Current behavior: an underground pipe set is crafted from 5 iron plates and 10 iron pipes and can span a gap between exits from 0 to 9 tiles.
Suggestion: What if the iron pipes were not needed in the craft, and you just crafted 2 underground pipe exits from 5 iron plates, and when you placed the exits, pipes were consumed from your inventory equivalent to the underground connection distance?
Change how underground pipes work
Moderator: ickputzdirwech
Re: Change how underground pipes work
Not going to happen.
1/ What if you build pipe to ground in place where there already exists underground pipe in between of pipe-to-grounds - would this mean pipes would be returned?
2/ Since placing pipe-to-ground ghost is able to cut underground, would it mean by placing such ghost you would get pipes in return?
3/ What if you would use deconstruction planner to remove such ghost and you have no pipes, would it mean deconstruction is going to be rejected?
4/ How would robots build it?
5/ Which robot would be decided to take extra payload since it is going to complete underground pair when none of the pipes are placed?
6/ What if you would place pair of underground pipe-to-ground ghosts, at which stage pipes would be consumed?
7/ What if biters would destroy pipe-to-ground, should this spill pipes around or give them to biters?
1/ What if you build pipe to ground in place where there already exists underground pipe in between of pipe-to-grounds - would this mean pipes would be returned?
2/ Since placing pipe-to-ground ghost is able to cut underground, would it mean by placing such ghost you would get pipes in return?
3/ What if you would use deconstruction planner to remove such ghost and you have no pipes, would it mean deconstruction is going to be rejected?
4/ How would robots build it?
5/ Which robot would be decided to take extra payload since it is going to complete underground pair when none of the pipes are placed?
6/ What if you would place pair of underground pipe-to-ground ghosts, at which stage pipes would be consumed?
7/ What if biters would destroy pipe-to-ground, should this spill pipes around or give them to biters?
Re: Change how underground pipes work
hmm, I think it would just be treated like other games where buildings are constructed in place rather than the entire thing being pre-made. In this case the "construction cost" would be 2 entrances + n pipes.
But that really isn't the factorio way of doing things, nothing is built like that. So it is verging on "a different game".
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If it were, just consider how various other games do it for structures, leaving the only a couple edge cases. "ghosts" basically become "buildings under construction", and deconstruction the opposite. Depending on bot/player inventory size, multiple trips might be needed to "deliver" all the items to complete the task.
As for edge cases, I think it is really only when placing/removing a pipe to ground or underground belt in-between two others. That could possibly just be disallowed, they are always "built" in pairs with appropriate cost, and destroying/removing one end destroys the other.
For example many games have bridges, tunnels, etc., and many of them have the entire length be an all-or-nothing upfront deal. Changing the length basically meaning destroying the original and starting over.
But that really isn't the factorio way of doing things, nothing is built like that. So it is verging on "a different game".
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If it were, just consider how various other games do it for structures, leaving the only a couple edge cases. "ghosts" basically become "buildings under construction", and deconstruction the opposite. Depending on bot/player inventory size, multiple trips might be needed to "deliver" all the items to complete the task.
As for edge cases, I think it is really only when placing/removing a pipe to ground or underground belt in-between two others. That could possibly just be disallowed, they are always "built" in pairs with appropriate cost, and destroying/removing one end destroys the other.
For example many games have bridges, tunnels, etc., and many of them have the entire length be an all-or-nothing upfront deal. Changing the length basically meaning destroying the original and starting over.