It is not a MALL; this is a Manufacturing HUB - Factorio 0.18 Tutorial/Guide/How-to

FACTORIO MASTER CLASS
This series of Tutorials and How To Guides help you become a better Factorio Engineer
Each video serves as a beginner's guide but also contains tips and tricks for both veterans players
Before each video I am conducting a Factorio Workshop on Twitch with my community in order to refine and optimise the builds presented.
Join the live streams and be part of the design: / nilaus
Present and discuss ideas with other players: / discord
Please consider supporting the channel on Patreon: / nilaus
Link to Blueprint used: pastebin.com/DW7Thk8G
Schedule:
1 video / week
Patreon: / nilaus
Twitch: / nilaus
Discord: / discord
Twitter: / christiannilaus
Website: nilaus.tv
Tips: streamlabs.com/nilaus
Merchandise: streamlabs.com/nilaus1#/merch
Playlist from the beginning:
• Optimizing Early Game ...
Save games:
Many different maps are used to showcase these videos.
Save games are available to Patreons in my Discord
0:00 Introduction
2:07 Belts and Inserters 1
5:04 Belts and Inserters 2
7:32 Belts and Inserters 3
9:51 Assemblers, Power Poles and Logistics 1
12:24 Assemblers, Power Poles and Logistics 2
14:34 Assemblers, Power Poles and Logistics 3
16:46 Power, Chemicals and Trains 1
20:23 Power, Chemicals and Trains 2
23:05 Power, Chemicals and Trains 3
25:03 Outro
#Factorio #FactorioMasterClass #Tutorial

[@Nilaus]

All Master Class Blueprints are available on FactorioBin Overview and direct links to all Blueprints: nilaus.atlassian.net/l/cp/HBEUm524 (Pastebin links no longer work)

[@user-zi2bt3jn3r]

What's about Laser Turret hub ?

[@NickHanley]

Designing hubs is quite difficult, but I think you've done a fantastic job, especially with the 3 tiered approach. Very well done indeed Nilaus!

[@GratissTVofficial]

Ive been using those blueprints for months, since i found them on a public server. I just realized they came from here! Gg mate

[@tonton_1964]

Hey, algorithm!, this is a good video.

[@JackTheOrangePumpkin]

I totally agree

[@svsoke]

Same

[@petersva]

ye

[@crazycat1052]

Definitely

[@vertice30c26]

Amazing video, absolutely loved this and should be recommended to more people!

[@AshenElk]

Best intro ever. "This is not a mall. This is a hub. A mall is a suburban commercial hellhole full of useless stuff. I don't wanna build that in my base."

[@emritramharracksingh]

I love the banter him and KoS hides in their videos

[@KamikazeCommie501]

It was cringe

[@goku445]

@@KamikazeCommie501 you're cringe. he's correct.

[@KamikazeCommie501]

@@goku445 You only think that because you're 15.

[@goku445]

@@KamikazeCommie501 I probably have more than twice your age.

[@m4gn0x]

You Sir are the guy I watched to get my first rocket up during quarantine. These master classes are so well thought out, modest and easy to follow. I especially enjoy the neat layouts and upgrade options! Ty

[@bobsmithisabando]

Love the idea of tiers and how much planning ahead you illustrate. Great stuff!

[@GreggityDiggity]

Your builds are always so gorgeous!

[@TheRojo387]

Even though spaghetti works just as well.

[@mattchannel7075]

This is so well designed! Very impressive!

[@jamesshelton308]

I was sitting there wondering why the hell he would wire the inserters that way, when I normally just put a limit on the chests. Then I learned about logistics filter on the storage chests and everything suddenly made so much sense...

[@davethedestroyer9727]

I used to hand-craft my science just trying to get to construction bots so I could tear my base down and attempt to build a mega base as fast as possible, but now I'm making jump start bases and using busses and crafting hubs. Thank you for the content you produce and for the hours you spend developing all of these blueprints and strategies. You really helped me elevate my Factorio playthroughs

[@cfhnyy]

You always have beautiful builds. This is very different from the wheel I saw on Twitch a while ago, as it was obviously far from done. Thanks for the great blueprints once again!

[@dbruce84]

Really appreciate these builds Nilaus and community. Great work!

[@Azhix]

i've just discovered this series and it has transformed the way I play and how I think about my factory. truly stellar work!

[@Karikato]

Amazing, thank you for sharing! I'm still new to Factorio (~150h) and I enjoy mostly creating my own solutions. But this was very educational and inspiring!

[@hazmodanCola]

This is GOLD. Thanks for this! I'm stubborn tho. I'll probably try and make my own design based on yours.

[@Zaspar]

Definitely better to make your own than to copy blueprints from online...

[@deheinrich4785]

@@Zaspar I agree. its fine to inspire yourself but in the end most fun is had if you figure this stuff out by yourself. I paid for the whole game and I will play the whole game

[@OslikusPrime]

@@deheinrich4785 In my opinion, both ways are good. Nilaus is one of greatest, if not the greatest masterminds in Factorio :), so I don't think I can beat or improve his designs. So, his blueprints are probably the best solution, if you aim just for efficiency and let's say routine and you don't want to bother with hours spent on solving something which had been already done better. On the other hand, if you want to have fun, or you don't aim for quickly and most efficiently built base, you can always spent said hours and .... simply have fun with that. Plus most importantly, I cannot recommend more to make own solutions a production lines ESPECIALLY when the player is unexperienced one. It might not working on first go (it probably won't :) ), but it helps you to understand how things work, why is some specific part where it is, etc. There is probably nothing worse, then just download an unknown blueprint, place it on the ground and trying to figure out, how to build it (mostly without robots). Player will probaby make mistakes there and without knowledge, it will be a nightmare to find that mistake in the system he has no clue about. Also expanding such line, or connecting it with other will be very frustrating without understanding of how is it working.

[@Psykout]

@@Zaspar To a certain point. The error that I think many make is that they blindly use blueprints and don't understand how or why they work. They just stamp it down and don't look back on it. What I have liked about Nilaus videos coupled with the blueprints is that they work for multiple stages of players, and if you fully watch the video, you know exactly why everything is done the way it is. Also a caveat to blueprint builds - just having good blueprints doesn't just automatically make you a good base. There is tons of other layout and supply issues the player using them needs to solve. For quite a few people, that scratches the itch of problem solving and is enjoyable, they don't need to or want to have to reinvent the wheel. This is an area I think Factorio exceeds in via the community and blueprints. It can be as accessible as you want and can be dialed in to be exactly the experience you aim to have. No way is worse or better, they are just different.

[@creedyiron]

that was a great video....i gained new perspectives/ideas on how to improve my gameplay thanks a LOT!

[@LastCallAgain]

This was a greatly anticipated (though I can only speak for myself) update to your base-in-a-box prints. Thanks as always for the time and effort you put into your work!

[@Agni4lisva]

Excellent job. A lot of thought has gone into the designs and it shows a deep knowledge of the game and the life cycle of various parts of the base

[@stereotyped7101]

This hub is a godsend. Holy crap, just looking it over and reverse engineering it is gonna be so good to get some mechanics and build ideas down. Thanks man.

[@josepedroferreiraa]

THIS IS PERFECT. I was following the 1.0 series and I was beginning to go insane pausing the video and trying to copy your hub design, now I can at least stamp this blueprint down e follow the ghostys without having to spend double the time copyng from the video and actually playng the game. Thank you so much

[@stokescomp]

Love these videos. Thanks for making these!

[@clydefrosch]

I love all these tutorials. It's as easy as putting down a blueprint and building that. Thanks

[@Borthralla]

Great builds as always! Look forward to trying these out.

[@benoitranque7791]

So I caved and ended up using those blueprints in my deathworld. Was having a hard enough time already, figured that setting all this up myself would take for ever. Really complete designs, very happy. Thanks a bunch

[@john30039]

Great series. Love it. Thank you for your time and effort.

[@Lemon_McGee]

I've come back to this video about 20 times, there's always something to learn here

[@smebzg]

I like the master class videos a lot! Great work! I'm impressed by both the presented builds as well as the quality of the youtube content. Well done!

[@klydon1291]

Great stuff in these Nilaus. Keep up the great work!

[@cybermarla007]

A little extra tip for new users: if you change the numbers of the circuit conditions that Nilaus has preset at the inserters for whatever reason (explained at 3:35), stamping down the next tier will overwrite your changes. To avoid that, just ugrade or downgrade the type of insterter used (to either yellow or green) in order to protect your value. On another note Nilaus, you really should be more careful with your keys. Tank-engines are really expensive! Regardless of your confession, this very clearly explained hub turned out to be great, esthetic and straightforward and will be a joy to have in a base. It is quite possible that I will use it in one of my games, regardless of my own designs ;)

[@jaredheismann3666]

Love how I can just copy the String and use everything in my own game. You made my life so easy

[@dkluempers]

Excellent tutorial, thank you very much for doing these.

[@_caracalla_]

These are life saving. Also loved the idea of automating tank production.

[@Frozen_Hope]

Nilaus making so I dont have to think so much yet again! Thanks

[@lydianlights]

I've designed a few hubs in my time playing Factorio but I think some of the ideas you have here are excellent. It's very difficult to balance simplicity, organization, and progression but I think this is one of the best I've seen. Definitely gonna steal some ideas from you, haha.

[@RichoG85]

Well designed and a great build, Nilaus! I've noticed the filter for the red belt storage chest (Hub #1, level 3) is set to red undergrounds, instead of red belts.

[@Davisstudiodev]

Thank you so much for this!

[@michelguenette8998]

Thank for making these episodes and this video in particular. I needed something that would create everything for me during a Lazy Bastard achievement hunt. Part of what was hampering my first attempt was the lack of a hub (or mall). I liked your design based on its simplicity and it was a bit easier to work with than the one I had seen from Katherine of Sky. Before I put it to use, I adapted the design to suit my requirements and I tried to extract any military aspects and put them into their own designs. After I managed to earn my achievement, I realized that the design was too big to use during a speedrun. I trimmed it down to something that is more manageable and that only included what I needed in order to earn the There Is No Spoon achievement. Each of the three main blueprints are between 1 and 2 chunks in size and that includes the undergrounds that mark out the inputs for each transport belt. Going forward, I will need to spend time creating my own upgrade paths for the different blueprints, so that I can change from wooden chests to steel chests and eventually logistic chests. Also, being able to swap out the electric poles will be nice, so that I can obtain better coverage. It will take some time to do, but it will be worth it in the end. I have watched most of the rest of this playlist. The design for the column of steel furnaces for smelting steel gave me some ideas to create a new blueprint for my own use. Thank you for the inspiration.

[@sepa4876]

Like it very much, very well done, be sure I'll use right now in my game play and the future ones, nice building!!

[@ileandrolopes]

Thanks for your effort on creating useful content for the factorio comunity, your bps are nice

[@IridescentBob]

Great Series Nilaus, thank you!

[@szczekan]

Mr Nilaus! You are doing excellent work!

[@tobyouten5137]

Wish I had these blueprints when I did my lazy bastard run! Very clean setups as always!

[@kelsanswer]

I've been loving your Master Class videos! Do you have a checklist of different aspects you're going to be covering? I'd love to see one on mining/smelting - especially as it pertains on when/how to upgrade them efficiently as well as a video on power - comparing solar to nuclear, efficient layouts, and ideas on when to transition from base steam boilers to something more beneficial.

[@Nilaus]

Thank you. I am noting ideas when I see them. Like here :) I want to cover the "basics" first to allow new players to have guides for every part from start to rocket launch, from there I will dive into more obscure topics. Smelting/Mining is a good suggestion and so is the various power options

[@philipptaborsky718]

@@Nilaus i think a very good/important and difficult video could be trains and rails! i always struggle with them! mostly copying some railprints und un/loading stations, but not always fitting my basestyle and then i feel bad! ^^

[@raingaming8]

Replaying Factorio after a year and I naturally find myself rewatching your videos :)

[@canebro1]

Good base, well done. My only comment would be, for the engines, to use a buffer chest instead of a long inserter. This way the assembler can run longer, which lets the other assemblers refill their buffers faster. It also gives a spot if you need to grab engines for handcrafting (I can't think of any now, but my mall also has electric engines, which I use to handcraft power armor).

[@Javlini]

Was looking for sth like this. Will try it out, thanks

[@anarkhos9206]

Manufacturing hubs indeed, and these builds are on the spot love em!

[@benjaminlehmann]

Great video. Really helpful. Thanks.

[@sinatrashotya]

Cool mall!

[@TheOntarioGardener]

Great video! I need to sit down and finally build myself a Hub.

[@Jupiter__001_]

I never had the idea to build these. I always just snatch off my production lines for other things; this takes a good while... xD Good video, have been watching your death world game: very exciting!

[@nugiszyzz8397]

My mans out here teaching better than college professors

[@Vegetalzis]

Awesome tips, will use on my next playthrough when 1.1 releases

[@ToonamiAftermath]

I got my first rocket making my own painfully huge main bus with every material on it but now I'm trying to get more efficient, this blows me away how much you fit into a small area.

[@luastan9243]

I love the designs. I think i'm going to try to modify them adding solar panels and accumulators and see if i can make them "self-sufficient", just for fun. Keep it up, i love your videos

[@S_Black]

The main issue is that you need many assemblers for those if you want to build solar fields. They just aren't low volume items

[@daedrot1437]

Hey, Nilaus. Thanks for your videos, they are really appreciated and renewed my interest in factorio. This hub design also exceptional and probably one of the best out there. It really covers anything that's not related to science/rocket launch for all but the largest megabases, however i feel like there are 2 things that are missing and aren't detrimental or complicating to the design. Having artillery turrets and landfill in the vacant 2 places on the last row of the third part of the hub would mean that besides T3 modules, solar power, cliff explosives, military robots and ammo the hubs cover everything, which would leave very little to future optimization.

[@SittingDuc]

I must say I seldom lose the keys to the tank. Much more often I find the tank falls apart around me and then I have to walk back to the base. Often while being nibbled on. This looks like a very simple and elegant Make Anything, and the tiers are thought out too. I would wander off with it in a wing-beat, If only I wasn't a sucker doing a Bobs run, where I need oh so much more complexity :) Thanks,

[@SittingDuc]

I am back! and doing a much more vanilla run... Time to waddle off with a Make Anything blueprint ;)

[@jikemenkins7098]

Excellent video!

[@F4ngel]

That's so neat and elegant. I like to add two extra modules. A war module for ammo, explosives, turrets and a wardrobe module for power armour and attachments. I also get run over a lot and it's nice to just grab some gear and carry on. Do you not bother with walls? I guess you could attach a wall assembler next to the concrete flooring.

[@orlandosfilmwerks]

Really good explanational video :D

[@gemmel3197]

Really nice designs.

[@RuiCavacoZBot]

Understood the trains! thanks mate it really helped a lot!

[@MartinSparkes-BadDragon]

I like where you are going with this. One thing I do is have my engine making output to a chest which then is drawn down by loco's and pumps. It messes up the neat lines of your build, but also allows for a bit of buffering.

[@icebread9335]

brilliant work! you just saved me from days of life time :D i just had to add a few things

[@joshsblee]

Incredible organization!

[@luxmo112]

Love your videos! Very inspiring. How long did it take to design this?

[@christianlevesque5239]

Everytime I come across Nilhaus Factorio master series I start to play Factorio again.

[@marcussalvo3996]

You can put the constant combinator in line with the Assembly Machines 1 and 2 so you make space for power switch beside lamp (for the Iron input)

[@AlgaeNymph]

While I myself prefer "hub" to "mall" for the logical reason you described, I can't help but get a "I'm not a baker; I'm a _bread scientist"_ feeling from the intro. Similarly, many librarians eschew "librarian" in favor of "so many other titles" because the original term isn't masculine enough. Hopefully I'm reading too much into this and I'm just shell-shocked from the culture war in the US. I'm a fan of both you and KatherineOfSky and hope you two are getting along. I look forward to your reply, and hope you're staying well.

[@dirtybeatfreak]

First thing that came to my mind too. Is this a dig at KatherineofSky?

[@Foostini]

@@dirtybeatfreak Given some of his responses further down in the comments, yeah.

[@advmx3]

Wow, things must have gone REALLY bad between them on those previous gameplays together. That being said: I don't like drama, so I won't dig too much into it.

[@wangsam2265]

This is awesome!

[@PiperTMTotalWar]

Hubs are definitely more practical than the eye sore mall of everything together. One of my pet hates is large amounts of assemblers missing recipes because they haven't been researched yet.

[@LouisIreland]

Thanks this is so helpful

[@assimilater-quicktips]

Definitely gonna bookmark this video for a revisit in a few days when I want to design my own hub. One immediate quip, laser turrets are my favorite form of defense because I don't have to ferry ammo around. Just a power line to the borders. So it is kind of sad to see them omitted....I actually hate gun turrets lol they are always running out of ammo when I'm not big enough yet to automate filling them up, I always only use them as a short term until I can get better defenses haha

[@strategicsage7694]

This kind of thing is why I'm a strong advocate that players should *personalize* their designs for 'hub' builds. Using or not using combinators is another reason. Designing one that has the items that fit a player's playstyle is much better IMO than a 'one-size-fits-all' approach.

[@rooks786]

I love this mall!

[@Shoestir]

This is amazing, thanks so much for your hard work! This will be a great addition to all my future bases.

[@SirBalageG]

I was thinking about creating a clear, simple design that's easy to implement, my head hurt after 15 minutes, so thank you for the designs!!!

[@GaryBoyles342]

I am hoping a master class on wiring is coming soon. I want to program my own logistic trains.

[@DRY411S]

As an alternative to the supply chest upgrade, I suggest buffer chests. The inserters inserting into the buffer chests have a rule on them to only insert if there are not enough items in the network. The buffer chests request the item instead of the supply chest filter. This means that items are taken to the buffer chests if needed, whereas the supply chest filter means the items are taken whether they are needed there or not. This may cause unnecessary bot traffic. Both methods work of course, and supply chests are available earlier in the research tree.

[@user-rt9pe8dp1q]

Never gets old.

[@thewallstreetjournal5675]

On my last playthough I spent a week in the sandbox designing a millitary hub direticly adjasent to the first blue science. Intended to be built as soon as the jump start base was complete. It has explosive shells, gas bombs, cliff explosives, and of course a spare tank. Haveing thus won the war agist the biters I then built a base with city blocks, built these hubs, nuclear power, and only used electric smeltors from that point forward.

[@opentile_minis8659]

Great video

[@anderskorsback4104]

Guy on his second playthrough here. I don't have a "mall" either, it's more like a small business utopia. My manufacturing of base expansion goods is so far distributed into several places, with just goods that feed into each other (like inserters and belts) being bunched together. It works well so far, I seldom need to grab stuff from many places at a time, it's usually one or two kinds that I need to stock up on.

[@Davo5673]

cool designs and thanks for the blueprints, but how do the blue belts get to the blue underground belt factories?

[@higgsbonbon]

I always use some variation of this design, it's nearly perfect.

[@uptheirons6520]

You sir, are a genius!

[@MEIGER24]

Man , you Rock !

[@shadowhenge7118]

This is so great. Thank you for these Nilaus. What's next? Power systems? Circuits? Rocket parts? Any chance for builds for modules and mass producing solar and accumulators for those of us that use massive solar farms to power our base?

[@Nilaus]

Yes, all of them, but one by one. Next will be Green/Red/Blue Circuits

[@StormEarthFire]

Thank you!

Thank you for this good video. I think cars would be very nice to be included (maybe instead of the flame thrower - does sb use them?). Is this the newest version?

[@S_Black]

What I like to do is wire all chests together. And wire all output inserters together. Then you can set the desired amount with constant combinators. Either by setting the amount as a negative or by multiplying each signal by -1

[@BigWolfChris]

Loved this, especially the destinction between hub and mall lol

[@exodere9105]

Do you have a battery set up anywhere then if you don't put it into your beautiful HUB? Thanks for all your great videos! Amazing work.

[@LordFizban]

Thank you for wonderful masterclass series. One feedback I can provide you is that during recording, there is a tiny buzzing sound in the background. It is only active when you are speaking / recording.

[@Nilaus]

Thanks, I will check it out

[@MLCHRL]

these jumping belts on cuts make me crazy :D

[@mmmmdang]

This is great! I would love a Krastorio one. 😊

[@Nilaus]

That would be a waste of time, since overhaul mods appeal to such a small audience and change so rapidly

[@ferguscarrington1395]

Very useful! Would you be able to cover smelting in-depth? I never seem to get the details right and its almost always my bottleneck

[@Nilaus]

Yes, I will. I think it is a bit short, so it is not my top priority

[@juliankirby9880]

Looks at Nilaus video on phone, looks up at screen, feels like a proud child that built a sand castle on the beach with a bucket as the crowning feature looking at a real house. I wrote that in reverse of what I meant I think. Nilaus is the homeowner, I am sand castle kid.

[@hambruh9174]

superhelpful thanks

[@movax20h]

I am usually against premade blueprints, but this actually is very tempting to use, as I really like its upgradability / tiers, and does show a lot of attention to details. Amazing work on this! However I think maybe the hub 3 (power, chemicals and trains) should be split into two separate ones?. I find the hub 3 with so many different inputs might be sometimes hard to integrate into the base, especially if not using the bus. Also on a similar note I think it might be a bottlneck on plays with a lot of trains. Maybe a place for two rails assemblers? Not sure. It does work, but I find it a bit too big. The nice idea of smaller hubs is that if you don't have enough of components, you just scale by using two hubs of the same type. Useful when you expanding very quickly or doing multiplier.