What Every Game Dev Should Learn From Satisfactory

[@nephilina1663]

the community management is just next level. i got so attached to satisfactory because of jace and snutt doing videos and streams. they are just awesome

[@coolmadmike]

I jumped back into Satisfactory after over a year of not playing to check out 1.0. It kept crashing every hour or so, but I put up with it. 2 days after release, the hotfix came out. Not a single crash since, and now I'm getting messages "You've been playing for 12 hours, maybe take a break". AAA developers could learn from Coffee Stain.

[@Deilwynna]

i have had 1 crash so far in 1.0 and that crash wasnt caused by the game itself but rather because my gpu drivers crashed (running a slightly older gpu (gtx 1060) that doesnt get new driver updates anymore) and honestly, it crashed because im pushing my gpu quite hard actually with having 3 monitors, 1 with a youtube video playing, 1 with an android emulator (and running a game in it) and then satisfactory or other game on the middle, main monitor, that can become too much, had such crashes before as well

[@judyfps5059]

I picked this game up a week before 1.0. It took me 15 minutes of gameplay to realize this game was made with love. All the animations are cool and the sound and art design is *chef’s kiss*.

[@ivanj9330]

Man I didn’t realize how much Coffee Stain Studios actually cares about their fans and community! It’s so refreshing to see, great video!!

[@UnableToucan]

Coffee Stain and Larion are the real ones. Especially in such a predatory era of games.

[@isaacbejjani5116]

Yea, there's lots of other solo devs who do the same, and I try to exclusively play those instead of AAA games marred by corporate greed

[@Kittingsl]

there are major bugs that still exist after a year. just lost all my inventory because of it and so far had like 10 crashes and i'm not even at phase 2 of the lift yet and i'm playing with 3 other people

[@Torgonius]

I've played since day 1 of EA. The community management has been off the charts. They were always upfront with us. If there was a delay, they didn't sugar coat it. They always kept us in the loop. And while they took the game very seriously, they never took themselves too seriously. Their update streams were next level. Every update brought the things they promised, and then even more that they never mentioned. Update 3, with the pipes, was an incredible reveal. And the 1.0 teaser was finally being able to flush the toilet in the Hub, which 'blew their budget' for the real trailer. Now for the Golf DLC....

[@craigmode]

🤣 yes golf dlc when!?

[@xymaryai8283]

a reminder, these are the people who made Goat Simulator. yeah, they don't take anything too seriously♥

[@MTF-EPSILON-11-5-NULL]

@@craigmodethe first question you were wrong the right answer was d all above

[@craigmode]

@@MTF-EPSILON-11-5-NULL 😂you discovered the secret bonus option

[@MTF-EPSILON-11-5-NULL]

@@craigmode yea

[@jonathanmarinkus]

For me, the community around Satisfactory feels similar to the Blender community. It's not about big money, but about a good program/game.

[@rieskorin2027]

Don’t forget Jace Varlet was the first and only community manager at Coffee Stain at the beginning of this wild ride.

[@being47]

He may be the one who made satisfactory what satisfactory is today.

[@ChaosPootato]

We all thank him, he helped a lot

[@MrLarsgren]

best community managers ever. every game dev could learn from this. "specially axolot " XD

[@craigmode]

😂

[@bobothebob4716]

Their commitment to making releases stable or eventually stable during EA, coupled with CM's did it for me.

[@Spectre4490]

I played from 0.4 or 0.5, i even don't finish end game, but played 300+ hours and I see how they make the game experience satisfying, for example they added dimensional depo, which makes exploring 10x easier to explore planet and other changes where they listen to community feedback But this work is not so easy, they made a one-time purchase game and kept supporting it for 5+ years, without transactions or XP boosters etc., they are like old-school game companies that want to make players happy, not earn 1 000 000 000 dollars

[@Br0ck3n]

They've also had one of (if not the best) game testers out there pushing the game to its absolute breaking point and beyond: LET'S GAME IT OUT

[@Skylancer727]

I do think a respectful fanbase is someone a result of Satisfactory attracting an older audience. I think it's fairly evident that while kids may play the game, they're far less likely to be doing the math on how many machines they need, energy consumption, etc. That does generally attract an older audience to a game. The game is full of very immature jokes for example, the game was made by the same people as Goat Sim, but yet the community is rarely formed around them. The main drive of the game mainly seems to be the power creep much like Terraria. The process where things that were hard to achieve slowly become easier and "solved" once you've set up a good enough factory for it. But now there's something even bigger to do.

[@USSRChicken]

bold of you to assume 12 y/o me wasn't going to nerd out on the math when i first started playing

[@lunarmist2948]

As someone who has been fallowing this game since the first announcement trailer, I have to say it was amazing journey. The connection Coffee Stain made with the community is probably the the Golden rule I will have for other studios going forward. All I can say is thank you Coffee Stain and thank you for giving this game a chance.

[@richardbaker3216]

I've been playing the game since it first came out on Epic. The game is great and has only gotten better over the last five years. But it's the weekly community stream by Snut, Mikeal and previously Jase that has really made the game. Their genuine enthusiasm for the game has been infectious. What I particularly like, is that they are happy to accept criticism. Most developers get very defensives about the things they done. Even obvious errors. But Coffeestain appear to listen and really care what the playerbase think and want

[@Serpensin]

I started playing near the end of update 3. And yes, we absolutely love it, if devs are listening to us. Even if it's something stupid like flushing the toilet. XD

[@craigmode]

I was so thrilled to flush it 😂😂

[@happyreaper11]

It's wonderful to hear Coffee Stain get the credit they richly deserve. Your video itself was great, very soothing. You have a very nice rhythm to your delivery.

[@craigmode]

Thank you so much that’s very kind of you to say!

[@JoseLuisLazcanoLeal]

Right now I'm using all my "adulting" power to be responsible and clean my apartment (while watching videos) instead of refactoring my factory in satisfactory XD

[@craigmode]

A clean apartment leads to more efficient factory building or so I hear, so win win 😂

[@Queldonus]

Funny that you bring up Helldivers 2… the most recent patch has been a massive improvement SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE they started listening to their players better and adjusted their design goals. They haven’t fixed everything, but it’s moving in the right direction and accelerating.

[@5353Jumper]

Many players bought the game both on Epic and on Steam just because we wanted to support Coffee Stain more than they are asking for. There are dozens of things in the game that were once suggestions on their Q&A site from players. I know they have actually done one of my suggestions, not in game it was a suggestion for their KZbin channel, which they actually started doing just a few days after my comment was posted.

[@craigmode]

Oh no way that is so cool!!

[@twocrazyscoops]

I’m so happy you agree with our feelings about this game. It’s so creative and fun and a great way to pass the time while waiting for our episodes to process. Thanks for talking about this.

[@craigmode]

It really is!

[@Freddie_06]

4:49 I love how you try to deconstruct a Spitter

[@devinbuirge6410]

brother if you keep making content like this the people will come. Great video, great information, and great delivery. You earned my subscribe. Thanks for making something that doesnt suck

[@craigmode]

Thank you so much for your kind words, this means a lot!!

[@nichtgenannt3226]

They community management of CSS is next level....over the top.

[@Appapalosa]

Best company ever. My favorite always..Jace and snuts got the heart of all of us. The factory must GROW!!!

[@theNERDYwhiteBOYS]

I've been in the community since early 2020 mostly as a lurker, but nonetheless appreciative and engaged with what they were doing. I have also been entirely enamored with Satisfactory since April 2019. I think you hit every point on the head. I've never seen another game that has had a community that is so amazing.

[@theNERDYwhiteBOYS]

I have to add that I heard your last line immediately after sending this comment and the only reason I'm not cringing incredibly hard right now is because it's actually true, lol

[@craigmode]

lol 😂 😂exactly! It can be a cringe joke AND true at the same time

[@melaes]

Satisfactory is a very good, well designed and well made game (the best of its genre IMO), so its not successful only because of the community management. But it is clear that Satisfacory's community management and marketing is the best I've ever seen for a video game, and that has for sure played a major role in their success. I'm happy they got a succesful launch of 1.0, because they deserve it.

[@PowerofRock24]

The devs communicate with their audience like they would a friend. None of that BS corporate speak, no empty promises, they don't attack their fans and they are transparent and like to have fun with it. They also listen to their community and feedback. I know they were reluctant to add larger blueprints to the game, but they did it anyway because it was a requested feature. They also poked fun at the community for it in game. I don't think there has ever been a dev studio quite like Coffee Stain.

[@charlesheath7571]

I agree with points, mainly the community engagement. It helped build a community and kept it loyal! Another thing they did that I greatly respect is they “protected” streamers. There is a “streamer mode” in the audio settings so streamers can safely stream the game. However it does NOTHING! the devs know streamers are scared due to copyright strikes if they have music. So the devs made the music of the game non licensed. Telling ppl “please play and stream our game!” Thus building, growing and keeping the fans loyal. I’m the end you are right besides coffee stain making a good game, they worked with their community, unlike others who worked against (cough cough Concord)

[@craigmode]

Hahahaha good point about concord 🤣

[@Meeshka-pj3lq]

I have been a part of the CSS Community since just after update 1. The way they have listened and implemented the communities request for features in the game is unbelievable. One of the most recent examples is the Toilet Flush!!! and they they gave us the toilet paper in the merch store days later when we asked for that. They are just amazing!!!!

[@c4n0]

That first time you get in the map and you have no clue where anything is, great game

[@rbruch98]

I remember so many games and devs who began this way, and have since soured. The biggest example is Blizzard in my mind - In the 90's and 2000's, they were absolute titans and the gold standard for videogames. High quality, lots of polish, actively engaged in their community. They built games that were genre-defining (MMO, RTS, Team FPS), and to this day have yet to really be usurped. They were passionate about the game. I recall they had programs to onboard modders (custom map makers at that time), education opportunities, scholarships. There's a reason why they had a cult following that justified having their own annual convention. The problem is two-fold: The audience (community), and the Management Team. The audience/community doesnt always respond in the right way. Trolls, thieves, generally bad actors. Theres also the monetary side of reaction. It's so often in music, movies, shows where the real gems aren't discovered by the masses until late if at all. There's also the imitators who detract from the original, taking eyes away from possible greatness. When management isn't involved, theyre not passionate about what the company is supposed to be doing, when they're reactive versus proactive, when theyre more focused on being a profit-machine than a collective of creatives expressing themselves, the whole thing goes downhill.

[@ajschwartz3924]

This is Coffee Stain's 3rd major game with a great community. This is the same studio that makes Valheim, and Deep rock Galactic as well and the way they listen to their players proves they know what they're doing.

[@machpella]

Not really, theres a bunch of different coffee stains out there, and they are mostly independent from eachother. Theres a video made by satisfactory's CS explaining it

[@dojelnotmyrealname4018]

Correction. Coffee Stain *publishing* makes Valheim. CSStudios Pretty much only makes Satisfactory.

[@jellfish9342]

Deep Rock Galactic is made by Ghost Ship Games, another company that has a fantastic relationship with the community, but Coffee Stain only published it.

[@Deilwynna]

coffee stain studios isnt the only "indie" dev studio that connects with its community, wube, the devs behind another factory building game called factorio, is also doing that, paradox interactive to a certain degree does as well, they communicate with its community about upcoming content for its grand strategy games but they arent always listening to the communitys feedback like css and wube does. as someone who grew up near skövde where css is headquartered (i grew upp partially in nossebro, about 50miles/70km from skövde), im proud of their achievements with sanctum (tower defense out of a first person perspective) and goat simulator prior to satisfactory

[@Andreasshorty]

With so few devs that care about their games its up to us to show our support to them ❤ ... a nother who also proved that their game is a labor of love like this is Corekeeper so here is the the year of indie and building communities 🎉

[@David-pq2ry]

About a year ago the game updated to the new unreal engine. As a single father with a very old pc the game stopped working for me. I can’t afford to upgrade/replace my pc but on their website a dev apologized that the game outgrew my hardware and gave us budget players a way to keep playing the old version. I still can’t play the new game yet but I’m saving Pennie’s at a time to try again while watching the updates all the way back in version 7.

[@evanwilkins3189]

They have been taking gaming back to what it should be. A community.

[@catbehaviourchannel]

I signed up to Epic on day 1, purely to buy Satisfactory. I've enjoyed it over the years, as it is a good game, but fundamentally, in the last week I've felt genuine pride, that my "friends" have had such an amazing and ground breaking success, and told all my friends about the story!

[@b_dawg_17]

Shout out to Jace and Snutt for their incredible work as community managers! And shout out to update 3.0! That had to be the most hype update out of them all!

[@Lee_Kin_Bum]

Great video go you for going the extra mile even when it isnt in line with corporation agreements and is not part of your designated ficsit contract ADA would be proud

[@almisami]

The thing about Satisfactory is that it's a game about building things. It makes sense that the fanbase would be about building things together...

[@eriknielsen4924]

I agree, I am also so surprised how little was generally shared by fans who played the Beta many months before 1.0, even though it had a huge amount of new content

[@dragade101]

Why Satisfactory is enjoyed is a similar reason why Minecraft is loved. Maybe if Satisfactory leaned into the social/co-op elements more so, they would be even more appreciated.

[@graxxor]

Studios like Coffeestain reaffirm my confidence in gaming. They are really the poster child of what a private company (not just gaming) should be. Bravo. They deserve every success that comes their way and I wish them all the best! I used to play a game called Dual Universe. They did exactly nothing on that list of seven points by boulder333. They never delivered on their promises or time frames. Each update moved away from the initial dream. They treated the community like imbeciles. They completely refused to engage their community. They were totally opaque regarding everything aspect of development. They failed to keep promises despite promising to turn over a new leaf at least three times during the alpha. They ignored everything the community presented and left users to fester in their discontent, turning the initial fanbase toxic. They renamed their alpha to beta to release without any real updates. They moved on to new projects before the game was even complete. It was a complete shitshow.

[@KalNertea]

I bought Satisfactory by accident, it was on some sale. I wanted try Factorio but I wasn't convinced enough to pay full price. Satisfactory seemed like some kind of alternative. Man I was so wrong... I played 10mins to try it out and it quickly captured me completely. It became one of my favorite games. Community is so good that it's only one I am actively participating. Devs are so cool and wholesome that they are only company I'm following in socials, reading and watching everything they publish. That's crazy, I'm almost 40, have two kids, I should not be fanboying over some factory game, but it so goood and community is coool that I can't just help it Big love to whole community and devs!

[@BazilYat]

Coffee Stain are, if you'll accuse the pun, good beans. Their publishing house attracts studios with the same values as they do, and their self-made games are awesome.

[@graxxor]

I used to play a game called Dual Universe. They did exactly nothing on that list of seven points by boulder333. They never delivered on their promises or time frames. Each update moved away from the initial dream. They treated the community like imbeciles. They completely refused to engage their community. They were totally opaque regarding everything aspect of development. They failed to keep promises despite promising to turn over a new leaf at least three times during the alpha. They ignored everything the community presented and left users to fester in their discontent, turning the initial fanbase toxic. They renamed their alpha to beta to release without any real updates. They moved on to new projects before the game was even complete. It was a complete shitshow.

[@Yolo_Swagins]

Snut and Jayce did epic job as comunity managers.

[@francisexbrayat1458]

Best early access EVER! Coffee Stain Studio is the GOAT of devs. I could rebuy the game since it's 1.0, just to give them more money.

[@oldguy7402]

Have followed coffeestain and early satisfactory. Playing thousands of hours over a few years. They are entirely transparent and responsive to player suggestions. A lot of the playability has been enhanced because of them incorporating player input.

[@WRZ100]

It's so refreshing how they basically added a bunch of stuff that people used mods for

[@HappyfoxBiz]

... the game had such a huge community behind it and the community managers took advantage of that to the fullest, they kept the gamers informed, never took anything seriously, they apologised when they did something wrong, apologised when something they tried didn't quite work out and just kept the game development going. They did make something absolutely crystal clear to the community though "any bug reports where the game detects mods, will be outright ignored without hesitation nor without sympathy as we cannot and will not diagnose errors that are part of mods and may never be able to definitively understand that it is our game that is the problem or it is a mod you have installed or a collection of mods that you have installed that have clashed with the game" and that's understandable. The developers knew that they struck gold when they made something fun first and foremost, they make it so that it pushes us to redesign our factories over and over again and then it pushes us further by overcoming challenges, the game didn't need a story and that's quite fine, many games don't need a story, the developers just need to listen to the community "we will never allow this to happen" needs to be overruled by listening to your community and playtesting some ideas that your community has and then release those updates to the community to critique... the story isn't very good and we kinda had a feeling it wasn't going to be very good because they were focussed on what was important.

[@drakcoreoriginal]

I love the game, but there are a few gripes, one being that 1.0 feels like it was rushed out. You will notice on the audio log/interactions die out completely around T8 and just end on the convos, except for the end which is abrupt. They should be made their landscape around Procedural Generation or at least made the nodes spawn at different locations to make replay unique and different each time. Once completed, it would of been nice to have a server people linked to, where competitions, challenges, etc can be done and changing, where leaderboards could be viewed. That would enable people to build/adapt as well as carry on building/perfecting their factory for a purpose + it would be the space elevator some love and re-use. Just the implementation of that would make the game far better.

[@craigmode]

Ooo I love the server idea with challenges and leaderboards!!

[@thepoweroffreesh6820]

procedural generation would look way worse, I appreciate the well crafted world they made, and nodes being in random locations would make the nodes end up being in really weird spots that just don’t look right imo

[@drakcoreoriginal]

@@thepoweroffreesh6820 Even with the current crafted world, there are a ton of places water interaction is messed up, clip-ins of terrain and then the corners of the map, vast areas they didn't bother to finish off. Two good examples is left of the map past the water falls and bottom right of the map. Procedural generation done right would make the replay value priceless, they just need to set the same value of nodes/output of resources the same to make it the same challenge. Good examples is Rust, DRG, Minecraft, and they could use the current engine with basic voxel manipulation for users to smooth or fill in spaces for their bases/buildings. The regeneration of plants, or at least the ability to "research" / plant vegetation at a cost to prolong map life and allow people to customize by adding the living aspect. There is a mod for props, if I remember correctly which does this.

[@WhiskeyRiver-l2r]

My first thought when I picked the game up again after the 1.0 release was what a shame Coffee Stain couldn't start doing "game developer" training sessions at Paradox and EA.

[@PanduPoluan]

Reminds me of Warframe and its developer, DE. And also Larian. Edit: I now must buy this game to support the Devs! I'll try saving enough moolah to do that

[@Guroji]

C. They give you leeway. Belt a little close? Let it clip. Foundation off just a smidge? Clip it. Power poles? Clip em, put them INSIDE the machine, whatever, it gives you MASSIVE amounts of freedom. Lets you literally "think outside the box" and the game rewards you for doing so.

[@KillerSpud]

It's successful because it does what it says on the tin.

[@FredRated1967]

Yeah, I'm not happy my mods aren't working, so I couldn't open my save file I was working on. But I knew the mod developers need to fix things, so I am not too salty. So I just cleared out old mods and launched a new game. All is good, going to build new factories and progress. Also, did you know that the publishing division of Coffee Stain published Valheim? Another game worth playing.

[@demarcorr]

In this day and age, I really like that they made a (fantastic) game first and foremost, and NOT using the façade of a game as a messaging/propaganda medium

[@anthonyboone6843]

Well stated and great insights. My hats off to Coffee Stain Studios.

[@Zollbeamter-ot7pt]

somebody show this video to team cherry so we get silksong news

[@elvendragonhammer5433]

Payload Studios (the creators of Terra Tech & Terra Tech Worlds) did the same thing- they have live streams usually every week, where they copy all the questions & suggestions from chat to go over later, but always answer what they can on the spot. I completely expected them to abandon Terra Tech once they started making TTWorlds, but they consistently come back & release updates & new content- they're currently improving the Circuits & Systems updates & even dropped a new faction. Same goes for No Man's Sky. It was ok when I started playing, but devolved into a complete turd when I ran into a game breaking bug that made me texture-clip through the ground when I was mining & I fell into the core of the planet & died. Problem was every time it re-spawned, I was still below the horizon, & instead of just quitting I was being stupid & tried to jetpack back up etc. Instead it ended up autosaving that way & I lost all my progress. I quit playing for years, & a few years ago I heard much better things about it so I gave it another shot. It's not my favorite game, but it's now the best open-world space game I've played since X3 & 4 & old-school Eve Online (before they got super money grubby, like they are now).

[@jamesbailey9512]

I think it is down to people writing complex and challenging games that require a lot of brain power understand that their player base is smart. I haven't played Satisfactory but I have played Workers and Resources Soviet Republic. The dev/modder/player interactions were very similar. Not bad for a city sim running off a janky Hind helicopter sim.

[@bowi1332]

The "you're genius" part was a bit pandering and a cheap hook, but I agree with the rest of the video. :P

[@craigmode]

😂you’re not wrong

[@Spinikar]

Its successful because CSS. They set out to build a fun game. They made a fun game.

[@hul8376]

The game is awesome! the game gave me thet first days of world of warcraft feeling when it started in Early access!!

[@flos6754]

I only began to play a few days ago, since its 1.0 release. So the game was probably patched by then, I hadn't any crash since. I've noticed that they even implemented some stuff, where you had to use mods previously (for example the belt fed biomass burner).

[@willjohnson8446]

I think they may have reason to connect with the audience. They are likely worried how few folks even hit phase 2.

[@paulsim7589]

It should be noted, if they did not have a cool fundamental game we would be here.

[@andreaszetterstrom7418]

I think we all know that the most important step is SQUIRREL!

[@Bambeakz]

Factory games seem to be very successfull in early acces. Look at Factorio, Dyson sphere Program and this game. Alle overwhelming rated games that are great to play from the start of EA instead of releasing an alpha/beta build of a game. I played this game since the Steam release and will play it for years to come

[@ethanplumb2338]

Me when Craigmode releases a new video! 😮😊

[@ClentBond]

I chose option d all of the above

[@craigmode]

Wise choice you unlocked the secret bonus option

[@MrBillclintin]

An interesting contrast is the team behind cities skylines 2, they released a disaster (ongoing disaster) and called the right fully unhappy and disappointed customers toxic. A few stupid decisions and the disconnection to big fanbase i killing the franchise.

[@thetempleofhate]

I miss the "Vamonos" guy 😔

[@NickoTyn]

I don't know about being honest and delivering on their promises. They said they'll never add pipes to the game.

[@JakeSimmer]

Hi, very tru, but you haven't made a vid about the game Astroneer I see, just the same, from 2016 on, lovely vlogs, behind the scenes, etc etc. There is a 'The story of Astroneer' vid, which also tells the tragedy of losing one of the original teammembers. Old first vids about that game show a totally different game, the've devellopped a ton, just like this very satisfacory game ;-)

[@NastierNate]

Thanks, Craig. Helps a lot.

[@Perryr4t]

YES

[@username6110]

I have played over 1200 hours and can not remember to have seen a popup to tell me to go outside and play (I play on steam version)

[@craigmode]

www.reddit.com/r/SatisfactoryGame/comments/cjyz33/anyone_else_find_the_time_played_notification_to/ there's an option to disable/enable the message and if you've been playing for many years its possible it was never on?

[@caosking7869]

I startet in update 5 so not that early but not late

[@Mtaalas]

"Kind and respectful community"... I wouldn't throw that out there so casually. I've read the Steam forums of the game over the years, there's still lot to be desired or maybe the "real" community isn't there? People are, at the best of times: entitled, highly opinionated and zealous, rude, dismissive, unhelpful... But I dunno if that's just Steam being full of kiddies of what...

[@aresivrc1800]

Coffee Stain is awesome 🤩

[@75krikkie]

So True.... great video👍🏽

[@craigmode]

Thanks for watching!

[@hadengibbons3539]

So, the better help sponsorship... im surprised most people dont know how horrible it is. Sure take their money, but like gotta remind people theyre dogshit

[@Thezedword12]

It's a, b and c.

[@Endelin]

I wish the devs would listen to those of us that want controller support.

[@craigmode]

I believe in their video I referenced they talk about how it’s going to be released on consoles as well as bring controller support to PC. I don’t believe they know when it’ll happen though 🤷‍♂️

[@spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace]

416th

[@Disorrder]

Umm, actually, no. Connecting to audience is cool thing to learn for other devs, but it isn’t a killer feature. The game itself is awesome, their mechanics, their graphics, humor made me love this game and buy on 2 platforms lol 😂 I’m big fan of satisfactory, I even developed a calculator for it, but in your logic I should care about other games of this company, but for some reason I don’t care about goat simulator or valheim at all. Btw former community manager Jace was nice, I watched every video he made and was really upset when he decided to leave the company. 😭 But it’s just a cool bonus to the perfect game for me anyway

[@mplewp]

Its obvious he hasnt visited pink forest yet . Or the plateaus around swamp .