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Suggestion: Circluar belts

Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2023 3:28 pm
by durid1
I would like to see a build option for circular belts. Basically belts that go both ways on one line, and when they reach the end of the line the items just turn the corner and come back. Why? It's a good way to keep items running by pick-up arms without constantly dumping hundreds of ammo on a long line, having everything stuck at the end, or over-using belt splitters to try to supply everything all the time.

It wouldn't be able to dump items onto a standard belt, though items can be dumped onto it by one. And of course able to use underground belts, sensors/belt stops (what are they actually called?), and yes have multiple branches.

Re: Suggestion: Circluar belts

Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2023 4:32 pm
by FuryoftheStars
What about just actually looping your belt back? You can place Long-handed inserters to take from it to still feed the turrets on its way back. Or if your defenses form a complete circle, just keep the belt going all the way around (with periodic ammo injection points to prevent later sections from being ammo starved). Or use logistics chests, either at the beginning and end point of your belt, or for each individual turret (instead of a belt at all).

I'm not sure that it's a great thing to get/request new entities just to solve specific niche use cases? Especially one niche use case that has other solves.

Re: Suggestion: Circluar belts

Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2023 7:15 pm
by Qon
I havea suggestion: explosive belts. Whenever two different kinds of items are on the same side of an explosive belt piece then the belt self destructs and explodes! This is a great soltion for preveting mixzed ore belts accidents. Want to be sure your spillage doesn't spread to your entire factory? Much easier to just have a small explosion right when it happens insted of looking through your entie factory for random items that makes you factory stop hours later. Recipe: 1 belt + 1 explosive = 1 explosive belt. Also after researching nuclear bombs you can have nuclear bomb belts. 1 belt + 1 nuclear bomb = 1 nuclear bomb belt. Just to be extra sure! :D

Re: Suggestion: Circluar belts

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2024 4:53 am
by durid1
FuryoftheStars wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2023 4:32 pm What about just actually looping your belt back? You can place Long-handed inserters to take from it to still feed the turrets on its way back. Or if your defenses form a complete circle, just keep the belt going all the way around (with periodic ammo injection points to prevent later sections from being ammo starved). Or use logistics chests, either at the beginning and end point of your belt, or for each individual turret (instead of a belt at all).

I'm not sure that it's a great thing to get/request new entities just to solve specific niche use cases? Especially one niche use case that has other solves.
It is more about using all the belt footprint. I mean the belts have two sides/lanes, why not have the option to have materials come back instead of bunching up at the end of it? And about looping back the belt, well now you have a double wide belt where you only really needed one. And a big unused empty space on the inside of it.

Re: Suggestion: Circluar belts

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2024 9:12 am
by Koub
Qon wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2023 7:15 pm I havea suggestion: explosive belts. Whenever two different kinds of items are on the same side of an explosive belt piece then the belt self destructs and explodes! This is a great soltion for preveting mixzed ore belts accidents. Want to be sure your spillage doesn't spread to your entire factory? Much easier to just have a small explosion right when it happens insted of looking through your entie factory for random items that makes you factory stop hours later. Recipe: 1 belt + 1 explosive = 1 explosive belt. Also after researching nuclear bombs you can have nuclear bomb belts. 1 belt + 1 nuclear bomb = 1 nuclear bomb belt. Just to be extra sure! :D
Are you sure you're replying to the right topic ? It's not a suggestion about mixing items on a belt, but being able to loop both lines of a belt so that when an item arrives at the end on one side, it comes back on the other.

[Edit] My opinion about the suggestion is "would be cool, but I can't imagine such a thing even happening"

Re: Suggestion: Circluar belts

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2024 9:22 am
by boskid
No.

Re: Suggestion: Circluar belts

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2024 7:57 pm
by mrvn
Could one mod this by creating 2 half sized belts. I.e. having 2 belts going opposite ways and just reducing the footprint to 1 tile.

Re: Suggestion: Circluar belts

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2024 8:57 pm
by boskid
mrvn wrote: Wed Apr 24, 2024 7:57 pm Could one mod this by creating 2 half sized belts. I.e. having 2 belts going opposite ways and just reducing the footprint to 1 tile.
There are hard restrictions of at most 1 transport belt connectable on a single tile (assuming no entity ghosts). This is not doable that way.