Random Ramblings #13 Automated testing & new year overview

[slpwnd]

Well placing the pipes as transport belts is an option. But one of our motivations for the pipe system is to not make "belts for liquids". What I mean is that we want to make it work differently so it provides another layer in the game. We will test it with the 2 sets of pipes and see how it goes.

@ficolas Congratulations to reaching the smart inserter;)

What about "filled barrels" as items. That way we have an option that consume metal resources and more time but allows us to transport liquids using belts if that option suit best our factory

We can have a building (A) that converts liquid to "filled barrels" items either out of thin air or using "empty barrels" crafted with a new recipe in a factory (C) or crafting a limited ammount by hand, depending on the size of our complex.
And then another building (B) than do the opposite process, making the barrels dissappear or giving back the "empty barrels" in the second version. Building A and B could be the same building and configurable with a setting on it's GUI

This exact thing is planned for the 0.9:D

As a side effect it will also allow transporting liquids in the train even before we have dedicated liquid wagons (fill barels, transport barels by train, unfill).

[ficolas]

But instead of the barrels beeing items, they could be like a barrel item, that can be moved with inserters, and belts, because small item on ground barrels would look weird

[Hazard]

But instead of the barrels beeing items, they could be like a barrel item, that can be moved with inserters, and belts, because small item on ground barrels would look weird

You've never seen steam engines moved by belts, have you? That's even sillier. You can stack something like half a dozen steam engines (each 12 squares when build mind you) on a single square, and steam engines aren't exactly constructed out of things that would allow easy compacting like solar pannels.

This exact thing is planned for the 0.9:D

As a side effect it will also allow transporting liquids in the train even before we have dedicated liquid wagons (fill barels, transport barels by train, unfill).

Which? And to be honest that's not an unusual thing, and I'm pretty sure that it happens even in RL when it comes to moving small quantities of fluids, or fluids packaged for small quantity sales like natural gas containers for camping purposes.

May want to make sure that liquid wagons have a larger capacity though. How are we supposed to load/unload liquid wagons anyway? A special structure/device/inserter?

[slpwnd]

May want to make sure that liquid wagons have a larger capacity though. How are we supposed to load/unload liquid wagons anyway? A special structure/device/inserter?

Yes, we were thinking of something like a connectable pipe. However this (fluid wagons + loading pipes) will not be in the 0.9 to keep things simple in the beginning.

[ficolas]

You've never seen steam engines moved by belts, have you? That's even sillier. You can stack something like half a dozen steam engines (each 12 squares when build mind you) on a single square, and steam engines aren't exactly constructed out of things that would allow easy compacting like solar pannels

Well I dont really like that either, a assembly system where assembly machines are a big structure that automatically deploys an entity as big as the built entity and then stored in a warehouse would be cool pbut...

[Hazard]

Yes, we were thinking of something like a connectable pipe. However this (fluid wagons + loading pipes) will not be in the 0.9 to keep things simple in the beginning.

Right.


Just a few questions:

• Do we have to create tanks, barrels or drums and ship them out to processing plants to fill them up?
• Are they reusable?
• And can we use the new liquids system to ship water around?