Allow labs to share spoilage amongst themselves like science packs.
What?
Labs should be allowed to share spoilage just like science packs in order to prevent the agricultural packs spoilage from jamming the labs in compact designs.
When not researching agricultural science, the Gleba packs spoil inside the labs, eventually occupying the slot and halting research completely.
The only solution right now to this problem is to either limit the input of agricultural packs while a Gleba research is not active (there would still be packs inside the labs from the previous research) or have a spoilage output on every single lab.
Why?
I believe the latter solution defeats the purpose of labs sharing packs, since you need to account for the spoilage anyway, preventing you from making compact lab designs. If spoilage acted like science packs inside the labs you could make a waste line downstream, therefore solving the problem.
Re: Allow labs to share spoilage
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2024 4:25 pm
by Ashan
I totaly agree with this request. Dealing with spoilage is interesting mechanic. Not loving it as such, but i do like a challenges in general, so, mixed feelings there.
I believe i have workaround for compact designs, but its not gonna be reliable enough i think.
I didnt start new game with 2.0 (tried, got bored with basic stuff), so im in process of rebuilding my existing train based modular base. Since i have lot of railroads to replace, and some long ongoing issues to fix, i decided to prep myself some templates in editor. So i designed research field, and im feeding it from infinity chests. That means agriculture flasks have durability sorted on belts as they are being generated directly to belt. Inserters have feature to pick spoiled first. Im assuming here that this should basicaly do the same trick as infinity chest, having shortest remaining duration to go out first. Then all you need to do is to pick spoilage from last Lab in the line, which will be instantly replaced with a bit newer flask from its neighbour, and in theory, only last lab(s) should ever have their flasks becoming spoiled.
Re: Allow labs to share spoilage
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2024 9:27 pm
by Tinyboss
What this really means is "allow spoilage to be inserted into labs". Because by the time the inserter has the spoilage in its hand, the idea that it was "shared" from another lab is lost. But I don't think there's any crafting building that accepts items that aren't its ingredients. (Other than the silo, but it's supposed to have a cargo where anything can be placed).
You can build just as compactly if you pull spoilage out into purple chests, which you have before Gleba.
I could not find a way to do it with belts only that was as compact as the standard daisy chain, though.
Re: Allow labs to share spoilage
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2024 10:01 am
by Ashan
Example of compact design with 12 flasks in attachments, but with no space for unloading spoilage from each individual lab in any way. So far my testing shows flawless results, but in editor i have guaranteed order of "spoiledness". But im worried that as soon as i move back to game, and start feeding belts with multiple trains, any guarantee of the order is out of the question. I have several science fields, several trains, and im enabling stations with less than average amounts of flasks in chests related to them. That means a train with flasks older than currently in the stattion chests can arrive in any time, and even if inserters starts to unload them right away, order on the belt is flawed, and research stall is sooner or later guaranteed.
So no, you cannot build just as compactly with purple chests. And no, im not moving this design in "production". But yes, i would love if spoilage could have been inserted in Science Labs. Its an exception, and i hate those, but since im not using daisy chaining anywhere else (and tbh dont know if thats even possible), im willing to have exception in behavior. Lets leave complex spoilage handling on Gleba only please.
Edit: added final design, density went from 528 to 430 labs, about 80%.
Edit2: well, nothing is ever final......
Ashan wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 10:01 amSo no, you cannot build just as compactly with purple chests.
Offset your lab rows and you'll do a lot better.
Re: Allow labs to share spoilage
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2024 2:49 pm
by LCStark
Tinyboss wrote: Wed Nov 13, 2024 9:27 pm
But I don't think there's any crafting building that accepts items that aren't its ingredients.
There is the special case for when spoilable ingredient spoils while in hand of the inserter:
2/ If an item spoils while in hand, then inserter will hold an item that is known to be a spoil product of a different item. Such items get slightly different treatment when trying to insert into entity where the item does not fit into input inventory. If its attempted to be inserted into assembler and it does not fit ingredients inventory it will be put into dump inventory as a spoil product.
But yeah, other than that I can't think of another example.
Re: Allow labs to share spoilage
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2025 6:50 pm
by mzlink
Tinyboss wrote: Wed Nov 13, 2024 9:27 pm
I don't think there's any crafting building that accepts items that aren't its ingredients.
sorry if i'm necro'ing the thread but:
what if A: logic change: allow fuel to be shared between buildings
B: have spoilage pretend it's fuel?
Because i really do not like that boilers and etc cannot share fuel.
Re: Allow labs to share spoilage
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2025 11:00 pm
by Tesse11ation
You can always do this number:
fig. A: Lab with 6 belts of input and a chest for trashing spoilage.
02-08-2025, 16-55-35.png (866.53 KiB) Viewed 259 times
You can even fit beacons in the 4 corners there.
Also, by the time you get the 5th planet's science pack, you should absolutely be using
biolabs
from
Gleba
at that point.
It's 5x5 instead of 3x3, which makes it way easier to route the I/O.
I don't hate this suggestion, but I'm not super keen on it either.