That's a good question, and to be honest I hadn't considered Rise of Industry a game of the factory genre. But I guess it sort of is. I haven't played RoI enough to compare or not compare that game with FM or any other game for that matter. So what sets it apart? I'm not sure yet. The game is taking shape as development progresses. It's very much a process of "let's try this" and "does this work?". Some times things don't work out and then they get ripped out again. I hope once people get to play it (demo or steam playtest) they will contribute with ideas and help shape and define the game into its own thing.

I do have some overall design principles, one of them being that I want it to be a more forgiving and casual game than Factorio. Not that I dare to compare my game with that legendary behemoth of a factory game, they are really nothing alike. But, Factorio being the mother of all factory games, any game featuring conveyor belts will inevitably be compared with it and possibly called a clone. It is what it is..

Anyway, going off on a tangent there.. what I'm trying to say or wanted to say is that nothing is set in stone and the game could still take a hard turn and end up being something else (but still with the primary focus on building factories of course). There are still a lot of blanks to be filled out. So as of right now, as far as differentiation goes, that's still up in the air.

Well, I appreciate the reply and I understand. I definitely will be following to see what happens with Factory Magnate.

Technically, RoI is not a "Factory Building" game... It is a "Logistics Management" game. But you drop down something to harvest/gather raw resources... move different resources to a assembly plant which ends up with a completed product (or intermediate product) which then needs to be moved to the next location for sale or to be combined into a higher level product.

Now if you consider the above concept in Factorio... It has resource gathering tools... then you put things on a conveyor belt or train to deliver them to an assembly machine... and so on. It is the same concept in that you manage the movement of resources and products around, except the ultimate consumer is the rocket ship. While Factorio has many more recipes and a lot more complexity, the games have a lot in common.

I look forward to seeing your take on the genre.

Yes, indeed all these types of games can be boiled down to moving stuff from point A to point B. It's interesting how such a seemingly simple concept can be so entertaining, satisfying, challenging and some times frustrating :-)

To me, this looks a LOT like a stripped down version of Mindustry. Basically, that minus the combat system.

Originally posted by Mozleron:

To me, this looks a LOT like a stripped down version of Mindustry. Basically, that minus the combat system.

It's no secret I look to Mindustry for inspiration, as well as many other similar titles. I've talked about that many times in the past. So, while your comment comes with a negative tone, I actually think it's a positive comparison. Mindustry is an entirely different game though, it basically being a tower defense game where the sole purpose of the production lines is to power the warfare. Factory Magnate does not have any of that. It's meant to be a peaceful, casual and somewhat lightweight factory game where players can enjoy making factories without stressing over ratios, science per minute and whatnot.

So, hardcore Factorio and Mindustry players likely won't enjoy this game. And that's fine. I'm not making this game for them.