Circuit wires in red science tier

[Epb7304]

TL;DR

Move circuit wires into a red science tech, keep combinations behind green science

What ?

Create a new technology a pre-requisite for the circuit network technology that contains the red and green circuit wires

Why ?

There are a lot of simple tricks you can do with just circuit wires themselves, and especially with game-extending mods (though in vanilla to a lesser extent too) you do not get access to circuit wires until several hours into a playthrough moving just the wires would allow for restricting the flow of an inserter or a belt. more complicated tasks will still require combinators so the original technology doesn't lose its value, it may also help break apart the circuit network allowing newer players to understand the circuit wires better then they can move onto combinators.

[Illiander42]

Pretty sure with circuit wires moving to an itemless item 2.0 will do this.

[mrvn]

You can also use a blueprint to get your wires for free assuming you have one with the 2 entities in the right spots with a wire blueprinted. So it's really just annoying that you can't draw the wire from scratch.

[Epb7304]

Pretty sure with circuit wires moving to an itemless item 2.0 will do this.

iirc the shortcuts are only available after the circuit network research, so my suggestion would still be applicable as in stead of unlocking the item with the red tier science it would be the shortcut

[SoShootMe]

Pretty sure with circuit wires moving to an itemless item 2.0 will do this.

Circuit wires being "free" items in 2.0 makes me think they should ideally be a bit like the blueprint tools etc, where they are available from the start in new games after combinators are first researched in any game, but this should be around the same place in the technology tree as now. AFAIK the rationale for the blueprint tools behaviour (or at least a benefit I can see), which I think also applies to circuit wire, is to reduce the problem of overloading new players. Best of both worlds?

[Illiander42]

Pretty sure with circuit wires moving to an itemless item 2.0 will do this.

Circuit wires being "free" items in 2.0 makes me think they should ideally be a bit like the blueprint tools etc, where they are available from the start in new games after combinators are first researched in any game, but this should be around the same place in the technology tree as now. AFAIK the rationale for the blueprint tools behaviour (or at least a benefit I can see), which I think also applies to circuit wire, is to reduce the problem of overloading new players. Best of both worlds?

Sounds perfect to me.

[pleegwat]

Having a research for circuit wires (possibly one of the new-style ones which doesn't cost science) gives you an opportunity to actually introduce new players to them. Perhaps trigger it when 4 assembly machines have been built.

[mrvn]

Having a research for circuit wires (possibly one of the new-style ones which doesn't cost science) gives you an opportunity to actually introduce new players to them. Perhaps trigger it when 4 assembly machines have been built.

That makes me wonder if research can only trigger on things getting build or if one could trigger when things get used. For example once you place landfill the waterfill (undo landfill) would trigger. Or when you add or remove a copper wire the power switch could become available.