for Factorio if the mod dev decided to focus further along the combat tree at the expense of adding new crafting changes.

[@easilydistractedgames]

That's great! Have you tried out Satisfactory too?

[@charlottevixen9222]

I love DSP and your video on it, perfect audio mixing, lovely mic, music coming up at the end, sweet outro and nice calm voice unlike some other reviewers..really nice stuff. one thing we disagree on, DSP music got old for me in the first 48hrs but they did I believe add more tracks for the enemies expansion. Thanks for the video!

[@easilydistractedgames]

Thanks so much for the feedback! I do see what you mean with the music. I guess it was that one song that got me hooked. When I try out the multiplayer soon I might switch it up, I'm just a sucker for space-themed music.

[@charlottevixen9222]

@@easilydistractedgames You are more than welcome, and yeah I agree that first track is amazing I love it still. As for multiplayer, I'm amazed at how well it works, for a mod and continued support by the dev it's beautiful I just hope it can get added natively, I've not had any problems with it even internationally (US-UK multiplayer commonly for me) and the thunderstore mod loader or R2ModMan makes install simple. And another plus for the game, it works fine on steamdeck (although external mouse and keyboard may be required or fiddling with controller through steam input bindings)

[@easilydistractedgames]

Great to hear! My one friend is getting a steam deck soon so that's awesome, will let him know.

[@dumaskhan]

i have 1100+ hours in this game. It is so good! you just have to play it to see and feel just how good it is. They haven't even added the ability to build orbital stations yet (though that's far in the future if ever.)

[@inukrieger5206]

i like this game alot and i hope the devs have some amazing stuff for us in the coming bigger updates. And later when the game is more complete you have a big space empire and many convoys that deliver stuff to you dyson sphere but you must protect your convoys in space there trade routes and so on. This game is so fun and i'm realy looking forward what comes next in the next bigger feature update

[@easilydistractedgames]

Me too! I think once they add multiplayer it can really take off.

[@dergescheidte547]

They actually stated that multiplayer isnt planned in one of their steam posts however there is a mod for multiplayer.

[@gildedbear5355]

DSP is by FAR my favorite of the factory/automation sims. spherical planets. orbital mechanics (at least for the planets and moons). space flight. dyson spheres. several different levels of automation. now combat. SO GOOD. I have Factorio, Satisfactory, Mindustry, Astroneer, Shapez, Big Pharma (which isn't quite the same, but is close). It's a genre I like, and DSP also taps my interest in space 8D My ONLY complaint is the mech customization system. I see how powerful it can be, but I just can't wrap my head around making the things that I want to make 8D (I have some experience with 3d modeling programs, but the skills do not transfer for me 8)

[@easilydistractedgames]

That's awesome! Yeah I struggle to sink hours into sim games these days, but there was constantly satisfying aspects to the game that are often hard to translate here, people just need to experience it for themselves!

[@jakeneely9568]

Once you get enough interstellar transports going its awesome to create a spider web of logistics

[@FuchsDanin]

I played this back a few updates before Dark Fog. I feel like picking it up again now...especially if the Multiplayer mod turns out. I'll subscribe for the video!

[@hagura321]

great vid, subbed for future ones!

[@easilydistractedgames]

Thank you so much! Do you have any genre preferences?

[@Roalethiago]

Just got your video recommended out of the blue (probably because recently I've re watch all Coffee stain videos on satisfactory on preparation to ver 1.0). And your video is honestly really good. Keep this up, man. u have a future as a content creator.

[@easilydistractedgames]

Thanks! That really means a lot! I loved Satisfactory too much, I really need to put more time into that game.

[@BloodSharkStorm]

Great video! The only complaint - background music, add some verity, maybe game ost

[@easilydistractedgames]

That's a good idea, thank you, might do that next time!

[@easilydistractedgames]

Enjoying these reviews? Don't forget to subscribe, or let me know what game you'd like me to review next!

[@KeithOlson]

Actually, I'd like you to review a _website,_ of all things. Specifically, 'FactorioLab', the factory game calculator. Why that calculator in particular? Despite the name, it also supports Dyson Sphere, Satisfactory, Captain of Industry, Techtonica, _and_ Final Factory. It allows for *insanely* in-depth calculation of input and output ratios of anything in the game. Want to know how many of product A you can produce with only X machines when components B & C is limited to Y & Z per second? Easy. (You'll need to dedicate some time to figuring out all it can do, but it will be time *_well_* spent and your viewers will definitely appreciate your efforts.) Cheers!

[@fleeb9316]

The production quality of your videos are really good! However the quality of the video although says 1080p doesnt feel like that. Nice work though, this is the kind of channel that will grow.

[@easilydistractedgames]

Thanks! That's weird, I guess the game trailers I featured were too old, and the footage I capture is it 1080 with some settings lowered to help with capture. Will keep that in mind though going forward.

[@fleeb9316]

@@easilydistractedgames It feels very much like 480p quality. You'll have to fiddle around with those settings a bit more. Compare your 1080p with other youtubers and you'll get what I mean. Good luck!

[@easilydistractedgames]

@@fleeb9316 thanks very much for the feedback, will try again next video!

[@duanebaughman1184]

This is a great game. More people need to play it.

[@Bambeakz]

Played it like 60 hours at EA release and the plan was to wait on coop for a second run. But if we ever get that? Started my second run yesterday and I still miss a coop option. It is so overwhelming (again) and it would be fun if the other player can start on another planet to get silicon and stuff

[@easilydistractedgames]

Yeah to be honest I would have preferred multiplayer over combat.

[@ZeronicMatrix]

It sad this game isn't on GOG.

[@MgamezoneH]

There is a pretty good multiplayer mod which is workling

[@easilydistractedgames]

No ways! I must try it out soon!

[@AdamSaxton]

DSP is my #1 game and has been since it came out.

[@amadeusjohansson]

ah yes I got factorio, satisfactory, captains of industry and infracity

[@iamacatperson7226]

How is Captains of Industry? I've been thinking about getting it but I'm not sure about it yet

[@easilydistractedgames]

Never heard of infracity. Is it any good?

[@amadeusjohansson]

ALL OF THEM IS GOOD

[@amadeusjohansson]

@@easilydistractedgames infra city is more a city builder

[@mechwarrior13]

​@@iamacatperson7226best game ever, plays more like a city sim/rts game than a factory game. The scale is just epic, fully deformable terrain, lots of verticality if you like it. Also its possible to make some realistic looking factories. I played a lot of Satisfactory and DSP but nothing hit me like COI did. Best thing is its made by 2 devs and they update every few days and are very good at taking feedback.

[@BMindfulofLove]

really well done! i love this game!

[@easilydistractedgames]

Thank you! How many hours have you played so far?

[@BMindfulofLove]

@@easilydistractedgames i'm at like 109 hours in the last couple weeks lol

[@easilydistractedgames]

It's addictive right? I'm still planning on building the Dyson Sphere soon.

[@Yardiff]

As someone who has played 2,200 hours according to Steam…yeah very addictive.

[@yurileegae8758]

May the algorithm favor you

[@HelloDonkey9]

To answer the title question.... Yes.

[@jamesdowell5268]

Ok hold up, at 9:02 why do your missiles look so cool??? Like they launch up and then the exhaust lights like a real missile. I swear mine don't do that in-game (though I've only used the entry-level missiles and the final gravity missiles, never the supersonic missiles). Are my settings different, or am I just not noticing it?

[@easilydistractedgames]

Good catch! I've been trying to find those too. This footage was taken from the dev's trailer, so I'll try ask around and let you know!

[@jamesdowell5268]

@@easilydistractedgames ohh thanks, makes sense. Maybe that's something the broader public will get in a future update or with varied graphics settings. It's cool to see that despite how gorgeous the game already is, they have plans to make it look even better...

[@jakstrieder]

do you think DSP will reach PS5/XSX? or will we have to wait for the next gen console?

[@easilydistractedgames]

It's hard to say. The devs seem pretty set on the PC for now, especially with the combat update. Transferring to console will take up plenty of resources, so perhaps it'll come closer to its official release.

[@jakstrieder]

@@easilydistractedgames that would be cool because it's hard for me to get PC parts where I live and I don't know jack squat about how to find good parts my self sooo I'm kind of stuck as a console gamer.and DSP is a game I like but can't play ya know lol.

[@CostelloDamian]

Couldn't agree more on the verdict. Out of 3 big hitters in the genre DSP seems the most complete. Little simpler than Factorio but bigger. Not as good looking as Satisfactory but with substance to it - especially now with Dark Fog. I got bored with Satisfactory lack of gravity and enemies. You can pretty much build anything anywhere. There is no difficulty factor to the game. DSP definitely no.1.

[@mechwarrior13]

I played a lot of DSP before i tried Captain of Industry, never played DSP again lol

[@easilydistractedgames]

What factors of Captains of Industry do you enjoy more compared to DSP?

[@Supremax67]

My beef with these types of games is there is no search function to find the specific material you mining or been fabricating. So a lot of those games causes you to lose a lot of time on finding said components. The more you expand, to more you spend time trying to figure out what you placed where. Sure, you will remember a lot of the locations, but for the ones you don't, you'll scratch your head for a minute making more of a "find Waldo" than actual gameplay. It just gets worse the more you expand. These types of games needs a proper SEARCH function.

[@easilydistractedgames]

100% agree and it's something that threw me off initial playthroughs. However, after watching a tutorial on the game (think it's Dutch Actuary), he explained the importance of building malls, making it easy to find everything in one place. Not ideal, but that plus adding icons to conveyor belts really helped me find what I needed.

[@Supremax67]

@@easilydistractedgames -- I can guarantee the company who can make a proper search function and a high rating game; will set the standard for every game moving forward. Devs often confuses difficulty with inconvenience.

[@toymanjosh]

How does your channel have so little subscribers?

[@easilydistractedgames]

I've just started, but thanks! That really means a lot.

[@csx5882]

From w-who? did you try to say Kurzgesagt? :) [1:47]

[@easilydistractedgames]

I always mix up the pronunciation! I've seen almost all their videos but somehow managed to fumble the name here. My apologies!

[@csx5882]

@easilydistractedgames If I sound out the word in English, i'd spell it "Courts-gae-sahk-t" (scilent t, no e). It's okay, though. German is tough to pronounce sometimes, heck I'm native german and I have trouble pronnouncing things lol

[@luxs5129]

got to about 200hours in and then my pc just started to slow so i could not finnish the game :(

[@easilydistractedgames]

Ahh no! Even on its lowest settings?

[@billybegood466]

DSP is so good, that I firmly believe they should have removed the Early Access tag and charged for the Dark Fog DLC. I would have GLADLY paid it since I already got several hundred hours from the game.

[@nicknevco215]

Not that great