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The Assembly Line
Oliver Buchannon
Seth Tideward

Indie developer at Manu Games, building Tideward, a premium idle RPG for Apple devices. Writes The Assembly Line twice a week on factory games, idle RPGs, and the genre at the seam.

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: A factory game made entirely of text just launched

Jun 12, 2026

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2 min read

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: A factory game made entirely of text just launched

TEXTORIO turns the whole genre into living ASCII — and it's out today for under four bucks.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward
Dyson Sphere Program: A Late-Game Interstellar Logistics Guide

Jun 9, 2026

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4 min read

Dyson Sphere Program: A Late-Game Interstellar Logistics Guide

Five years in, your ILS network is the only thing still bottlenecking your sphere. Here's how to scale to white science without crashing your power grid.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward
⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: Satisfactory goes cross-platform, Factorio prepares its finale

Jun 5, 2026

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2 min read

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: Satisfactory goes cross-platform, Factorio prepares its finale

Update 1.2 lands on PC, PS5 and Xbox the same day, plus Factorio's farewell update arrives end of June.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward
Factorio Pollution and Evolution: The 5 Numbers That Decide Your Endgame

Jun 2, 2026

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4 min read

Factorio Pollution and Evolution: The 5 Numbers That Decide Your Endgame

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward

Tideward Dev Log

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: Satisfactory hotfix lands, DSP turns five

May 15, 2026

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2 min read

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: Satisfactory hotfix lands, DSP turns five

Plus a Dyson Sphere Program anniversary patch, a Factorio module-swap trick most players never learn, and this week's confessional poll.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward

The Deep Dive

Shapez 2 Manufacture Mode: A Beginner's Guide to Your First Trade Station

May 12, 2026

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4 min read

Shapez 2 Manufacture Mode: A Beginner's Guide to Your First Trade Station

What to build first in Shapez 2 1.0's new progression mode — and the copy-paste mistake that wrecks beginner factories.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward

Patch Notes Roundup

+1

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: Belts of Iron rolls in May 28

May 8, 2026

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2 min read

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: Belts of Iron rolls in May 28

A new procedurally-generated factory game lands later this month, plus today's Satisfactory hotfix and a Factorio filter trick most players miss.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward

The Deep Dive

Captain of Industry Train Networks: How to Set Up Update 4.1's Auto-Dispatch System

May 5, 2026

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4 min read

Captain of Industry Train Networks: How to Set Up Update 4.1's Auto-Dispatch System

Update 4.1's auto-dispatch turns rail logistics from a manual scheduling chore into a job board that mostly runs itself. Here's how to build your first network — and the five rookie mistakes that'll cost you hours.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward

The Deep Dive

+1

Satisfactory 1.2's Fluid Overhaul Is the Factory Fix We Didn't Know We Needed

Apr 21, 2026

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4 min read

Satisfactory 1.2's Fluid Overhaul Is the Factory Fix We Didn't Know We Needed

Tanker Trucks and Fluid Truck Stations finally fix the pipe physics Satisfactory's been fighting since launch. Here's how the system works, what it breaks, and when it hits stable.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward

Patch Notes Roundup

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: Shapez 2 Goes 1.0 and the Belt Never Stops

Apr 17, 2026

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3 min read

⚙️ The Conveyor Belt: Shapez 2 Goes 1.0 and the Belt Never Stops

Shapez 2 hits 1.0 next week + a belt-routing tip that'll save you an embarrassing rebuild

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward

The Deep Dive

Shapez 2 Goes Gold: 1.0 Drops April 23rd

Apr 10, 2026

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6 min read

Shapez 2 Goes Gold: 1.0 Drops April 23rd

Plus: Foundry Update 4, Captain of Industry trains, Melvor Idle 2 incoming, and a sad farewell to Techtonica.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward
Welcome to The Assembly Line

Apr 9, 2026

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5 min read

Welcome to The Assembly Line

Your weekly dispatch from the world of factory games, idle games, and everything in between.

Seth Tideward
Seth Tideward

The Assembly Line

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The Assembly Line

Factory games, idle games, and automation gaming news — curated weekly. Published by Manu Games — makers of Tideward.

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