Allow assemblers to change recipe with ingredients still in output and move items in output buffer to input if they're ingredients in the next recipe.
- 06-18-2026, 15-01-10.png (77.28 KiB) Viewed 73 times
Currently, you cannot change the recipe of an assembler using circuit signals if it has any buffered ingredients in it still. It moves the buffered ingredients from the previous recipe into the output and they have to be cleared before the new recipe can be set. The assembler should be allowed to set the new recipe even with previous ingredients still in the output buffer. Any items in the output buffer that are used as ingredients in the newly set recipe should be automatically moved to the input buffer. The recipe should still be able to craft with previous ingredients in the output buffer.
Why?
This allows for much tighter builds for using a single assembler wired to make multiple recipes, or to make a chain of recipes like cannon shell -> explosive cannon shell -> artillery shell. Recipes that use the same ingredients won't have to be cleared at all, and multi-stage recipes using the output as the next input can be completed in series and output the final product. This is still interesting gameplay and factory design because it requires circuit knowledge and setup, but currently with a 3x3 assembler it's impossible to build any complicated recipe chain without taking up a full 7x7 like in the image below.
- 06-18-2026, 15-15-46.png (334.86 KiB) Viewed 73 times