Items Counter Block

[Leaffen]

Oh boy here's a complex idea for a new wiring component that I think would be INCREDIBLY useful, a block that acts as a counter, here's my mock-up design!

The idea is you can right click the red numbers to increase them by 1, up to 99. For simplicity and swiftness, you right click the two tiles individually to increase the respective number by 1, so you do not have to click 99 times to get to the max, just 18. Going over 9 for either number will loop back, and set the number to 0.
This red number is what caps the blue number below, so the blue number can never go above what you set as the red number, and the blue number can never go below zero.

The plus and minus do as expected, signals to those tiles will respectively add and subtract 1 from the blue number.
The exclamation mark resets the blue number to zero when powered. This can be powered from the output itself to loop when it hits the limit, if you're using the Output When Adding Above Number Cap Condition.

Now for the more complex part, the output conditions.
The output condition can be right clicked to change between 4 different states:
1. Output When Subtracting Below Zero will give a signal every time the counter block tries to subtract, and the number is currently at 0.
2. Output When Adding Over Number Cap will do the reverse, giving a signal every time the counter block tries to add, and the number is currently at the maximum number set.
3. Output When Subtracting Above Zero will give a signal every time the counter block subtracts, as long as the number isn't currently 0.
4. Output When Adding Below Number Cap will do the reverse, giving a signal every time the counter block adds, as long as the number isn't currently at the maximum number set.

Using 4 different counter blocks with each of these output conditions can be incredibly useful in a complex system, compacting giant towers of faulty logic gates, into just 4 counters. I'm not sure how feasible it is this will be added, but I think it would be amazingly useful!
For reference, here is what counters would replace. You would need to use 4 different ones, but it'd be much more compact and clean in comparison. And this only goes up to 7, while the proposed counters would go up to 99.

Edit to show how this can be simplified in text:
Name: Counter
ToolTip:
Power from the left to add or subtract from the blue number, set the maximum number with the red number above.
Reset the blue number by powering the !.
Right Click the empty box to change the output conditions.
Method of Obtainment: 15 Gold from Steampunker

 

[Big Sammich]

Hrm... I definitely see the use case for this. It would be a very useful and multi-faceted tool. Based on your diagram, I agree that it would be great for making wiring mechanisms more compact. But I just don't think this feels like a Terraria item. This may just be me, but I don't think it fits the game's design.

 

[AxoCookie🌳]

me no understand wire, funny number cool thoug.

 

[Warm Water]

on the one hand this could make wiring a bit more compact, but on the other hand I think we don't need a brand new wiring object this complex

 

[LisanPaez05]

If added means more options to Terrarian Engineers, and the old option doesn't disappear, only get inefficient, and it isn't affect others players (what aren't use wires for any that complex)

If not added, nothing changes

Looks like something beneficial to the game, is a technological upgrade (like the transistor)

And if you want to learn, will be more simple

Edit:I forgot the "to" next to the "want"

 

[MegaByte]

It looks great, this is a well thought out idea

I know the purpose of output conditions is to use less logic gates, but what if we simplify this so players will have to (somewhat)build the counter with logic gates I think that would be interesting and more fitting.
we turn this into a 2x2 display that can only show numbers from 0 to 9, if you want multiple digits you can place more displays next to it (capacities becomes less versatile tho).

[3][4]
[1][2]

Since it's 4 tiles the displayed number will be pretty large (we will be using top and bottom for inputs/outputs because left and right could have more displays)

1. Increases displayed number by 1 when a signal was provided to that part of the block (input)
2. decreases displayed number by 1 (input)
3. gives a signal when display is on number 9 (output)
4. gives a signal on 0 (output)

If you want to make a counter with multiple digits you connect everything to the increase input switch of every display but that would mean numbers would go like
11,22,33 instead of 01,02,03.
So we connect each input to an AND gate which would take output(on 9) of previous display as input 1 while also taking standard number increasing input as input 2. So It would only increase when both inputs are true. We do the same thing for decreasing using the other output(on 0).

3x3 or 4x4 could have more inputs/outputs for more options but I kept 2x2 because I think that size looks good.

I'm not a Terraria mechanic tho, so I never played around with Terraria's logic gates because of that maybe this is unrealistic to do with wires due to the lack of space in a 2D block grid.

 

[Dapling]

Hrm... I definitely see the use case for this. It would be a very useful and multi-faceted tool. Based on your diagram, I agree that it would be great for making wiring mechanisms more compact. But I just don't think this feels like a Terraria item. This may just be me, but I don't think it fits the game's design.

I feel like you’d say this if you were told about almost any wiring related item in the game before it released. Grand Design is an entirely unprecedented item. So are pumps. So are timers. So are logic gates (especially faulty logic gates). So are grates. So are actuators. So are basically every sensor in the game.

 

[Big Sammich]

I feel like you’d say this if you were told about almost any wiring related item in the game before it released. Grand Design is an entirely unprecedented item. So are pumps. So are timers. So are logic gates (especially faulty logic gates). So are grates. So are actuators. So are basically every sensor in the game.

I don't think so. I was speaking less about function and more about complexity. No other wiring item in Terraria does anything even close to as complex as this. Hell, there aren't even any wiring items that have multiple different conditions under which they'll output a signal.

Also, the Grand Design was absolutely precedented. All it does is combine the Wrench colors, Wire Cutters, and Ruler, while throwing in the Mechanical Eye effect for good measure, which is an effect you can achieve anyway by holding any item that interacts with wires. The only effect it has that wasn't possible before was full-screen wire range.

 

[LisanPaez05]

Hrm... I definitely see the use case for this. It would be a very useful and multi-faceted tool. Based on your diagram, I agree that it would be great for making wiring mechanisms more compact. But I just don't think this feels like a Terraria item. This may just be me, but I don't think it fits the game's design.

When something was new, it was weird and expensive, was luxury, you saw it and asked: "Why we want this?"
When some time pass is now common and cheap, you'll remember and you will answer: "Because it was necessary"

 

[Heath04🌳]

When some time pass is now common and cheap, you'll remember and you will answer: "Because it was necessary"

It's not like we don't have counters already, I wouldn't call this necessary it's just a fancier more compact counter.

I don't think so. I was speaking less about function and more about complexity. No other wiring item in Terraria does anything even close to as complex as this. Hell, there aren't even any wiring items that have multiple different conditions under which they'll output a signal.

This isn't true, the inputs here are all pretty simple and I wouldn't call it overly complex. I would put this in the same boat as cannons or more similarly the Portal Gun Station which if we look at a diagram of that looks more confusing than this suggestion, the counter just has more inputs but they're all well labeled and can understand it mostly by a glance.

 

[LisanPaez05]

It's true, it's not necessary, but imagine how many new thing will be created if this is added. If is added, then, we'll see this moment and we'll think "It was necessary", maybe not us, but those who use it will be blessed

 

[Leaffen]

Hrm... I definitely see the use case for this. It would be a very useful and multi-faceted tool. Based on your diagram, I agree that it would be great for making wiring mechanisms more compact. But I just don't think this feels like a Terraria item. This may just be me, but I don't think it fits the game's design.

I tried to simplify it as much as possible to fit the design of the game, and it's something you can already make with logic gates as I've shown in an example. This would just make a lot of things far more compact, while still leaving the old design with some uses (Like my in-game H.U.D.).
I do agree it's complex, but I don't think it's hard to explain, and a complex item existing isn't necessarily a bad thing if it opens up innovation and makes innovating quicker easier for the average player.

 

[Leaffen]

If added means more options to Terrarian Engineers, and the old option doesn't disappear, only get inefficient, and it isn't affect others players (what aren't use wires for any that complex)

If not added, nothing changes

Looks like something beneficial to the game, is a technological upgrade (like the transistor)

And if you want to learn, will be more simple

Edit:I forgot the "to" next to the "want"

The old option would still have some use cases, so it's not entirely obsolete/inefficient, which is great!

And I do agree, it's complex mechanically, but if you were to learn how to use it, it becomes incredibly simple.

 

[Leaffen]

It's not like we don't have counters already, I wouldn't call this necessary it's just a fancier more compact counter.


This isn't true, the inputs here are all pretty simple and I wouldn't call it overly complex. I would put this in the same boat as cannons or more similarly the Portal Gun Station which if we look at a diagram of that looks more confusing than this suggestion, the counter just has more inputs but they're all well labeled and can understand it mostly by a glance.

View attachment 459604

I tried to make everything look as simple as possible, even having subtraction based outputs be red, and addition based outputs be green.
The only problem I personally feel is having the 2 different sets of numbers, but that can be explained in the tooltip, which I just edited on a suggestion tooltip.

 

[Big Sammich]

It's not like we don't have counters already, I wouldn't call this necessary it's just a fancier more compact counter.


This isn't true, the inputs here are all pretty simple and I wouldn't call it overly complex. I would put this in the same boat as cannons or more similarly the Portal Gun Station which if we look at a diagram of that looks more confusing than this suggestion, the counter just has more inputs but they're all well labeled and can understand it mostly by a glance.

View attachment 459604

I tried to simplify it as much as possible to fit the design of the game, and it's something you can already make with logic gates as I've shown in an example. This would just make a lot of things far more compact, while still leaving the old design with some uses (Like my in-game H.U.D.).
I do agree it's complex, but I don't think it's hard to explain, and a complex item existing isn't necessarily a bad thing if it opens up innovation and makes innovating quicker easier for the average player.

So it was just me, then. Ok. I still don't really think this feels like a vanilla item, but it's not as though I'm going to fight against its inclusion.

When something was new, it was weird and expensive, was luxury, you saw it and asked: "Why we want this?"
When some time pass is now common and cheap, you'll remember and you will answer: "Because it was necessary"

I never said any of that. I actually agreed that it would be useful.

 

[Dapling]

Also, the Grand Design was absolutely precedented. All it does is combine the Wrench colors, Wire Cutters, and Ruler, while throwing in the Mechanical Eye effect for good measure, which is an effect you can achieve anyway by holding any item that interacts with wires. The only effect it has that wasn't possible before was full-screen wire range

You mean to tell me that the whole “flower” ui doesn’t feel modded as hell?

 

[Coleyohley]

You mean to tell me that the whole “flower” ui doesn’t feel modded as hell?

I think it only feels modded because nothing else uses it. A UI like that is great and I could come up with endless applications for it if controllers weren't so limited.

 

[Leaffen]

I think it only feels modded because nothing else uses it. A UI like that is great and I could come up with endless applications for it if controllers weren't so limited.

Not gonna lie, when someone says something feels modded, I generally disregard it. People say *any* addition to a game feels modded, so what does feeling modded even mean at this point? Mods add new trees, so do sakura trees feel modded? I've seen some say yes, most say no, I don't know. The phrase has lost any meaning at this point, in my opinion.

I can't even see "feels modded" as "feels like this doesn't fit the design of the game", because some people use feeling modded as a compliment, instead of expressing a feature as being odd or out of line with the design.