Generators

[rkda]

First, here is the problem:

Steps:
• Either stand next to a chest with room to slurp up charcoal, or disconnect the arm to inventory wire.
• Have a few (3-5) charcoal in inventory.
• Select a Generator from the tool rack.
• Wire the drop inventory pin hot.
• Select Charcoal.
Result:
• Generator starts charging the battery.
• All the charcoal is dropped before the generator completes its cycle.
• The battery is NOT charged.

Bigger Picture:

The present behavior of actions that take time, (plowing the ground, planting a seed, cutting a tree, etc.) is that if you power off the robot, 0.1 seconds before the action is complete, no action is performed. The ground is still grass, the seed is unplanted and remains in inventory, the tree is undamaged.

Question: Should the generator be different?

One proposed solution is that the generator should remove 1 charcoal from inventory at the beginning of the charge cycle, and that charcoal is consumed, regardless of outcome. If the robot is powered off before the charge cycle is complete, you still get no change to battery power, and the charcoal is lost. If the charge cycle completes, the battery gains power. Whether or not the rest of the charcoal is dropped has no effect on the charge cycle. Though, you would not get any additional charge cycles that would normally happen if there is no longer any charcoal in inventory.

So...
What are thoughts on this issue?

[Denis]

Hm...

I'm not sure I like the idea that charcoal is burned even though the battery is not charged. My expectation under your described circumstances is that one charcoal would be inserted into the generator and would be in standby until consumed by the battery being charged (simultaneous events). Other charcoals would drop into chest. In the case where the robot is powered down before the battery is charged, the charcoal returns to inventory or is dropped (I'm not sure which has priority here) and the battery isn't charged.

BTW, the fact that if you power of the robot 0.1 seconds before an action completes (cutting a tree, etc.) cancels the action is the reason I would never have found that you can switch tools before completion without a problem. I read Worf's post on his workflow where he described that (changing tools while the current process isn't finished) and realised that could be done. I thought/expected that if you changed tool, the current action would be cancelled. It turns out that it's very useful that you can do that, it's just that I would not have found it because I inferred from other behaviour that it would have negative effects.

[rkda]

This also works with seeds. If you are planting a row of seeds and change the seed selection mid-dibbling, it will finish planting the previous seed, and then change to the new seeds on the next planting.

[worfc]

Here's my idea:

EDIT (Oct 12, '15): This is how things are set to work in v1.2 (est: 2-3 weeks)

* I can make generators consume the charcoal first, so it can't be dropped on the ground over the time needed to run the charge.
* If you power-down the robot or otherwise stop the charge-in-progress, the charcoal is lost -- already consumed.
* If the charge goes to the end, the charge happens, the charcoal is already consumed.
* There are no charcoal-refunds, for any reason!
* The benefit is: you can't accidentally (?!) drop the charcoal-needed on the ground.

Sound good?

(FYI, this is part of v1.2 "UI cleanup", slated for 2-3 weeks from now (submit ~1 wk from now), depending on Apple's review times.)