Piles and hopper wagons

[Atlas]

TLDR: An alternative way to transport and store ores and some intermediate products.

Description:
Pile spot
- 6x6 entity with capacity of 36 steel chests
- capable of loading and unloading hopper wagons and belts without the need for inserters
- can interact with inserters if necessary
- can only store one kind of item at a time
- can store all ores, stone, bricks, coal and everything that seems to be right to store in a pile

Hopper wagon
- capacity of standard cargo wagon
- can interact with piles directly
- can interact with inserters if necessary
- can only transport items, that can be stored in a pile

- direct item transfer between a pile and a hopper wagon is faster than with the use of inserters
- a pile can only load/unload belts, that go directly to/from the pile. The outgoing belts are fully compressed and the pile can theoretically produce 24 fully compressed belts.

Why the hell would anyone want that?
Piles are faster and more space efficient than chests. But the main reason is esthetic. It seems better to store coal and ores in piles next to smelteries and power plants, than in chests.

Edit: Pileable items could still be stored in chests and transported by cargo wagons.

[ickputzdirwech]

You mean that something like a mixture of

a warehouse viewtopic.php?f=185&t=30962

a Bulk Rail Loader viewtopic.php?f=190&t=56850

and Loader Redux viewtopic.php?f=97&t=48412

should be implemented in vanilla?

In my opinion, that would make setting up stations way to easy.

[dood]

That's only usable if you even transport ore.
I smelt on-site so this would just sit in my menu and never see any use.

Honestly, I don't think any logistical thing should ever be limited to only a handful of item types.

[Atlas]

That's only usable if you even transport ore.
I smelt on-site so this would just sit in my menu and never see any use.

There are people, who play without bots, trains, solar panels, circuit logic or on peaceful mode. The fact that it is there doesn't mean that you must use it.

[dood]

That's only usable if you even transport ore.
I smelt on-site so this would just sit in my menu and never see any use.

There are people, who play without bots, trains, solar panels, circuit logic or on peaceful mode. The fact that it is there doesn't mean that you must use it.

That's besides the point.
My point was, logistics shouldn't be ridiculously specific to 1 item type.
There are no inserters that only work for plates or pipes that only work with water after all.

[Atlas]

My point was, logistics shouldn't be ridiculously specific to 1 item type.
There are no inserters that only work for plates or pipes that only work with water after all.

It's funny you mention pipes, because pipes, storage tanks and fluid wagons work with only a handful of entities.
I never mentioned a pile that would work for only 1 item type, I said "only one at a time", so they don't mix up. On the other hand it may not be a big problem since we have filter splitters.
If "one at a time" is the problem, then remember fluids, which are useless after they mix up.

[dood]

- can store all ores, stone, bricks, coal and everything that seems to be right to store in a pile

Sounds like no plates, circuits, etc.

[Atlas]

Sounds like no plates, circuits, etc.

Of course, that's the point.

[Tym]

Piles and items transported via bulk cars (hoppers) are traditionally managed using bulldozers and front-end loaders, plus elevating conveyer belts and the like, if not crane-mounted clamshell scoops.

Plates and circuits would be damaged by such handling.

[JimBarracus]

+1 for hopper cars

actually "pileable" items like ores and coal are not handleable with inserters.
I mean it's literally small crumbles or even dust.
In real life inserters are not used for such things.
Inserters are actually super rare.
We use the concept of gravity and belts.

Technically the whole game concept could be reworked, there are so many ways to do the things in game.