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[Asteranx]

A simple construction similar to a gear assembly requiring a mechanism that can be attached to other items (bridges, doors, levers, pressure plates, etc) using two additional mechanisms (as normal).

The relay itself would transfer mechanical inputs as if it were not there.  i.e., you could attach a floodgate to a relay, then a lever to the same relay, and the effect would be the same as if you had attached the lever directly to the floodgate.

The purpose would be two-fold.  First, a relay could be manually disengaged, thereby preventing input transfer without fully disconnecting the the items attached to it.  Second, the relay could be attached to things which will be otherwise inaccessible after construction is complete, such as floodgates that are going to be submerged, or perpetual repeaters, which would allow changing what they are attached to without physical access to the device.

You could use a single relay to link multiple devices and have them act as one.  By attaching a room full of retractable spikes to a single relay, you only need to replace one connection if you want to change the control from a lever to a pressure plate/differently colored lever/etc.

Relays could also be attached to other relays to transfer control from one pre-built group of items to another in a different part of the fortress all from one 'machine room'.

Also beneficial, add a way to attach something to a relay to disengage it remotely.  It would have to be a different type of connection than a normal attachment, as those would pass through (Attach To vs Attach Through?).

[Silverionmox]

Don't gear assemblies already fulfill most of these functions?

[Astramancer]

Gear Assemblies transfer Power to and from windmills and waterwheels.  They can be turned on and off.

What he's suggesting is something similar for lever and pressure plates.  You link the lever to the relay, and the relay to the bridge.  Pull the lever, the bridge goes up.  Link a pressure plate to the relay, and you trigger the plate, and the bridge goes up.  This way you don't need physical access to the bridge to make additional triggers (as he stated, important for things that may be inaccessible later, probably due to being submerged, possibly in lava)

Or, more complicated, you have an automatic drowning chamber that uses pressure plates and bridges to contain the gobbos and dump tons of water on them.  If you put a relay between the pressure plates and the bridges/pumps/whatever, then you can just pull a lever that disengages the relay and now you can safely enter the drowning chamber without the risk of a stray gobbo drowning all your sock collectors.

I like it!

[Silverionmox]

The extra functions could be added to the gear assembly, so it functions like a relay.

[Asteranx]

The extra functions could be added to the gear assembly, so it functions like a relay.

True, but a gear assembly physically vanishes when it's disengaged (never really understood why) Which would make it difficult to do a manual disengage/reengage.  Incidentally, I've always wanted to see a manual disengage on gear assemblies anyway...

Though, you could then use a gear assembly as both a mechanical relay and a kenetic relay at the same time.  That might make it a pain to find the specific gear assembly you want to link to in the Attach menu.  But, you can't spell 'combining functions' without Fun.

[Silverionmox]

They obviously shouldn't disappear entirely.
The function depends on the place in the configuration, doesn't it? The ability to name buildings would solve that.

[neek]

A gear acting as relay, when disengaged, does not disappear (at least, not unless it's supporting something; if you disengage a gear holding up a windmill, the whole thing collapses.) The issue at least is, at least, when using the gear as a relay is that it uses 5 power. A relay system, as it is, is fairly energy inefficient...

[opsneakie]

I like the idea, but I feel like it would require real physical connnections to be a winner, which may or may not be entertaining. While I've always wondered how a lever across the map can mystically be connected to stuff, but a relay would be a little weird. Now that I'm writing it, I don't suppose it's any stranger than what we already have in place, so full steam ahead, I guess?

[DDR]

This would be fun only if you could drive the relay structure through a short distance of rock. When setting up gears and such, I've often cursed the lack of a gasket for powertrains that start with water wheels in highly pressurized water.

That fort was Fun.


I've always rationalized the lever thing with 'Dwarfs use string. They just have it.'

[Kilo24]

A good idea, and worth implementing.  Hmm... maybe have a list of the connections under the item description?

I've always rationalized the lever thing with 'Dwarfs use string. They just have it.'

String's for elves.  Real dwarves use beard hair and catgut, not string.

[Asteranx]

This would be fun only if you could drive the relay structure through a short distance of rock. When setting up gears and such, I've often cursed the lack of a gasket for powertrains that start with water wheels in highly pressurized water.

That fort was Fun.


I've always rationalized the lever thing with 'Dwarfs use string. They just have it.'

I would think connecting a relay like this would use whatever type of connection the other 'mechanical' bonds use.  i.e., lever/door, plate/bridge, etc.  So, no need to actually physically connect them.

Or are you talking about disconnected power trains, like water wheels that didn't need axles?  That's not really part of what I was suggesting, which is why I said something 'like' a gear assembly, but definitely not the same.

And dwarves totally use string... there's a reason adamantium is extracted in 'strands'.