Factorio 2.1 is now stable: mixed rockets, platform-to-platform transfers and Space Age without Quality
The factory must grow, one last time. Wube Software has marked Factorio 2.1 as the stable release after a long summer in experimental. The announcement came in Friday Facts #449, exactly two years after Space Age launched. Wube says 2.1 “isn’t about new planets, enemies or research trees” and is instead “a big collection of quality of life, small features, polish, and the things we wanted to do for 2.0 but didn’t have time for.” For the full change list, read Friday Facts #449, which links to the deep-dive posts for each feature.
Space logistics finally loosen up
The biggest day-to-day change for Space Age players is mixed rockets: a rocket can now carry several different items in one launch, so you no longer have to send a full stack of everything just to build a small platform. Platforms can also trade items with other platforms in orbit, an “Import from Any” option pulls from every location, and a new Radar “Universe mode” shares circuit signals between planets and platforms. Together, those changes take a lot of the busywork out of running a spread-out empire.
The end of the pencil ship
Platform drag is now based on mass instead of width, and asteroid damage depends on an asteroid’s remaining health rather than its speed. In Wube’s words, “the ‘pencil ship’ is no longer the only way to go fast.” That should open up ship designs that were never competitive before.
Unloading bays and smarter circuits
A new landing pad unloading bay is a cargo bay that inserters can pull from, so you can unload straight into trains, belts or chests. On the circuit network, reads and writes can now go to different wire colors, and labs, boilers, heat exchangers, pipes and even land mines (as tripwires) can be wired up.
Quality becomes optional
Space Age can now be played without Quality, and the “space casino” is closed, because Quality modules no longer work in asteroid reprocessing. The update also brings back fluid mixing prevention, new art for assemblers, the oil refinery and the rocket silo, and a native ARM64 Linux build that GamingOnLinux notes runs on hardware like the Steam Frame.
Before you update: 2.0 saves will load, but Wube warns that the circuit input/output split may break existing designs, and saves and blueprints can’t be downgraded. Back them up first, and check that your mods have been updated.
As GamesRadar+ points out, Wube has called this its “last major update” for the game. Factorio has more than 234,000 positive Steam reviews and still has never gone on sale.
PPR take: Plenty of games end with a whimper. Factorio is wrapping up its big updates with mixed rockets and the end of pencil ships. What I like is that Wube spent its final major update on the stuff players actually fight with every session instead of chasing one more headline feature. Making Quality optional is a smart nod to the players who never liked it, without taking anything away from those who do. If you’ve been sitting on a Space Age save, back it up, check your mods and dive back in this weekend.