Conveyor Belts

  • With all the machines in Industrial Craft, it's very handy to be able to move items between inventories automatically. Vanilla MC has the hopper, but it has limitations, such as an inability to go up and a relatively slow speed. Buildcraft has a similar block, the Chute, which is faster but has more limitations (it can only accept items from pipes and manual transfers).




    So I propose that Industrial Craft has its own variant, the Conveyor Belt. Each block of belt has an internal inventory, like hoppers. Unlike hoppers, conveyor belts can go in all six directions, just like the production lines in factories. The belts are powered by a motor, which sends a pulse down the line that activates the belts and has them move their items along (this means that only the motor needs to be powered, not the whole line). The motor block is an inline block, that is, it has a conveyor belt as well as having a motor, so it's placed in the belt path. Each belt block outputs to one side (to prevent branching) and draws items from inventories on all the other sides. Since the items are stored inside the block inventories, lag is low and they are not displayed outside moving along unless the developers actually feel like programming that in.


    Technical information aside, the usage of the belt would be simple. Say you wanted to set up a simple production line: ores to macerate, then smelt. You first set up a chest that holds the ores. Belt 1 then connects from the chest to the Macerator. Belt 2 connects from the Macerator to the furnace. Belt 3 connects from the furnace to the chest that holds the final ingots. If done with hoppers, this would have to be built in a stairstep manner, as hoppers only remove items from the block above them; also, you would be limited to how fast the hoppers could, well, hop. This could also be done in Buildcraft, but it wouldn't be very compact and you might not have Buildcraft. Conveyor belts would be more compact and would not require an additional mod.


    The primary downside to conveyor belts compared to hoppers and buildcraft wooden pipes and engines is that the belts must be powered. However, they wouldn't require very much, and can be made faster than their unpowered counterparts. After all, buildcraft wooden pipes and engines are slower than hoppers, and if you want more speed you have to increase to stone engines anyway. Here we're just putting it in Industrialcraft instead!

  • An electric hopper would be cool takes in 8 eu/t and instantly transfers items in all six directions (only being limited by the one side the cable has to go on).


    Edit: You can also get a transfer node and put 10 speed upgrades in it.

    • Official Post

    That was not GregTech.


    Within GregTech, everything is harder, more expensive, more complex, balanced, but very rewarding (feeling-wise).
    You REALLY should download it and take another look. If you need some quite up to date information, check the GregTech CommunityWiki (link at my sig).

  • Hopping on the GT rulz train here. If you aren't a fan of some of the changes, Greg has one of the most expansive configs of all time. You can turn off 90% of changes (some you can't, for balance reasons, or exploits and such). Although the config can be hard to navigate for some, ask in the GT page and I'm sure we'll be able to find what you want.


    Although I do the opposite, I optionally make it harder, but that's just how I enjoy playing now.

    • Official Post

    For those who don't want to join the Gregtech train, what's wrong with IC2's item ejector upgrade?

    145 Mods isn't too many. 9 types of copper and 8 types of tin aren't too many. 3 types of coffee though?

    I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you read was not what I meant.


    ---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
    // I just don't know what went wrong :(


    I see this too much.

    • Official Post

    Shift rightclick (or is it just normal rightclick?) with it on a block to set it's direction

    145 Mods isn't too many. 9 types of copper and 8 types of tin aren't too many. 3 types of coffee though?

    I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you read was not what I meant.


    ---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
    // I just don't know what went wrong :(


    I see this too much.