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Power; it is the name for the capacity to do work in Waste of Space. Without power, your machines cannot operate. As such, it is crucial to master this mechanic. Power is also closely linked with this game's electronics mechanics, such as trigger signals. This guide will cover everything from the basics of how power works, to creating elaborate circuits. Before we can cover more advanced topics though, we must start with the basics of how power works. If you've played the tutorial, this should be familiar.
Power and triggers
The basics
One of the most important things to understand about power in this game is its flow. Power flows in all directions from a source (PowerCell or battery) to parts which consume it. Power is able to be moved from a source using transmitters. The available transmitters in this game are wires, ZapWires, antennas, and relays.
You can think of power in this game sort of like water in pipes! Water flows into the pipes from a source, and travels through them to an exit.
Power in this game is measured in units, a fictional unit of measurement.
A source stores power and enables its use. Power cannot be used directly, but must first be stored. You'll learn more about generating it later.
Transmitters allow power to flow through them, moving it from a source to consuming parts. Power is also able to flow directly from a source to a consuming part.
For wires to transmit power, they must be physically touching. A wire touching a source will have power flowing through it, as will any wires touching it. Antennas are able to transmit power between each other (and to any touching wires) given they have the same ID. Relays allow power to be transmitted cross-region.
Multiple sources are also able to be connected together, providing an overall larger pool of power available for use. Sources still remain individual parts though, so this will only work if you are drawing power from the transmitter connecting them.
Parts which consume power deduct (n) power from the circuit every tick so they may perform their function - this is referred to as "power per tick" (ppt). Each part has its own ppt requirement; if there is less power available in the circuit than the part requires, it will stop operating. Note power cannot pass through objects which consume it.
Let's put what we've learnt so far to use and map out the flow of power in a basic circuit where a PowerCell is connected to a light with a wire;
- Power flows from the PowerCell into the wire ->
- The wire allows power to flow through it, transmitting it to the light ->
- The light recieves power; it glows! ->
- One unit of power is deducted from the PowerCell
Controlling flow
One common issue you'll quickly run into is controlling the flow of power. You'll sometimes only want it to flow at certain times, or only in one direction. This is where this game's electronic ('Logic' and 'Electrical' in-game) parts come in. The most basic of these is the switch.
The switch can be toggled either on or off, acting as either a normal part in its off state, or as a wire in its on state.
The switch is able to be toggled on/off by either clicking on it, using polysilicon, or by having a microcontroller configure its SwitchValue property. Don't worry if you don't understand what trigger signals or polysilicon are at the moment, we'll get to it soon. First though, must cover a few other basic electronic parts you'll likely be using a lot. This will make a lot more sense later;
- The diode only allows power to flow in one direction. This is indicated by the arrow drawn on it
- The DelayWire wait (n) seconds when triggered, only then allowing a trigger signal through.
- The button emits a trigger signal when clicked
- The transformer emits a trigger signal every (n) seconds when powered, the time between pulses is able to be configured
Triggers and polysilicon
Trigger signals nearly identically to power, but are transmitted by TriggerWires instead (Antennas work with both power and triggers). The TriggerSwitch is also available as counterpart to the regular switch. Trigger signals are generally produced when something occurs, an example would be a button being clicked.
Unlike power, triggers cannot be stored; this is because they act as a kind of 'Message'. You can think of this message like mailing someone a black piece of paper; it contains no information, but they know theyve been sent something.
Certain objects will perform an action upon being triggered; this action will always be the same, and requires no input. As triggers contain no information, objects purely relying on them are often quite simple. An example would be an explosive.
More complex objects, however, require additional information. A switch must know if it should be turned on or off. This is where polysilicon comes in.
Polysilicon adds additional information to trigger signals. It can either be activating, deactivating, or FlipFlop - which switches through the other two modes each time it is triggered. A switch receiving a signal from activating polysilicon will turn on, and vice versa. Note this type of 'trigger' cannot be transmitted.