Design Discussion: Gear Box Placement

[FlowerChild]

Got a quick question for you guys:

Are any of you still using the option for reverse gear box placement in the config file?

I ask this because it is currently broken in SMP, yet no one has even mentioned it, so I'm suspecting hardly anyone is using it.

Communicating that option to fix it is actually quite the pain in the ass, as unlike other options, this one is set on the client, and the server has to react to that, as opposed to the others which are server based.

So, if no one is using it anymore (I think it largely became irrelevant when I provided the ability to rotate placed Gear Boxes), I'd rather just rip the option out of the mod than spend time fixing it for SMP.

Anyways, please let me know if you're still using it.

Also, I guess this is another example of how even the simplest of options can become a nuisance in the long-term ;)

[SterlingRed]

I honestly forgot it was an option. Either way placing toward you or away, you will always have that instance you need it the other way. Rotation fixes it, and I think it makes default orientation preferences irrelevant.

[Ulfengaard]

I honestly forgot it was an option. Either way placing toward you or away, you will always have that instance you need it the other way. Rotation fixes it, and I think it makes default orientation preferences irrelevant.

Ditto and agreed. The two are redundant since rotation is a much more open-ended system. I'm always right-clicking my gearboxes to get them just the way I want them.

[M!C]

Yeah, I was aware there was an option but never used it nor felt the need to since gearboxes can be rotated.

I also don't know anyone who does use it so I'd say go ahead and drop it.

[shifty]

Ditto ditto. Empty hand rotation made this feature redundant.

[SterlingRed]

it makes default orientation preferences irrelevant.

And by that I mean it should have one default orientation, but there is no need for optional ones.

[danielngtiger]

I agree with everyone else. I knew of it but rotation is far more useful and convenient.

[Sarudak]

I wouldn't worry about it too much man. We have rotation now and it's not like it's gonna break anyone's builds... Just confuse them for a bit maybe.

[Itamarcu]

I don't mind the removal of the optional mode, but I still don't think rotating the gearboxes completely solves the problem. Almost always you have to go back after you placed all of the gearboxes and rotate them all, which usually involves destroying blocks to get back. IMO the best option would be to have the gearboxes magically rotate to the side power comes from when they are built/powered for the first time, but I doubt that's perfect.

[DaveYanakov]

The only issue I have ever had with rotation is that the only way to tell if a gearbox has been rotated to the proper position is to listen for it to start turning. If you don;t want to power the machine until you finish building it, you're forced to dig out a much larger space to move around in which you then have to go back and fill in or finish as part of your base. If there were some sort of indicator on the opposite face, that really would render initial placement options irrelevant.

[FlowerChild]

The only issue I have ever had with rotation is that the only way to tell if a gearbox has been rotated to the proper position is to listen for it to start turning. If you don;t want to power the machine until you finish building it, you're forced to dig out a much larger space to move around in which you then have to go back and fill in or finish as part of your base. If there were some sort of indicator on the opposite face, that really would render initial placement options irrelevant.

Dude...totally off-topic. Don't do that.

[rockninja]

i always have used reverse gear box placement to avoid overshooting while rotating it, yeah.

[DaveYanakov]

Sorry, I was attempting to explain why I care about the placement option and now I'm seeing that it came out like a suggestion. I'll work on keeping that leashed.

[Sarelth]

I saw the option and considered using it, but never got around to it. The ability to rotate the gearbox makes it a mote point in my opinion.

[FlowerChild]

Sorry, I was attempting to explain why I care about the placement option and now I'm seeing that it came out like a suggestion. I'll work on keeping that leashed.

Ah, I understand now. Sorry about that.

Yeah, I can hear that, but at the same time I suspect any kind of indicator on the other side would create further confusion for noobs with regards to where the input side is. Functionally, the side opposite of the input is equivalent to any other side.

This is the reason why the default is to face the input towards the player BTW, so that players are at least guaranteed to see it when they first place one, and hopefully ask "hmmm...why is this side different?".

[DxPanxD]

I tried out the reversed placement for a while, but I preferred the default placement. It just feels more natural for me to build my gearbox chains from device to power source. Trying to go from power source to device with reverse placement just seemed a bit off.

~snip~
This is the reason why the default is to face the input towards the player BTW, so that players are at least guaranteed to see it when they first place one, and hopefully ask "hmmm...why is this side different?".

I can tell you this works. When I first started, I didn't want to use the wiki for anything more than recipes. Odds say my first windmill would've been a lot trickier had I not noticed the special face on the gearbox. That said, I did waste a few axles trying to make a >3 long chain of 'em.

[Detritus]

I had attempted to use this feature in the past (when looking through the config for something else, I found it) because it makes much greater sense in my head to place it that way. However, when I ran the game, nothing had changed. I re-opened the config, and it hadn't changed either. I think Wordpad has issues with me, as I can't really change any config options. So, pull the feature if you really want to, but I quite like it, and was just reminded of it.

[TSA]

I used to use that feature.
Then you added bare hands rotated gear-boxes and dropped the reversed gear-box.

So it would not make a difference in my play style.

Thanks for asking. =)

[STrRedWolf]

Reverse gearbox placement? To quote the famous TV's Kyle, "Never hurd of 'im."

[FlowerChild]

Ok guys, I think that more or less answers my question. If people are still using it, it's such a small number that it doesn't warrant the extra work of converting it to SMP and maintaining it.

Thanks for all the responses. It helps me make a much more informed decision, since I was never using this feature myself :)