I can't get my head around the point of the ore sorter.

[Vodor]

So before I state my query, which is all it is and definitely not any complaint, I love the game as you all do and I love the new ore sorter, except I can't find a use for it.

Yeah that sounds odd, what's not to love about the ore sorter?

So let me try and paint a picture, I used to build a vehicle tower for mining, with 6 small loose containers for the stuff I dig up setup in a 2x2x2 layout.
3 in a row with advanced logistics to place Dirt, Rock, Iron (or coal, etc.) because that was all I dug up and rarely if at all I had a 4th material.
Then I had 3 more attached with dirt and rock set to keep empty, and the 3rd (iron etc.) left alone. So it fills up the first row, empties the 2nd, stops when the primary resource is full and sits idle until more digging is required.

The rest of the trucks then pick up the ore and take it to the factory layouts or wherever it's needed, with the dirt and rock doing the same or being dumped.

Now, introduce the ore sorter I still seem to have the same setup (sort of, pardon the pun) with the exception of an ore sorter attached. The ore sorter just seems to take the place of the advanced logistics setup, which is fine - it looks cool and all.

The issue appears because I don't see the ore sorter being any better than my previous setup, which still works, except the ore sorter uses my population up (PER SETUP!) and takes power whereas my setup doesn't use any population and very little power.

--

I really can't get my head around why I would use it at all.
Seriously, I feel so simple upstairs sometimes because the devs have added this cool machine yet I can't find any reason at all to use it.

Someone help and put me straight!

[SpeedDaemon]

They mentioned it in one of the dev diaries about update 2: They were excited that some people were asking for this bit of added complexity, so they decided to add it. They further made it optional, so the people that weren't asking for it don't have to use it.

TL;DR: players asked for it, devs delivered :)

[jamiechi]

I agree with the OP. I think the Ore Sorter adds nothing to the game.

[Slye_Fox]

Then don't use it.

[desertpunk3912]

It's good for people that want to role-play a more realistic experience. Instead of trucks magically separating mixed loads, a machine does it.

[kongol36]

Originally posted by desertpunk3912:

It's good for people that want to role-play a more realistic experience. Instead of trucks magically separating mixed loads, a machine does it.

this

[jorixxupalorn]

I just tried using the ore sorter for the first time today. Honestly I found it to be oddly useful. It adds a little complexity yes, but also serves as a central point for all your ores to gather, which is good for organizing my smelter setups at least.

[Beric01]

It's a realism/difficulty feature which makes the game immersive. You don't use it because you want to, you use it because you're forced to when that difficulty setting is enabled.

[steholliday]

Have to admit, I don't like it......After playing on the Armageddon Island for quite a number of hours, I just scrapped the save & started again without it.
I found it was like moving along but dragging an anchor, it really made my gameplay far too much slower & frustrating than I imaged it would, particularly in early stages of the game....it just continually stunted any progress.

[Silchas'ruin]

I don't mind the ore sorter, but what bugs me the most (And it maybe because I'm doing something wrong), but I now can't seem to just dump my mixed load. I get that if I wanted Iron Ore that is mixed up in a big pile with Rock and Dirt I'd have to sort it, but if I'm digging a path up into a mountain and I just want to dump everything why do I still need to go to a sorter?

[MetalSpaceDust]

100% agree. Why would I use more people and power. Plus decrease throughput.

It's optional. So for those who like it that's great.

If it was not global but switched on by mining tower I might use the odd one. But global no.

[C4pM]

I like it. Not sure why yet, but I do!

[Vodor]

Originally posted by desertpunk3912:

It's good for people that want to role-play a more realistic experience. Instead of trucks magically separating mixed loads, a machine does it.

Yeah this makes sense, I really want to use it but I guess I'm thinking from a purely technical and logic perspective in which it doesn't serve anything.

Originally posted by jorixxupalorn:

I just tried using the ore sorter for the first time today. Honestly I found it to be oddly useful. It adds a little complexity yes, but also serves as a central point for all your ores to gather, which is good for organizing my smelter setups at least.

But that's what I'm saying, it doesn't add any complexity really, other than serve as a bottle neck (not complex in any way) and doesn't act anymore as a central point than a bucket on it's own.

[Silvermink]

Originally posted by Silchas'ruin:

I don't mind the ore sorter, but what bugs me the most (And it maybe because I'm doing something wrong), but I now can't seem to just dump my mixed load. I get that if I wanted Iron Ore that is mixed up in a big pile with Rock and Dirt I'd have to sort it, but if I'm digging a path up into a mountain and I just want to dump everything why do I still need to go to a sorter?

Dumping ore hasn't changed. You need to create a mine tower with a dump zone with the ores you wish to dump. or change the default setting for the map (not recommended).

I like the ore sorter after the initial set-up. It makes mining trucks much more efficient, being able to dump everything in 1 spot and rush back to the excavator. The delivery trucks can handle the dumping. I was able to reduce the trucks needed per excavator from 2 to 1.

[Peter34]

I don't like how throughput-limited it is. I'd love to have a larger T2 version with 5 more widely spaced outputs and more throughput.

[Darkaiser]

The Devs commented that they were a bit surprised when some players asked for MORE challenge. Now that I have it figured out, I like it. The learning curve was a bit of a PITA though, I'll admit.