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Wires system

From shapez Wiki

Unlocked progressively from levels 20–25, the wires system allows for automated controls of factories. Intended to be used in Make Anything Machines for completing freeplay levels, wire circuits are powerful tools that can do anything from controlling belt flow to emulating entire computers.

Wires layer

The wires layer, accessible by pressing E Switch layers, is a parallel surface for placing wires & logic components. Because it is separate from the regular layer, wires can be built overlapping the rest of the factory, bar any buildings with additional wire controls such as storage and switches.

Wires

Wires are responsible for carrying signals between buildings, equivalent to how belts transport items for the regular layer. Signals are transmitted instantly to any connected wire of matching color, irrespective of distance, in any direction. Wire crossings can be used to bridge over unconnected wires.

Connected wires are highlighted with a blue outline when the cursor is hovered over a network, and the current signal is displayed as a tooltip near the cursor. Pressing Z Wires: Copy value below cursor while hovering over a wire will copy the current signal to the system clipboard.

Signals

All wires buildings operate upon signals, which represent items or other useful information. The default state of a wire is null , or the absence of a signal. Depending on the building, signals can be categorized into several groups:

Signal types
Signal Type Truthy Can conflict
null null False No
false or 0 Boolean False Yes
true or 1 Boolean True Yes
uncolored Color True Yes
red Color True Yes
green Color True Yes
blue Color True Yes
yellow Color True Yes
cyan Color True Yes
purple Color True Yes
white Color True Yes
any shape Shape True Yes

Conflict is a special case that only occurs when two or more unique non-null signals are output onto the same wire network. Connected wires turn red, and any building with a connected input will cease functioning. While it is presented as an error state to be avoided, conflict can be a useful tool in advanced designs.

Buildings

Wire buildings all have a combination of inputs, displayed as grey knobs on the side, and outputs, shown as white squares protruding from the edge. When the input requirements of a building are met, the corresponding outputs will be generated on the next tick. A building with a conflict input will always output null .

Building signal requirements
Building Inputs Outputs
Constant signal any
Transistor any Boolean¹ any
AND gate Boolean¹ Boolean¹ Boolean
NOT gate Boolean¹ Boolean
OR gate Boolean¹ Boolean¹ Boolean
XOR gate Boolean¹ Boolean¹ Boolean
Compare any any Boolean
Shape analyzer Shape Shape Color
Virtual cutter Shape Shape Shape
Virtual rotator Shape Shape
Virtual unstacker Shape Shape Shape
Virtual stacker Shape Shape Shape
Virtual painter Color Shape Shape
Hub Shape
Painter (quad)² Bool¹ Bool¹ Bool¹ Bool¹
Storage Boolean Shape
Belt reader Boolean Shape
Switch Boolean
Filter any
Display any

¹ Boolean inputs accept any signal type and use the "truthy" signal property.

² Quad painters require at least one truthy signal to function.