Extender Problems

[Silvador]

Do the devs read this forum? Are Extenders bugged?

I have generators set up with a battery sensor, connected to batteries, so that when the batteries drain completely, the generators automatically turn on and charge the batteries. When the batteries are full, the generators turn off. No wasted power, no need to constantly monitor the generators except to occasionally restock fuel if needed.

For SOME reason, when Extenders are used in the network of cables, they completely F the batteries' ability to charge or discharge fully while power is being drawn from them, this in turn F's up the sensor's activation on the generators, either leaving them never turning on, or never turning off, because the batteries never reach the required state of fully charged or fully drained.

I tested my setup with a number of different variations in creative, with different amounts of power draw and generator creation, and as long as no Extenders were being used, the system worked flawlessly. But, as soon as an Extender is used ANYWHERE to extend a cable, the batteries reach a certain point where they either stop draining because the power draw has been neutered by the Extender, or reach a perpetual "not quite but almost fully charged" state which leaves the generators running, even if only the smallest amount of power is being pulled.

I get that this is supposed to be some form of "power flow moderation" or whatever, according to the wiki, something about prioritising the allocation of power. But, there doesn't even seem to be any way to *control* this restriction. Or *know* that it is happening without reading the wiki page. The Splitter's UI makes it very clear that it can control power flow, but the Extender has no such UI and what if I have multiple Extenders on different lines? Which ones get priority?

Can we PLEASE get non-restrictive versions of these? Because now I have to resort to Worklights and Small Platform C's all over my base in order to extend my cables and make a non-cramped base with a power network that actually functions the way I want and need it to.

[Wolfgang]

Extenders can only deliver power in one direction which is from where you took the plug to where plugged it into.

[Silvador]

Originally posted by Wolfgang:

Extenders can only deliver power in one direction which is from where you took the plug to where plugged it into.

I'm well aware of their one-way mechanic. That isn't the issue.

[Wolfgang]

Originally posted by Silvador:

Originally posted by Wolfgang:

Extenders can only deliver power in one direction which is from where you took the plug to where plugged it into.

I'm well aware of their one-way mechanic. That isn't the issue.

Seems like I then misunderstood you. Sorry.

[JohnnyZerg]

I don't understand what the problem is, if you like we can lobby together and see what can be done. I know extenders are buggy, and I've tried to explain to developers several times but nothing.

The current problem of the extenders lies in the fact that the power that is passed through decreases equal to the number of extenders. If you connect two extender outputs to the base, each of them will carry half the power. If you connect 10 extender outputs, each one of them will carry 1/10 of the power. This is really frustrating.

I don't know if your problem is influenced by this behavior, as I told you before, I would like to examine the situation you are in in the game, maybe I can find out something interesting. Let me know

[Silvador]

I suspect that that is causing the issue. I can think of nothing else that it would be as the issue only exists while Extenders are being used, and I see no reason why a one-way flow would cause the issue with the setup I use.

As I mentioned, I have generators that connect to batteries. Those batteries then connect to everything else. A battery sensor is used to detect when the batteries are fully drained or fully charged. When no Extenders are used, the setup works perfectly as intended; when the batteries are completely drained, the generators turn on and then turn off when the batteries are fully charged. This allows me to ignore the generators almost entirely, only needing to make sure the fuel supply is kept stocked.

But, using an Extender seems to prevent the batteries from charging or discharging properly. I've watched a battery sit on two and a half bars while a Research Station draws power from it and the Shelter. At full charge, the Research Station drew full power. But as soon as the battery got low, the power flow was throttled and the battery just set there, not draining.

I've also watched a single Research Station draw power from an almost fully charged stock of 8 Small Batteries, with 4 Small Generators pumping power into them, supplying more than enough power to fully charge the batteries and activate the sensor. The moment I turned the Research Station off, the Batteries registered as full and the generators turned off, but until then, the batteries just sat at 99.9% full.

I've tested my setup with other modules, both with and without the Extenders being used. However the Extenders restrict power flow, it is also causing the battery issue.

I don't know why we can't just have normal extenders that just lengthen the cable without additional, weird functions.

[JohnnyZerg]

Try using only one extender output and no other. You can use as many extenders as you want but only one output. Eventually you can use medium platforms or small batteries instead of extenders.

Current extenders are however very frustrating, both how they work and how to place them (I know the function of the C or V keys).