Can't get assembly machines to work

[DanielHall15]

Hi guys, here comes another noob not able to decide corretly between left and right (that's the feeling the game's been giving me so far...).

I fiddled with the demo during this week, and bought the full game today. Now, I've been running around a free map for a few hours now, sloooooowly building up stuff. And right now I've hit a wall.

After feeding assembly machines manually for some time (defeating the purpose of the game), I tried to get an automated construction line up for iron gears and conveyor belts (in the center of the pic). The lower assembly machine takes in iron plates to manufacture iron gears, and spits it back onto the belt that leads north, then west (iron box on the end is for overflow, I already learned to take cautionary steps...). The upper assembly machine is supposed to take in those gears, plus more iron plates and manufacture the belts.



However, this worked exactly TWICE. The machine produced four belts and now it doesn't take in anything. I tried to replace the feeder arm thingies, doesn't help. Power is there, doesn't help. I'm stuck. Please help me.

(Edit: The title "manual inserter" fits me well )

[Hardison]

You need to make an inserter taking out the belts and putting them into a box or a converyer line. Atleast, thats what it looks like to me.

[DanielHall15]

That was exactly what the problem was. So I can't utilize the "exit storage" in these machines for the finished products. You live, you learn.

Thanks!!

[Hardison]

All part of the game! Glad i could be a service enjoy!

[snds]

I'm having the same issue. I'm trying to have plates from the furnace placed into the machine for making gears and then the gears into the next machine to build science packs. The copper plates won't place into the machine either. Note: I tried (assuming I did it right) the suggestion in this thread where I would have the plates in a box then have an inserter take them from the box and place them in the machine. Still no dice...

Can anyone help? Screenshot: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0obj43jq9m9to ... .03.48.png

[DaveMcW]

Your science pack machine is producing faster than the lab can research. It will sit idle until the lab catches up.

Replace the research lab with a transport belt. Then build 2 labs to pull science off the belt.

[snds]

What about the gears? Does there need to be a transport belt and inserter for each end? I'm also having the same issue with the copper plates getting into the assembler machine. I've checked on this a few times and whether or not an inserter will move an item into an assembler or other building is VERY inconsistent. Sometimes it will place in just a few units then it stops altogether.

[DanielHall15]

How does everyone get the symbols of what is being produced above the assemblies? I can't get them to show...

---

Still scrapped the game above because I basically had enjungled myself in a mess of little things that weren't working together.

But, I started a new game and after one hour was at least as far as with the other one after three hours (learning curve is being tackled!) - well, okay, the start was much better this time, with all ressources reasonably close right at the beginning.

Finally got an automated science production line running, producing red (above) and green (below) beakers. Took me ages to get the green line working, and now that it does, the red line stopped working because of insufficient copper supplies. Argh!



I realize this is no thing of beauty to the well-trained player. And yes, I built my assemblies right into an iron ore deposit. Sue me!

But I just looked up and it's past midnight and I should have been to bed about an hour ago. Great game!

[snds]

I'll add that it would make much more sense if the lab could be continuously filled with science packs despite any delay in the research time. It seems arbitrary and difficult to figure out what exactly is going on.

[johntarmac]

How does everyone get the symbols of what is being produced above the assemblies? I can't get them to show...

'Alt' will do this for you.

[GewaltSam]

I'll add that it would make much more sense if the lab could be continuously filled with science packs despite any delay in the research time. It seems arbitrary and difficult to figure out what exactly is going on.

The game logic dictates that inserters only load enough stuff for a few production cycles. There's a good reason: Imagine you got 20 research labs along a single transport belt. If you now put research packs on this belt the first lab will grab every single one of them until it's full; not till then are any other labs able to research anything. Same goes for boilers, furnaces, etc.

[DanielHall15]

How does everyone get the symbols of what is being produced above the assemblies? I can't get them to show...

'Alt' will do this for you.

Thanks! Much easier to actually build these production lines this way...

[DanielHall15]

Lesson for today: beware your creation turning against you. I had an array of about a dozen furnaces to smelt iron ore to plates in my last game shown here. It was not enough to keep the inserter assembly at the very end of the production line in supply of iron plates, no matter how many furnaces I added. Instead I drowned in coal and transport belts (that weren't finding any use in my science assemblies without the inserters ...). Then, once I researched steel processing, some of my furnaces automatically switched to production of steel plates. That finally killed my transport system.

Must. Plan. Better. Next Time.

Btw, does it take long for those killer beatles to actually attack you? I was about five hours into that game.

[chuey1311]

2017-08-15 (1).png (3.07 MiB) Viewed 11024 times

Machine is not producing my electric drill machine, as you seen in the screen shot & have all materials inside.

[DaveMcW]

Your mixed belt does not have the correct ratio for advanced circuits AND mining drills.

Instead of mixing the belts, use a long-handed inserter to grab from both belts.

[5thHorseman]

2017-08-15 (1).png

Machine is not producing my electric drill machine, as you seen in the screen shot & have all materials inside.

You need 10 plates to make a drill. You have 7.

Resource starving like this happens when you put things on belts like that. Keep things on their own belts, or keep each half of a belt unique.

[JimBarracus]

Lesson for today: beware your creation turning against you. I had an array of about a dozen furnaces to smelt iron ore to plates in my last game shown here. It was not enough to keep the inserter assembly at the very end of the production line in supply of iron plates, no matter how many furnaces I added. Instead I drowned in coal and transport belts (that weren't finding any use in my science assemblies without the inserters ...). Then, once I researched steel processing, some of my furnaces automatically switched to production of steel plates. That finally killed my transport system.

Must. Plan. Better. Next Time.

Btw, does it take long for those killer beatles to actually attack you? I was about five hours into that game.

Production didn't switch automatically. Some of your inserters were facing the wrong direction.
They were loading iron from the belt where they should actually load their produced plates on.

[Frightning]

Lesson for today: beware your creation turning against you. I had an array of about a dozen furnaces to smelt iron ore to plates in my last game shown here. It was not enough to keep the inserter assembly at the very end of the production line in supply of iron plates, no matter how many furnaces I added. Instead I drowned in coal and transport belts (that weren't finding any use in my science assemblies without the inserters ...). Then, once I researched steel processing, some of my furnaces automatically switched to production of steel plates. That finally killed my transport system.

Must. Plan. Better. Next Time.

Btw, does it take long for those killer beatles to actually attack you? I was about five hours into that game.

It's really handy to learn how to exploit the fact that belts have 2 lanes. I frequently use this to deliver up to 4 items on one side of a line of assembly machines (and take outputs from the other side). The idea is that each lane of each belt is dedicated to one item only (e.g. for Science pack 1s, I use a single belt, such that one side is Copper plates and other is Iron gear wheels). The way to make one is to basically create a T-junction where the belts with copper and gears meet:

(Iron gear wheels)
VV
|----Iron Gear wheels---------------->
|----Copper plates-------------------->
^^
(Copper plates)