Factorio Forums

The current Lamps in the game were engineered for the purpose of illumination. They light up a huge radius, and they cost 5 kW to run.

That's all very good, but with alpha 12, some players will start using Lamps for signalling instead of for illumination, and such usage will escalate when we get coloured Lamps in a13 and also more kinds of sensors (e.g. an Accumulator charge sensor).

For that purpose, we don't need 5 kW of light. Much less will suffice. A halved light radius effect would, as per the square law, mean a -75% reduction in power need, from 5000 watt to 1250 watt per such Lamp.

The game needs this. It needs two kinds of Lamps, one power-hungry and very bright one for illumination, and one that isn't.

5kw is a lot? How many lights are you using? Even a thousand constantly burning lamps is 120 solar panels, which is pretty manageable.

bobucles wrote:5kw is a lot? How many lights are you using? Even a thousand constantly burning lamps is 120 solar panels, which is pretty manageable.

You misunderstand. Admittedly, he didn't communicate very well.
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After rereading several times, I conclude that what you want is lights that are dimmer to acts as displays rather than illumination, and consequencly less power hungry. You are communicating using the correct terms, but people, playing factorio, read Watts per second as a measurement of how much power it costs your network, not as a measurement of lamp brightness.

I've seen quite a few designs. Minimal ones might have 5 to 20, while ones that attempt a digital display often have hundreds.

Don't worry Peter34, there is one person on the forum that understands your suggestion :
He was a light that can light up to show data, but not the "blinding" light like the current lamps provide.
Please let me know if I am misinterpreted

This is a good idea. Instead of a full blown lamp, it should be about the size and brightness of the current rail signals.

Here you go. 250W lamps https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... 44&t=13907

Ranakastrasz wrote:After rereading several times, I conclude that what you want is lights that are dimmer to acts as displays rather than illumination, and consequencly less power hungry. You are communicating using the correct terms, but people, playing factorio, read Watts per second as a measurement of how much power it costs your network, not as a measurement of lamp brightness.

How "people who play Factorio" reads things isn't my problem. Anyone who routinely thinks in terms of "watts per second" is a science-iliterate moron! The unit of the watt already means joules-per-second.