Blueprint Reader Combinator

Blueprint Reader Combinator

A smart combinator that reads blueprints from a chest and outputs item signals to the circuit network. Perfect for automating logistic requests based on your blueprints!

Features

• 📋 Reads ALL blueprints from chest — multiple blueprints are summed together!
• 🧱 Counts tiles — concrete, refined concrete, stone brick, landfill and modded tiles included
• 🔧 Counts modules — pre-inserted modules inside machines are included in the output
• 🔢 Outputs circuit signals for all items in the blueprints
• ⭐ Quality support — handles all 5 quality levels (Normal, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary)
• 🎨 Quality Override — force all items to a specific quality via custom GUI (requires Space Age DLC)
• 📚 Blueprint books — reads active blueprint from books, including nested books
• 🔄 Flexible updates — manual (open/close GUI) or automatic with configurable interval
• 🎯 Works with logistic chests — set chest to "Use signals from circuit network"
• ⚡ Zero UPS cost when idle — no background processing in default mode
• 🎮 Works without DLC — fully functional in vanilla Factorio 2.0
• 🖼️ Custom graphics — unique entity sprites, icons and technology artwork

How to Use

Basic Setup

1. Place the Blueprint Reader Combinator (industrial cube with CRT screen)
2. Put blueprint(s) in any chest — you can add multiple blueprints!
3. Connect the chest to the combinator with a circuit wire (red or green)
4. Connect the combinator to a requester chest with another circuit wire
5. Configure the requester chest:

• Open the chest
• Set mode to "Set requests"
• Enable "Use signals from circuit network"

1. Update the combinator: Open combinator GUI → Close it → Signals updated!
2. Check requester chest — it should now request all items from the blueprint(s)

Workflow Summary

1. Put blueprints in chest
2. Wire: Chest → Combinator → Requester Chest
3. Configure requester chest to use circuit signals
4. Open/Close combinator GUI to update (or enable auto-update in settings)
5. Done! Items are requested

Example Setup

[Chest with Blueprint] --red wire--> [BR Combinator] --green wire--> [Requester Chest]
                                           |
                                     (outputs signals for
                                      items AND tiles)

Auto-Update Mode

Don't want to manually open/close the GUI every time? Enable automatic updates:

1. Go to Settings → Mod Settings → Map
2. Set "Auto-update interval" to your preferred value:

• 0 = disabled, manual only (default — zero UPS cost)
• 300 = every 5 seconds (recommended balance)
• 60 = every 1 second (near real-time)

Tile Counting

The mod counts tiles from blueprints (concrete, refined concrete, stone brick, landfill, etc.) and outputs them as signals. This is enabled by default and can be toggled in mod settings.

With Quality Items (Space Age DLC)

If your blueprint contains items with different quality levels, the combinator outputs separate signals for each quality:

• 10× Assembling machine 3 [Normal]
• 5× Assembling machine 3 [Uncommon]
• 2× Assembling machine 3 [Epic]

Quality Override Feature

Note: Quality Override requires the Space Age DLC. Without the DLC, the Quality Settings button will not appear.

Want to upgrade your blueprint to higher quality? Use the Quality Override feature:

1. Open the combinator (left-click)
2. Click "Quality Settings" button in the right panel
3. Select quality from the dropdown:

• Keep Original — uses quality from blueprint (default)
• Normal / Uncommon / Rare / Epic / Legendary — forces all items to selected quality

1. Click Apply — signals update immediately!

Each combinator remembers its own quality setting — perfect for different production lines!

Tips & Tricks

• Blueprint books: Supports nested books — the combinator follows the active selection recursively
• Multiple blueprints: Place multiple blueprints in one chest and they'll be summed, OR use multiple combinators
• Construction trains: Connect to a cargo wagon's logistic requests
• Multiply quantities: Use arithmetic combinators (Each × 2) for requesting more
• Filter items: Use decider combinators to pass only specific items
• Zero UPS: Default mode has zero performance cost — perfect for megabases
• Auto-update: Enable periodic checking in mod settings if you swap blueprints frequently

Mod Settings

| Setting | Default | Description | |---------|---------|-------------| | Auto-update interval | 0 (disabled) | Ticks between automatic re-reads. 0 = manual only. 60 = 1 sec. | | Count tiles | Enabled | Include tiles (concrete, landfill, etc.) in output signals |

Compatibility

• ✅ Factorio 2.0+
• ✅ Works in vanilla Factorio (basic functionality)
• ✅ Space Age DLC recommended (for quality override feature)
• ✅ Works with any mod that adds new entities or tiles
• ✅ Multiplayer compatible
• ✅ No known conflicts

Performance

The mod is designed for minimal UPS impact:

• Default mode: Zero background processing. Updates only on GUI interaction.
• Auto-update mode: Lightweight periodic check proportional to number of combinators.
• Build/destroy events: Use native C++ entity filters — handlers don't fire for unrelated entities.
• Prototype caching: Entity-to-item name resolution is cached for fast repeated lookups.

FAQ

See the FAQ tab for common questions and troubleshooting.

License

MIT License — feel free to modify and redistribute

Credits

Created by Mikdad Inspired by the need for easier blueprint-based logistics

FAQ