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Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 12:57 pm
by AntiElitz
Description:
When the factory’s power network runs slightly below full satisfaction (around 90%), combinators lose power much faster than other entities.
In this state, a decider combinator that should still have enough power begins missing input signals because its own power consumption drops to a fraction of the network average, sometimes down to about 10%.
This issue can be seen in the related bug report:
Combinators lose input signals under mild power shortage
Video:
https://youtu.be/M-LJQGa6mi0
Since combinators are often used for critical factory logic, even short power dips can break control circuits and disrupt production. Players sometimes have to reload saves to recover from the resulting logic errors.
Combinators use very little energy, so it would make sense to give them primary input priority, or at least a higher level than normal machines. This would prevent small power shortages from disabling important logic.
Re: Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 2:51 pm
by Rseding91
I forwarded the suggestion to the combinator guy.
Re: Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 3:07 pm
by AntiElitz
Thank you <3
Re: Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 5:56 pm
by thuejk
I hope this is "fixed". It doesn't really make the game more fun, serve any gameplay purpose, if any low power situation breaks advanced circuit setups so horribly.
Re: Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 6:48 pm
by _CodeGreen
I'm surprised this isn't a thing already to be honest
Re: Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 7:27 pm
by Brathahn
+1
that one quirk is the only reason i use a mechanical (belt and wire) state machine for my kovarex processing.
Re: Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 9:23 pm
by eugenekay
From the
Previous discussion:
I have to step into this discussion and stop it. This logic will stay as it is. Combinators are consuming energy and if there is not enough energy they will not update. With combinatorial logic this is all fine and good, no questions asked. In case of sequentional logic (when there are loopbacks) there is assumption that combinators are updating every tick for those logic to work. Combinators are not being updated when they have not enough energy. If a player knows combinators may not update because of loss of electricity (they are told about this by requiring electricity to be provided for them and by not updating until electricity is provided) and logic they are designing depends on them updating every tick, and purposefully allows them to enter into low power state and starts to complain "why are they not updating" then well...
Alowing them to update always even when no power would remove the need to power them. Trying to make them all update at the same time would cause implementation issues when there would be multiple combinators in the same circuit network logic but they would be powered by isolated electric network with different state of overload. If combinators not updating and so keeping previous output value are hard to notice, maybe i should change them to clear their output in case of low power condition?
And the obligatory
there is a mod for that.
Re: Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 3:52 am
by Nosferatu
Last time it was said this happens when power goes below 48,54%. Now it happens at 90%?
Last time there was a game play solution: Isolate your important combinators in it's own well backed up power grid.
How is this done on a space platform?
Link to last times technical explanation:
viewtopic.php?p=519785#p519785
Things might be different now.
Re: Powered logic devices (combinators, inserters, etc.) should behave consistently under low power
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 8:05 am
by Koub
[Koub] Merged into an older thread with the same suggestion. Also unlocking the old thread, things having settled since.
Re: Powered logic devices (combinators, inserters, etc.) should behave consistently under low power
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 2:29 pm
by AntiElitz
Please de-merge my thread. The merged topic is about consistent behavior under low power, while this one concerns power priority imbalance. That’s not about update logic, it’s about priority. These are different issues and should be tracked separately.
Old threads suggestion: I propose that at the very least, all powered logic devices on the same electrical network should behave the same way when suffering from low power.
My suggestion: Combinators should use primary input priority
Also that thread is from 2020 before Space Age and shouldn’t be revived.
Re: Powered logic devices (combinators, inserters, etc.) should behave consistently under low power
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 9:29 pm
by Koub
AntiElitz wrote: Fri Oct 17, 2025 2:29 pm
Please de-merge my thread.
[Koub] Done.
Re: Powered logic devices (combinators, inserters, etc.) should behave consistently under low power
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 11:00 am
by AntiElitz
Koub wrote: Fri Oct 17, 2025 9:29 pm
AntiElitz wrote: Fri Oct 17, 2025 2:29 pm
Please de-merge my thread.
[Koub] Done.
Thank you <3 . Seemingly this is now also implemented.
viewtopic.php?p=683167#p683167
Re: Give Combinators Higher Power Priority
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 7:16 pm
by Koub
[Koub] Moved to implemented then.