cart trains, rope drums and missed memos on my part

I'm going to take a wild stab at this and say I missed the memo (I started in Oct.) that connecting two regular rope drums at opposing ends of an object to pull and push is not quite right yet. Oh, I got the locking drums to work wonderfully to pull a set of carts on tracks back and forth, but only at very short distances. I sat and watched an hour of videos (some dating back to 2015) where some enterprising individuals attempted a push/pull system for objects such as carts and farming constructs - all met the same fate. Severe stress when attempting to pull back an object with rope drums at either end. Same fate I met. Made a power transmission with wheels and ropes that worked fine. So did they. Got my cart train to move in one long distance direction just fine. Same as the videos. Reverse the crank and tension builds to the point of BOOM! Yes yes, I know we are still in development n all so, no biggie.

Only thing I might ask is if it's possible make a setting for locking drums to be longer or better yet.....unlimited in length (or at least a length allowance based on just how much rope you can carry in inventory).

Not complaining folks, just trying to grow beyond the 'just building pretty houses' stage of the game.

 

Rope drum is as long as distance to connected body when you attach rope to it. If you want longer rope drum, attach it to your cart at greater distance.

 

Yes yes, true. There is no issue with one drum - all the rope imagined. The problem comes (apparently an age old one) when you connect any object between two drums, even just a timber with rope eye plates at either end, the the drums obviously battle one another. Even being sure to place the drums properly so a power belt made of wheels and rope turn the drums the same direction, they battle. I've spent time trying placing drums differently or exactly as one another, no dice. You Tube has proven that many others have suffered the same dilemma. Individuals of far greater skill and experience seem to have the same problem I'm having.

Lockable rope drums work fine with one free and one locked - but come at the price very short distance. I'm no programmer but I wonder if a slight change to the maximum length setting for a lockable drum could be at least made much greater and at best infinite (logically matching the same ability of regular rope drums). I also wonder why the lockable rope drums aren't affected by the sum of all the rope you carry in inventory.

I fully understand this game is far from finished and this issue is inclusive in that respect. No big deal - I can wait. In the meantime, as the title suggests, the game is an exercise in engineering - which offers up failure and defeat as a teacher.

 

From what I've been able to find, is ALWAYS, when connecting a cart, or whatever you want to pull with a drum, (regardless of direction), is only connect ropes at the maximum distance from the drum which will be "pulling". From what I've seen in most problems is someone builds a cart, adjacent to a drum, then wonders why it doesn't have the length to go towards other drum.. ie works in one direction, but not the other.

 

I've exhausted endless hours with many combinations of drum-rope-cart-rope-drum at everything from 20 cube to 2 cube lengths. I've flipped placements of drums in many configurations. I've used both types of drums and locked and unlocked in many combos. I've connected rope in countless arrangements. The drums need work. Went asking Keen about it I was told it was on the to do list. I can wait.