Factorio Forums

TL;DR

Turrets should be able to report enemy units detected in range to the circuit network

What?

Whenever there is a target in range of a turret, the turret would output signal for the target.
Multiple targets means a signal with value >1
This should work for all targets, ignoring current filter on the turret.
I am undecided on if artillery train should be able to output enemies it won't target (like biters)

Why?

Currently, we don't really have any way to detect enemy units except observing if a turret is shooting at something. That forces players to implement "dumb" solutions.
Examples:
Artillery trains tend to have outposts they regularly visit, either by making each outpost have a unique train stop and making the train visit them in order, or having a clock to enable the train stop every x minutes. Target scanning would give the players the option to detect expansion bases and call the train by enabling the train stop.
On space platforms, gun turrets have smaller range than any other turrets, so they tend to be a bit underutilized. With target scanning, they could report what they "see" and are capable of taking care of, and that data could be used to set filters on other turrets so they can focus on asteroids not in range of gun turrets. Fits the theme of slapping circuits on bad designs to make them look like they are efficient.

Oh yeah, I like that. What if we allowed radar to report enemy location to the circuit network with a range condition? Something like:
The above would put 1 symbol on the circuit network for each enemy in the within 200 tiles range with a count equal to the number of entities of that type detected within that range. So something like [Big Biter] = 6, [Big Spitter] = 2, [Biter Spawner] = 3, [Spitter Spawner] = 1

disjustice wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2025 10:15 pm What if we allowed radar to report enemy location to the circuit network with a range condition?

There used to be a suggestion for radars reporting enemies - Connecting radars to circuit and logistic networks.

But now that radars transmit signals between each other, enemies in radar's range won't happen, I would guess.

Muche wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2025 10:49 pm But now that radars transmit signals between each other, enemies in radar's range won't happen, I would guess.

Another reason circuit network transceiver should have just been a new entity. Probably the strangest decision they've made.

Yes, please! I just went looking for any way to do this--as it stands you can set speed limits based on where your ship is going, but it has almost no way to evaluate the actual threat (you could see if the back rank of your defenses is drawing ammo, but that's less than ideal.) Let me see how close the asteroids are getting!

Also, do enough guns bear on that worm that it can be taken down in a single salvo? A trap of railgun turrets is capable of doing it if they can be made to cooperate. You can disable all but the last gun, enable when the ammo in the last gun drops, but this doesn't fire them simultaneously and you take a fair amount of damage. And, positioned correctly, it could be done with one round--but you have no way to determine if enough segments are going to be hit.