How do minecart gates work?

[The Illusion]

Seriously, how do they work? Want to make sure only empty carts go to the depo but the ingame description doesnt actually work that way (empty gate just doesnt work at all)

[DukeSatan]

The gates do work, so long as you are using the right network type, it must be minecarts and their load/unload stations and depot.

For me how i best place them is on the Minecart Load Station, i place a Full Gate while looking at the station, the green marker passes ALL carts into the zone while the red marker blocks all carts that are empty from exiting the zone, once they are full they can exit.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3372281122

Repeat the same for the Minecart Unload Station with the Empty Gate and you should find they all work perfectly.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3372281177
You can see just how many carts are waiting here to unload, the cargo lift storage is full and once that empties, each will unload in turn, exit the zone and return to be refilled.

A freight network however does not need these gates because they are programmed by the each station as to what resources are to be supplied/deposited, while all the track blocks can be used, many just do nothing when placed in the wrong cargo setup.