Combine factory and personal modules

[theamazingrando]

In my RSO + Marathon map, I frequently need to reload my FARL with more rails and signals, and unload the collected wood. I have a second car with laser turrets and walls and ammo and fuel for the tank. I'd like to automate this, so I set up a depot in my main base with requester chests that load the train cars. This requires one requester chest for each different item in the car, because an inserter with a bonus can get stuck trying to insert more of an item that are permitted in the car because of filters, then won't load anything else. (Maybe a bug?)

This got me thinking, though, it would be convenient if the rail car could have a module slot for a personal robot port that could request and trash items. And then that got me thinking, maybe "requester" and "trash" are the modules, and could be applied to anything. This makes the four different kinds of chests simply smart chests with module slots. Further, these same sort of modules could be loaded into the tank and car to provide this same reloading whenever they are driving within the network. And then, wouldn't it also be cool if you could put speed modules (go faster) and efficiency modules (consume less fuel) into vehicles? Or drop the requester and provider modules into an assemsbly plant, and skip the storage chest middleman ( this may be going too far, it would remove the need for the separate chests and inserters). What if "factory" modules and personal armor modules were combined? I can imagine a radar outpost with a fusion power module and personal laser defense being useful. This might also be a bit much too, though.

However, I do think it would be nice if there were requester and provider modules that could be placed in vehicles (and on the avatar, to replace the extra research levels currently used to accomplish that). The higher level armors would allow for more module slots.

I think this brings some utility to mass-producing some expensive modules, I currently rarely use them except in oil pump jacks or even bother making them in mass quantities since they're no longer required for the rocket defense.

[ssilk]

I like the general idea of making modules and personal modules more equal. A train having requester and trash slots. I really like that.

Of course not every module makes sense, but why not putting a personal roboports onto a train?

How cool would it look? Train stops and instead that then inserters put the stuff on he wagons dozens of robots come out of the train and pick up the needed stuff for the target station out of special boxes. The train knows what's needed at the target station and picks up exactly that (plus what's needed to make a stack full).

Then the train waits, until all bots have been recharged and boarded and continue to the target station where the robots help to unload only the needed stuff.

Indeed I think trains need no distinction between their speed, used type of energy or whatever - like in most other railway games - they need to distinct in the ability to be part of logistic network or - a not yet invented - global logistic network.



I point also to a mod that solves one of the problems with the loading:
https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... 93&t=14887 Smart Loader