PRC - the unlabeled direction of I/O connections (1.2.7b)

[Silmenume]

So were playing 1.2.7b on a world created in 1.2.6.

 

For fun we thought we would set up some flashing red lights around the NASA Work Bench for some flavor using some of the new lighting options contained in ProjectRed: Illumination.  The quick choice was to use a Programmable Red-net Controller.  What a nightmare!  Two players on the server spent time over 2 days to figure out the problem.

 

Currently the I/O indicators in the GUI do NOT show which side they are set to.  The button just shows "I/O", but as the player eventually figured out sides do matter - they just aren't indicated on the GUI.  He's what he discovered -

 

1. The I/O "direction" starts off facing "N" by default - even if the PRC's open side if facing north. (Nothing can be connected to the PRC on its open side that we were able to determine.)
2. The I/O "direction" can be changed by left clicking on the "I/O" button.  This applies whether the button is on the input or output side.
3. The sequence of directions is DUNSWE.

There is no direct way to determine which direction the I/O is set to.  So if you walk away and come back some time later and can't remember what direction the I/O is set to - you're out of luck.  Testing seems the only way to know - which under allot of circumstance might be anywhere from extremely difficult to impossible.

 

Does anyone else have any notes to share on this topic?

[plowmanplow]

For whatever reason the in-game labes are (in order of selection):

 

I/O Down -> I/O -> I/O Right -> I/O Left -> I/O Back -> I/O Front

 

This of course makes no sense since the second one has no ordinal label and the last one would never connect so why is there an input?

 

The way it actually works is that the directions NEVER CHANGE. Regardless of the orientation of the PRC the inputs are based off of compass directions and NOT body oriented "handedness" directions. So, as Silmenume stated, regardless of where the front of the PRC is facing the inputs are ALWAYS compass directions like this:

 

Down -> Up -> North -> South -> East -> West