Blueprint encoder and decoder and a train schedule designer
Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2024 8:02 pm
Hi!
I was recently frustrated in configuring trains in our multiplayer base due to the way trains are setup (there's a separate tanking station that the trains shouldn't visit between every trip). The in-game editor was a bit frustrating with a lot of clicking as I needed to repeat multiple stations.
Note: there might still be some bugs and the tools don't work on mobile
Blueprint Encoder/Decoder
I initially decided to just figure out the conversion from blueprint format to textual format to be able to manually copy paste the stations in the schedule. I ended up writing a decoder and encoder tool for the blueprints to view what's the content, edit it and then encode back to the blueprint format. This tool is available at
https://haapanen.github.io/factorio-tools/#/codec
It has a built-in text editor (Monaco (=VS Code)) so you don't need to do copy pasting to another tool to edit the files in a proper text editor.
Guide
Train Schedule Planner
I decided to also implement a simple tool to edit the schedule a bit faster (supporting duplicating existing stations). It's currently work in progress as it still lacks circuit, fluid and item wait conditions but the rest should work. The tool will generate a train blueprint with the correct stops and also include templates for the stations if requested.
Image below hopefully explains the tool
End result is something like
Here's link to the above example:
https://haapanen.github.io/factorio-too ... fV19XX0%3D
Hopefully you find these somewhat useful.
I was recently frustrated in configuring trains in our multiplayer base due to the way trains are setup (there's a separate tanking station that the trains shouldn't visit between every trip). The in-game editor was a bit frustrating with a lot of clicking as I needed to repeat multiple stations.
Note: there might still be some bugs and the tools don't work on mobile
Blueprint Encoder/Decoder
I initially decided to just figure out the conversion from blueprint format to textual format to be able to manually copy paste the stations in the schedule. I ended up writing a decoder and encoder tool for the blueprints to view what's the content, edit it and then encode back to the blueprint format. This tool is available at
https://haapanen.github.io/factorio-tools/#/codec
It has a built-in text editor (Monaco (=VS Code)) so you don't need to do copy pasting to another tool to edit the files in a proper text editor.
Guide
- Copy a blueprint from somewhere
- Paste it to the encoded blueprint field
- Hit decode
- Edit the blueprint how you like
- Hit encode
- Copy the blueprint to Factorio
Train Schedule Planner
I decided to also implement a simple tool to edit the schedule a bit faster (supporting duplicating existing stations). It's currently work in progress as it still lacks circuit, fluid and item wait conditions but the rest should work. The tool will generate a train blueprint with the correct stops and also include templates for the stations if requested.
Image below hopefully explains the tool
End result is something like
Here's link to the above example:
https://haapanen.github.io/factorio-too ... fV19XX0%3D
Hopefully you find these somewhat useful.