Ribbon Writer

The Ribbon Writer is an automation building used to transfer a four-bit Automation Ribbon signal onto another automation medium. It can accept an Automation Ribbon input and write the signal out to an Automation Ribbon output, allowing complex signals to be carried across a line in a controlled way and helping prevent signal contamination between ribbon segments.

Like the Ribbon Reader and other bridge-style buildings, the Ribbon Writer exchanges heat with the tile it occupies, so placing it in or near temperature-sensitive builds can affect thermal management. Its output port also appears in the automation overlay with a distinctive display that changes partially with the signal carried by the output ribbon.

In practice, the Ribbon Writer is most useful when you want to convert or relay ribbon signals cleanly:

• It directly accepts the four bits of an incoming Automation Ribbon and writes them bit-for-bit to the output ribbon.
• It can also write a ribbon signal onto an ordinary Automation Wire.
• When writing from Automation Ribbon to Automation Wire, only bit 1 is passed through. If bits 2, 3, or 4 are not all red, the connected automation circuit takes overload damage.
• This overload behavior is similar to overload damage in power circuits and can be exploited for a repair gym, though it is otherwise of limited practical use.
• Because only bit 1 is preserved on wire output, the Ribbon Writer is not a general-purpose ribbon-to-wire converter for full four-bit data.

This makes the Ribbon Writer a specialized utility building rather than a universal automation component. It is best used when a colony already relies on Automation Ribbon and needs to move that signal to another ribbon section or deliberately collapse it down to a single wire signal. When used carefully, it helps maintain clean automation layouts and reduces the risk of unwanted cross-talk between adjacent ribbon runs.