Friday Facts #170 - Blueprint library GUI design and redesign

[hoho]

I think the main reason devs don't want to add flipping-mirroring is that it wouldn't behave consistently and would cause confusion in people who aren't aware of the reasons behind it.

[skillabstinenz]

I hope when the BP overhaul comes, it comes with mirroring/flipping and (sub)categories.

[Deadly-Bagel]

I was thinking flipping blueprints would be good because I've got a furnace setup that occasionally needs flipping depending on the direction of the input and output, but then I realised things like chemical plants and refineries would totally break unless they add the option of flipping the inputs and outputs of machines as well.

[Rinin]

b) I would like to have the possibility to zoom ( and move shown zoom-in ) the blueprint preview. It happens quite often that i just want to change only some parts on a 2k+ items blueprint. Right-clicking them with the given preview becomes close to impossible at some point.

d) I know there are mods for rotating, flipping, copying etc., but I would like to have this in vanilla.

Yes to both of these please. Need to be able to flip blueprints!

Any blueprint you would want to flip doesn't support flipping: rails are grid aligned and aren't the same when flipped, train stops can't be mirrored since they're directional, assembling machines with pipes can't be mirrored, and so on.

Well maybe it's good signal to review the existing problem with pipes also? Because it is also the old problem. The fact that another part of the game is also not very comfortable probably should lead to solving both problems instead of leaving both. As for signals, we could have switch (rotate signals, or leave intact and mirror only their positions on map)

Anyway fixing signals/stations and even pipes on the mirrored blueprint is much easier than rebuilding stations from scratch.

Furthermore if this process will be started even partly functional, then sooner or later community will help to find best way to make it usable without problems an without warning messages.

PS I'm sorry if it sounds offensive, it's not intentional, but only because lack of enlish practice

[Cabanur]

RE: flipping blueprints

I feel like this is completely unnecessary. You can already rotate blueprints, which isn't the same I know, but if I need something flipped I'll just create another blueprint. For train stations, for example, i have at least 2 blueprints for each train station model, and it really isn't that much of a pain, specially with the ability to organize blueprints in books.

[Loewchen]

RE: flipping blueprints

I feel like this is completely unnecessary. You can already rotate blueprints, which isn't the same I know, but if I need something flipped I'll just create another blueprint. For train stations, for example, i have at least 2 blueprints for each train station model, and it really isn't that much of a pain, specially with the ability to organize blueprints in books.

When building big processing setups for hardcrafting, not being able to mirror/flip the BP meant spending an additional hour to build it manually. I understand that the developers do not want to implement something that can not work with several entities. In the instances it would work though it would be very helpful.

[AndrewIRL]

I would really like a more temporary blueprint for when I want to cut and paste random factory elements. Basically have the deconstruction planner keep whatever it last deconstructed.

1) Deconstruction planner created, not used yet, blank state.
2) Deconstruct something - that something goes into the deconstruction planner as a blueprint.
3) Click deconstruction planner again - now the blueprint view of the previously deconstructed items is here. Click to place. Click and drag deconstruction area to deconstruct something else and lose the previously held "blueprint" replacing it with a new one.

Maybe not the most intuitive mechanics. Perhaps a separate cut/paste planner would be easier to understand. Or just let me click drag to select multiple items when I have nothing selected and allow me to use Ctrl-X to cut it into a temporary blueprint (eg windows clipboard).

Right now the process is: Build a few items - oh drat I've placed them 1 tile left of where I should have.
1) Go to your "temporary" blueprint on hotbar blueprint, shift right-click it.
2) Left-click to select the now empty blueprint
3) Highlight the target area
4) Click the create blueprint button
5) Hit q to deselect blueprint
6) Choose deconstruction planner
7) Highlight the same area from (3)
8) Hit q to deselect deconstruction planner
9) Left click the blueprint and place

[Dark_star]

I love the improvements to factorio, but how about FUSION instead of nuclear

[aober93]

If youre deleting the quickbar, consider blueprints and deconstruction planners. ATM they are used widely within a filtered quickbar with fixed slots. But that change is good.

I dont like the change with the tabs. Pressing "E" is pretty vital to the flow of the game, having then submenus or tabs or whatever is just not good. That section is so important, why bother if its in the center of your screen. Its "inventory, logistic and crafting" next to each other right? Why not add a button to minimize either of the 3. There is no shiftclick transfer issue if you remove the quickbar after all.


And speaking of annoying changes. Pressing E closes like ALL menus except the map view. This is kinda hard getting used to. So there you go, someone fd is up before you

[sparr]

Wrong thread, dude.

[innesm]

From my limited experience I've got to say the blueprint UI is very rudimentary and clunky. Hard to know where to start in describing the ways it's painful to use. I think more experienced users have seen improvements, but speaking from a fresh perspective - ugh. It is a pain to manage blueprints, so I just end up copy-n-pasting existing stuff, ending up clogged with blueprints, all with useless "icons" (editing this is slow and fiddly). The UI cuts off BP names, which are much more useful in identifying BPs than the icon. As you work with BPs, although I try to use books, you end up removing the BP from the book in order to use it, meaning your inventory is clogged and your books are rendered useless.
(I stumbled upon a way of using books to avoid this which is to "hold" the book, and cycle thru its BPs with the scroll wheel) One poor feature - if you edit a blueprint name, but don't click the save button on the name edit, but just the blueprint save button, the name edit gets thrown away. Seems like basic ideas of how dialogs should work haven't been implemented.