Safety Nuke Launcher

Introduction ============ Safety Nuke Launcher is a mod for Factorio. It adds a rocket launcher that has a configurable minimum range in order to reduce the occurrences of the player accidentally nuking themselves due to thinking they had a different weapon equipped.

I made this mod after doing it to myself one too many times...

Additionally, this mod has an option (default off) to set the nuclear rocket range bonus to 300% (regardless of launcher used). More below.

Manual Installation =================== Copy the release zip file (SafetyNukeLauncher_X.Y.Z.zip) into the "mods" subfolder of the User Data Directory. Then start (or restart) Factorio. It should then appear in the Mods list available from the Factorio main menu, initially enabled.

Usage ===== Unlock the new technology (atomic bombs are a prerequisite) and craft the new Safety nuke launcher item. Replace your existing rocket launcher with the new one. Then worry no more about nuking your feet!

The minimum range is configurable. By default it is 30. For comparison, the nuclear explosion radius is 35. So with the default setting it is still possible to nuke yourself if you don't move at all after firing, but also possible to strike relatively close targets.

If you regularly use non-nuclear rockets, you may want to lower the minimum range. With non-nuclear rockets, the maximum range is 36, so the default minimum range of 30 only provides a narrow window of usability. (There does not appear to be an easy way to make the minimum range depend on the type of ammo equipped.)

Nuclear Rocket Range ==================== As of Factorio 1.0, the nuclear rocket has a 150% range bonus, giving it an effective range of 54 tiles. Previously the bonus was 300%. The shorter range makes the weapon unsafe to use against large biter bases, which is the only useful scenario, since you have to get nearly swarmed every time in order to hit the middle of the base.

Therefore I chose to add an option to this mod to restore the 300% range bonus, making nukes useful again.

The 1.0 release notes and the wiki do not (as of 2020-12-04) even acknowledge this change, so it is possible this wasn't even an intentional change by the developers. If it was intentional, it is an odd choice since nuclear rockets were already arguably underpowered in comparison to both artillery and turret creeping.

Adjusting Startup Settings ========================== The two startup settings, minimum range and range bonus, can be safely changed for a save game file that already has the mod active. If you have the mod active in a game, then change one of these settings from the main menu, then when Factorio prompts to "Sync mods and load" or just "Load", choose "Load". That way the new settings take effect. (The other option reverts the settings to what is stored in the save file.)

Uninstallation ============== If you have a save with the mod active, then disable the mod and load the save, the new item (the launcher with minimum radius) will be removed. There are no other adverse effects.

Links ===== Factorio mod portal page: https://mods.factorio.com/mods/smcpeak/SafetyNukeLauncher

Github repo: https://github.com/smcpeak/factorio-safety-nuke-launcher