[Suggestion] - Solar Panel Recipe Tweak

Hey, guys!

Before you bite my head off, I searched both the list of approved/denied ideas and the suggestions forum itself - in both cases, my idea did NOT turn up, so I am not restating any old ideas (to the best of my knowledge).

So. Solar. We love it, use it, and argue over it. In my case, what if we were to add another step (or two) to make Solars, yet take away from the cost ever so slightly?

My thought is this. The current recipe to make a solar panel, barring a nuclear reactor and its chambers, is the most expensive of the generators to make. You need 13 insulated copper wires (for the battery and 2 circuits), 4 tin (battery again), 10 refined iron (for the circuits and machine block), 8 cobblestone (furnace), 6 redstone (battery and circuits again), 3 coal (for dusts), and 3 sand (for glass). Clearly, there has to be a better way.

I propose, therefore, an intermediary step.

Instead of the current crafting recipe, why not implement the need to craft solar energy cells? The photo-voltaic circuitry could also be implemented into other things, but for now, the solar panel rework is the main one. The recipe I have in mind is as follows:

G D G--------- D G D
D C D---OR---G C G
G D G--------- D G D

G = Glass (Panel, possibly, but the actual block is what I am planning for the moment)
D = Coal Dust
C = Electronic Circuit

This would yield one or two solar energy cells, depending on people's opinion. For the moment, though, I'm sticking with just the one, and you'll quickly see why with the new Solar Panel Recipe, which is as follows:

X S X
R P R
X X X

X = Nothing
S = Solar Energy Cell
R = Redstone
P = Generator

The Solar Helmet Recipe would remain unchanged, however. Anyway, just throwing this idea out here. What do you guys think?

Quote from GregoriusT

So it costs 1 more Coal, 1 more Glass and just 1 Iron and 6 Coppercables less? OK, if i want a cheaper Recipe, then i'm using my Silverbased Circuits (gives a x2 Bonus).

But the Logic behind the Recipe (except the 2 Redstone for the Solarpanel) is worth consideration.

The 2 redstone were just kinda tacked on there to preserve some of the cost - my main beef was the requirement of 2 circuits, which tend to gum up the works in the massive autocrafting factories I make when I want to create multiple MV Panels (Yes, I use CompactSolars, and I prefer Logistics Pipes to RedPower's stuff, because I know how Logistics Pipes works better than setting up RP2 Autocrafting).

Again, the cells could be used for more than just a rework of the solar panel - another idea I had was similar to RedPower's Solar Detectors that Elo implemented. But, that's something to explore at a later date.

Quote from CrafterOfMines57

I don't really see them as such, panels you plop down, instant eu, water gens require systems of Redpower machines with a blutricity requirement, to produce any meaningful amount of energy; they aren't exact plop down and receive instant eus, wind gens could be considered start and forget, but you have to take into account the possibility of breaking at high heights requiring maintenance which if you work out the math on it you can make it so it doesn't break, but once again, it's not really the whole plop generator down and attach cable ease of solars, so even though I do use solars for starting energy (I don't like high bases, and I can never get ender pearls for retrievers) I think that the two circuits is completely justified

Ahem.

Using that tutorial, Wind Gens will NEVER break. So, sorry, but it still becomes a "set it and forget it" situation. And who honestly resorts to water mills any more? I certainly don't.

Alright, we'll compromise. Since people seem so set against removing 2 circuits from the equation, how about this: the original solar energy cell recipe will generate 2 cells, but you need 3 cells to make a solar panel. This was one of my original ideas, as an aside.