About Safe Start
From Factorio Mod PortalBad news: You crash-landed on a planet infested by hostile natives. Good news: You managed to put 'er down in the only secure area! The Safe Start mod can surround your Nauvis starting area with a perimeter canal, protecting you from enemy expansion, and/or a tree buffer to contain pollution. Biters will be cleared from the safety zone (achievements unaffected). Customize the number of chunks out from the spawn point to protect as well as the canal width, plus some other goodies.
Bad news: You crash-landed on a planet infested by hostile natives. Good news: You managed to put 'er down in the only secure area!
The Safe Start mod can surround your Nauvis starting area with a perimeter canal, protecting you from enemy expansion, and/or a tree buffer to contain pollution. Biters will be cleared from the safety zone (achievements unaffected). Customize the number of chunks out from the spawn point to protect as well as the canal width, plus some other goodies.
Known Issues:
- There will be a slight temporary drop in UPS (5-10) in the first few seconds of a game as the affected chunks are processed.
- The larger the safety zone, the longer the initial map load time. A 100x100 area could take a minute to start and then another 10 mins to fully process. If you're using a large safety zone please be patient. It's a one-time tradeoff for better performance for the rest of the game.
Unknown Issues:
- Have not tested adding to existing saves
- Have not tested in multiplayer
- This is intended for a Nauvis start - starting on other planets has not been tested
- Can not guarantee compatibility with your mods
Future Plans:
- More shapes
- Rock/cliff perimeters for a more rustic feel
Inspired by the Moat Mode mod by LiterllyAtlas.
Disclaimer: This is my first mod. I'm sure there are still some bugs (the irony). I'll do my best to fix and improve this mod based on feedback.
Highlights
From source dataGame versions
Built for Factorio 2.0.
Footprint
Rated a light load on a server.
License
Published under Unlicense.
Safe Start on Nxeon
From our catalogue- One-click install
- Supported on Nxeon Factorio servers. We download it from Factorio Mod Portal, place it, and restart the server.
- Server side
- Required on the server
- Server load
- light
- Smallest plan we suggest
- Factorio — 2 GB (2 GB RAM). This follows our own load rating above, not a benchmark.
- Latest build
- 0.14.0, released 2026-10-08
Recent builds
| Build | Released | Game versions | Loaders |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.14.0 | 2026-10-08 | 2.1 | n/a |
| 0.12.0 | 2026-05-12 | 2.0 | n/a |
| 0.11.2 | 2026-03-20 | 2.0 | n/a |
| 0.10.8 | 2026-03-18 | 2.0 | n/a |
| 0.10.7 | 2026-03-16 | 2.0 | n/a |
| 0.9.1 | 2026-03-03 | 2.0 | n/a |
Run Safe Start on a Factorio server
Pick a server or deploy a new one above; it is installed in one click.
What kind of mod it is
From the catalogCreatures & NPCs
Adds or changes creatures, NPCs and how they behave.
Runs on your server
From source side supportFactorio Mod Portal lists Safe Start as required on the server. Check its Factorio Mod Portal page to see whether players need it too.
Compatibility
- Game
- Factorio
- Runs on
- Serverrequired on the server
- Game versions
- 2.0
Verified at the source
- ✓Factorio Mod PortalOfficial listing, checked 2026-10-10Open ↗
- ✓Authordavidhindman, as published on Factorio Mod Portal
- ✓LicenseUnlicenseFree
