Better belt and pipe building. Make it like train tracks

[factoriouzr]

The train track building is pretty good. It would be nice to be able to build and drag belts and pipes the same way.

In addition, it would be great if you could hold a modifier key like "ctrl" to have that section be made entirely of underground belts or pipes at max distance apart or calculated so it fits within the terrain without destroying it (like the train tracks are now).

[impetus maximus]

you can walk and build underground pipes.

[ssilk]

I support this if you mean this:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28845&p=183502#p183502

I think the game-play value can be increased a lot more, if we would be able to build belts like we do it with rails.

Example: Take belt, drag and if there is something between and you have UG belt! So instead of clicking 15 times to connect one side of my train station to the other, I need to click once.

The same goes with pipes:
choose a pipe (or underground pipe) and then drag it to the target. Game places pipes, by default it tries to lay underground belts, as with the rails.

[daniel34]

I guess you mean something similar to this:
[MOD 0.14] Automatic Belt (and pipe) Planner v0.10.0

I'd like to see a belt planner/pipe planner like this in the base game one day. However one issue here is that people have different ideas on how the belt should be laid down, when to use underground belts and how long they should be and so on, although prg made it quite customizable (check the Settings GUI explanation in the mod thread).

[ssilk]

Yes, but much more integrated into game of course.
The rest is in my opinion balancing and it makes no sense to discuss that here in detail.

[sparr]

You might consider https://mods.factorio.com/mods/Neomore/ ... elt-Laying which lets you click and drag belts around corners and they will turn to follow the dragging.

[factoriouzr]

I support this if you mean this:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28845&p=183502#p183502

I think the game-play value can be increased a lot more, if we would be able to build belts like we do it with rails.

Example: Take belt, drag and if there is something between and you have UG belt! So instead of clicking 15 times to connect one side of my train station to the other, I need to click once.

The same goes with pipes:
choose a pipe (or underground pipe) and then drag it to the target. Game places pipes, by default it tries to lay underground belts, as with the rails.

That would be a great feature but just building them like rails and having a toggle for underground or above ground mode would be a great improvement as this way it will at least path around buildings and such like the rail one paths around trees etc if you aren't in deconstruct mode with the rail builder.

[factoriouzr]

I guess you mean something similar to this:
[MOD 0.14] Automatic Belt (and pipe) Planner v0.10.0

I'd like to see a belt planner/pipe planner like this in the base game one day. However one issue here is that people have different ideas on how the belt should be laid down, when to use underground belts and how long they should be and so on, although prg made it quite customizable (check the Settings GUI explanation in the mod thread).

This would be great, and if people don't like the auto placement then they can toggle underground or above ground mode as I suggested as they desire.

[factoriouzr]

You might consider https://mods.factorio.com/mods/Neomore/ ... elt-Laying which lets you click and drag belts around corners and they will turn to follow the dragging.

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried that before but just couldn't get used to it. I'm looking for a way to build belts without having to be next to them and walk along them just like you can build rails now of unlimited length in ghost mode then have robots fill them in.

[sparr]

In that case, you probably want one of the "long reach" mods.

[factoriouzr]

In that case, you probably want one of the "long reach" mods.

I'm aware of those mods, but you are missing the point. The point isn't to build them one by one. The point is to build them like rails where you pick the start and pick the end and the in between is filled in automatically. Are you aware that building in straight lines at max zoom is very tedious in factorio? This is another reason why building belts and pipes like rails would be great. I also don't want to walk to make straight lines.

[sparr]

OK, let's change course then.

Above someone recommended the Automatic Belt (and pipe) Planner mod.

What about that mod isn't good enough for you? Make suggestions and the mod author can implement them. Or someone else can fork the mod.

Getting a feature like that into a mod is a great way to show the devs that people want it. I suspect fluid wagons got bumped up the official road map partially due to how popular the mod is.

[factoriouzr]

OK, let's change course then.

Above someone recommended the Automatic Belt (and pipe) Planner mod.

What about that mod isn't good enough for you? Make suggestions and the mod author can implement them. Or someone else can fork the mod.

Getting a feature like that into a mod is a great way to show the devs that people want it. I suspect fluid wagons got bumped up the official road map partially due to how popular the mod is.

I'm not sure if the modding API allows for things as fancy as how the rail builder works now. If it does, then that's great.

I'm all for getting this into the base game and popular mods can definitely help with that.

[Souper07]

Would be awesome to have the logic from railway building applied to belts and pipes. It would automatically find a path to where you want it to go.

Maybe while using shift or ctl the pathfinder would be allowed to use underground belts if something was in the way.
This, but belts/pipes!

https://eu2.factorio.com/assets/img/blo ... sation.gif

https://eu2.factorio.com/assets/img/blo ... sation.gif

https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-113

[factoriouzr]

Any update on this?

[CJ5Boss]

That would be awesome, but AI for it may be different (like giving specifications for when to use undergrounds and pipes..., e.g. when should the distance be differed to use the certain type of pipe?).

[Sad_Brother]

That was asked many times already. But for tubes and belts interference with existing network much more complicating imho.

[Koub]

[Koub] Merged into older topic with same suggestion