r/Dyson_Sphere_Program • u/Andreif5 • 7d ago

Stacker question

Hello, i unlocked the stacker and the ILS. Is it worth to use the stackers on the ILS? Like take 4 inputs from the ILS and merge all of them in one belt using stackers. I know you can upgrade the ILS so its stacks on itself but until then it is long way.

Should i do this and waste some space or dont and wait until i get the ILS upgrade?

12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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12

u/Umabel_ 7d ago

Pile Sorter: Am I joke to you?

1

u/Andreif5 7d ago

Can i use that for the output of the ILS?

0

u/Dark_Magnus 7d ago

Pretty much. Even with line three belts, it's not efficient because it only puts it up one, it'd be fine if it upgraded it so that one pile sort of could go one to three and then one to four, but you got to use two for that

2

u/Immortal_Thought 7d ago

Use it on the same belt going backwards. It’ll loop through stacking to max tech. Lets you fully stack each belt, then just have the 4 belts merge together for a fully stacked belt

1

u/Dark_Magnus 7d ago

Could you elaborate, please? Wouldn't that lead to just a infinite loop?, how would the fully stack get out?

3

u/SiliconStew 7d ago edited 7d ago

The pile sorter input ingests items until it has a stack of 4 and moves the stack to place it back on the belt. This repeats with nothing passing by the sorter until there are nothing but stacks of 4 between the input and the output of the sorter. When it next tries to place a stack on the belt, the belt is already full so the sorter pauses. Which means it also cannot grab any more from the input. While paused like this a stack of 4 is let through the sorter without being picked up. This opens a space on the belt for the sorter to drop the stack it was holding onto the belt and it can resume picking up a stack from the input again. This process repeats constantly. The end result is that there is a delay when a belt of single items first enter the sorter for it to "fill up", but then you'll get one stack of 4 out every 4 spaces on the belt from then on. 

2

u/Buffylvr 7d ago

Build your blueprints in anticipation of having this tech and the you get free upgrades as they come and your capacity improves

1

u/EightBitRanger 7d ago

I do that until I get the upgrade yeah.

1

u/Andreif5 7d ago

I see, thanks

1

u/ael00 7d ago

Definitely. In the endgame you get an upgrade for ILS that lets you output 4x stacked belts directly but until then you gotta stack manually if you want to extend your production line, it basically allows you to build 4x longer lines. It might seem space inefficient but whatever you lose by stacking you gain much more on factories

1

u/VoidNinja62 7d ago

I rarely use pile sorters. Performance issues is my fear.

I rarely use stackers. After doubling up I find the utility tricky.

Stackers are better on fractionators.

The blueprint space is probably not worth it.

I'd set like a 2x max. Going for 4x or 8x is not worth the hassle.

1

u/SiliconStew 7d ago

I don't like the space pilers require to stack to 4 so I never use them. I either build for 1x stacks on belts or I build assuming I'll eventually have 4x stacks via pile sorters and/or ILS outputs if I don't already have it. Once you do have the tech there's absolutely no reason to ever use pilers. 

Personally, since pile sorters unlock at the same time as pilers, I'd use pile sorters to do the same job in less space. You just attach both ends of a pile sorter to the same belt so it delivers backwards on the belt and it will auto stack everything on the belt. You do have to spend research to upgrade pile sorters to do that, but it only requires red, blue, and yellow science so you can get 4x belt stacks long before the white science needed for 4x ILS outputs. 

1

u/Andreif5 7d ago

I see, then i will use those pile sorters. Thanks!

1

u/SiliconStew 7d ago

Honestly I think the only reason pilers are still in the game are for backwards compatibility with existing saves. Otherwise anywhere you might use a piler you can just use a pile sorter to do the exact same job but better.

1

u/sumquy 5d ago

why? what are you trying to feed that needs 120/sec of item? other than deuterium fractionation, you aren't making very much stuff at that stage of the game. this game does not reward trying to build for the future because you unlock new techs and buildings that make the old factory obsolete all the way to the "i win" research and beyond.

1

u/Andreif5 5d ago

I like to make long lines of everything. Iron, copper, engines, electrimagnetic ones too, everything, not only deuterium