[MOD 0.9.2] Insert This

[sparr]

This mod adds more types of inserters to the game.

https://github.com/sparr/factorio-mod-insert-this

Features:

• 90 degree inserters, left and right variants. Otherwise function like normal inserters.
• Long handled inserters to move items from 2 tiles away to 1 tile away and vice versa.
• Inserters to move items from one side of a conveyor to another (BROKEN)

Known Bugs:

• Lack of custom artwork for new entities. They look the same as normal inserters when the additional info mode is not enabled.
• The near push and pull inserters do not work. The problem is that they can pick up the spot they drop from, which results in a loop.

Screenshot 2014-03-07 23.57.19.png (882.01 KiB) Viewed 14833 times

[sparr]

Here is a comparison of steel furnace layouts using the 90 degree inserters. The bottom one seems ideal. It is 17% smaller and uses fewer steel power lines than the "normal" middle layout.

[Math3vv]

Wow 90 degree insterters ! thats a golden idea right ther, nice mod !

[APXEOLOG]

Glad to see how mod request come from users to modders, devs and back to users. Prefect!

[kaldac]

silly question i'm sure but do the 90 degree inserters work on 9.4 yet? and are there any half length and long half length inserters in here as well??

Also would a 90 degree half inserter be viable?

[slay_mithos]

They should work just fine, inserters didn't have changes in 0.9.3 or 0.9.4, as far as I remember.

As for half inserters, it is definitely possible, as an other mod has them (dytech, but it' not 'just' inserters, it make a lot of changes to the base game and adds a lot of other things too).

If you are feeling that you can edit a few files to get your half inserters how you like (maybe even combine 90° and half inerters), it's pretty easy to do, and you can get help in the modding help section (just above)

[sparr]

I would like to convince the devs in some future release to make inserters customizable in-game. It is silly for us to make 100 different kinds of inserters when there are really only a few variables that we want to change:

pickup/insert angle
pickup distance
insert distance
[smart or not]

[slay_mithos]

Modular inserters for the win...

If you had speed, insert distance, insert/pickup angle, pickup angle, filter and smart "modules", you could potentially do everything with only one inserter type.

The only problem with this is that it would become harder to see which type is used, when all have the same graphics.

[kovarex]

The only problem with this is that it would become harder to see which type is used, when all have the same graphics.

Exactly

[slay_mithos]

Would it be possible, with the current engine, to change the sprites of a machine (inserter here) based on the module(s) and/or recipe?

Or if that is not possible, would it be feasible to force the inserters to show their modules when showing alternative infos? A bit like how chest contents are shown.
That would allow for this kind of inserters to show what kind they are, without having to load a lot of sprites in graphical memory.

[ssilk]

Stupid question: How are different inserter types relevant to the basic game concept? They aren't. I could imagine 1 or 2 more inserter types (this over the edge is nice, and that also in a smart-version), but they aren't needed to play the game. Or in other words: it could be done by placing them at the right place and form the belts, assemblies etc. around. It's about the same as with the inserters.

Form is always stronger than function. Form needs more space, but we have normally space enough in Factorio...

[kovarex]

Inserter graphics takes just a very little, and we don't even specified some module system for inserters.

[sparr]

alt / additional info mode could show details of a configured inserter. it already has arrows, you'd just need to move the arrows to the appropriate spot to illustrate angle and distance.

[slay_mithos]

Yeah, but it's the mod section here, where we modify the game to bend it to how we want to play.

For me, at least, most of the fun in modded games is that I can make it change completely on some things I don't enjoy.
Basically, mods add a lot of variety and "unnecessary" things for people that want more/different things.

Inserters are among the things that makes me frustrated the most when designing my factories, particularly when the ingredients count go above 3 (I like keeping 1 belt=1 ingredient).

With access to even faster inserters, 90° ones, long output but short input, and many others, it makes it possible to design factories differently, and doesn't restrict you to reusing "perfect" builds you took from a video or a forum.


For the base game, what is currently provided is sufficient to make everything work, and you need to understand a few things about all the parts in order to make a working factory.
With mods, you add both complexity and new tools, but these are not needed to play the game, it's just up to the player to choose if he/she wants mod(s), and which one(s), and the more freedom given to modders means more mods, along with more high quality and polished ones.


(I am not much of a writer, so this post might not b explaining things very well, sorry about that)

[ssilk]

Inserters are among the things that makes me frustrated the most when designing my factories, particularly when the ingredients count go above 3 (I like keeping 1 belt=1 ingredient).

Well, if you like it. I mean, even with a mod you need to compare with others, which play without or with other mods. I don't want to make a big discussion out of that. I really like to have different mods. And often useless things are the next big thing. I just wanted to ask the above question, because I was really interested.

Keep on going!

[Arpaleggia]

Hi, I would like to post with small suggestions and show what is meant by "broken" when referring to the inserters that change the side of the transport belt an item is on.

I am running version 0.9.8 of Factorio. Beyond the obvious suggestion to make fast and smart versions of each new type, please see file comments. My apologies that I cannot be of assistance in coding.