Factorio Forums

Yes, this idea is shamelessly stolen from OpenTTD

https://wiki.openttd.org/Extra_Viewport

Sometimes I find myself wanting to look at a specific setup while building something else. Blueprints aren't always a possibility because of other constructions in the area or because of slightly different requirements (mirrored, extra turns in the belts, etc).
In multiplayer this could also be useful to quickly take a look over another player's shoulder to discuss a setup.

To fit this in Factorio's specific context of having the camera focussed on the player's entity, perhaps it could be a researched capability where construction robots get equipped with a camera. This would mean the location to be watched needs to be within roboport construction reach.

I could also see this hooked into the alert notification where you can click the notification and take a look at the extent of the damage to a remote outpost without physically travelling there.

Or focused on trains?

https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... php?t=4504

Se also https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... f=6&t=5954

Having additional viewports could be quite usefull. But you have to realize that this could affect performance quite a bit. Why?
Currently game is rendering the game scene to one big image which is then shown on your monitor once the rendering is complete.
Now since rendering the whole image from scratch is quite demanding game uses special "chaching" system where when you move arround game reuses part of previously rendered image by simply copying its contents to new position and then rendering rest of the new image. This greatly speeds up the rendering process.
Implementing new viewports would require the game to be able to create additional images similar to the one it uses now for each aditional viewport. Since these images are stored and maintained in graphical memory (VRAM) it could lead to problems on computers with low graphical memory available. Storing these images in RAM and then rendering them would lower the performance even more.

So based on this I think that even if developers do decide that they want such feature implemented it probably won't be high on their priority list as it could cause lots of problems but doesen't add so much gameplay value.

Still I would like to see this implemented some day.

To take this idea a step further, a next tier of research might allow for performing some actions through that robot. I could see myself working on building a new outpost, notice I'm running low on some construction parts so in a viewport on my main base I would arrange for these items to be loaded onto the next train heading toward the new outpost (all through logistics network manipulations, the controlled bot wouldn't be available to transport goods by itself of course). Could even make this multiple tiers of research, where each tier gives access to more powerful abilities (starting at simple requester chest or smart inserter modification, then actual production changes, next placing ghost buildings and finally even placing blueprints)

They plan, that you can do that for your by radar-covered areas.