Some questions about factories

1st Official Post

    I've been testing GregouriusT's factory design (From the tutorial section) and I've hit a few issues that I could use some help with.


    1. Whats the best way to transfer the resources from quarries into my factories redpower tubing system? I've tried running the buildcraft tubes into a series of chests and using the retriever, but that has 2 problems. First it ignores some of the chests and second it tends to focus on the items popping up in the top left corner (least thats what happens when using a single chest). The latter becomes a big problem when it stops grabbing stacks and just does single items half the time.


    2. What would be a simple way to split some items up? For example sending half the stone to the output chests and the other half is processed.


    3. Should I be using overclockers or instead increase the number of machines? I was using 4 quarries in my creative game and it easily out paced my factories ability to process all the materials. I've heard that having too many machines together can create a ton of lag. Also maybe the number of overcloakers needed would push the power requirements sky high.


    If anyone happens to know of any other decent threads covering factories don't suppose you could provide a link? Thanks in advance for any help!

    • Official Post
    Quote from Nik

    1. Whats the best way to transfer the resources from quarries into my factories redpower tubing system? I've tried running the buildcraft tubes into a series of chests and using the retriever, but that has 2 problems. First it ignores some of the chests and second it tends to focus on the items popping up in the top left corner (least thats what happens when using a single chest). The latter becomes a big problem when it stops grabbing stacks and just does single items half the time.

    Relays. Just put a Relay adjacent to your BC-Quarry and the Quarry should fill it. Then connect the Inputtube to the Outputfacing of the Relay and viola, you fill the Tubesystem like the Quarry fills BC-Pipes.

    Quote from Nik

    2. What would be a simple way to split some items up? For example sending half the stone to the output chests and the other half is processed.

    Just branching like in BC-Pipes. But you have to make the Ways equivalent long, because otherwise it would choose the shortest Way.

    Quote from Nik

    3. Should I be using overclockers or instead increase the number of machines? I was using 4 quarries in my creative game and it easily out paced my factories ability to process all the materials. I've heard that having too many machines together can create a ton of lag. Also maybe the number of overcloakers needed would push the power requirements sky high.

    More Machines. The Lag produced by them, is only from the Sound they make, so you can just decrease the maximum amount of IC²-Soundsources in the Configfile for no Lag.

    Thanks GregoriusT, your thread in the tutorials is amazing btw.

    Quote from GregoriusT

    More Machines. The Lag produced by them, is only from the Sound they make, so you can just decrease the maximum amount of IC²-Soundsources in the Configfile for no Lag.

    What would be a decent level to set it to to remove lag but still hear them properly?

    Quote from Nik

    1. Whats the best way to transfer the resources from quarries into my factories redpower tubing system? I've tried running the buildcraft tubes into a series of chests and using the retriever, but that has 2 problems. First it ignores some of the chests and second it tends to focus on the items popping up in the top left corner (least thats what happens when using a single chest). The latter becomes a big problem when it stops grabbing stacks and just does single items half the time.


    i agree with gregoriusT: Relays. they're perfect links between tubes and pipes, since pipes accept them as chests. it also works the other way around with a little trick involving obsidian pipes. let the relay throw the item and catch it with an obsidian pipe, but don't connect to relay to the obsidian pipe.

    Quote from Nik

    2. What would be a simple way to split some items up? For example sending half the stone to the output chests and the other half is processed.


    either use equivalent length or a sorting machine. length requiers close to no extra effort, except counting your tubes. the sorter may be the more difficult to set up, but its the best way if you can't realise the first solution. sorter is better if you have way more than two choices or if you need non equal distribution, such as UU-matter for different products.

    Quote from Nik

    3. Should I be using overclockers or instead increase the number of machines? I was using 4 quarries in my creative game and it easily out paced my factories ability to process all the materials. I've heard that having too many machines together can create a ton of lag. Also maybe the number of overcloakers needed would push the power requirements sky high.


    just as greg said, use a number you find fancy.

    Got another question for you lot! connecting the relays to the buildcraft pipes worked great and I increased my number of machines too (no noticeable lag increase either).


    Though most of the resources that got fed into factories tube system were mainly single items or tiny stacks. Wouldn't this possibly cause increased lag with so many entities going through the tubes? In which case is there a easy way to get them to form full stacks?

    The Buffer in TubeStuff was designed for things like this. Send items in one side via pipes, put a filter on another side, and it'll pulse the filter to extract items, while also combining stacks to reduce lag.

    Disappointed with the bugs and nerfedness of AtomicStryker Corp's Advanced Machines, and the unupdatedness of Snyke's Enterprises?
    Need low-lag renewable power?
    Come to ImmTech Intragalactical this thread for free UUM!
    Note: UUM may stand for Unnerfed Unbuggy Updated Machines and may not be actual UUM. The extra U was lost due to a bit error.
    Battery snot included.

    • Official Post
    Quote from Nik

    Though most of the resources that got fed into factories tube system were mainly single items or tiny stacks. Wouldn't this possibly cause increased lag with so many entities going through the tubes? In which case is there a easy way to get them to form full stacks?

    Single Items are not really laggy.


    The GregTower2 has sometimes hundreds of single Items and small Stacks traversing through a huge Tubesystem without any Lagincrease. I was also able to decrease the Pathfinding (and increase the Overviewability), using colored Tubes and colorcoded Items in the whole System.

    Quote from immibis

    The Buffer in TubeStuff was designed for things like this. Send items in one side via pipes, put a filter on another side, and it'll pulse the filter to extract items, while also combining stacks to reduce lag.

    Does your Buffer really pulse a Filter? I should've read all of your Descriptions. :D

    Quote from GregoriusT

    Single Items are not really laggy.


    The GregTower2 has sometimes hundreds of single Items and small Stacks traversing through a huge Tubesystem without any Lagincrease. I was also able to decrease the Pathfinding (and increase the Overviewability), using colored Tubes and colorcoded Items in the whole System.


    Similar here. in the game with Aether (1.9 pr2) I couldn't use logistics pipes so I reverted to the other way of sorting stuff. (some effort, a lot of paint cans and more effort stuffing it all behind walls) When the frame quarry really got going I had tons of stuff traveling through two different tube networks. (one on the frame head, one in my base) and didn't really get any lag.

    • Official Post
    Quote from Ook

    Similar here. in the game with Aether (1.9 pr2) I couldn't use logistics pipes so I reverted to the other way of sorting stuff. (some effort, a lot of paint cans and more effort stuffing it all behind walls) When the frame quarry really got going I had tons of stuff traveling through two different tube networks. (one on the frame head, one in my base) and didn't really get any lag.

    Oh yes, i forgot to mention my Framequarry, which mines 128 Blocks at once. Only the Blockbreaking, Railcraft-Anchor-Chunkloading and Framemoving lags me.

    Quote from Nik

    Got another question for you lot! connecting the relays to the buildcraft pipes worked great and I increased my number of machines too (no noticeable lag increase either).


    Though most of the resources that got fed into factories tube system were mainly single items or tiny stacks. Wouldn't this possibly cause increased lag with so many entities going through the tubes? In which case is there a easy way to get them to form full stacks?


    i never noticed much lag with the tubesystem. in my mining ship the distribution system was fed by nine miners and the mining pipes for those were also speeding around like crazy, all that in a quiet expansive mag-tube network, but it still didn't cause any lag.
    the only things i noticed to be laggy are sounds, working logic devices (several timer or counter), very big redwire/bundle networks (even constant signals seems to cause noticable lag once they're send into enough logic gates over a complex enough network) and moving frames, of course. everything else seems to be fine.

    Quote from GregoriusT

    Because you never tried that old BC-trick (to store infinite Items) with the Tubes. I disrecommend any use of Tubes as infinite Storage. (happened to me accidently with my Sortingsystem yesterday)


    BC are pipes, tubes are RP2 ;)
    i also only use pipes for forestry, liquids (since RP2 fluid tubes are still in an unusable state) and autocrafting with logistic pipes (the only mayor advantage of logistic pipes i could discover, but it's very nice and comfortable)