Factorio Forums

...And should be phased out for better technology through research or removed as a need by buildings (assy) which can input direct to belt. This would aid in transitioning to whatever higher throughput belt systems are implemented.

There could be another tier of expensive assemblers / smelters locked behind expensive research.

I fully agree. Inserters are almost doubly effective moving items between containers than between a belt and container according to the numbers I have seen. If inserters could pull items off & put them on belts as quickly as they move from container to container, bots would lose a lot of their edge. Belts are artificially nerfed compared to bots solely do to inefficient inserters.

Hm...I am just going to throw this one out there. Earlier today this popped into my mind for some reason when reading your post's title.

How about another assembly machine level 4, a little bigger or even not but i think 4x4 instead of 3x3. (Yeah that nice blueprint you got? You got to update it for late late game too. I am talking about making the game fast here where the guy who landed can't even imagine it yet.) Together with this add another fourth tier advanced belt, WITH infinite speed research. Don't remove inserters but finally here is the perfect place for that loader which must also have its own infinite speed research. (So theres more sinks for rocket packs too.) AND the player need to balance the two, or in other words research them together. (All these technologies should preferably require all the sciences so that the noodle noobs and spaghetti bois can't easily get to it.)

Now this assembly mashine mk 4, although it can be loaded with inserters too, works with loaders. Connecting directly.

The image that popped into my mind earlier was actually that these mk4s must be like little factorissimo buildings perhaps and inside you have basically a single or quarter chunk and there you make use of many belts, or bots, and inserters and stuff and so when you really have made your own custom assembly machine mk4, fed it with 4x express belt mk4 with loaders and all went into 32 plus blue belts and stack inserters, and still you need more, then, really, you just got to place down another assembly machine.

edit:
Or perhaps, inside this mk4 assembly the outside loaders move everything into either inside loaders or chests, whatever the player place next to corresponding outside input/output. Split one chest into 2, to 4,or maybe a new item...the LOADER SPLITTER! ? Anyways the highspeed thingy can then feed directly into mk4s. Note, mk4s inside mk4s dont allow you to enter but revert to a default mk4 wich is faster and perhaps can craft more items together for those future recipies we dont want to have to mod a new assembly... maybe add more module slots for the mk4 too.

Damn I need to learn to mod proper. And quit my day job or just completely forsake sleep..

edit 2: typos -its a real struggle with a cracked phone screen. And I sort of hope my idea could be part of the solution to this whole horrible debacle about the bots/belts debate..