The Mystery of the Stubborn Pipes

Okay, so picture this: you’ve got your factory humming, right? Belts are moving, machines are churning, and then… the pipes. Those goddamn pipes. You think you’ve got it all figured out, laying down junctions like you’re some kind of plumbing god. But then, BAM! One pipe gets all the love, the others are drier than a popcorn fart. What in the actual hell is going on?

That’s exactly where I found myself the other day. I had this sweet setup, a nice, clean 600 flow rate, ready to fuel my insatiable thirst for more power. I slap down a junction, thinking, \”Yeah, this is gonna be smooth.\” Wrong. So, so wrong. One pipe is hogging all the liquid, the other two are just sitting there like they’ve been ghosted. I’m staring at it, bewildered. Is this some kind of sick joke? Did I miss a memo about fluid dynamics only working on Tuesdays?

I mean, I’ve seen my fair share of janky game mechanics, but this one takes the cake. I deleted and rebuilt the pipes more times than I’ve had hot meals this week. I swapped them out, trying clean pipes, then the regular ones, like that would make a difference. I was close to pulling my hair out. It felt like the game was taunting me.

Then, as if the gaming gods decided to throw me a bone, I moved the junction down. Lower than before, like some sort of sacrificial offering to the plumbing deities. And, by the grace of the digital gods, IT WORKED. All three pipes are now getting their fair share. But why?! What sort of black magic is this? It’s like the game’s plumbing system is powered by hopes, dreams and a sprinkle of chaos.

I stared at the setup for a good long while, trying to understand the inner logic of this digital spaghetti. I noticed that the feeding pipe was on top, rather than the side. I started to wonder if gravity was somehow playing a role. It seemed like fluids were going to be lazy if they could get away with it. I wouldn’t blame them, to be honest.

It makes you think about the whole process, how you approach building these things. You think you understand, you think you’ve got a handle on the mechanics. Then the game throws a curveball, reminding you that you’re just a tiny cog in a massive, unpredictable machine. It’s like the game is saying, \”Oh, you thought you knew how pipes worked? Think again, noob!\” And you know what? It’s humbling, in a twisted kind of way.

Someone said it might be valves, but I don’t think it’s valves. The issue seems to be purely with the junction itself. It’s like it has a preferred path and if it can’t go that way, it just gets stuck. It’s frustrating but also fascinating.

I came across this old pdf about pipelines Pipeline_Manual.pdf. It’s a bit technical, but it’s a good read if you want to dive deeper into the madness. I don’t follow it exactly but page 6, lesson 3 talks about splitting and that’s what I’m talking about.

And here’s a hot take, I’m all for it, if there is a logic behind it, even if it’s a bit janky. It’s like when you are trying to fix something in real life and after trying everything, you move something and it magically works. I like that it’s not straightforward.

So, what’s the moral of the story? Maybe it’s that sometimes, in games and in life, you just gotta move the damn junction. Or maybe that the plumbing system in this game is sentient and just messing with us. Who knows? What matters is that it’s working, for now. Until the next plumbing catastrophe.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some more pipes to lay. Wish me luck. I have a feeling I’m going to need it.