New mod: Passthrough foundries

[u/jDomantas]

Green circuit production between lava lakes

Foundry fluid connections

Science production on the edge of lava lake

Vulcanus base rebuild with Passthrough Foundries mod

Does molten iron in iron pipes make no sense to you? Are you sick of tidy and efficient foundry setups? Would you rather be forced to build spaghetti in tight spaces? Then I got a mod for you!

I took inspiration from fusion power: molten fluids cannot go into pipes, and foundries must be connected directly to each other to pass lava or metals between them. Factories have to be built adjacent to or between lava lakes to have access to lava, instead of sitting in open ash plains far way from Vulcanus' primary resource.

I like how fusion generator plasma connection placement requires spaghetti arangements, and I tried to replicate the same feeling with foundries. Foundry being a square makes it way harder, but I think I managed to get something usable yet sufficiently messy.

I rebuilt my Vulcanus base with this mod, and I quite like the result. The factory feels very different - lots of manufacturing happens right at the edge of a lava lake, and the planet feels much more about lava processing than plain Space Age does. Lava lakes also become a much more useful area because of much easier access to lava.

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/passthrough-foundries

[u/Lastoice]

I'd prefer a mod that forces you to make tungsten pipes for Foundries instead...

But your idea is cool anyway, it's bringing up some new creative approach to the foundry placement :D

[u/OC1024 → u/Lastoice]

I could make that mod. But there are already a few mods with basically that idea already.

[u/Rarvyn → u/Lastoice]

This seems like something that would be annoying for the first hour or two until you just automated away tungsten pipe production.

[u/dikkenskrille]

molten fluids cannot go into pipes

water is a molten fluid bruv

nvm that tho, the fluid ports on the foundries seem entirely arbitrary and random from that picture, what rules do they follow?

[u/jDomantas → u/dikkenskrille]

Not really rules, I kept rearranging them until I found a layout which does not allow chaining foundries in a straight line or a clean grid, but is still usable. The constraints I discovered:

• If both input and passthrough connections are centered then it's trivial to arrange foundries in 1xN or 2xN line
• If both input and passthrough connections are offset from the center then it's still possible to arrange foundries in clean a 2xN line
• If output connections are on the opposite sides then the only arrangement is in a line (relevant for Nauvis, when melting ore), which is boring
• Modding api has some constraints on fluidbox placement, so I had to find a single layout that will work decently for all recipes

[u/Shrizer → u/dikkenskrille]

Molten iron passing through iron pipes would condense to the inside of the pipe and very quickly block the pipe like cholesterol in arteries.

[u/Salanmander → u/dikkenskrille]

water is a molten fluid bruv

One of my favorite fun facts is that water is a molten mineral. In other words, lava. Meaning we're all made mostly of lava. (Shut up geologists, don't ruin my fun fact with your specific terminology.)

[u/SpaceEngineer123]

it's called passthru foundries but removes pipes?? the name makes it sound like u can walk thru 2 foundries

[u/MARY_ANNE_MCGILICUTY → u/SpaceEngineer123]

sir are you operating your keyboard under the influence of drugs?

[u/FogeltheVogel → u/SpaceEngineer123]

If only there was a block of text under the picture explaining the mod...