Circuits
Connect devices and use their signals.
Circuit wires connect devices and carry named integer signals. They are separate from copper, iron, and graphene, which carry sparks and heat up. Circuit wires have no cell footprint and cost no material.
Connecting devices
Turn on Circuit Wire in the left panel, or press X. Left-click one device, then another, to connect them. Repeat those two clicks to remove the wire. Click empty space to cancel a connection you have started. The violet cursor and dotted preview show which endpoint you have selected.
Arithmetic and Decider Combinators have two terminals. The violet left side is the input, and the gold right side is the output. Click the side you want to connect. The sides are separate networks, so an output feeds an input only if you wire them together.
Connected devices share a network. Signals from every producer are added by name. Devices read the previous frame's signals and publish new values for the current frame. This one-frame delay also applies to feedback loops.
Signals
Each material has its own signal. A chest holding 40 Copper publishes Copper = 40. Pipes, drains, and spouts publish the contents of their buffers. A Block Watcher publishes the material it sees as material = 1.
The numbered channels 1 through 9 can carry values that are not materials:
- A Thermocouple publishes its temperature in Celsius on
1by default. Use the signal button in its right-click panel to choose another channel. - Clock and Pulse Button publish
1 = 1for the frame in which they fire. - A Constant Combinator continuously publishes a chosen value on a numbered channel.
Combinators
- Constant Combinator: Choose a channel and its output value.
- Arithmetic Combinator: Apply
+,-,*,/, or%to inputs A and B, then publish the result. Division or modulo by zero gives 0. - Decider Combinator: Publish A when its comparison is true. Available comparisons are
>,<,=,>=,<=, and!=.
Right-click a combinator to set A, B, the output, and the operator. Clicking a signal button opens a searchable picker. Numbered channels have violet chips; material signals use their item sprites. The panel shows up to three live signals on each side, which helps you check the input, output, and wiring. Combinators start on channels 1, 2, and 3. You can also select material signals from connected inventory readers.
Drain filters
A Drain can use a manual material filter. If its circuit network carries a positive material signal, the strongest material signal temporarily takes priority. For example, a chest holding Copper can make a connected Drain collect Copper. Disconnect the chest and the Drain returns to its manual filter. Physical sparks still control whether the Drain is enabled.