Factorio Forums

Hi,

I'm new to Factorio and going through the starting scenario. On level 3 I need to place an offshore pump to feed the boiler/steam engine, but no matter where I place it along the shoreline, it just beeps and refuses to place it. What am I doing wrong?

I've noticed it seems to be very fussy in regard to relationships between placed items. For instance, I was unable to get a burner injector to work with a stone furnace when it was above or below it, but it seems to work when to the left or right. Am I missing something here? I would hope there's a source where I can find how different items need to be placed in order to work together.

Thanks in advance,
Frank

Hi

You need to tap "R" to rotate objects. Press "Alt" to see the detailed overlay. It sometimes show an arrow which indicates the direction of output. Placing an offshore pump should be easy because it kinda snaps to the shoreline but you need to rotate it so the pump pipe thingy is into the water and the fat backside on the land to which you can connect pipes. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the prompt reply. The pump seems to automatically rotate itself into the correct orientation (R will show rotation when over land) but that hasn't helped. Still get just a beep

Can you post a screenshot showing a place where you would expect to be able to place it, but cannot?

Here's a screenshot (I hope) I just get a beep if I left click at that location (or any others on that coast).

Thanks for your time! Much appreciated.

The fact that it's translucent means you are too far away to place the pump. Walk closer or install a mod like https://mods.factorio.com/mods/jamesaguilar/long-reach to let you place buildings from further away.

That did it! Thanks so much