Terrain can naturally absorb some of it and trees can absorb even more but will eventually die from it, so they’re just a temporary stopgap. Eventually when it reaches the aliens, they too will absorb it until they reach their limit then they’ll organize attacks.
That being said, I can’t remember if it’s specifically pollution they absorb that causes them to evolve into stronger forms or if it’s any pollution you produce that does it.
I think it was mainly a design decision about wanting the game to get harder as you progressed instead of easier. Which I have mixed feelings about because divide and conquer where it starts hard but gets eaaier as you clean up can be very satisfying, but factory games can scale in ways that would make it more trivially boring.
Pollution also prompts them to attack.
Terrain can naturally absorb some of it and trees can absorb even more but will eventually die from it, so they’re just a temporary stopgap. Eventually when it reaches the aliens, they too will absorb it until they reach their limit then they’ll organize attacks.
That being said, I can’t remember if it’s specifically pollution they absorb that causes them to evolve into stronger forms or if it’s any pollution you produce that does it.
Seems to be the latter:
https://wiki.factorio.com/Enemies#Evolution
I’ve never understood how destroying nests logically accelerates evolution if none of them survive
This other nests pickup on pheromones that tell them what the others died from.
That or its a hive mind so they learn from each encounter.
I think it was mainly a design decision about wanting the game to get harder as you progressed instead of easier. Which I have mixed feelings about because divide and conquer where it starts hard but gets eaaier as you clean up can be very satisfying, but factory games can scale in ways that would make it more trivially boring.