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Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:30 am
by micromario
Here are some features from my new mod Extended Descriptions that I think would go well in the base game
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/extended-descriptions

Could also be applied to reactors. I had no idea that reactors lost 1 degree of heat when their heat was routed through another reactor until I made this mod. Very bizarre that reactors do not show their max heat
I also feel that
"Last user: micromario"
Could be removed from entity descriptions
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:59 am
by SirSmuggler
I looked at the radar picture and though, "Yeah, that would be nice!"
Then I looked at it a bit more and relized, "chunks" is a very technical term and AFAIK it is never used or explained in the base game? So it might not realy fitt, atleast not on its own with no futher explenation.
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 6:42 am
by micromario
You could also use chunks*16 and call it tiles
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 11:46 am
by SirSmuggler
That would work. Is "tiles" the unit used on turrets and artillery to display range (currently not able to check in game)?
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 2:02 pm
by Koub
SirSmuggler wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 11:46 am
That would work. Is "tiles" the unit used on turrets and artillery to display range (currently not able to check in game)?
Yes.
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 3:21 pm
by netmand
The devs have said before that they consider incorporating mods into the base game... but I think at least one criteria is its popularity and usage throughout the community.
At least this idea was implemented in a mod already which is a step in the right direction. The Ideas and Suggestions section of the forums grows every day, becoming the bottomless list of items to consider. Every new suggestion here dilutes all of the others.
Personally I want to see information on the entity's actual performance. A gun turret that can deal x damage means nothing to me, but a gun turret that has killed x enemies is something I can work with. An assembling machine shows how many products it made. These pieces of information are already in the base game.
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 4:42 pm
by Qon
micromario wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 6:42 am
You could also use chunks*16 and call it tiles
Chunks are 32x32 tiles.
But their range isn't in tiles. They scan whole chunks. And their actual stat is that they scan 7x7 chunks, centered on the chunk their center tile is positioned at. It's not a circle, so range is a misnomer. The exact amount of tiles is different in each direction depending on where in the chunk the radar is placed.
SirSmuggler wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 11:46 am
That would work. Is "tiles" the unit used on turrets and artillery to display range (currently not able to check in game)?
Maybe somewhere. But when i mouse over turrets it just says "Range: 25" or similar. No unit is mentioned.
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 4:53 pm
by NotRexButCaesar
SirSmuggler wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:59 am
I looked at the radar picture and though, "Yeah, that would be nice!"
Then I looked at it a bit more and relized, "chunks" is a very technical term and AFAIK it is never used or explained in the base game? So it might not realy fitt, atleast not on its own with no futher explenation.
Just say tiles
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 4:55 pm
by NotRexButCaesar
micromario wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:30 am
I also feel that
"Last user: micromario"
Could be removed from entity descriptions
That is often used in multiplayer to figure out who griefed or built something
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:51 pm
by micromario
AmericanPatriot wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 4:55 pm
micromario wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:30 am
I also feel that
"Last user: micromario"
Could be removed from entity descriptions
That is often used in multiplayer to figure out who griefed or built something
Could still be hidden in singleplayer
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:03 pm
by Qon
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 2:13 am
by ssilk
Qon wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:03 pm
no
Hm. They have broken the wiki...
https://wiki.factorio.com/Tile
Says “tile is an entity”. Which is only partly right.
https://wiki.factorio.com/Chunk
Explains both now. I’m not happy with that, because it was right and is now wrong. And I know it’s a wiki, but that would be really hard work to fix.
https://wiki.factorio.com/Radar
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 5:22 am
by Koub
Nope :
Tile
This article is about placeable tiles. For the area and distance unit, see
map structure.
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 11:32 am
by ssilk
Koub wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2020 5:22 am
Nope :
Tile
This article is about placeable tiles. For the area and distance unit, see
map structure.
That is the same article as
https://wiki.factorio.com/Chunk
What I mean is: It has three meanings:
a) Tile as placeable item/entity
b) Tile as part of Map structure
c) Tile as measurement for length and area
Re: Add more information to entity descriptions
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 12:35 pm
by Qon
Well tiles are not entities, technically. The lua API separates them into
https://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/LuaTile.html and
https://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/LuaEntity.html
LuaSurface.find_entities() doesn't find tiles. You need LuaSurface.find_tiles_filtered() for that.
Maybe doesn't matter in this discussion really but it matters to modders. And you are right if you say the wiki is wrong when it calls tiles "entities".