Machine Blocks

Machine Blocks 1.4.2 — G.N.O.M.E. Goes Green

Following several complaints regarding smoke, ash, and the permanent brown cloud above Industrial Sector Four, the G.N.O.M.E. Board of Environmental Accountability announced an immediate transition to clean energy.

The engineering department was given one week, a Hydrogen canister, and a brochure containing a picture of a windmill.

There are no windmills in this update.

Hydrogen Turbine Generation

The first prototype connected the Hydrogen canister directly to a Thermal Conversion Module. This produced no electricity, destroyed the module, and briefly powered the emergency lighting through a mechanism the surviving engineers could not reproduce.

Management classified the test as promising.

• Added a Hydrogen-powered generation path for the modular Wireless Generator.
• Each turbine lane uses a straight Gas Input Module → Combustion Chamber → Gas Turbine assembly.
• Each complete lane produces 450 base energy per second before efficiency and cooling bonuses.
• Each lane consumes 1,000 Hydrogen units every 30 seconds.
• Added the Adamantite Turbine Rotor, with two required for each Gas Turbine.
• Gas turbine lanes support Generator Efficiency Modules and optional cooling.
• Generators can use thermal conversion, gas turbines, or both in the same structure.
• Generator and Factory Manager dashboards now report turbine capacity and gas consumption.
• Added synchronized operating visuals for the gas compressor, combustion chamber, and complete turbine rotor assemblies.

The second prototype included a proper combustion chamber and two Adamantite rotors. During its first full-power test, the observation team reported that the turbine was “running beautifully” immediately before the observation window became an exit.

The window has been replaced. The observation team has not.

Pressurized Gas Networks

With the turbine operating successfully, engineering required a safer method of transporting Hydrogen from the Gas Maker.

The original proposal involved an intern carrying canisters between buildings. This worked until the intern learned how much Hydrogen was in them.

A pipe system was approved the following morning.

• Added Pressurized Gas Pipes for transporting Hydrogen and Oxygen.
• Added direct gas export for the Gas Maker.
• Gas Makers can now send Hydrogen and Oxygen into separate pipe networks instead of filling canisters.
• Gas pipes automatically connect to compatible machines and storage equipment.
• Pipe networks preserve their gas identity while idle and display active flow during transfers.
• Gas transfers respect player ownership and Simple Claims permissions.
• Mixed-gas connections are rejected before transfer.

The Gas Maker exports Hydrogen through the red connection and Oxygen through the blue connection. These lines must remain separate.

This requirement was added after Prototype Three achieved complete energy independence for approximately four milliseconds.

Industrial Sector Four is now easier to ventilate.

Expandable Gas Storage

Continuous turbine operation required more Hydrogen than the original storage tank could hold. Engineering requested a larger tank.

Management approved additional tanks instead.

Engineering connected those tanks together.

Management stopped attending design reviews.

• Added expandable Pressurized Gas Storage Banks for Hydrogen and Oxygen.
• Storage banks can grow from one block up to six blocks long, two blocks wide, and two blocks high.
• Connected tank segments share their capacity, contents, ownership, and operating controls.
• Added three storage tiers with whole-bank upgrades.
• Added canister loading and filling through the tank interface.
• Tank blocks retain their tier and stored gas when safely removed.
• Added live gas identification, exact stored quantity, fill percentage, and vertical level display.
• Added an optional safety valve that vents gas above 95% capacity.
• Added controls for expanding tank sections into larger four-block pressure vessels.

The completed storage bank occupied most of the laboratory and was officially designated part of the building.

During the first overnight test, a technician enabled automatic venting to prevent dangerous overpressure. The system worked exactly as designed, releasing excess Hydrogen into an enclosed maintenance corridor.

The corridor is now open-air.

Generator Improvements

By the fourth prototype, the system could produce gas, store it, transport it, and convert it into electricity. Unfortunately, each machine had developed its own interpretation of whether the generator was running.

The compressor believed it was On. The combustion chamber believed it was Off. The turbine believed this was someone else’s problem.

For eleven seconds, all three were correct.

• Updated generator operating visuals to follow the controller’s actual On, Off, locked, and invalid states.
• Thermal converters, exhausts, gas inputs, combustion chambers, and turbines now remain synchronized with generator operation.
• Capacitor indicators now reflect stored charge more clearly.
• Improved gas routing, storage protection, multiblock validation, and state recovery.
• Corrected gas input, combustion, turbine, placement, and active-state behavior.
• Improved Generator and Factory Manager statistics for mixed thermal and gas-powered assemblies.

The generator controller now coordinates every attached power system and stops turbine operation when the structure becomes invalid.

This safeguard was added after Prototype Four continued running without a valid combustion chamber, two support blocks, or the employee assigned to press the Off button.

His replacement now works from another room.

Factory Manager

Management requested live turbine statistics so future problems could be identified before entering the audible range.

• Added turbine capacity and Hydrogen consumption to the Factory Manager.
• Added improved reporting for generators using thermal conversion, gas turbines, or both.
• Added clearer operating information for gas supply and active turbine lanes.
• Improved synchronization between generator state and reported production.

The Factory Manager successfully recorded the final Prototype Four test.

At 14:03, Hydrogen consumption increased.

At 14:04, power generation reached its target.

At 14:05, every sensor on the western wall reported that the western wall was no longer available.

The test was marked complete.

Documentation

The Board ordered a complete operating manual before approving production deployment.

Engineering recovered enough pages from the laboratory to comply.

• Added complete Voile documentation for Hydrogen turbine generation.
• Added construction and operating instructions for Gas Makers, pressurized pipes, and expandable storage banks.
• Expanded the Power Systems and Fuel Progression guides for Hydrogen infrastructure.
• Added gas-storage, turbine-capacity, and consumption information to the relevant operating screens.
• Updated machine, component, recipe, and construction documentation.

G.N.O.M.E. has now completed its transition to green power.

Industrial Sector Four produces less smoke, generates more electricity, and contains several new outdoor areas that were not present on the original floor plan.

The environmental targets have been met.

The personnel targets are being revised.

Power is now greener. The incident reports remain red. G.N.O.M.E. accepts limited responsibility for recoverable personnel.