Manual blueprint building

[CheeseBurger]

Is there a way to walk and hold build into a blue print? E.g blue print goes inserter, inserter, space, space, inserter, inserter etc. i dont want to place inserters in the space.

[Nailfoot]

Often I use a "work area" to build BPs I am experimenting with. You could do that...

[piccolo255]

Originally posted by Nailfoot:

Often I use a "work area" to build BPs I am experimenting with. You could do that...

I think the question was, "when I place a blueprint and then build it manually, can I limit item building to ghosts only".

To which the answer is, as far as I know, no. It's a feature I'd like very, very much :/

[Mist of Majora]

OP can you rephrase your question. I can think of two questions you might be asking, and theyre both very different from what the last two kind souls have tried to answer.

I'm interpreting the OP's question as 'if I hold and click the build button while running, can i place inserters so I can quickly make a row of double inserters without having to manually select an inserter/click everytime'.

If that's true, the answer is no, but I do have a mini solution and another tip that may be better than just manually clicking like you're trying to avoid (granted its non-ideal, but it's a solution nonetheless):

1) If your design is patterned like you detailed above (inserter inserter space space, repeat) then just make a blueprint of the first part of the pattern with the single or double space. Then just copy and paste your pattern and you'll be putting down ghosts of items faster than you would even be able to walk and hold the 'build' button.

And I apologize if you knew this already, but I figured I'd mention it here just in case, that you can hold the shift button down to copy partial blueprints if theres objects in the way. I have a feeling that'll come in handy if you continue this direction.

2) This solution is far from ideal, but might come in handy with pre-built designs that you're tryin to modify.

If objects are in the way, they automatically will negate any attempt to build on them until you right click/mark them for removal. In other words, if you have something like power poles in the 'spaces' you're tryin to save, you can just hold the inserter button down and itll place inserters everywhere else. Then when you're previewing your blueprint (you can right click the power pole button in the materials used section (top right) and you'll have your spaces all mapped out.


*The other way I'm interpreting the current question is "Can I hold 'build' and map it into a blueprint, in which case the answer is yes, that's the only to make blueprints in this game. If this was your question I'd suggest a quick mini tutorial on youtube, but the short answer is that blueprints are found in the section opened by typing B on your keyboard, and using the 'new blueprint' item to map out what you want blueprinted. I can elaborate, but this post is already getting long for answering a question I'm not sure was even asked haha

[Name Lips]

Early on, blueprints are just a way of organizing what you're doing. You still manually build each item by plonking it down, and it's easy to mess up and put stuff in the wrong place. It helps you know what to build, but it doesn't help you build it any faster.

Later on when you get robots they'll do the building for you.

I love the nanobot mod, which allows an early version of robots. You craft the nanobot gun, and a bunch of nanobots that work like ammo, and they'll construct your blueprints from items in your inventory. I find this mod surprisingly balanced because the bots function like ammo -- they cost resources to make, so they're not free. Also their speed and range is limited (and increased through research) so they're never as convenient as a personal roboport. They're a nice way to get a certain level of automated blueprint construction in the early game.

[CheeseBurger]

Originally posted by piccolo255:

Originally posted by Nailfoot:

Often I use a "work area" to build BPs I am experimenting with. You could do that...

I think the question was, "when I place a blueprint and then build it manually, can I limit item building to ghosts only".

To which the answer is, as far as I know, no. It's a feature I'd like very, very much :/

Yes that's what I was trying to ask 😃 hopefully they implement that feature soon. Just built a large furnace block and there's alot of placing required.

[Nailfoot]

Originally posted by Bunt:

Originally posted by piccolo255:

I think the question was, "when I place a blueprint and then build it manually, can I limit item building to ghosts only".

To which the answer is, as far as I know, no. It's a feature I'd like very, very much :/

Yes that's what I was trying to ask 😃 hopefully they implement that feature soon. Just built a large furnace block and there's alot of placing required.

If you don't mind breaking achievements, use the nanobot mod as mentioned above.

I use that mod on every playthrough. It really improves my quality-of-life!