Electrical Cables

[C4TFLY]

So I have sort of both a question and request in one right here;

First of all, is there a way of making the cables face the direction you want while placing them?

Second of all, if there isn't, a new placement system would be veryu much appreciated by a lot of the players (I assume). The system that exists now is really funky and won't work like it should be working (cables only being able to be placed in one direction.


I just hope that you (the devs) will see this and finally take action to improve this system!


Regards,
C4TFLY

[Strider]

At this time u need to use the cross section to turn the cable... Hopefully we shall see more cable variants in future

[Nightmare]

I mainly want to be able to see where I'm placing them, like making whatever block you're looking at, while about to place electrical, turn somewhat transparent so you can see that you're placing it right.

[Hatecaster]

I can agree on that, I hade same problem with fence foundations. Also there should be just 1 type of cable and pipes t olearn and just option to rotate it. At this point is quite ridiculous. "Well you know how to make a cable? So shame you do not know yet how to make it go down" ... It just make no sense and makes everything look messy

[shogun01]

yes, the building snapin system needs work definitely. especially power and water supply.

but the worst problem is the generator not snapping in on any power cables!
so a destroyed generator can render a whole powergrid useless, which multiplies the pain of placing a decent grid!

please at least give us a flexible connector that snaps in on both ends, to connect 2 loose ends that didn´t quite fit together, or to connect a new or secondary generator to a grid!

in my giant base, the generator room is the best protected multilayered metal room in the basement, just because the gen blowing up would render the whole base useless and i would have to demolish half of the base to rewire the whole thing under the floors.

the electrical devices use flexible cables to connect to the device and the outlet. something like that with a thicker cable would be an easy implementation and fix pretty much all of the powergrid placement problems. you could snap seperate straight cables to your foundations wherever you like, then connect them all together with the flexible cables.

same would also work nice for water pipes (call it a hose and you are set).

[Uzi [OTG]]

It appears this sort of suggestion is at the bottom of the devs list. It has been
a request from day one of release by many here on forums.

They seem far more interested in plastering on new crap that is broken and will need
re-writes later on. Forget fundamentals.

[Nyt]

All you really can do, is plan ahead. Since the cabling and water system is squared, try and keep your base squared up with the building that will have the power generator. Try not to move the generator at all and make sure it's one of the most protected things in your base.

It is possible to move a power generator, as long as the new power generator's vertical power cable intersects through the existing power lines. It doesn't have to "snap" perfect, just intersect through it. Unfortunately, you may have to go through multiple power generators in order to get the placement right.

I also tried to place my power lines first, after the walls and floors, but before other objects like vaults, crafting stations, fridges, etc...

[shogun01]

Originally posted by Nyt:

All you really can do, is plan ahead. Since the cabling and water system is squared, try and keep your base squared up with the building that will have the power generator. Try not to move the generator at all and make sure it's one of the most protected things in your base.

It is possible to move a power generator, as long as the new power generator's vertical power cable intersects through the existing power lines. It doesn't have to "snap" perfect, just intersect through it. Unfortunately, you may have to go through multiple power generators in order to get the placement right.

I also tried to place my power lines first, after the walls and floors, but before other objects like vaults, crafting stations, fridges, etc...

oh, i gave up on placing generators on existing cables pretty fast. thought it wouldn´t work at all.

and placing cables first was also a problem, since for my base cables would obstruct walls and ceilings very often, but placing the walls first, and the cable later would work at the exact same placement.

is it possible to place 2 generators to the same grid as a redundant system? so i could place a generator on both ends of a power line, and if one gen is destroyed, the second one will still power all devices? or a cut of the line somewhere would not affect the grid at all as long as both gens are still running?

[Vohjiin]

When they finish adding in more of the fundementals they already said they will work there way up the tech tiers adding/ balancing as they go. Givin electrical is at the top it will take some time, and the more Scifi stuff is way off.

Though at least a few more cable options like right angles, or a selection of angles, a 6 way, smaller length cables would be nice until then.

[shogun01]

Originally posted by Vohjiin:

When they finish adding in more of the fundementals they already said they will work there way up the tech tiers adding/ balancing as they go. Givin electrical is at the top it will take some time, and the more Scifi stuff is way off.

Though at least a few more cable options like right angles, or a selection of angles, a 6 way, smaller length cables would be nice until then.

cables are just reskinned pipes, which are pretty low level stuff, and needed for basic farming.

[magickmynd]

Originally posted by C4TFLY:

So I have sort of both a question and request in one right here;

First of all, is there a way of making the cables face the direction you want while placing them?

Second of all, if there isn't, a new placement system would be veryu much appreciated by a lot of the players (I assume). The system that exists now is really funky and won't work like it should be working (cables only being able to be placed in one direction.


I just hope that you (the devs) will see this and finally take action to improve this system!


Regards,
C4TFLY

Currently no, the placement of the cables depends on the type of cable you are using. It's not like placing a fence post where looking at it from a different angle will place the cable in that direction. The cables use a linear "square" placement system, so sometimes placing them where they are visibly hidden can be a pain. To make a cable turn in a different direction you have to use the cable intersection and then place the cable in whichever of the 3 directions it needs to go.

The only way I have found to reliably place cables is to build my base in a grid type structure lined up with where my generator is going to be placed. Even then I still get cables clipping through walls incorrectly and placing them into floors or ceilings to where they will be hidden is a lesson in patience.

[Greystar]

You can also use a compass or GPS to try to line things up (GPS has a compass on it too), you face the direction you want the power to start from and check how it lines up with your walls, foundations, etc. The make absolutely sure you're still facing the right way and drop it in front of you. After you place the first one the others should all be "square".

[shogun01]

hm, i still can´t connect another generator to my grid. i managed to line it up pretty perfectly and any line i put on the generator perfectly crossed through a line of my existing grid, but the existing grid didn´t catch the power.

i still think i flexible connection wire would be the best and easiest solution. it would snap to two powerline ends if they are within one foundation range and connect those, no matter how they are aligned, or if there is a slight hight difference.

[Nyt]

Perhaps it needs to go through cable connectors? Not sure, but this is working 100%:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=501148375

I was even running dual power generators and then turned off the old one and everything was still powered from the new one.

[Luap]

This was what I posted in another thread on this subject.

EDIT: wow sorry it didn't paste lol.

I think it would be a good solution.
The piping/cabling system you have created is a wonderful concept however it has some implementation issues. The straight, incline and vertical work great as long as you are only wishing to go in one direction from the source to the destination. The problem comes in when you wish to change directions. Your only option is to throw on a Cross which is limited to only one snap direction and will leave two unused ugly stubs. The snap points for the pipes/cables should be the same as the snap points for the fence foundations.
*When going from a vertical to a horizontal there should be 8 options on the 90's and the 45's.
*When going from vertical to an incline there should be the same 8 options.
*When going from a horizontal to another horizontal there should be 5 options for left, right, forward, or 45 degrees to left or right.
*When going from a horizontal to an incline you only get the two options, up or down.
*The same with the horizontal to a vertical- up or down.
*When putting on a Cross there should be many more options than the single one we have now. The cross should be able to go in horizontally OR vertically off the end of any horizontal or vertical pipe. It should also be able to be rotated in any of the 8 directions.
*It would also be nice to see a Tee added so that we can split in two directions rather than three and it should be able to snap to any of the three ends so you can tap off to the right, tap off to the left or split and go right and left but not forward. It should also be able to go horizontally OR vertically and in any of the 8 snap directions.

[Nyt]

They just need to take the current incline and make it go horizontal... for both pipes and cables. That would be sufficient to cover the possibilities needed.