Insertion / compression Belt

[gsezz]

Suggestion:
A special insertion belt section that enables inserters to put items on the belt even when it is nearly full, so that you can load belts to full compression.
In the lategame, maybe only for red belts, with an extra research, and taking some red circuits and green inserters to build.

With the underground belt compression trick gone, I realy miss full compressed belts. For me Factorio is all about perfecting ratios. But there isn't much point in a perfect ratio, when your belt content varies around 25%.

I use the belt buffer mod. But I think it is a too overpowered solution, making thinks like unloading trains too easy.

[Koub]

Just as a quick update we are actively working on fixing all the belt issues including sideloading and experimenting with compression.
Due to the complexity of belts, because of all the optimizations, this is not easy, so bear with us.

viewtopic.php?p=330172#p330172

[Ghoulish]

Regarding underground compression trick, the devs have said they are aware of it, but will need some time as the recent belt optimisations complicate things. You can easily compress still with 2 splitters with an underground belt linking them.

[gsezz]

Ya, I must say, I didn't like the underground belt trick. Putting items on a belt with a cover over it seemed wrong to me. There was no real reason why this would compress while a normal belt without a cover would not. And since underground belts are available as one of the first items in the game and cheap to build, it always seemed as a too easy way out. I think if you have to research a special belt later in the game, and that costs a bunch of material and production time, and is propably not available in every belt color, could lead to some interesting gameplay decsicions. Do you have to compress every belt? where should you do it? Propably build 3 smelter lines with uncompressed, later merging yellow belts instead of one longt line with a compressed red belt.

[Ghoulish]

Do you have to compress every belt? where should you do it?

For example; at all stages in my factory I try to ensure each belt coming from the smelters is compressed, regardless if it's yellow red or blue. This way I have each belt carrying the maximum it can (compression) forward to the factory.