Factorio Forums

Short version:
Blueprint extending beyond explored area causes auto-deconstruction to fail later, and not be possible to set

Longer version:
I am working on making a grid-style layout for this factory, and, to simplify, I have blueprints for the rail layouts. These are twice the length of one of the grid cells, so I can stand at the intersection, lay the blueprint, and move out in each direction.

The problem happens when the blueprint extends into an area I haven't explored yet.

When I shift-click to auto-deconstruct trees and such, then move into the new area, either nothing will be placed (no ghosts), or the ghosts will be placed, but the trees and rocks won't be marked for deconstruction. I figured this might be expected, since the logic of the blueprints didn't know there were trees there when the blueprint was laid. So I go back to the original spot (now that the area has been explored), and shift-click the blueprint again.

Doing so does not mark anything for removal. I can be standing where I can *see* the trees blocking the ghost rails. If I try to place the blueprint, it shows red where the trees are. I hold shift, and the tree-covered areas change color, to show they will be removed. Then I shift-click to place it. And nothing changes. The trees are not marked, and construction can't happen.


What I expect:
It would be nice if the trees were properly marked for deconstruction, even if they are in an unexplored area. What I really expect is that, if I lay the same blueprint over the one that has been blocked (after I have explored the area), that it will trigger the deconstruction of the clutter.

Log, save file, and blueprint attached.

Thanks for the report. There's no simple solution to this except: don't build blueprints that are bigger than the area you can see.

At best the game would just reject letting you build blueprints if it intersects with a chunk that isn't fully generated. It's never going to force the chunk to generate, then put the blueprint down on that location.

The real bug here, though, is that, even after I have subsequently explored the area, and try placing a new copy of the blueprint, I cannot force it to deconstruct the trees and rocks. I would expect that, after the areas are explored, they would behave as they have every other time when I shift-click.

I have attached a video of this happening.

In the video, you see that the construction bots are hovering over the area of rail blocked by the trees. No problem.

I pull out the blueprint, place it over the existing layout, and click. It tells me I can't build. There are trees in the way, so this is expected. No problem.

I shift-click, so that the trees should be removed, so it can lay the rails. Colors change, it indicates that it should properly place the blueprint, and allows me to click, with no error. No problem.

The trees are unimpressed. They are not marked for destruction. THIS IS THE PROBLEM.

In the video, I click repeatedly, while switching between holding and not-holding the Shift key, to better show the differences.

FordPrfct wrote: Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:29 pm ... The trees are unimpressed. They are not marked for destruction. THIS IS THE PROBLEM. ...

That is the symptom. The problem is you were able to place the blueprint before the chunk was generated. Which I can change but then it breaks modded logic which uses that. So, as I said: no perfect solution so I just leave it as is. Use smaller blueprints to avoid the issues.

I feel as though I am communicating poorly. I was not asking for the blueprint to generate the new chunks, nor for it to work perfectly when the blueprint is placed in such a way as to extend into non-generated chunks. I was asking that, after the chunks have been generated, and explored, that the shift-click behavior later work properly in them.

Would it break the modded logic to permit the expected shift-click placement of blueprints in explored areas, where this had previously occurred (the placement of blueprints in unexplored chunks)?

I can work around it by manually deconstructing the trees. Or by deconstructing the ghost tiles, and re-placing the blueprint. It just feels to me as though this is breaking expected behavior, by requiring the extra steps.

And I do apologize if this sounds as though I am being argumentative. I definitely appreciate this game, and the work that goes into it. This was the first truly jarring problem I had run into, and so I was eager to do what I could to contribute to the improvement of the game.