Refinery doesn't accept oil

[harken23]

I have a refinery with an oil field nearby. When I'm setting up a system for lorrys to deliver it, there's no place to put a station where it'll be accepted. Even touching the refinery, it still says it accepts nothing. Do refineries not work before a certain date? I think I'm around 1960, so I don't see why that'd be the case.

[noctilucus]

Refineries definitely work in 1960, that's definitely not the issue.

Are you able to upload your save game or a screenshot to clarify the situation?

[Wai]

Um, you are trying to place a good's depot and not a bus station? I know I made this mistake more than once when I first started to play many years ago.

[harken23]

Looks like the side with the storage tanks doesn't accept oil, but the grey side does? Which is weird, bkz the station overlaps both sides of it.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/42322610788442411/E0B22FE1DC04A6890BBDE8B63F87AB9A20400A78/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/42322610788443612/E656643BD94A1A30A6E4C3B74C2CFB2EBA1CC909/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

[harken23]

Originally posted by Wai:

Um, you are trying to place a good's depot and not a bus station? I know I made this mistake more than once when I first started to play many years ago.

Yea, I have tanker trucks picking up the oil just fine, they just won't drop it off at the refinery.

[noctilucus]

The difference is indeed the catchment area. Apparently for refineries it's only the 2x2 squares in the top right of a refinery that determine whether your station will accept oil, the other squares are purely cosmetic.

[omnius]

I like to make sure to have the catchment area cover the entire resource area. I have seen that some resources reduce over time and lose squares so cover your catchment bets and you won't lose access due to loss of a resource square.

[harken23]

Originally posted by noctilucus:

The difference is indeed the catchment area. Apparently for refineries it's only the 2x2 squares in the top right of a refinery that determine whether your station will accept oil, the other squares are purely cosmetic.

Huh. With any other industry or resource in the game, it only has to intersect with one square, cosmetics or not -- apart from farm fields, I guess. Annoying. But thanks!

[harken23]

Originally posted by omnius:

I like to make sure to have the catchment area cover the entire resource area. I have seen that some resources reduce over time and lose squares so cover your catchment bets and you won't lose access due to loss of a resource square.

My understanding was that a station biting off a single square of an resource was the same as completely covering it, as far as how much it produces and when/if it gets played out. But the whole "played out" mechanic is lost on me, too. I've had farms play out, which is weird.

[noctilucus]

For most industries it seems to work that way, 1 tile of coverage being enough and capturing the full supply or demand of that industry.
Although I've played for ages like Omnius, covering the entire industry; it's only recently that I learned that for many industries, partial coverage works just as well.

At least the game shows it when you're trying to place a station, imagine what a guessing game it would become otherwise!

[/me]

Okay... i'm playing this game more or less since Transport Tycoon Deluxe from the 90s. Either I never noticed this or it was a change i never noticed but i just tested and can confirm you need to cover "the right tiles" of the refinery to have oil accepted.
Also the sawmill and power plant have the same behaviour.