Idea for fluid mixing
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:44 pm
An idea to try cleaning up the fluid(non)mixing mess. At least a bit.
For all buildings with a fluid inlet/outlet (the outlet is more important) introduce two states: connected and disconnected. State can be different for each outlet/inlet for buildings with multiple ones.
An outlet/inlet in the "disconnected" state does not connect to adjacent pipes. An outlet/inlet that is next to a pipe is forced into the "disconnected" state if the fluid going through the outlet/inlet does not match the one in the pipe. State can be toggled via circuits or by rotating the pipe segment (latter one subject to better ideas).
Like this one can build whatever one wants but for actual usage one needs to do a cleanup and toggle whatever connections necessary, if one did not build well.
For bonus points, introduce a circuit-controlled building that drains pipes. -> Fully automatizable multi-fluid-single-pipe setups.
Note on outlet/inlet: technically fluid mixing only happens when connecting an outlet. Inlets could receive an automatic fluid filter. But there are some edge cases (pumps, tanks, ...) that need to be dealt with. Inlets could still receive an automatic filter so they don't disconnect all the time. Manual/circuit controlled (dis)connecting would then serve to control which buildings get fluid before others.
For all buildings with a fluid inlet/outlet (the outlet is more important) introduce two states: connected and disconnected. State can be different for each outlet/inlet for buildings with multiple ones.
An outlet/inlet in the "disconnected" state does not connect to adjacent pipes. An outlet/inlet that is next to a pipe is forced into the "disconnected" state if the fluid going through the outlet/inlet does not match the one in the pipe. State can be toggled via circuits or by rotating the pipe segment (latter one subject to better ideas).
Like this one can build whatever one wants but for actual usage one needs to do a cleanup and toggle whatever connections necessary, if one did not build well.
For bonus points, introduce a circuit-controlled building that drains pipes. -> Fully automatizable multi-fluid-single-pipe setups.
Note on outlet/inlet: technically fluid mixing only happens when connecting an outlet. Inlets could receive an automatic fluid filter. But there are some edge cases (pumps, tanks, ...) that need to be dealt with. Inlets could still receive an automatic filter so they don't disconnect all the time. Manual/circuit controlled (dis)connecting would then serve to control which buildings get fluid before others.