Change the R key to a mode switch for construction

[H_Sage]

Suggestion:
Change the function of the R key to "switch" to change the construction mode of the conveyor.

Why:
It is quite often necessary to change direction when building conveyor lines. "Mindustri" has made this very convenient: the conveyor automatically rotates in the direction of the mouse. In Factorio, you have to press the R key to do this, which is quite inconvenient to do while moving.

Benefits:
Changing the construction mode of conveyors would be a very convenient feature. In the "rotate" mode will allow you to easily and quickly build winding conveyors directly in motion. Also switching to "standard" mode will allow you to quickly build conveyors on different lines in the same direction. This is especially important at the beginning of the game, when you have to build everything manually.

[SupplyDepoo]

I'm unclear on what you're suggesting.

Something like these mods?

• https://mods.factorio.com/mod/belt-brush
• https://mods.factorio.com/mod/simple-belt-brush

[H_Sage]

No, it's about auto-rotating the conveyors when they are built. I lead the conveyor down, move the mouse to the right and the conveyor turns right. I don't have to press R to turn it, it does it automatically. Look at how conveyors are built in the Mindustry videos.

[Koub]

I think this is exactly what the belt brush mod does. Plonk a belt, and wherever the mouse cursor is dragged, the belt is oriented that way.

[H_Sage]

No mods, vanilla. The main mechanics of the game should be perfect, without any complaints. Not everyone plays with mods. But even those who play may simply not know what mod they need, whether it exists, or whether such an option is even possible.

[Qon]

No mods, vanilla. The main mechanics of the game should be perfect, without any complaints. Not everyone plays with mods. But even those who play may simply not know what mod they need, whether it exists, or whether such an option is even possible.

I want to make suggestions, but I got links to mods!!

Also, you weren't even told to use mods. It was a question about if the mods did what you were asking for. Which you completely ignored.

I'm unclear on what you're suggesting.

Something like these mods?

If you don't even care about making a clear understandable suggestion or press the mod download button that just fixes your issue then why even bother making a thread in the first place?

[Illiander42]

Isn't there a toggle in settings to make this the behaviour?

[FuryoftheStars]

Isn't there a toggle in settings to make this the behaviour?

No, not really. What that setting does not do that the OP wants is automatically curve the belt in the random directions your mouse moves.

------------------------------------

Honestly, if the devs wanted to implement this as additional behavior behind the setting Illiander42 mentioned, I'd be fine with that, but not as a mode toggle to the same keybind as rotate. The rotate keybind is used to rotate everything that is rotatable, including what's already been placed (even while holding other rotatable objects, including belts), and I think it'd be bad form to have this keybind actually rotate in some contexts but be a mode switch in other contexts, forcing you to maybe clear your cursor of any held belts just so you can manually rotate a belt.