Too many items?

[ICountFrom0]

I've got hawks and spider's setup to collect items, but now I've got way WAY too much alien materials.

If I could, I'd sort out some and destroy the extra, but I can't find a single item thata ccepts items, and then destroys them. So if I want something gone, I have to move away from the falcors and then drop stacks of items and just let them despawn, every hour or two.

Is the macerator just the ultimate garbage can, use it to destroy everything, including the items it makes once they arn't useful either?

[legend_slayer]

I like to connect my Falcor line to a mass storage system. Set up a line that goes through hoppers and advanced filters set to the things you want to keep (Massive Eyes, etc) and then output the filter to a Mass Storage Stocking port. This lets you specify the number of that item you want to 'stock' into the mass storage, and everything over that number will get passed down the line. At the end of the line you just set up a few macerators to eat all the junk and extras you dont want to keep. If you don't want to keep the ore the macerators make, you can just use conveyors to loop it back and run through again, effectively making it an infinite trash can.

[Robert]

Yeah, that's what the Macerator is intended for. It destroys pretty much everything you throw at it, and for some blocks like rocks you even get ores back (with a certain chance). The macerators are a bit slow, so you'll want to use a bunch of them. Alternatively there are workshop mods wich add machines which can destroy items as fast as your conveyers can feed them (with mods you don't get any achievements anymore, though, so its best to start using them after your first playthrough).

[Wariat117]

Just as he said

Originally posted by legend_slayer:

If you don't want to keep the ore the macerators make, you can just use conveyors to loop it back and run through again, effectively making it an infinite trash can.

You can also use mods for trashing
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=927885264&searchtext=fast+items+trash


Also keep in mind that spider has limit ;d 2 beacons on spider and 4 spidercors... it's pretty loooow. (and game doesn't tell you anything if you put 100th beacon into spider or build 200th spidercor...)
There are conveyor and transport pipe filters that allow you to sort stuff.
The advanced conveyor filter allows you to filter only certain 1 item/nlock (and reverse it 1. only this item/block passes throught filter 2. all but this item/block pass thought filter)


btw
there were many people suggesting something that allows to filter ruined from pristine drops
You can use this mod for this:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1568313714&searchtext=converters
Since all ruined drops are equal (it doesn't matter which one clogs the hopper) you can freely convert them into each other :D (their only usages are spoiling and organic recombination)

[ICountFrom0]

okay, so how do I make mass storage work as a sorting system though?

I can configure a port to only accept one kind of item.
I can configure it to "refuse" when it's full.
but the only way to notice that it's refusing is a priority sorter?
Items it accepts, goes right into storage.
Items it refuses, goes LEFT... and then I have to wiggle it back into place somewhere, somehow?

well, I did it, but it's not pretty.... nope, it gets in the way of itself if I try it like THAT *ponder*

[Robert]

Dunno, I tend to pre-sort stuff which I send to multiple stocking ports. 1 mass storage block can only hold 1 item type, in case you don't know, and the drones can only carry 1 type of item at the same time. It's also not really "efficient" to have one giant mass storage for plenty item types, but instead store the few sub items you need for a specific craft. Makes it easier to distribute them with output ports to your manufacturing plants instead of creating conveyor spaghetti.

For sorting, you have the basic and advanced conveyor filters instead.

But I'm fairly new to using Mass Storage, probably another player can give you better tips.

[ICountFrom0]

Okay, so the only block that knows if it's clogged, is the priority splitter.

It can only output on it's right. So the right side of the splitter MUST be against the input side of the input to mass storage, or a belt leading to same.

The Priority splitter can only accept items at the "back" so the belt must be on that side that feeds storage.

The overflow of that storage unit, goes LEFT out of the splitter. Overflow, would eventually go to a macerator to destroy it.

The best design I can come up with only lets me have a splitter in every other block, a little help?

Whelp...

It goes into the first one. It notices the limit in that one on eyes is 100. It refuses it, and pushes them out to the left. It gets to the second one, that's sorted to sacks. IT ACCEPTS THE EYES, and puts them into massive storage, and takes it over limit.

WTF.

[Robert]

Well, I was talking about a pre-sorting setup with a bunch of Advanced Conveyor Filters. You attach 2 of them as output to a hopper, then you can pick 1 item type which gets sent one way, and setup the 2nd filter to pick everything except that 1 item. It's a bit inconvienent, and there are filter mods which make life easier, but I don't think there is a much better way in the vanilla game. Maybe with a bunch of robotic arms, which can pick item types off a conveyor passing by (like in Factorio).

[ICountFrom0]

Mass storage, set to only accept massive faceted eyes, with a limit of 100, I feed it glands, it accepts them, to no limit.

WHY?

Is the entire setup on the input for storage into massive storage completely cosmetic and non functioning? No matter what I tell it to accept, or how many to hold, it accepts and stores anything....

And yes, I have it set to REFUSE.

Correction. If I have it checking glands, that one will only let in 100 glands, but the one next to it, being told to only let in 100 stingers, lets in unlimited glands, and the one told to let in 100 glands, lets in unlimited stingers.

RIGHT.

So it looks like the filter, isn't actually capable of filtering.

It looks like it works to check a pre-sorted input, and cap it out.

Because I want overflow to rout elsewhere... okay, maybe I can still make this work... but it looks like, yes, the filtering on mass storage is broken, I will have to pre-sort. I am disapoint.

I was really hoping that the filtered inputs on the mass storage, that are so nicely customisable, would actually let me filter things, but no, I'm going to have to do a seperate filtering setup. I can't make it neat and compact as I'd like.

[Robert]

Hm. I've never used Mass Storage for organic drops so far because there are soooo many drops that I either keep them in the inventory (where they can stack almost indefinitely), or upcraft them right away. But it's working properly for all other items I'm throwing into it. It *could* be a bug with only the organics, but I can't confirm that. Gonna test it myself later today to check.

But.... since I pre-sort with filters usually and only use the stocking ports to set a limit... you could be right that there is a bug for the stocking ports for all items. Gonna need to experiment with that a bit myself later.


UPDATE: oO, it seems you are right! I've just configured one of my mass storage stocking ports to stock "iron gears" while the conveyor is feeding it "servo motors", and the drone is still happily filling the MS with servo motors! So, definitely a bug. Maybe the user interface was copy-pasted from the output port (where selecting the right items FROM the mass storage works properly).

[ICountFrom0]

Nope.

Simple setup.

One storage block.
One tier1 or higher mass storage stocking port.
One convayer.
One hopper.
Set the stocking port to only accept 100 tin, set to refuse.
Put the convayer down, and the hopper, hopper into conveyer, into port.
Put 100 copper into the hopper.
All 100 copper goes into mass storage.
Even though it's not configured to accept ANY copper.

It just refuses to function as a filter, even though it looks like it should be.

Frustrating thing is I just took apart half my base, assuming it was working, and now I have to rebuild the old base, so I can make the parts, to make the pre-filter setup, then take it apart again.

[Robert]

Yeah, read my last post, see UPDATE.

[ICountFrom0]

One part, I'm glad it's not isolated to me, and that I'm not insane.
One part, I'm sad that it's broken and that everybody has that issue.

Maybe we can talk somebody with the adventure update to test, it might be fixed already?

[Robert]

Possible that it's fixed, some other bugs were fixed for the upcoming patch as well. I just wrote a little bug report about the stocking ports on Discord, let's see what happens. Usually the developer(s) are pretty active there.

EDIT: Hey, after giving it another thought, I think it's not a "real" bug after all. Configuring a maximum number of items of type X for the Mass Storage in the Stocking Port is kinda the only way for doing so, if you know what I mean. So... confusing at first because the port will store all other items, but it might be "intentional" to be able to set those limits for specific items if you're using the same MS for multiple types.

[legend_slayer]

Back on topic for the original post:

I use basic mass storage ports for my organic collection line output from falcors. I don't set anything on the stocking limit (although you can set the item if you want to keep track of how many are in the storage). I do all my sorting via Advanced Conveyor filters, with filtered single items getting sent directly to a stocking port, and non-matching items continuing down the line.

For example: I have a mass storage set up next to my falcors, with about 100 units 6 high (15k items max). I have a single belt coming down from my falcors carrying 7 types of organic loot that we want to keep (everything else is garbage, and can be macerated). I pipe it into the back of a hopper, and put an advanced filter on one side going to a stocking port. I set it to Perfect Faceted Eyes. I then put a second advanced filter on the front of the hopper leading further down the line. I set this one to everything BUT perfect faceted eyes. This assures that all perfect eyes get sent to the stocking port. I drop another hopper immediately after the front filter, and set this one up to do the exact same thing with Chitin, or Stingers, etc, until you've set up a hopper, filters, and port for all 7 items. Finally, after the last filter we pipe the remaining garbage into two or three macerators to clean up.

This setup will stock ALL items with no limit. The way i handle preventing over stocking is to simply keep an eye on my mass storage setup and when it gets to about 3/4 full I go over an manually remove the advanced filters from the items which I already have enough of, making all of them bypass storage and go down the line to eventually be macerated. Usually this is about 2k-3k of each perfect item type, as I've never needed anywhere close to that for a normal play through. By the time I'm nuking the last overmind, my storage is pretty much full and everything is going directly to the macerator.

[Chris]

To manualy clean stuff is not that nice.

2 Ways:

2
H3
4

The stuff is comming from 2 and send to 3 to your storage system over H (Hopper)
4 goes to a macelerator.

As long 3 is free the stuff gois in 2 and imediate out to 3. If 3 is full all goeas trough to 4.
This is a instable setup. It is not clear where the stuff from 2 will first be output. But simple and cheap.

Better way: Using a prioity spliter instead of Hopper.
If 3 gets full, it will send stuff to 4

Sample:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1577878343