BUG: Unable to consistantly make resistors

[Zaucy]

I've tried three different layouts for making resistors in the Facility. All of them stops producing because it won't accept the casing - the ant just walks past.

Made a gif of the problem: https://i.imgur.com/MRV38XP.gif

Workaround is change to another recipe in the Facility but that shouldn't be necessary.

[pokerpepe]

Super annoying. I keep doing this consistantly.
I even have a walking trail setup around the facility with a diode stockpile to ease the micro of the recipe switch picking up dropped diodes.

[MAKAIROSI]

Ok, so I reached this point and there seems to be the following problem. The Facility only has 1 input/output. Not one split between hauling points. Just 1, no matter how many hauling points there are.

It also accepts the casing FIRST, and then the diodes.

So a setup I made that hasn't stopped so far, is this:

Make 3 dispensers. 1 for casings and 2 for diodes. Place the diode ones next to each other.

Then, starting from storage, go to the casing dispenser, then to the facility. Cool so far. Now from the facility, put a divider, pointing to 3 endings. 2 for the diodes, and 1 to go back to storage.

Therefore, what's going to happen is this:

1: Go to casing dispenser.
2: Go to facility, put it in
3: Follow divider -> divider turns -> diode dispenser
4: 2
5: Follow divider -> divider turns -> 2nd diode dispenser
6: 2
7: Follow divider -> divider turns (back to its original place) -> storage
8: repeat

It's needlessly complicated but it works. Now if you wanna have checks about whether or not you have the necessary materials, I'm personally not gonna do that xD

[MAKAIROSI]

Here's a picture:
https://pasteboard.co/yjZ2tGOm2NI4.png

[dafyd11]

there is another thread on this topic.

Here is my solution posted to that thread.

Originally posted by dafyd11:

My resistor layout has been working for me. See link. I add the casing, add diode, if not carrying anything get another diode if carrying something go to storage and restart.
I don't know if the order actually matters or not.

Note the ant's entry point and the old gate are the same between the storage and the casing dispenser.

If I needed more production, I'd set this up twice as independent loops.

I haven't tested this with running out of either diodes or casing, or the ant dying in the middle of the loop, or with multiple ants. But this has been solid for at least 10 hours of gameplay.

https://imgur.com/a/G8YtwVg

[KKKira]

i have the same problem. i recogniced myself that the block has to delivered first but gets confused anyways sometimes. will try your layout setting the divider after the dispensert instead before ;)

[KKKira]

hm there is a problem. if you gate out an old ant, the divider gets broken.

i made a 4th dispenser to get a ant out of the loop

[Foxtopus]

You could also do this as separate loops, just to guarantee that you can't end up with ants carrying the same item. Yeah there's only one input, but you can kind of finagle the nodes so that you have two separate ones that are close enough to both connect to it.

[RiO]

Originally posted by MAKAIROSI:

Ok, so I reached this point and there seems to be the following problem. The Facility only has 1 input/output. Not one split between hauling points. Just 1, no matter how many hauling points there are.

It also accepts the casing FIRST, and then the diodes.

So a setup I made that hasn't stopped so far, is this:

Make 3 dispensers. 1 for casings and 2 for diodes. Place the diode ones next to each other.

Then, starting from storage, go to the casing dispenser, then to the facility. Cool so far. Now from the facility, put a divider, pointing to 3 endings. 2 for the diodes, and 1 to go back to storage.

Therefore, what's going to happen is this:

1: Go to casing dispenser.
2: Go to facility, put it in
3: Follow divider -> divider turns -> diode dispenser
4: 2
5: Follow divider -> divider turns -> 2nd diode dispenser
6: 2
7: Follow divider -> divider turns (back to its original place) -> storage
8: repeat

It's needlessly complicated but it works. Now if you wanna have checks about whether or not you have the necessary materials, I'm personally not gonna do that xD

This works until one of the intermediates runs out, however temporarily.
Then it breaks. Permanently, until manual intervention and cleanup.

Consider carry gates instead.

Place down two dispensers, casings first, diodes second. Put a carry gate in between and filter it for casings. Loop back to the casings dispenser at that carry gate.

Ants will be forced to loop until a casing becomes available. Once they're carrying one, they'll also continue passed the diode dispenser unhindered, to the facility.

At the facility put in a second carry gate. Filter it to resistors. This will be your out-path for the ant to carry the finished product home. Create another loop-back path to after the carry gate for casings, in front of the diode dispenser.

Ants will be forced to loop back and add diodes to the casing waiting at the facility, until it can start working and create the resistor for them to take home.

Problem solved.
Robustly.

(Well-- except for the case where ants die in the middle of the job. No idea how to solve that one, honestly. Save for isolated trails per ingredient.)


[EDIT]
There actually is a solution to the conundrum of ants hitting their death midway through the process. Another carry gate. Specialize the case where they try to deliver a casing but the facility cannot take one, by sending them down a path that either junks the casing (not recommended) or dumps it to a stockpile before routing them into the diode dispensers.
If you dump it to a stockpile, you also want to double-up the dispensers for casing, so that this temporary 'spillover' pile is used preferentially when pulling out a casing to deliver to the facility.

[Bob, the doge]

Originally posted by RiO:

If you dump it to a stockpile, you also want to double-up the dispensers for casing, so that this temporary 'spillover' pile is used preferentially when pulling out a casing to deliver to the facility.

When I build lines with a "spillover" check I try to place it so that a slinger can reach the original stockpile from which the ant took the item. Worst case, a catapult, but those are BULKY. So in this case I would make sure my casing, diode and resistor lines/storages are close enough for slingers to return any mishaps.

My usual facility setup involves a divider sending ants to either dispenser (3-way divider for resistors), then to the facility then to a "Carry: Any" gate that lets ants out if they reach the end with their mouth full (either the product or excess inputs). I could then sort them by what they're carrying, but I usually just have them walk past 2 slingers, then the stockpile for the desired product (a "not carrying product" gate before this to shorten the route if they were just dumping excess inputs), then return to the facility.