Spreadsheeting with Angel's mods
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:53 am
I'm wondering how many other people make spreadsheets to calculate resource costs and machine requirements with these mods. So this topic thread is I suppose intended to prompt discussion about spreadsheets or other methods of planning for a factory design.
I was inspired by this post (viewtopic.php?f=185&t=41121) by @Jaclyn to start using spreadsheets for planning, and I've spent about 5 hours already working on a spreadsheet that lets me change various input and output values to manage the numbers of machines and resources I need to keep my factory running smoothly. I have to pre-plan the machine setup including the machine tier (which means that for upgraded tiers I'll need to rework that area of the spreadsheet), but it's still proving to be very useful. The way I've been setting it up allows me to very easily figure out how many arrays of machines I need for a given process, how many machines will be in each array (I'll use standardized arrays), and also provides a conclusive resource manifest that shows all system inputs (for the factory overall), intermediate products, and end products. The one thing it doesn't show (when finished; as it stands there are lots of things that it doesn't show) is the number of intermediate products that will be on belts at any given time (it calculates overflow/demand, and aims to balance all intermediates to 0). This isn't a huge issue though, since belt layouts won't really be plannable with a spreadsheet.
Speaking of planning, I have a question regarding machines which consume fuel (since I haven't reached the tier where everything is electrified). Unless fuel efficiency is stated in the tool tip, can it be assumed that fuel efficiency is 100%? As it currently is, I am unable to properly calculate coal consumption (and carbon/coke/crushed coal consumption where those are being used as fuel), which is a significant issue my quest to create an exhaustive factory planning spreadsheet.
I was inspired by this post (viewtopic.php?f=185&t=41121) by @Jaclyn to start using spreadsheets for planning, and I've spent about 5 hours already working on a spreadsheet that lets me change various input and output values to manage the numbers of machines and resources I need to keep my factory running smoothly. I have to pre-plan the machine setup including the machine tier (which means that for upgraded tiers I'll need to rework that area of the spreadsheet), but it's still proving to be very useful. The way I've been setting it up allows me to very easily figure out how many arrays of machines I need for a given process, how many machines will be in each array (I'll use standardized arrays), and also provides a conclusive resource manifest that shows all system inputs (for the factory overall), intermediate products, and end products. The one thing it doesn't show (when finished; as it stands there are lots of things that it doesn't show) is the number of intermediate products that will be on belts at any given time (it calculates overflow/demand, and aims to balance all intermediates to 0). This isn't a huge issue though, since belt layouts won't really be plannable with a spreadsheet.
Speaking of planning, I have a question regarding machines which consume fuel (since I haven't reached the tier where everything is electrified). Unless fuel efficiency is stated in the tool tip, can it be assumed that fuel efficiency is 100%? As it currently is, I am unable to properly calculate coal consumption (and carbon/coke/crushed coal consumption where those are being used as fuel), which is a significant issue my quest to create an exhaustive factory planning spreadsheet.
