Replace the equipment grid with a surface

[Deadlock989]

Just for fun. Not seriously considering this is likely to happen. But it just popped into my head and won't go away. So this is 95% idea and 5% suggestion.

I'm hyped for the character GUI change that's (hopefully) coming some time between now and 1.0. The mock-ups of it in a FFF (a while back, can't locate it just now) looked great, the UI improvements they described make my mouth water, and I love the tweaks to style.

So I thought, while you're at it, why not multiply the workload by x50 and get rid of equipment grids completely. They are like, so 2016.

Instead, equipment grids are now a mini-surface that works exactly the same way as working with entities in the actual world, with exactly the same "intuitions" about UI. The world surface is also a grid after all.

The new equipment grid can have belts (or things that are like belts), inserters (or things that are like inserters or loaders), machines that can have recipes set, power providers, and other "machines" that do either what current equipment does (e.g. shields, nightvision) but also enables a limited and underpowered subset of what machines in the world can do. You can install a miniature assembler (at great cost to grid space) that processes ingredients. You don't have to manually restock a coal burner that powers your grid manually, you can have a "grid chest" that's filled with fuel and you run that fuel to all of the required generators, or runs ammo to personal chainguns. You can have an optional input on the edge of the grid, with a filter, that runs items from your main inventory into the grid, or an output that dumps them back in.

Essentially, you build your own armour configuration as a working machine and can optimise it to your needs, exactly like you do on the world surface.

[Bilka]

This sounds insane. I like it.

Mods can have camera gui elements and surfaces etc. So with a bunch of scripting, a mod should be able to add this.

[eradicator]

Damn you. I've always imagined my armor as a nice techno-magical blackbox that makes a few beep noises and does it's thing. Now you've turned that image into a steampunk/clockwork abomination with constantly rattling gears! Yes, give me that!

you can have a "grid chest" that's filled with fuel and you run that fuel to all of the required generators, or runs ammo to personal chainguns. You can have an optional input on the edge of the grid, with a filter, that runs items from your main inventory into the grid, or an output that dumps them back in.

Honestly i already don't like how you can "open" personal generators, mostly because it's really annoying from a usability standpoint, but also because it feels like an "inventory inside my inventory", which breaks my willing suspension of disbelief. Imho they should all just directly take from inventory (or at least the slots should be show inside the grid, kinda like diablo weapon gem slots).

So instead of a grid chest i'd prefer if the only storage option is the main inventory, but available from anywhere within the grid (the armor is all around you after all). The chests could still be used to symbolize that (and maybe give a passive slot bonus?) but they shouldn't be seperate storage, they're holes in the surface through which the inserters grab into the main inventory. Sure that implies all "inserters" have to be filtered and stuff, but i think it also gives it a nice twist to prevent it from being exactly the same as in-world factories. It'd also "explain" why construction robots can take directly from the inventory too.

[Deadlock989]

Honestly i already don't like how you can "open" personal generators, mostly because it's really annoying from a usability standpoint, but also because it feels like an "inventory inside my inventory", which breaks my willing suspension of disbelief. Imho they should all just directly take from inventory (or at least the slots should be show inside the grid, kinda like diablo weapon gem slots).

I 75% agree. This idea was a direct result of implementing this.

This sounds insane. I like it.

Mods can have camera gui elements and surfaces etc. So with a bunch of scripting, a mod should be able to add this.

I did think of Factorissimo for example - but like "Factorissimo on your back". You can't manipulate a surface from a GUI pane, though, right? You can look at one but not interact with it. You could have a toggle that turns you into a god controller and move you there, I suppose. You'd then be making specialist entities that could only be placed on that surface and nowhere in the "real world". Tying some of those entities to functions of equipment, e.g. shields, would be a challenge, but there's probably a way of doing it that I haven't thought of. Can equipment grids be hidden? Not explored it if I'm honest, no way do I have time.

Big big job, would be fun, might be clunky, that might be alright.

[ssilk]

I like it.

My two cents (without thinking much):
We could automate things by using circuits. E.G. deploy drones, when Biters around. Insert fuel when inside a vehicle...

[eradicator]

I 75% agree. This idea was a direct result of implementing this.

Which are the 25% you didn't ;)? Btw, when i built my first IR generator i opened the gui, put one pice of coal into it, enabled the manager and expected it to instantly top it up to 10. Nothing happend so i just threw a whole stack in there and gave up. Haven't played long enough yet to see what happens later... (also off-topic *cough*).

Can equipment grids be hidden?

You can block user interaction via locked (guess who requested that :p). And then use some tiny fake equipments to emulate the effects. Grid wouldn't look nice, but who cares. Maybe it's even possible to catch the gui-opening event of the grid and show a custom gui instead. Camera would still be neat to just give it a quick look if everything is alright, even if it can't interact.
@Bilka: How realistic would it be to *make* the camera able to interact (i.e. GuiElement.allow_interaction)? That might be useful in general.

Big big job, would be fun, might be clunky, that might be alright.

Definetly. Pondering if it's possible at all is quite interesting though. But only half as fun without shiny new graphics.

[adamwong246]

I want to keep this thread going. To me, this is the most substantial, yet logical, progression of gameplay yet submitted and I VERY much hope it can be not a twinkle-in-the-eye but a serious consideration. It IS such a BIG suggestion that it might even warrant the term "Factorio 2.0"