Rail Rotation Controller block

[Thalanor]

- Works like the rail speed controller, but controls how far a rotator rotates a docked entity per step.

- Allows for non-45° intervals just like rail speed controllers work (example: link 7 activation blocks and 3 of them are on).

- Is more consistent with existing systems than the current implementation

- Would fix the current issue of signal conflict with rail rotators.

 

[Lone_Puppy]

I wonder if we could use the sensor block for this? I've found the sensor block great for percentage indicators on my storage. Don't see why you couldn't apply this to degrees also.

 

[Thalanor]

The sensor block is strictly an output block that gives you a logic signal. The proposed rail rotation controller block would let you do what is currently done by directly linking activation blocks (which is broken since the update), but better.

 

[NightFury76]

I think he means a sensor block on the rail and then the activators set to start/stop the rotation through a speed controller.

In electrcial eng terms its called a stepper motor with the sensitivity of steps set to the number of activators on the sensor

 

[jayman38]

This sounds like a very logical extension of the rotation control system.

Is there an easy way to make this compatible with the current system?

Examples:
1. Switch to the new, suggested fraction system when the attached activation blocks number more than 8? (It would be nice if you could continue to have continuous rotation with just one active activation block.) (Not very flexible if you want to use less than 8 activation blocks.)
2. Go ahead and create the new block. I'd like to name it something that would be compatible with the linear rails as well, and have a similar situation where this new block controls just exactly how far along the existing rail path the subentity travels. (This restores flexibility, plus makes it even more useful and flexible, bringing the party to linear rails.)

 

[Thalanor]

The thing is, the current system already got broken (actually broken) since the remote rail logic interfers with how rotation works right now. So we might as well fix it properly while we are at it.