I just started using blueprints a few days ago; it's quite nice for things like solar panels. So, I made a simple design for a defensive structure with 4 laser turrets and a small power pole in the middle, surrounded by a wall. Like this:


WWWWWWWWW
W W
W TT TT W
W TT TT W
W P W
W TT TT W
W TT TT ...

Instead of merging, can there be a way to repair items inside your inventory? I agree it is annoying, but mainly when turret creeping, which was already stated as OP. If we could repair the items inside of the inventory, that'd both fix the merge issues, and not waste items.

This is my preferred ...

I don't think there's a lot of resistance, but the majority of items in Factorio have both simple uses and advanced uses, which is generally the sign of good game design. Whereas an electric boiler lacks the former, making it something of a niche item. Furthermore, I haven't seen any suggestion of ...

I'm not sure why there is so much resistance toward the concept of electric boilers. They would be a simple and space/resource-efficient way of storing solar electricity. For example, considering the attached image -

In this situation, the coal boilers could be replaced with electric boilers hooked ...