Automation pinger/message sender

[Tobruk]

Hi,

Sometimes when building projects or maintaining the ones I've built I need a way to get my attention if certain events occur (high temp, water level rising/lowering, etc.) that are critical for the projects' functionality.

It would be neat if we could have a pinger/message sender that can be activated by automation signal. It could either:

• send a message onto the alert lists on the top left
• create a pop-up message (just like the starting "We have awoken on a strange asteroid") that you need to click OK to unpause

As a temporary solution, the way I would implement this custom message is by allowing players to rename the pinger itself, just like you can with duplicants. The name of the pinger would be then displayed in the message, as above.

[martosss]

Now imagine that pinger is constantly active => you can't return to the game because it's constantly pausing.

[NGMZero]

it can be similar to how the game alert you for flooded and broken object.

- Automation Alert (1)

and when hovering over it it show the list of item names that require attention, clicking on it will cycle the view between them.

[Deshiba]

I'd love it if this was part of the automation set as an item so that you can hook up to the existing sensors.

[Tobruk]

12 minutes ago, Deshiba said:

I'd love it if this was part of the automation set as an item so that you can hook up to the existing sensors.

Yeah, an item with automation input

8 hours ago, NGMZero said:

it can be similar to how the game alert you for flooded and broken object.

- Automation Alert (1)

and when hovering over it it show the list of item names that require attention, clicking on it will cycle the view between them.

This is exactly one of the options I gave in the original post

14 hours ago, Tobruk said:

send a message onto the alert lists on the top left

 

[Deshiba]

18 minutes ago, Tobruk said:

Yeah, an item with automation input

Call it "alarm" and we're all set. I love it.

[Tobruk]

13 hours ago, martosss said:

Now imagine that pinger is constantly active => you can't return to the game because it's constantly pausing.

It's something they would certainly have to think about. I naively assumed that such a sensor would be built in critical places, where important events happen very rarely - I definitely wouldn't use it to alert me when drecko's bristle berries have no water, for example. Instead, it'd be perfect to inform you that a tank has been filled and you can finally seal it off, creating vacuum inside. I always seem to forget about such a thing.

[Enno]

15 hours ago, martosss said:

Now imagine that pinger is constantly active => you can't return to the game because it's constantly pausing.

Constantly active is no problem, just set a flag that marks it as read. Once read it cannot retrigger the event unless it becomes inactive (resets the flag). 

Alternating on/off could cause big issues.

[he77789]

Then time to ask @RoboPhred for a tile editor.

[Deshiba]

On 8/14/2018 at 9:03 PM, Enno said:

Constantly active is no problem, just set a flag that marks it as read. Once read it cannot retrigger the event unless it becomes inactive (resets the flag). 

Alternating on/off could cause big issues.

If it's one of those yellow alerts on the side then it's not an issue if it's constantly on until the conditions are restored. I can play the game perfectly fine if there's an "!Unrefrigerated food" message in the screen.

[Enno]

On 14.8.2018 at 5:34 AM, martosss said:

Now imagine that pinger is constantly active => you can't return to the game because it's constantly pausing.

This is the answer I answered to. Here there is an issue, on the notice on the top left there is no problem at all 

4 hours ago, Deshiba said:

If it's one of those yellow alerts on the side then it's not an issue if it's constantly on until the conditions are restored. I can play the game perfectly fine if there's an "!Unrefrigerated food" message in the screen.

 

[Deshiba]

On 8/14/2018 at 12:10 AM, Tobruk said:

...It would be neat if we could have a pinger/message sender that can be activated by automation signal. It could either:

• send a message onto the alert lists on the top left
• create a pop-up message (just like the starting "We have awoken on a strange asteroid") that you need to click OK to unpause

...

It's in the original suggestion as an option. I guess people get sidetracked by the visual underneath it.