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Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 12:17 am
by Teraka
Two good reasons for that:

1. When you build a blueprint with bots, the wire configuration depends entirely on the order the power poles/substations are placed in. This means that a layout that would otherwise look really nice on the minimap turns into an ungodly abomination, and in extreme cases some blueprints may be incorrectly reproduced (Since power poles have a 5 cables limit, in some situations you may not have all the wires connected where you want them to).

2. Switches. Essentially any build that includes a switch as part of it will be broken and require additional tinkering every time you blueprint it. Keeping an exact wire configuration can be very important, and so it should be saved in a blueprint and reproduced identically when using that blueprint.

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 4:09 pm
by ssilk
See viewtopic.php?f=58&t=27456 Power Switch blueprint doesn't remember power line positions

And the links that point to that thread:
search.php?keywords=27456

-> Currently I move it to won't implement.

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 7:53 pm
by Qon
So is this still "won't implement"?

0.15.24 has partial implementation. Would be nice if the power poles you disconnect within your BP doesn't reconnect when placed so that you can actually have separate grids within one blueprint. Kinda annoying to have switches wired correctly but the two sides are connected always, even when the switch is off, because other routes are connected.

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 1:22 pm
by wvlad
Still no cables in blueprint.
Original:
Image
Placed:
Image

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:44 pm
by d3x0r
I saw someone else added wires with a blueprint; if you re-blueprint after all the poles are built does it fix the wiring?

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 7:51 am
by wvlad
Do you mean placing the same blueprint over already constructed things? I tried, it doesn't do anything (with and without shift).

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:35 am
by Engimage
Currently blueprints preserve manually connected wires but they do not disable automatic poles interconnections.
So if you want something like this place power switch so that wires from both ends of power switch itself can reach target poles but poles could not directly reach each other.

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:29 am
by mrvn
wvlad wrote:Do you mean placing the same blueprint over already constructed things? I tried, it doesn't do anything (with and without shift).
Does removing all wires and placing the blueprint again with shift do anything? With red/green wires placing a blueprint with shift adds the wires.

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:40 am
by wvlad
Removing all wires and placing it again over already constructed entities only creates wires between the power switcher and its connected pole, but no changes to other poles.

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 2:13 pm
by mrvn
wvlad wrote:Removing all wires and placing it again over already constructed entities only creates wires between the power switcher and its connected pole, but no changes to other poles.
That would indicate that only those wires are stored in the blueprint. Makes sense from the bugfix.

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 12:12 pm
by impetus maximus
i love the Wube development team, but this is one of those occasions i have to fully disagree with this decision.
if we can have power switches remember it's connections in a blueprint, then why not power poles?
i would much rather have to manually wire a single copper wire to a placed blueprint to power it, than deal with what we have now.

trying to build a science pack management system that has different power zones.
i'm copying the blueprint to make it in stages. having to rewire the power EVERY SINGLE TIME is an exorcise in frustration. :x
ready to say f*@# it to my whole design.

again... love you folks, but damn i'm frustrated right now.

Re: Save copper wire configurations in blueprints

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 1:19 pm
by Zavian
Would the following work:

For every pole (that is included in the blueprint) that is connected to another pole (that is included in the blueprint), save the connection as part of the blueprint.

When a blueprint is placed place ghost entities for every power pole. Place ghost wires for every connection that is a saved within the blueprint. Add ghost connection between power poles within the blueprint, and power poles outside the blueprint, using the same connection rules we have now (adjusted the logic, so it knows about the ghost connections, since those were saved within the blueprint, they should be restored). Also do this for old blueprints from before wires were saved. At this point we have finished creating ghost connections, and we should have ghost connections for all the wires that were in the blueprint, plus ghost connections between the blueprint and any nearby power poles that aren't part of the blueprint (both real poles, and ghost poles). Any removed wires between poles (where both poles were included in the blueprint) should have no ghost connections, and hence they will remain removed when the ghosts are revived.

When bots or players (or scripts like nanobots or bluebuild) revive a ghost power pole, check it's ghost connections, and revive any ghost wires to other poles that have already been placed.

Using this scheme blueprints should connect automatically to adjacent power poles just as they do now. A player who wants to create a blueprint that preserves the fact that wire between 2 poles has been removed needs to include both power poles as part of the blueprint. That should be natural if the removed wires is from the middle of the blueprint area. It's less natural if the removed wire is at the edge of a blueprint, but it necessary if we want to preserve the current behaviour of blueprint automatically connecting to adjacent power.