Factorio Forums

I don't know if this is properly a bug or an enhancement request.

Observed:
Normally a factory loads up ingredients for its recipe up to some limit (+/- 2 crafts worth + complications))
A factory that is output blocked will not load anything. Worst case you are sitting there output blocked with zero ingredients.
Once the block clears the factory immediately goes into input starved as it resumes loading ingredients.

Expected:
Factory never stops loading unless all ingredients are at or beyond the preload limit.

Notes:
This seems like wrong behavior. Certainly an engineer on site could choose to program it load up to the preload limit before going dormant?
It is also possibly inconsistent, liquids do not behave the same way as far as I can tell.
Sometimes this triggers due to the bonus from the productivity mod which causes output block when it adds the extra product.

I imagine this is not new this version. However this is the first time I noticed this as I am spending quality time with fully beaconed setups trying to saturate blue belts.

Below is a 3 cell plastic setup that outputs 45.89 plastic per second but is limited to fully saturated blue belt of 45. One of the factories is constantly busy loading coal and never being ingredient starved. The other two will output block from time to time, with zero coal preloaded and coal loading only resuming after the output block clears. One can see it crafting till coal goes to zero and output is full.

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

This is not a bug.

Can we move this to balancing?

AmericanPatriot wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 2:04 am Can we move this to balancing?

No. There is nothing to discuss here. It is Not a bug. If more items would be preloaded while the output inventory is "full", machine would start crafting from those ingredients making that machine to have even more items in the output inventory.

OK, on further investigation the actual problem here is the Bottleneck mod incorrectly reporting a blockage. Which makes you look for a blockage that is virtual and not a real problem.

The code crafts all available resources and places it on the output.
Output full causes no more resources to be added to the factory. Existing resources are depleted until one or more items are at 0.
Once it is no longer full, input resumes from this resource starved state. But output has items so there is no actual throughput starvation.
The factory still has maximum throughput for its given output capacity and requires more inserters removing items to improve.

I will follow up with the mod author.