https://mods.factorio.com/mod/datascience
Entities
- Sensors to collect data from crafting machines.
- Collectors to receive and aggregate raw data records on punch cards.
- Computers to perform data cleansing and analysis.
- Punch Cards for storing data.
- Raw Data added to blue science recipe.
- Clean Data added to purple science recipe.
- Analysed Data added to yellow science recipe.
- Data Collection (red + green)
- Data Computation (red + green + blue)
- Data Analysis (red + green + blue + purple)
- Build a normal starter base for red and green science, and the usual engines + mining-drill arrays in preparation for blue science.
- Craft a bunch of *sensors* and cover all available assemblers, refineries, chemical plants, and furnaces. Just like beacons, sensors have a yellow area of effect overlay. Note that furnaces won't be selection-highlighted but they're still counted by the mod.
- Craft a collector or two. Supply these with punch cards and raw data records should start to flow. Commence blue science.
- Link science output to overall base production.
- Make science a bit more interesting with a different game mechanic.
- Complicate just about every blueprint in existence with sensors!
- Replace, or make more indirect, the requirement for intermediate items in higher science pack recipes.
- Think about ways to link this stuff into the circuit network a bit more in the future.
- Think of a way to add a higher-level computer that must be laid out using more than one entity -- Cluster? Cooling?