Notice: Factorio 2.0 Plans

Construction Planner has been updated to work with Factorio 2.0 and Space Age.

This mod may prove even more useful in Space Age than it already is in the base game; in Space Age we will be more reliant on construction bots than ever before, due to the need to remotely manage multiple planets and space platforms simultaneously. And even in the base game, construction bots will be more useful, due to the changes made to allow nearly every action to be performed from Remote View (FFF-380).

I already have some ideas for improving how the mod works that could potentially overcome some of the current mod limitations, however the first priority will be to fix any bugs that may arise as a result of the version upgrade.

Description

Construction Planner changes the behavior of how ghost entities are built to give the player more control over planning and building their factory. With the mod, construction bots will no longer be automatically dispatched to build ghosts; instead, the player must use the new Construction Planner selection tool to approve construction of the ghosts; only then will bots be dispatched.

Why use Construction Planner?

Plan ahead and stamp out your entire factory ahead of time as ghosts, and approve sections only as needed, so your construction bots won't prematurely build power lines, belts, etc.
Mouse slipped and that blueprint stamp is off by a tile? No need to rush - the bots haven't been dispatched yet; there's plenty of time to fix it
Plenty of time to make those blueprint tweaks for the inputs and outputs, too; the bots will wait until you give it the thumbs-up
Plan out an entire perimeter defense, without worrying about the bots getting ahead of you. Then, strategically prioritize construction of the defenses in key locations first.
Stamp out a huge solar field and approve it in chunks, so the bots won't accidentally build solar panels and accumulators where there's no power yet

You can also see the mod in action by checking out Xterminator's excellent mod spotlight video on Youtube.

Features

Ghost entities are no longer built automatically by construction bots; instead, they must first be approved by the player
- Exception: ghosts created when an entity is destroyed don't require approval and will be rebuilt as usual
Use the Construction Planner tool (in the shortcut bar) to approve and unapprove ghosts for construction
Use the auto-approve mod setting to save time when you just want everything to be approved as soon as you stamp it

Known Limitations

The upgrade planner doesn't yet work on unapproved ghosts
Blueprinting and deconstruction of unapproved ghosts works, but the selection border will look a little strange
If an approved ghost becomes unapproved, any construction bots already en route won't turn around until they reach the build site (compare this to when a ghost is deconstructed, in which case the bots turn around immediately)

Roadmap

Please see the Github project README for the development roadmap

How It Works

Please see the Github project README for technical information about how the mod works