[MOD 0.12.x] Slipstream Chests - 2.0.0

[Degraine]

Slipstream Chests

Info:

• Name: Slipstream Storage Chests
• Latest Release: v2.0.0, September 15, 2015
• Factorio Version: 0.12.x
• Download: 2.0.0, 1.1.1 (for Factorio 0.11.17+)
• License: MIT
• Tags: Storage, Circuit Network
• Contact: PM on the Factorio Forums.

Description:
This is a simple mod to add inline storage to transport belts. Slipstream chests will pick up any items fed towards them by transport belts, and output onto transport belts that do not face them. Chests require power to run. There are no custom graphics for these chests - they use the steel and logistic chest graphics at this time.

News:
Finally! The first version for 0.12 is here. I've updated everything for the new transport belt system, and added a scheduling system that should hopefully make it run a little more efficiently. I still don't recommend using them in large nubers, like a mass storage system - try an active provider SSC with a set of vanilla storage chests.

Please also note that there is no support for directly upgrading from 0.11 saves. In the unlikely event anyone was still using Factorio 0.11 and SSC 1.1.1, you will have to remove all slipstream chests, deactivate the 1.1.1 version of the mod, load and save your savefile again, and then move to Factorio 0.12 and install SSC 2.0.0.

There's more to come still, I need to add the new graphics suggested by Foxy_Boxes, add some new tiers of chests and hopefully improve performance a bit more as well. A slightly more elegant system for dealing with removed/quick-replaced transport belts would be nice as well.

Details

SSC is compatible with existing saves and will automatically unlock the items if you have researched their respective technologies. I've done my best to ensure it's compatible with multiplayer saves but I can't confirm it will. Use in MP at your own risk.

Research:

• Basic slipstream chests can be built after researching Advanced Electronics.
• Passive provider slipstream chests can be built after researching Construction/Logistic Robotics.
• Active provider and requester slipstream chests can be built after researching Logistic System.

Recipes:

• Basic chest: Steel Chest x1, Transport Belt x2, Advanced Circuit x5, Fast Inserter x4
• Logistic chests: Basic Slipstream Chest x1, Processing Unit x1

Bugs

• Newly placed chests sometimes deactivate when first powered on. Remove and replace the chest to fix the issue.

Changelog

Code: Select all

v2.0.0 (2015-9-15)
* Updated for 0.12.x
* Added a scheduling system to cut down CPU usage.
* Chests deactivate when adjacent belts (at time of placement) are removed or replaced.

v1.1.1 (2015-05-11)
* Disabled the debug info, should be multiplayer compatible again.

v1.1.0 (2015-03-19)
* Removed all directional and terminal chests, replacing them with chests that self-configure on placement.
* Added logistic variants of slipstream chests.
* Added a power requirement to run all slipstream chests. They will prioritise pickup over placing items if there isn't enough power. Placing items occurs in a round-robin fashion, so outputs will be balanced whenever possible.

v1.0.2 (2014-12-08)
* Added a terminal chest that does not output its contents. Thanks to Schmendrick for letting me steal their mod's concept wholesale!
* Added all chests to the transport belt quick-replace group.

v1.0.1 (2014-12-07)
* Fixed a bug with output when only one item is in the chest.

v1.0.0 (2014-12-06)
* Initial release.

Acknowledgements

V10, who had the original concept and wrote the Belt Storage mod.
Schmendrick, akhiros and Narc, whose mods helped me figure out some of the ins and outs of Factorio's Lua functions.
#factorio, for putting up with my kvetching and stupid questions while I was making this mod.
maddy2k, for updating SSC to 0.12 while I took my sweet time about it.

[Darhak]

Hi, having this error when the items on the belt reach the chest:

Crash

[Degraine]

And fixed. Sorry, that was a really basic error I should've caught.

[DarkSlayerEX]

First of all, this mod works wonders for space saving, and ease of storage. I love it!

I'd like to request variants of your chests, that can be set to filter items to another direction.

For example:
Your slipstream chest(West) is being fed copper, iron, and coal.
A filter would be able to be set to push the filtered items either north or south, depending on the gui setting, and let the rest continue going west

I know people are going to tell me to just use smart inserters, however the issue with that is, if there are multiple slipstream chests, the items only spawn at the last one to have space in the cluster, and that renders smart inserters useless in that regard.



If you make this a feature, your mod will be even better!

[Degraine]

New version in OP. There is now a terminal chest variant, that will not output its contents. Thanks to Schmendrick for giving me permission to include them.

The new version should update cleanly, let me know if there are any problems. If you do run into issues, you should be able to get around them by doing this: reload with the old version, remove any slipstream chests you've placed, update and re-place them.

[gex87]

Get this Error: Unknown key:"Error while running the oninit: ...Roaming\Factorio\mods\Slipstream_1.0.2.zip|migration.lua:5: attempt to call global 'strfind' (a nil value)"

Save or New World doesnt matter.

[Degraine]

Strange error, it worked fine on my computer...but I've changed this anyway, so it should work now. Sorry about that.

[gex87]

It is great, it is wonderfull.
Any Ideas? Ok:
1. Give us Slipstream Logistic Chest Provider, Requester etc.
2. Give us only one Chest with GUI to Change the Output.
3. Give us a Second Version wich needs Power but has 4 Outputs with Filters. (A Electric Sorting Systems)

Love

[berni1212]

Hello Creator of this Mod !

Thanks for this mod its really cool and helpfull.

I have here some Idears for it.

1. You could make some of them with an filter
2. or make Them with more then 1 side like 1 North and 1 South or make it Researchable to make them
3. Bigger Versions like the Chest mod it adds Bigger chests

[Degraine]

Hi guys, thanks for the praise, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I will probably do logistics versions of the chests, and while I'm game to give GUIs a shot, I don't know anything about how to make them, so that might be a while, what with Christmas coming up. As for making the chests larger...come on, I can't make things too easy for you! Go look at some of the production buffer and storage solutions using normal chests and adapt them!

As for power consumption, that will be coming - to all chests. I always intended them to require power but I'm still very new to modding so getting them to work at all was higher on the priority list.

[AlphaRaptor]

Hi guys, thanks for the praise, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I will probably do logistics versions of the chests, and while I'm game to give GUIs a shot, I don't know anything about how to make them, so that might be a while, what with Christmas coming up. As for making the chests larger...come on, I can't make things too easy for you! Go look at some of the production buffer and storage solutions using normal chests and adapt them!

As for power consumption, that will be coming - to all chests. I always intended them to require power but I'm still very new to modding so getting them to work at all was higher on the priority list.

This is ok , modding is not easy for a New Modder.

Your mod is already very Helpful
Thanks for the Mod

[Narc]

[...]As for making the chests larger...come on, I can't make things too easy for you!

By comparison, what I was thinking was they should be smaller than their non-slipstream counterparts. After all, some of their internal volume would be dedicated to the equipment that lets them pick stuff up off the floor and dropping it on there!

Since we're on suggestions, I'd really much prefer if the slipstream chests would simply rotate the same way inserters do (and I imagine that's in the immediate future plans). I'd also love to know why slipstream chests seem to cause my multiplayer game to desync my second player, but that might just be a Factorio base thing (certainly, nothing I saw in the slipstream chests code should be causing the problems).

Degraine, thanks for the effort -- I really like the chests.

[n9103]

Assuming both players are using the same version of all data files, no way to know without more info. Log files, error codes, etc.

[Degraine]

[...]As for making the chests larger...come on, I can't make things too easy for you!

By comparison, what I was thinking was they should be smaller than their non-slipstream counterparts. After all, some of their internal volume would be dedicated to the equipment that lets them pick stuff up off the floor and dropping it on there!

Since we're on suggestions, I'd really much prefer if the slipstream chests would simply rotate the same way inserters do (and I imagine that's in the immediate future plans). I'd also love to know why slipstream chests seem to cause my multiplayer game to desync my second player, but that might just be a Factorio base thing (certainly, nothing I saw in the slipstream chests code should be causing the problems).

Degraine, thanks for the effort -- I really like the chests.

You make a good point about storage capacity, especially for something that's unlocked by Logistics 1. But then again, there will be changes that justify pushing it further down the techtree.

The implementation is more or less taken directly from Belt Storages, but the next major version (barring any bugfixes) will introduce a custom GUI to decide which sides should output (and what, if you're feeding multiple item types into it). That should cut down the bloat in the crafting menu to one item - and then I'll add logistics variants, which'll push it back up again. I would love to be able to do rotation like the inserters, but as far as I know, that isn't possible unless the basic item I used was an inserter, which may (or may not) bring its own problems. Hmm...

As to multiplayer issues, I can't help there right now since I'm away from my desktop and this laptop can't run the game. Slipstream is definitely not tested for MP, and in spite of what the 'Smart Modpack' post says, I can't guarantee that it's 100% MP compatible.

I'm glad you're enjoying the mod!

[dopefish]

I really like this mod, it reduces the hassle of moving things, having to place down several inserters and do curly loops and all that jazz to get my throughput up. At the same time they feel completely natural, like they belong in the game, and not like some overpowered cheat.

I do however believe that the chests are a bit too large, they're a bit overpowered for the recipe cost because of how much they can store. Maybe add two tiers, one with advanced circuit which works like the current chests and one with electric circuit that has the storage of a wooden chest? I dunno, just a suggestion as to balance.

The obvious feature request for this mod would be some indicator on the chest itself which direction it is, having to mouse over placed chests to make sure they're feeding stuff in the right direction could easily (?) be solved by adding an arrow or something similar in the direction for each chest. Something else, that I assume is a lot harder, would be to simply have one type of chest that you can rotate like anything else you place.

[n9103]

Welcome new poster.
Congratulations on joining the ranks of hundreds of other forum users that fail to read a topic's last few pages before posting.

[dopefish]

Welcome new poster.
Congratulations on joining the ranks of hundreds of other forum users that fail to read a topic's last few pages before posting.

Nah, I read 'em, just wanted to re-iterate things and add my two cents. I figure something requested by many people bears more weight. Suppose a GUI to decide direction is similar to what I want, even though rotating like regular objects would probably be better. Then again, if the same GUI is used for logistics/filtering type stuff, it'd make sense.

[Degraine]

Swim swim hungry- *ahem*

The entire point of this mod was to eliminate some of the rigamarole involved in production buffer schemes, you're bang on there. That's what I liked about Belt Storage so much, it artificially extended...well, 'belt storage'. The next version should address most of the concerns and feature requests, though. To summarise:

• A single basic chest type whose input/output can be configured with a GUI, removing individual directional chests (getting away from Belt Storage's implementation).
• Filtered/indiscriminate output configuration options.
• Passive/active provider and requester variants.
• Energy requirements for all chests.
• New recipes.

Basic chests will still be relatively easy to make when they become available in the midgame (which is probably about the time you really start needing them, I think), but the logistic variants will require a processing unit and bots research.

[AlphaRaptor]

Swim swim hungry- *ahem*

The entire point of this mod was to eliminate some of the rigamarole involved in production buffer schemes, you're bang on there. That's what I liked about Belt Storage so much, it artificially extended...well, 'belt storage'. The next version should address most of the concerns and feature requests, though. To summarise:

• A single basic chest type whose input/output can be configured with a GUI, removing individual directional chests (getting away from Belt Storage's implementation).
• Filtered/indiscriminate output configuration options.
• Passive/active provider and requester variants.
• Energy requirements for all chests.
• New recipes.

Basic chests will still be relatively easy to make when they become available in the midgame (which is probably about the time you really start needing them, I think), but the logistic variants will require a processing unit and bots research.

I like your Ideas too.

Can you make this Mod for 0.11.5 and 0.11.6 ?
Please

[Degraine]

I haven't had any problems with running it in 11.5 myself, does it break in 11.6?