---
key: mechanic/automation-programming--t113
type: mechanic
id: automation-programming--t113
lang: en
title: 'Logic circuits, signals and feedback'
summary: >-
  Signals measure state, conditions select responses and feedback repeats
  control based on the result.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/automation-programming--t113/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/automation-programming--t113.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/automation-programming--t113.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Automation and programming
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-96be186d8ada50a0
  - source-8a3a7e105b6c798e
sources:
  - id: source-96be186d8ada50a0
    title: 'Factorio: Content'
    url: 'https://www.factorio.com/game/content'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-8a3a7e105b6c798e
    title: Portal
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: automation-programming
    id: t113
    title: Automation and programming
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/automation-programming/#t113'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Logic circuits, signals and feedback'
    description: >-
      Signals measure state, conditions select responses and feedback repeats
      control based on the result.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-portal-04.webp
      width: 640
      height: 360
      game: Portal
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/400/0000002586.1920x1080.jpg?t=1745368554
      credit: Valve
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Buttons and indicators control a passage state
      alt: Buttons and indicators control a passage state
      markers:
        - x: 84
          'y': 59
          label: Button in the active state
        - x: 42
          'y': 25
          label: Indicator shows the condition result
    tips:
      - 'Show the signal source, condition and observable result.'
    examples:
      - title: Portal
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/automation-programming
---
# Logic circuits, signals and feedback

id: automation-programming--t113
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/automation-programming--t113
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/automation-programming--t113/

Signals measure state, conditions select responses and feedback repeats control based on the result.

## At a glance

![Buttons and indicators control a passage state](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-portal-04.webp)

[Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Button in the active state
2. Indicator shows the condition result

- Show the signal source, condition and observable result.

- [Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/)

## How it works

Signals measure state, conditions select responses and feedback repeats control based on the result.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t113-variants"></a>

- Thresholds start a pump at low inventory. <a id="t113-v1"></a>
- Hysteresis prevents repeated rapid switching. <a id="t113-v2"></a>
- Delays separate commands from their results. <a id="t113-v3"></a>
- Logical AND combines several permission conditions. <a id="t113-v4"></a>

## Design example

A pump starts below one-third storage and stops above two-thirds to avoid command chatter.

Prototype check: Test threshold noise and measurement delay so control avoids unintended oscillation.

## Context and limits

Automation moves repeated work into a system; the player builds connections and identifies the limiting stage. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Factorio: Content](https://www.factorio.com/game/content) (id: source-96be186d8ada50a0)
- [Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/) (id: source-8a3a7e105b6c798e)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors