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!

[Darkaiser]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von 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.

I'm hoping for the same thing. It's fine for early play, but the BIG trucks carry more in a single load than the thing can even hold.

[Duke Leto]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von 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.

Not sure why it is considered more of a challenge, I guess because of the single input - multiple output and keeping things flowing - but anyone that has dealt with oil refining would already be familiar with the "complexities."

Personally I think being able to dump mixed products in one place "could" be a benefit for truck routing and managing truck usage. It might even alleviate some of the complexities in explaining how to separate logistics networks to new players because it becomes an obvious spot to separate those networks.

That said, I DON'T use the ore sorter at the moment because the "one-size-fits-all" doesn't work for me.

The current ore sorter is "ridiculously over powered in the early game" - sorting 360 per from a single source would need 3 tier 2 belts (and therefore a storage that could fee 3 belts) or one tier 3 belt.

Also, the current ore sorter is "ridiculously under powered in the late game" - both in amount of mixed storage and throughput.

The current ore sorter feels like a "band-aid" or "stop-gap" until they deliver a more comprehensive system of ore sorting - hopefully.

I think they should keep the ore sorter for the early game and develop a more modular system for the mid-late game. In fact they have a lot of pieces for modular sorting already, belts and belt sorters can easily do the sorting.

[C4pM]

Starting to get the hang of it. Can save time and fuel if used efficiently.

[Healy]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Silvermink:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von 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.

that wont happen when you get to T3 trucks.

[Beric01]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Duke Leto:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von 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.

Not sure why it is considered more of a challenge, I guess because of the single input - multiple output and keeping things flowing - but anyone that has dealt with oil refining would already be familiar with the "complexities."

Personally I think being able to dump mixed products in one place "could" be a benefit for truck routing and managing truck usage. It might even alleviate some of the complexities in explaining how to separate logistics networks to new players because it becomes an obvious spot to separate those networks.

That said, I DON'T use the ore sorter at the moment because the "one-size-fits-all" doesn't work for me.

The current ore sorter is "ridiculously over powered in the early game" - sorting 360 per from a single source would need 3 tier 2 belts (and therefore a storage that could fee 3 belts) or one tier 3 belt.

Also, the current ore sorter is "ridiculously under powered in the late game" - both in amount of mixed storage and throughput.

The current ore sorter feels like a "band-aid" or "stop-gap" until they deliver a more comprehensive system of ore sorting - hopefully.

I think they should keep the ore sorter for the early game and develop a more modular system for the mid-late game. In fact they have a lot of pieces for modular sorting already, belts and belt sorters can easily do the sorting.

The difficulty is it comes with a worker and power requirement.

[jamiechi]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Silvermink:

...
I was able to reduce the trucks needed per excavator from 2 to 1.

I can already do this now without the sorter. Place three rows of storage for dirt, rock and the main item being mined (iron ore, copper ore, coal, etc.) next to the mining tower.

[Stranger]

While the idea of more immersion is good, it really needs more configurability. As several people already mentioned, it is good while it does its job, but it becomes a nuisance when it takes on more than necessary.
I DO want the possibility to sort things in-game.
I DO NOT want to be forced to sort EVERYTHING.

Right now it already has a very useful option: "Reject single-product loads".
We just need one more little step: add "priority" resource selection.
It is as simple as this: IF a truck has priority resource, THEN go to sorting, ELSE — dump.
I get that it's additional non-priority work for devs, but it would be a very nice touch that instantly makes ore sorting plant even more appealing.

And I do not understand all this discussion about its mechanics usefulness. It was never intended to add any convenience mechanically. It's a nod to realism per community request, nothing more.

[Vodor]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Stranger:

It's a nod to realism per community request, nothing more.

And this is also the answer I was probably looking for but couldn't figure out when I made the thread. Thanks.
My brain is sometimes too technical and logical to figure out this answer myself.

[LtKillPuppy]

I posted my own thread about this. I think the ore sorter is a fine addition to the game, but the UI for viewing logistics problems is VERY insufficient now. It's really hard to figure out where problems lie now.

To continue my thought: Playing on higher difficulty (ie: all options enabled) and your factory will grind to a halt almost immediately if something 3-4 steps up the logistic chain stalls out. Ore sorter is just another step to add, and suddenly I find myself in problems I feel like I don't have sufficient visibility upon.

(And when I say, grind to a halt, I mean in an unrecoverable way unless you back off the difficulty or reload.)

[VladK02]

I dont mind the sorters. Adds a bit of realism.

They use power and some workers? Lol, big deal. Negligible past very-very early game.

The speed and volume are more of an issue late game. I guess, just build more then one? And augment with drop silos for pure loads? I havent got to the point where I am bottlenecked by a sorter, yet. But when I am - I will build 2 or 4 or whatever.

golden rule of factorio games - every single problem can be solved by simply building MORE. STUFF.

I wonder if trucks are smart enough to dump mixed loads evenly into nearby sorters...