PatrikLundell
commented
2 years ago I'd be careful about default assumptions, as they can be incorrect. I may, for instance, intentionally want to use a low charge item to save the charges on the high charge item because I intend to do some crafting that requires a lot of them, in particular if it's something that isn't easily topped up, such as oxytorches. Similarly, whether electricity or charcoal is in the shortest supply depends on your situation. Making charcoal is fairly easy, while generating electricity isn't (and your generation capacity may be limited). Most worlds have lots of batteries, but not all of them.
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Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
(This issue is similar in spirit to #27144, back when shooting a bow and arrow prompted you to specify which arrow EACH time)
This issue comes up when you have identical tools nearby and you craft a recipe that requires either of the tools. There are many different scenarios but I'll focus on two examples to illustrate.
The onboard chemistry lab provides both a 'chemistry set' and a 'hotplate' in one place. As far as I know, any recipe that requires one allows the other, with the exact same number of charges used. Nevertheless, if you craft a recipe near an onboard chemistry set that uses either a hotplate or a chemistry set, the game will still prompt you to choose which one to use even though the choice literally makes no difference. If a choice results in exactly the same outcome, it shouldn't be presented as a choice.
The other scenario does not have an obvious solution. If you have a welding rig as well as an arc welder, crafting recipes prompt you to ask which of the tools you want to use. This makes sense in a lot of scenarios, but still can get annoying. Other examples include 'smoking rack' vs 'hotplate', 'kerosene cooker' vs 'hotplate', etc. For me, it encourages me to intentionally avoid using some items (e.g. kerosene cooker) or intentionally keeping batteries on items unloaded just to avoid the prompt spam.
Solution you would like.
The solution to the first scenario should be obvious: if a recipe that can use multiple tools consume the same number of charges, and if the tools draw charges from the same source, then don't ask the player which one they should use (because it doesn't matter).
A solution to the second scenario is more complicated, and might ultimately not be desirable. You would need to contemplate what the most common scenarios are and then build up some assumptions. For example, if you have a portable soldering iron but you're in your vehicle with a welding rig, you probably don't want to use up the battery charge on your soldering iron. The rule therefore might be to default to whichever tool has the highest number of charges. Another solution would be to prioritize less scarce energy sources. If you're crafting a recipe that can use either a 'hotplate' or a 'charcoal smoker', you probably don't want to use the smoker since coal is far more precious a resource than electricity.
I admit my proposed solutions to the second scenario are not perfect, but perhaps that can be addressed by a toggleable options menu.
Describe alternatives you have considered.
No response
Additional context
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