Regarding the issue of cargo landing pad logistics throughput.

[airbrush]

The current game setting allows only one cargo landing pad per planet, but the logistics throughput of the cargo landing pad is limited. I now have a huge lab, and there is a bottleneck — it simply cannot meet the lab's demands. Please consider addressing this issue in a future update. Thank you.

[computeraddict]

and there is a bottleneck

Even without using bots, you can get 50% more throughput by going from pad -> chest -> two belts (add extra chest->chest steps for more space)

[airbrush]

and there is a bottleneck

Even without using bots, you can get 50% more throughput by going from pad -> chest -> two belts (add extra chest->chest steps for more space)

Thank you for your suggestion, but the issue isn't about chests or belts. The root cause is that with only one cargo landing pad, it can be accessed by a maximum of 30 stack inserters at once.

[computeraddict]

The root cause

To give the short version I've done a half dozen times before, inserters alone let you sustain 36k raw spm. Iirc your physical hardware will bottleneck before the landing pad does.

[hittsy]

Ok, sure, if you hyper-optimize it, you can get a lot of throughput out of the cargo landing pad, but factorio is a game about a distinct lack of limits. They don't put limits on the amount of inserters you can craft, or the amount of launch pads you can make. Besides, physical hardware shouldn't be a concern either - computers are getting better all the time and the developers seem keenly interested in this game being available well into the future (what with how they give you DRM free copies on their site or GOG).

I dislike this limitation too more on principle, since having only a single landing pad is too arbitrary.

[computeraddict]

Ok, sure, if you hyper-optimize it,

Even the setup you posted can support 24k raw spm before productivity and biolab bonuses. And you can still add bots on top of that. Or if you really really don't want to use bots nothing is stopping you from putting unlimited numbers of regular labs on space platforms and doing your research there.

only a single landing pad is too arbitrary

It was a lesson learned from Space Exploration that nearly unlimited landing pad counts made certain logistics fairly trivial. Need an imported material at a location? Just drop a landing pad there. Need it somewhere else? Drop a pad there too.

[airbrush]

In response to your questions:

1. Currently, my lab's maximum demand when fully loaded is 103k, which can only be achieved using robots (see image). If I use only belts and inserters, the maximum is around 70k — that's the upper limit.

2. I don't want to use robots for two reasons. First, I believe the greatest replayability and the most fun in this game comes from belts and inserters; using robots makes the game much less interesting. Second, using robots on a large scale consumes a huge amount of your computer's computing resources. So if you want to take the easy way out, feel free to prioritize robots — but you won't get the most enjoyment out of the game.

3. The same issue applies to space platforms. You can only connect a maximum of 30 stack inserters. Your space research center can only reach about 70k at most, and that's your limit. I completely agree with what hittsy said: the original vision of this game was to have no limits, but now it has become limited, which reduces its replayability. I believe better optimization should be possible!

[airbrush]

see image

[computeraddict]

Your space research center can only reach about 70k at most, and that's your limit.

You can build more than one

If I use only belts and inserters, the maximum is around 70k

Something about your math isn't mathing. Legendary stack inserters do 120 items per second in chest to chest operation. 30*120*60 gives 216k items per minute, divided between 6 types of science to import gives 36k per minute.

see image

Not pictured: ups, planetary sciences other than electromagnetic

[radical_larry]

It was a lesson learned from Space Exploration that nearly unlimited landing pad counts made certain logistics fairly trivial. Need an imported material at a location? Just drop a landing pad there. Need it somewhere else? Drop a pad there too.

Or plop down a train station. Or a roboport. Or a belt. But not a landing pad, because...?

[airbrush]

Okay, I understand your thinking. You've also calculated the maximum throughput of a single cargo landing pad or space platform hub, and proven that it has an upper limit. So we're back to the core issue: why can there only be one cargo landing pad?

The reasons you've given seem completely unreasonable to me. Since technology has already advanced to a new stage and you're capable of doing it, why can't you use that capability?

In reality, if Elon Musk's Starship becomes cheap enough for transportation in the future, it will first replace intercontinental air freight and ocean cargo ships, and even long-distance rail transport. That's a perfectly reasonable outcome!

Simply put, the choice of transportation method should be determined by: 1. timeliness, and 2. cost. Both of these factors also apply to the current game. This would be the best way to increase the fun of the game — rather than restricting you to using horse-drawn carts and telling you that this is the most romantic way.

How to choose should be decided by the players themselves. That's what makes sense.