Bump, this is desperately needed
another thing that's missing is preferential filtering. filter to a side if possible, if not, pass through the other just like the output priority feature otherwise
Smart Splitters
Moderator: ickputzdirwech
Re: Circuit network connections for splitters
Far too many hours played, far too few involving circuits. 
Now with 2.0 and filtering built into all inserters, it feels like splitters should be able to support some kind of circuitry. I know the Wube folks aren't afraid of complex code: my guess is they don't want to implement it one way, then have a better idea and need to break it.
It's a pity we can't experiment / beta-test with a several different approaches to circuits + splitters, to work out what works best for everyone.
PS: In my n00b way, it was totally unexpected to see 'Cannot connect to wire'. So many logical things 'just work' that it was jarring to see a blunt rejection (I worded it badly but that was actually a compliment on how intuitive the whole game is)
Now with 2.0 and filtering built into all inserters, it feels like splitters should be able to support some kind of circuitry. I know the Wube folks aren't afraid of complex code: my guess is they don't want to implement it one way, then have a better idea and need to break it.
It's a pity we can't experiment / beta-test with a several different approaches to circuits + splitters, to work out what works best for everyone.
PS: In my n00b way, it was totally unexpected to see 'Cannot connect to wire'. So many logical things 'just work' that it was jarring to see a blunt rejection (I worded it badly but that was actually a compliment on how intuitive the whole game is)
Re: Circuit network connections for splitters
It seems we need several signals.
One to set the input priority.
- None/Left/Right
One to set the output priority or mode
- None/Left/Right/Filter Left, Filter Right
One to set the actual filter (as to anything else that sets a filter)
What I really find myself wanted to do however is enable/disable one side instead of putting a surface belt before or after and attaching circuits to it, mainly because I use underground belts a lot to keep things tight.
This seems to imply another another bunch of signals - input left on/off, input right on/off, output left on/off and output right on/off.
It almost seems to be the splitter might be better treated from a circuit perspective as two wired entities, one for the right side and another for the left side, or assign red to left and green to right. Both of these option would be different to everything else currently in the game which in itself would be a problem.
I have to wonder if Wube have been though these thought and not come up with a good intuitive way to do it that provide the level of control desired. I actually do not mind being table to assign which colour wire has access to what functionality in an entity signal UI. This would be very useful in situation where mutually exclusive functions currently conflict (for eg rocket silos where you can read contents or read requests, but not both). So I would vote for a UI option on many entities where you select the functions on that wire. This is basically what has now been added to combinators, so there is precedent for it.
One to set the input priority.
- None/Left/Right
One to set the output priority or mode
- None/Left/Right/Filter Left, Filter Right
One to set the actual filter (as to anything else that sets a filter)
What I really find myself wanted to do however is enable/disable one side instead of putting a surface belt before or after and attaching circuits to it, mainly because I use underground belts a lot to keep things tight.
This seems to imply another another bunch of signals - input left on/off, input right on/off, output left on/off and output right on/off.
It almost seems to be the splitter might be better treated from a circuit perspective as two wired entities, one for the right side and another for the left side, or assign red to left and green to right. Both of these option would be different to everything else currently in the game which in itself would be a problem.
I have to wonder if Wube have been though these thought and not come up with a good intuitive way to do it that provide the level of control desired. I actually do not mind being table to assign which colour wire has access to what functionality in an entity signal UI. This would be very useful in situation where mutually exclusive functions currently conflict (for eg rocket silos where you can read contents or read requests, but not both). So I would vote for a UI option on many entities where you select the functions on that wire. This is basically what has now been added to combinators, so there is precedent for it.
Re: Splitter Improvements - Multi-filter and Circuit controls
I agree, desperately needed on Fulgora.
Also a splitter filter blacklist would be really, really useful.
Re: Splitter Improvements - Multi-filter and Circuit controls
I mean, while we're at it... the Fulgora recycling mess would also benefit from splitters being able to compress input items into full stacks of 4 as well.
It kind of sounds like you're really asking for a sorter, though and not a splitter. If you look through the years, there's a laundry list of features people have asked to be added to splitters -- to the point where, if it were all added, configuring splitters could easily end up being a minigame within the game itself. Lane switching is such a common request that in 2.0 they actually added a "lane splitter" to the extra entities in /editor mode.
Clean and compact builds are my north star, so on the one hand I'd totally +1 this request. On the other hand, I'm worried the sense of satisfaction from figuring out how to wrestle a small/elegant build out of a complex problem would be lost, if it could all magically be done by a single entity.
It kind of sounds like you're really asking for a sorter, though and not a splitter. If you look through the years, there's a laundry list of features people have asked to be added to splitters -- to the point where, if it were all added, configuring splitters could easily end up being a minigame within the game itself. Lane switching is such a common request that in 2.0 they actually added a "lane splitter" to the extra entities in /editor mode.
Clean and compact builds are my north star, so on the one hand I'd totally +1 this request. On the other hand, I'm worried the sense of satisfaction from figuring out how to wrestle a small/elegant build out of a complex problem would be lost, if it could all magically be done by a single entity.
Add circuit functionality to spliters
TL;DR
Let circuit conditions control a splitterWhat?
Add a similar set of features to what can be configured on a inserter, and a regular belt.Specifically a condition to enable or disable the splitter, an option to set the filter using a signal, for the features regarding the belt it would be useful if you could enable or disable a splitter as well as read its content, in addition to the features on the inserter and belt you could add a way to toggle the input output priority with a circuit condition and change its direction.
Why?
If there were circuit conditions for splitters it would let you do many new things, such as effectively reroute a belt with circuit conditions without having to do something jank like place a splitter and then on the two have to set opposite enable/disable function, it would also let splitter do all of the things that a normal belt can do witch just doesn't make sense that it can not.(Ps. more filters would also be nice)
Re: Smart Splitters
[Koub] Merged a bunch of threads with the same suggestion.
Koub - Please consider English is not my native language.