New surface: dream world (aka map editor)

[Green Cat]

To make it very very very short, character goes to sleep, aka game PAUSES (yeah, rip mutiplayers), and since this is a dream, NOTHING we do there will affect the actuall game.... but, we can still access the map to do copies (cloning function), create (update?) blueprints, stress test stuff before wasting tons of time because no access to resource (or quality?), bitters, not sure about restrictions (surface conditions or similar).

And this being a pseudo map editor, we can dream up enemies to test, we can't die, we essentially have a lucid dream (aka map editor).

And the main reasons for this are the following:

opening map editor to create blueprints disables achivements or whatever else. this is actually not that important but the ideea is that because no mix, no penalty

Due to lack of resources, power differences due to enemy, lack of tehnology (or luck for quality), new mod or surface that we are not sure how it works, or simple because we want to test mutiple versions, well of course we need to stop our current save. And then we spend hours in the map editor since each time we need to do this again, it's once again switching back... but that is the ideea... we don't need to do different save file, we can just continue with our game in the same safe file without needing to actually activate map editor or other issues

and there is one more thing. Do you rember what you did months ago in the map editor or save or similar?

the ideea is that via loading, we can have all the information locally. We don't need to create a duplicate, and in this duplicate to activate map editor. Then as we continue, need something new, so now the issues is, ok, do i go back to the duplicate save.. but it does not have the new stuff... ok let me make another duplicate... and now there are 3 save files, unless of course, you are blueprinting the 1st duplicate... but that also means you will need to manually set stuff like 1 2 3 4 if you use parameters for request chest in blueprints aka the p1_s * 2, p2s_ 2 so on. Plus, other configurations, combinators, so on.

On top of that, being a dream, of course we have access to infinite chest, infinite train wagon, whatever we need to simulate, exactly because as i said, this is essentially the map editor, but with some twists, aka no admin level control, since you can't do them so there is no sense, since it's not like map editor or the lua for map editor stop existing if you want to do that level of changes.


And as you can guess, this also means you will be able to create areas, or even surfaces, where you can simple compare, like different qualitys, stack vs non stacks, belts, vs bots, vs trains, vs mod, vs mix (cars with logistic request for sience packs on a looping belt with inserters taking what they need, bots filling up the cars, and creating an evenly distribution until insted of some request chest get full, but miss different sience packs.

and of course, this also means we can test battle set ups, damage. Look, you just tryed to kill a demolisher but failed, now it destroyes everything, what do you do? load the game.... Do you see why i said, that, if we add this, we can then just continue playing, no loading, no map editor nothing, no activate map editor then reload previous.

Plus we have all the mods and their settings per save file.... as in we can share it with others so they have full access for both in game and the map editor

And there are more reasons why i want this separation.

Let's say i want to create blueprints for trains

One is with fuel, aka different fuel but same train (btw, this is just for the sake of exemple, if however you actually want to change the fuel, in a train blueprint, just open the parameter, click on the fuel, and change it to what you actually want the new fuel to be. Same with other vehicles, fuel and even ammo, but not that easy as i just made it sound). But the bots will construct it OR constant "missing" OR the blueprint will expiere so i have no chose but to save a different version each time when via such dream map editor, all the ghost are permanent, no expirations, and exactly because we placed a blueprints (aka holding the button for it)when, (normally in a map editor) any blueprints you create gets automatically constructed (the real thing, no ghost), this essentially means that you created a blueprints, no request, no constructions, nothing, because you have constructed a blueprints because you want a blueprints and not the actual thing (again, this was just for the sake of exemple)

On the same ideea is trains stations

you create the train schecules (sorry have issues spelling) and added different train stops, even parametar ones, or similar, well normally if you do this, you'll get the error that the train can't access that stop.

Exemple, you have a limite of 1 stop for a resource. Well you want to improve such stuff since new buildings, but if you start building, you either need to remove the stop and add it separatly, or set a train limit and then set it back later since all the trains will give error can't access the station.

but in the map editor, sorry, in the dream, essentially this is turned off. train can't access destination? nothing happens (no notification, no interuption to that stop that causes issues you need to manually sort out).

So we can continue working on it, we can always use the clone to instantly create a copy version and test any changes, and again, the whole ideea is that we do not need to add any kind of console, separate save, nothing.

To finish up, for the devs, i hope you realise that all you need to do is a new surface, where it has new rules, and essentially when we are in that surface (dream mode) the other surfaces's time are stopped, and we can only look at them, at most, get a copy (the copy surface). and like this

And, just like how 1st time going to a planet works, each time we enter this "dream world", a save file will be created, and just like any safe file, it will have all the tech, progress, everything. As in, each time we leave, we can save any progress we did via "map editor function", and as we leave the dream world, what was saved, all the info, will be then restored. And of course, this means we don't have access to the dream world whever we want, sine the whole point of this is how to handle the loopholes of different evolution, different research, different whatever in the same save file. and the ideea is simple that, just like how any save file is, we can't directly access one or the other unless we load it. So it's still the same save file, but to bypass all the issues, it uses the same proccess the game uses when it loads different safe files, and just like how the 1st save stays still since we are on the 2nd save, so will the 2nd save stay still once we load the 1st save file, both having their own different tehnology and more, but, the whole point of my suggestions, is that insted of 2 (or more) different save files, it's the same one. It just that whenever we go from one to the other, it simulates the ideea of loading one game or the other, but with the options to update research progreesss and more from the "normal" game to the "dream world" (aka match progress) while the reverse can't happen (reason why i said a dream world and not map editor).

...... Optional that might be much much easier....

We use a new lua command for map editor... where it will create a special save file (again, the same ideea as 1st trips autosave). Once we are done, we can use the same special lua command that will do something differently, it will access the autosave it made, it will add the time (so if we played 10 hours and spend 20 hours in editor mod, the new time will be 30 hours), and also update blueprints, but otherwise, it's essentially a load save file. So again, essentially it will be a load save file, ajusting the hours (adding), and keeping all the blueprints just like how it works normally.... and no penalties due to map editor since we loaded a save before the map editor.... Honestly i wonder, if there was no timer showing how long that save file is, does anything i wrote here even matter?

[aka13]

You really need to put in some more effort into bringing your thoughts into coherent text
It's hard to try and understand what specifically you propose.

Also, 1 suggestion per thread, I believe you have like 5 again.

[crimsonarmy]

Could you just copy the world and work on that?

[Loewchen]

As before, keep it brief and follow 47316.