Gate
Gates are a variant of walls introduced in the Alpha 0.11.0 update. They act as a safe opening in walls that only the player can use. There are different graphics for normal gates and train gates; a train gate is one that overlaps a train track. The recipe listed creates a one-tile gate, but multiple adjacent gate items will merge into a single large gate.
Mechanics
Gates only open for entities of the same force. Hostile forces must destroy the gate unless they can trick a defending entity into opening the gate long enough to move through. Gates have the same defensive strength as a wall.
Normal gates will open whenever a player is within a few tiles, and is on foot or in a non-train vehicle. Train gates will open:
- whenever a normal gate would open for players on foot or driving;
- whenever a player is driving a train in manual mode, is on the same track as the gate, and is within a certain distance; and
- whenever a train is in automatic mode, has its planned path go through the gate, and is within a certain distance.
A Gate's opening radius appears to be dependant on the player or vehicle's speed that is heading toward it, so as to ensure it opens in time. A player walking at the gate without any speed boosts will cause the gate to open about 4-5 tiles from the gate. A train travelling at full speed towards a gate will cause the gate to open several tiles away. This behaviour is similar with all vehicles.
However, a gate will stay open if there is a player/vehicle about 2-3 tiles away from it. Defenders should be careful to ensure they do not let enemy forces in accidentally, as they may pass through when the gate is down.
Circuit Network Interaction
As of version 0.13, Gates can be connected to the Circuit network by connecting either red wire or green wire to a wall adjacent to the gate. When connected, the wall sprite will show a small yellow electronic box on the top of the wall, and settings for the gate can be shown and changed by interacting with the gate wall.
This allows the gate to be controlled by the attached circuit network, and allows the gate to send a signal to the network when it is attempted to be opened by a player or vehicle. This can be used to make safe rail crossings and a player detector, among other uses.