Leaking Pipes and Cables are BROKEN

[jfjohnny5]

If this isn't a bug, then it's pretty bad design... Read on to see what I mean.

If a pipe or cable start to malfunction, they "leak." The leak will drain resources from the entire grid. (That's right, a malfunctioning cable doesn't just stop working, it actually drains electricity from the whole system somehow.) Now, a drone will come out to repair it, but even after the little guy gets there, it takes a loooooong time to repair - much longer than just building a whole new cable/pipe actually. We're talking 5-10x longer to repair than to build brand new. Here's where the "it's broken" part really comes in to play:

The whole time the drone is trying to repair the leak, the entire attached grid is draining of resources. However, if you simple Salvage the leaking section of pipe/cable (Build Menu > Infrastructure > Salvage), the leak will stop immediately, and the drone can build a brand new pipe/cable in a fraction of the time it takes to repair it - and for the same material cost.

tl;dr - don't repair leaking pipes/cables, destroy them and build new ones.

 

[Xeorm]

Takes extra time to repair because the drone has to keep the line still functional while working on it. Salvaging and then building anew would be quicker, but it would mean that inbetween some things won't be getting their resources.

 

[jfjohnny5]

Takes extra time to repair because the drone has to keep the line still functional while working on it.

The line is still functional whether or not the drone is working on it. The leak creates a drain on resources, and with even the smallest amount of redundancy it's more effective to just delete and replace. That's just more micromanagement in a game that already starts to drown in it by the midgame.

 

[BoogieMan]

I'm glad this exists. Past a certain length, which really isn't all that long, it's like the pipes are made out of balsa wood.

 

[Rhaegor]

There is a mod on Steam that reduces the repair time from 180 seconds (3 minutes) to 30 seconds which I personally feel is more reasonable.

 

[aono]

The leak creates a drain on resources, and with even the smallest amount of redundancy it's more effective to just delete and replace. That's just more micromanagement in a game that already starts to drown in it by the midgame.

I'm ok with some little leak until system would be repaired, if it's done automatically. Micromanagement isn't more efficient for me here because it costs my time and attention. Salvaging is faster in gametime currency, but if I can reduce micromanagement, I'll do it and call it a win.

 

[EntilZha]

There is a mod on Steam that reduces the repair time from 180 seconds (3 minutes) to 30 seconds which I personally feel is more reasonable.

Was going to post this...

 

[Warriorbox]

There is a valve you can put in your pipeline to protect your infrastructure from leaks. It shuts down the flow effectively making a break so you dont lose your water and oxygen from the source while the pipe is fixed. Just open the valve when it is mended. The valve is next to pipe building tool.

 

[EndlessTest]

There is a valve you can put in your pipeline to protect your infrastructure from leaks. It shuts down the flow effectively making a break so you dont lose your water and oxygen from the source while the pipe is fixed. Just open the valve when it is mended. The valve is next to pipe building tool.

That doesn't work. There is a bug reported for this. Even if you cut the line and isolate the leaking pipe or malfunctioning cable, it will still drain your stored resources ... Or it's just a ui bug because it still shows you are losing resources

 

[Marak55]

Yes Warrlordbox is correct.... Pipe leaks show loss of o2 when you’re not even producing it or even have a moxie connected. Plus, the pipe valves do not work for leaks; for example, I had one pipe with nothing connected except a valve at each end and the leak was showing a “loss” of air and water even when the valves were turned off at each end of the pipe? This makes the valves redundant, because if they cannot be used to stop the product from leaking out then they serve no purpose at all. The cables however work, you can switch them off and it appears to stop the loss of power until it is fixed and you can turn it back on again, this pipe issue is a big one

 

[Elordis]

There is a valve you can put in your pipeline to protect your infrastructure from leaks. It shuts down the flow effectively making a break so you dont lose your water and oxygen from the source while the pipe is fixed. Just open the valve when it is mended. The valve is next to pipe building tool.

Problem is that micromanaging leaks (either by deleting or shutting down) gets annoying VERY fast. There shouldn't be an incentive to do it, except under extreme circumstances.

On the other hand, there isn't much incentive to do it right now. Any reasonable power/water/o2 network has enough spare capacity to handle at least a couple faults. If not you are shooting yourself in the leg. It holds true even if you micromanage leaks, because even with micromanaging repair still takes time.
And since grid resources are essentialy unlimited you are not loosing anything permanently with leaks (except, maybe, underground water, but it still is only a short term option). So, why bother with manual repair except for aesthetical reasons?

 

[Marak55]

As mentioned above this does not work! You turn off the pipe and it still leaks! there is a bug, but yes it would get ultra annoying on a larger scale

 

[MacroNova]

I use pairs of valves around long sections of my grid and it works fine (shows 0 loss when clicking the notification for the leak). You need to isolate the leak. However, it's true that micromanaging valves becomes a pain in the rear pretty quickly with bigger colonies.

Also the OP is correct. Destroying and rebuilding power lines and pipes is much faster and also cheaper than repairing them. If you have a redundant network, you should do this every time, which is poor game design.

 

[zenstrive]

That's why you have stockpiles of everything, preferrably 2000 water and 2000 O2

 

[Miravlix]

Guys, the UI is global.

If you create 100 different unconnected networks, the UI still shows stats for the total.

Same with leaks, they are just thrown into the global UI values, but a leak doesn't drain global, it follows the pipe/cables to see what it leaks from. If you use the pipe/cable on/off switches, you can isolate the leak.

Click on Water Towers and power buildings to get local network stats.

 

[KDubya]

With the current system for leaks why bother with redundant systems, lots of valves and switches or bothering to delete leaking pipes and rebuilding? The amount lost due to a leak is inconsequential and not worth worrying about.

Now if a leak stopped all O2, water or power to pass, that'd be something much better. Then you'd want redundant systems and valves, you'd want your storage spread out rather than a big clump of water tanks surrounding a heater.

 

[ozmods]

it could be a lot worse ya know lol, i had a mod installed that would "fix leaks fast" but it didnt actually work, the drone would go get the metal, go to the site, drop the metal and drive off, i removed said mod and now when i get a broken cable or pipe, they go get materials drive to where it is, and fix them, it might take 3 mins (which imho is a bit long) but as long as it's getting fixed who cares.