Automation Guide

What changed in version 1.0

The official automation article says Automators were removed from normal progression and Connector Pipes were renamed Automation Pipes. Pipes connect compatible constructs directly, storage buildings expose outputs, and each connection costs Energy instead of consuming an Automator connection slot.

Old saves are a special case: existing Automators remain and can still be built. That is why two guides can show different hardware without either screenshot being fabricated. For a new 1.0 save, learn the pipe-first workflow.

Unlock

Milestone 4

Transport

Automation Pipes

Constraint

Available Energy

Old saves

Existing Automators remain

Build the first line in one direction

Start with a simple chain: source storage, one craft station, and destination storage. Confirm the storage output faces the route, connect the pipe, and watch one ingredient complete the trip before adding branches. Naming or physically grouping storage by purpose reduces filter mistakes.

If a line stops, inspect it from source to destination: available stock, output connection, Energy, destination capacity, filters, and recipe availability. Troubleshooting several branches at once hides the first broken assumption.

• Prove a single source-to-destination path.
• Add a filter before adding a dump chest to a shared line.
• Keep pipe corridors accessible for later branches.
• Use separate output storage when a by-product would recirculate into the input.

Filters and three-recipe auto-crafting

Resource Filters can accept or deny individual items or categories for a storage building. This makes a general unloading chest possible, but broad categories should be introduced after a precise route works. A permissive filter can silently fill critical storage with the wrong item.

Auto-crafting buildings can hold up to three recipes. The system cycles through them and skips a recipe when its materials are unavailable. Order related recipes so their inputs do not starve a higher-priority component, and use dedicated buffers when two recipes compete for the same resource.

Water Reservoir and migration issues

The 1.0 launch notes call out a Water Reservoir output change. Existing pipe connections created from the old output position may need to be rebuilt because the output moved. If a migrated water line looks connected but does nothing, delete and recreate that connection before redesigning the entire network.

This is a version-specific migration fix, not evidence that every paused generator or watering line has the same cause. Check Energy, capacity, filters, and inputs after rebuilding the affected connection.