Practical limits with large belt base without beacons

[Hannu]

I have thought that when 0.17 comes out I will begin to build quite large (mostly) vanilla base. However, I do not change my basic principles. I will build railworld with separate production plants for plates and intermediates, use only belts for main item flows (maybe expect the satellite), and do not use beacons (modules in entities are allowed). I have also tendency to produce power with coal and nuclear plants, but I can produce few GWs with solar panels, too.

I know that I can never achieve even near maximum SPM with these restrictions and do not have very clear knowledge what is reasonable target SPM with this kind of limitations. My largest base used 1.1 M iron plates per hour but it was with version 0.12 or 0.13 (when alien artifacts existed) and I had no problems with computer performance. Also 20-40 km^2 Bob&Angel modded bases have worked well, but I have never tried to achieve extreme throughput. I have i7 3770K processor, GTX 1050 (or 1060) graphics card, probably enough memory and ability to stand relatively low FPSs (10 is fully acceptable, 5 may be little annoying).

Is 1000-2000 SPM possible? Or even more?

[Dixi]

I have 1k SPM atm, and it uses 7.2M iron plates per hour. If we compare base size using iron plates, base needed to be about 7 times bigger then the one you've mentioned.

[leadraven]

Railworld, minimum beacons, solar and logistics... I'm not alone

[Dixi]

I wonder, no beacons at all - is that some kind of challenge? Like "no bots" factory?
Some people are trying to put as many beacons as possible, other just interchange lines of factories with lines of beacons, but not using them at all makes you to build just much bigger factory I think, isn't it?

[Mr. Tact]

My main base is currently at about 450-500 SPM and I only use beacons here and there. I have them on the

oil production (at both the main base and at the plastic production outpost)
furnaces at my plate and green circuit production outposts
blue circuit production (at both the main base and at the remote production outpost)

But I don't have them at other places which are somewhat common

green circuit production outpost (except for the furnaces)
red circuit production outpost
all my oil and ore outposts

And with the exception of oil and blue circuit production -- I don't use them in my main base. Still, even with that "limited" use, they top the power usage chart, currently topping 1.2 GW.

7.2m Iron Ore an hour for 1,000 SPM sounds a bit light, I'm burning through 4.0 m Iron Ore an hour already.

[Hannu]

I have 1k SPM atm, and it uses 7.2M iron plates per hour. If we compare base size using iron plates, base needed to be about 7 times bigger then the one you've mentioned.

OK. My 1 M was before science overhaul. Most went to rockets and some to ammo (I used only gun turrets and used about full blue belt copper to ammunition production).

[Hannu]

I wonder, no beacons at all - is that some kind of challenge? Like "no bots" factory?
Some people are trying to put as many beacons as possible, other just interchange lines of factories with lines of beacons, but not using them at all makes you to build just much bigger factory I think, isn't it?

It is just strange personal preference. I do not like beacon magic mechanics but I like huge factories with wide belt buses, complex spaghetti, large production units and my personal aesthetics (which is more engineering than mathematical). Absolute production values do not give much for me. I am not competitive player at all.

Maybe I put my target at about 600 SPM (10 per second). 4 M iron per hour sounds massive enough, it is about 2000 furnaces for iron only. I do not like copying tens of similar units but maybe I try something larger vanilla base at next playthrough.

[Mr. Tact]

7.2m Iron Ore an hour for 1,000 SPM sounds a bit light, I'm burning through 4.0 m Iron Ore an hour already.

Going back and looking at my base, I have been working to expand my solar farm recently, so that might account for the difference...