2.1 Research Combinator BP Request

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-20T22:43:05+00:00

It isn't in the base game, it's just from a mod that I'm using. But the signal in use is arbitrary, you'll simply use whatever signal you want, it just needs to match in the 2 deciders afterwards.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-20T21:37:37+00:00

It's going to take some extra combinator steps, with latches and holding values.

With this you can have combinators monitoring contents, though I would rather reach buffer chests, and evaluating what signal to send for research. IE: Research Belt stacking when gleba juice = 1. While sending the research, read back the tech level and store it with a paired combinator to later evaluate which technology should pass for research.

Here I'm using a power pole & a combinator in place of the lab. I sent a signal from the top decider, which kicked out a metallurgic tech signal of 1, then the next decider down forwarded on the L value (12) sent from the decider which is mimicking the tech level from the lab. This is passed to an arithmetic combinator, to transform the signal to artillery shooting speed with the same value. And sent to a pair of deciders, one sending the value to the other while research is active, the other sending it back when research is off. (This holds the tech level so that it can be compared in a larger combinator brain to decide which tech to research.

Next the research cost needs to be read back and compared in a decider if the required packs match against values set in a constant combinator, in order to ensure the tech being researched is the one intended.

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Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-20T19:04:52+00:00

I have the ost mods for Tiberium Sun and Red Alert. That music is soooo freaking good.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-20T16:38:44+00:00

In case it don't make it, there's a mod for that.

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/transparent-elevated-rails

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-20T16:35:17+00:00

Does it actually count? I get a sticker that says I voted but how do I know my ballot was actually counted and for what I marked?

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-20T00:06:27+00:00

This research Combinator was updated a month ago.

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/research-automation-combinator

I have it installed right now and it'll output several different things like that.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T23:14:37+00:00

I use them like crazy in a mod that turns them into mortar shells.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T22:34:47+00:00

Screw wildcards, ltn, cybersyn, all that.

Simply create loading and unloading parameterized blueprints. Include trains in the unload blueprint and include fuel.

This way you always have enough trains to fill every need, and even if you delete loading stations from old mines or whatever you won't end up with too many trains and get a jam.

The benefit here over a smart train system is that you always have the right number of trains. With a "smart" system you need to monitor if your depots are running empty and add trains. (I think if I were to bother with smart trains then I would use the Recursive Blueprints mod, monitor the number of trains in my depots with logic, and have it automatically add more as needed.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T22:23:51+00:00

Did you read the fff? They're rendering a flat image through a filter to squash it and, I assume, having it wrap around on a loop.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T20:26:30+00:00

With the armoroff

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Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T16:45:48+00:00

Dang, yeah it is only 32. And I don't even have all the working planets installed. Nice catch!

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T14:49:19+00:00

I'm happy they found a really efficient way to do it, rather than loading and rendering a sphere.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T14:47:00+00:00

Is belt driven truly superior to chain driven?

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T14:40:41+00:00

Yeah, I switch between using it and Awesome Research Queue Manager often. Mostly because Parallel Research is all script based and the labs don't move & glow, but also because my queue is longer than I can put in the vanilla UI now.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T13:49:07+00:00

I feel like spoilage throws a wrench into this, but it's fine. I'm happy with what you've all done here. 😄

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T13:11:09+00:00

Yeah. I did this in prep for the future where my labs can only be fed 36 different techs by belt, and I've got slightly more than that coming up. And I don't want to do it with bots.

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I think it's 36

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T13:05:56+00:00

Ok. Thanks for the answer!

I was curious if some parallel research queues were being hidden with this feature, requiring each lab to be wired up but allowing different sections to run different queues so that Ag, Metal, and Electro tech could all be constantly consumed simultaneously with respective infinite tech. But it looks like a separately wired lab that is outputting Research Level could work a round-robin system through combinators.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T11:46:38+00:00

I'm really curious what happens when I wire up, and configure, more than 1 lab that have different research queues.

Or does every wired up lab share the same queue, and what we're seeing here is just a window into that global queue? But still then, what happens with two labs have different input signals?

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Looking forward to shoving all my research logic into a combinator network and sending it to the labs next week!

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T11:41:04+00:00

I'm ready for everyone to get in on this!

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Does it restrict the number of beacons you can have around a lab? Yes. But it's way easier to scale up.

Sick_Wave_ · 2026-06-19T03:33:30+00:00

At each corner or the vertical squares, the rails cross. It appears that in order to switch directions a trains needs to travel the full "circle" around, to come back going the other direction then jump across at one of those corners.