Turret Range Research

A Factorio 2.0 and Space Age compatible mod that adds research to increase turret attack range. Works just like Artillery Shell Range research - completing the research automatically upgrades ALL existing turrets of that type.

Features

• Gun Turret Range (5 levels): Each level adds +3 tiles of range (max +15)
• Laser Turret Range (5 levels): Each level adds +3 tiles of range (max +15)
• Flamethrower Turret Range (3 levels): Each level adds +3 tiles of range (max +9)

How It Works

When you complete a turret range research:

1. All existing turrets of that type are instantly upgraded
2. All newly placed turrets automatically have the upgraded range
3. No new items or recipes - your turrets just get better!

This works identically to vanilla Artillery Shell Range research.

Research Requirements

Gun Turret Range

Level	Science Packs	Research Time
1-2	Automation, Logistics, Military	60s
3-4	+ Chemical	60s
5	+ Utility	60s

Laser Turret Range

Level	Science Packs	Research Time
1-2	Automation, Logistics, Military, Chemical	60s
3-4	+ Utility	60s
5	+ Space (Space Age)	60s

Flamethrower Turret Range

Level	Science Packs	Research Time
1-2	Automation, Logistics, Military, Chemical	60s
3	+ Utility	60s

Installation

1. Download the mod zip file
2. Place in your Factorio mods folder:
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Factorio\mods\
   • Linux: ~/.factorio/mods/
   • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/factorio/mods/
3. Enable the mod in the Factorio mod menu

Compatibility

• Factorio 2.0+ required
• Space Age expansion (optional) - enables space science tier for laser turrets
• Quality DLC (optional) - fully supported, quality tiers are preserved
• Safe to add to existing saves - turrets will be upgraded based on completed research
• Compatible with most other mods

Preserved During Upgrade

• ✅ Quality tier (Quality DLC)
• ✅ Ammunition/fluids
• ✅ Health and damage state
• ✅ Circuit network connections
• ✅ Circuit/logistic conditions
• ✅ Target selection settings
• ✅ Kill counter
• ✅ Entity labels and tags

Technical Details

The mod creates hidden turret variants with increased range and uses Factorio's fast_replace mechanism (similar to upgrading assembling machines) to seamlessly swap turrets when research completes. From the player's perspective, it appears as a direct stat upgrade.

For Mod Developers:

• Turret entity references become invalid when upgraded (old entity is replaced with new entity)
• The mod raises script_raised_built events after turret replacement
• Entity tags and labels are preserved
• Use the remote interface below to check if an entity is a turret variant

Remote Interface

Other mods can interact with this mod through the remote interface:

-- Get range bonus (in tiles) for a turret type
-- Returns: number (tiles of bonus)
local bonus = remote.call("turret-range-research", "get_range_bonus", "player", "gun-turret")

-- Manually trigger upgrade check for a force
remote.call("turret-range-research", "refresh_force", "player")

-- Check if an entity is one of our turret variants
-- Returns: base turret name (string) or nil
local base = remote.call("turret-range-research", "is_turret_variant", "gun-turret-ranged-3")
-- Returns: "gun-turret"

-- Get the correct variant name for a force's research level
-- Returns: string (entity name)
local variant = remote.call("turret-range-research", "get_variant_for_force", "gun-turret", "player")
-- Returns: "gun-turret-ranged-2" (if level 2 is researched)

License

MIT License - Feel free to modify and redistribute.