TL;DR
Pneumatic Tubes Delivery System - less lag and faster.What ?
A system, that can replace or integrate with and enhance of logistic bots system.Allows to transport things faster, more intelligent, but with higher energy and build costs.
1) Tubes
Tubes are used just to connect Bases.
Items don't travel in it literally (items are basically teleported between bases). However, Tubes are to show which base are directly connected to other.
Tubes can bend, can be underground, but can't split or merge with other Tubes*. Tubes are one direction only.
Maximal Tube section = about 30 tiles (as long as Big Pole can reach), after each section, Base is required.
2) Logistic Bases/Routers
- Each Base has 80 items of internal storage, and makes 1 delivery (send and receive) every second.
- You can connect up to 4 pipes to each base, one on each side.
- Each Base must be controlled by (simple or complicated) logic network, without it - it won't work at all. It sends quantity of all items in internal storage, and require signals with instructions where to send it.
- Crude example: 1=North, 2=South, 4=East, 8=West, 3=split to North and South, 7=Split North, South and East etc.
Incoming signal (from Constant combinator or more complicated devices) can be for example: Iron=4, Copper=2, Coal=6. Base will send Iron to Eastern Tube, Copper to Southern Tube, and Coal is splitted evenly to Both Tubes). You can't set proportions if items are splitted, but You can use loops, like with belts) - Logistic base can't be feeded in other way than from pipes
- You can't use inserters on it, You may however insert/remove things by hand - in case of failure.
- Base that are opened by played can't send or receive any items from pipes, until it's closed. - If Base on the other side of Tube (there can be only one Base, since system is node-to-node based) has no free space, cargo is delayed until next cycle.
- If signals are incorrect (eg. pointing to send something to incoming tube), cargo is delayed until next cycle.
- Consumes lot of energy, and, possibly, requires constant lubricant supply.
- Requires logic signal to set filters, do not work without it.
- Sucks items directly from chests/wagons/buildings (just like this hidden in the game files mass inserter... I forgot the name...)
- max 40 items/s
As above, puts items in chests/wagons/chests. Don't require signals.
Why ?
This system is quite simple, and should not make lot of lags.Items are teleported between Bases, no need to calculate and display whole belt of items.
Each Base has up to 4 bases (minus 1, at least one tube is incoming) to deal with, and check its capacity every second.
May be fully controlled by very simple circuits, with more wiring, one can create fully automated, very fast (30tiles/s), long-range, bot-independent delivery system. This system can also act as a intelligent bridge between two logistic networks.
Of course, trains still can deliver more items for far less energy.
Bots also can deliver items to places, there You can't build.
Also, this system should be intentionally prone to cluttering (bottlenecking, items stuck in the Base, because of wrong signals etc) if not well designed/programmed.
*) if there is intersection of Tubes, items may only go straight.
