Factorio Forums

Or do you think underground pipes look prettier?

Of course. I already suggested this in another topic. Being able to walk over/under pipe (perhaps with a neat little animation) would make me definitely use regular pipes more often. They just look better.

Normal pipes look way nicer. I'd use them everywhere if they weren't like a wall

Doesn't make any sense really. Dude can walk across a moving belt full of pipe segments, but not across a pipe placed on the ground...

Normal pipe of course, way better and you can see fluid moving inside it !

I guess I'm the weirdo here. I was super frustrated the first time I tried to build an oil system, and being physically blocked by those **@#$&@ pipes was the main part of that. Now it's a pleasant exercise to minimize the obstructions and make it look as orderly as possible. I like that it feels so different from belts, both in the way things connect and the fact that it physically blocks you. I'm against walkable pipes.

Zeblote wrote:Doesn't make any sense really. Dude can walk across a moving belt full of pipe segments, but not across a pipe placed on the ground...

If you're going to insist on a sensible relationship between entities and the items they're built from, you're going to have to make more sweeping changes than just the pipes.

A big part of the reason I prefer underground pipes is so that I can protect my base from myself. Mistakes are known to happen and I find myself inadvertently mixing pipes much less often when I maximize underground pipes.

I certainly would. There's a good time for when they're very useful, but I've very much gotten into the habit of using them wherever possible, purely due to wanting to block myself less. They're still technically better to use anyway due to pipe mechanics, but still ugly and wasteful for materials.

If they could make them walkable and still look good, I'd love it.

A major reason I use underground pipes is that I can control what connections are made and not made.

My answer to OP's question is definitely "No I wouldn't use less Underground Pipes"... for several reasons that have been pointed out already.

• The way pipe mechanics work it is best to have the least amount of pipes so not to lose pipe pressure/throughput.
• Regular pipes autoconnect to everything so it's impossible to run them in parallel without connecting.
• Regular pipes are constantly in the way when building something else so I have to tear them down and replace them by underground pipes anyways. So might as well have placed Underground pipes in the first place.

While the first two could probably be solved with a rework of the pipe mechanics and the way pipes are laid down, the third one would still be a problem.

I use underground pipes all the time, except for corners. It keeps them out of my way, stops them mixing and allows me to run pipelines in parallel.

To be honest, I don't see the pipes as much of a hindrance but sometimes I literally just do underground pipes for two or three grid squares so I can walk through them.

I'd be much more frustrated trying to make a pipe system without them, though, unless I could put a filter on them or stop them auto-connecting.

A few, mostly in cases were I now insert undergound pairs just so I have a way to move through.

MeduSalem wrote:My answer to OP's question is definitely "No I wouldn't use less Underground Pipes"... for several reasons that have been pointed out already.

• The way pipe mechanics work it is best to have the least amount of pipes so not to lose pipe pressure/throughput.
• Regular pipes autoconnect to everything so it's impossible to run them in parallel without connecting.
• Regular pipes are constantly in the way when building something else so I have to tear them down and replace them by underground pipes anyways. So might as well have placed Underground pipes in the first place.

While the first two could probably be solved with a rework of the pipe mechanics and the way pipes are laid down, the third one would still be a problem.

You don't have to always use normal pipes, just use less underground pipes. I'd think it'd be similar to how most people use underground belts. Sometimes I need my belts to be precise and underground belts are amazing, other times I need them to go from point a to point b and don't need to worry about putting any underground.

Zeblote wrote:Normal pipes look way nicer. I'd use them everywhere if they weren't like a wall

Doesn't make any sense really. Dude can walk across a moving belt full of pipe segments, but not across a pipe placed on the ground...

ROFL

I'd still tend to use underground pipes, if only because they take less space in the inventory! Pipes are already super cheap compared with other logistic options (not only are they cheapest in absolute terms, their cost:throughput ratio is really good as well) so I certainly don't resent the slight extra cost of using underground pipes - and taking less space in the inventory is neat.

Yep, half of the underground pipes are to stop pipes joining, the other half is to let me walk around.

I'd probably use less underground pipes for short runs, but not many.

Would it have killed the devs to include a 'jump' hotkey and animation? Being able to jumper over pipes (and potentially other obstructions once you get exoskeletons...) would have been enough.

There are multiple reasons to use underground pipes apart from being able to walk.

• They allow free space to build, both buildings and belts. And rails yeah.
• They reduce CPU load for calculating liquid flow
• They have increased liquid flow change ability for the same as previous reason
• They prevent unwanted pipe interconnections

So I prefer using them anyways over normal pipes.
However I would vote for the ability to walk over pipes (as well as being unaffected by belts) if you have exoskeleton equipped.

I'd also stick to underground pipes, simple due to their nature of not connecting sideways

If underground pipes will store it's full lenght value of fluid, for me it's not a problem, but why dont make all pipes undergrounds and divide them in simple pipes and complex pipes instead?
Simple pipes are simple, just a pipe n/s or e/w. Complex pipes are autojoining pipes that can connect any surrounding pipe exits acting like actual normal pipes.
Thiss will give the same amount of items, but a more versatile use of them, having them all underground...

[edit: this will mean that only simle pipes pointing to the complex pipes will join it, otherwise it wont join it at all.
An east/west pipe with a complex pipe on the south side will not join it because the simple pipe has not available connection with it.]

" If you could walk on pipes in Factorio"
I hope this will not happen!