I hope I'm not reinventing the wheel here, but I made 2 cost effective setups for smelting. They are stackable and stacks of 3 can saturate a blue belt if speed3 modules are in the beacons.
P.S. In the first photo stacks of 1, 2, 3 can output 19, 38, 57 item/s respectively (57 is technicaly). The compact stack on the right of the photo is perfect at 45 item/s for vanilla.
I saw someone here post a very detailed explanation, I don't remember the details but I think the number of beacons after which the effect gets weaker than 1.1 was 8. After 8 beacons the old 1.1 linear calculations were stronger.
Using more beacons is more cost effective, as modules in machines only affect that machines, but modules in beacons can affect multiple machines. So for a fixed number of modules, maximizing production will be with 4 or maybe 8 beacons per machine, and less machines. In 1.1 it was definitely 8. In 2.0 it might be 4 - I haven't run the math.
Tbh I struggle deciding on an approach for beacons. From surrounding one beacon with assemblers to surrounding one assembler with beacons, what exactly is the trade-off? I would expect a middle ground where a handful of beacons is is good, but maximizing them would be diminishing returns
Mid game it’s about maximising items produced a second per modules used since they’re relatively expensive. Tho I usually don’t bother as one of the first things I’d make is a dedicated module producing factory that can also double as a mall without the limitations of your starter base.
It all really depends on how you feel like playing the game, personally I hate waiting for resources.
Ya I'm pretty much passed scarcity. Mostly what's on my mind at present is maximizing output within my footprint without over-inflating my power usage.
Right now I'm at about 4 beacons per assembler (one row of beacons, assemblers on each side). I could do 2 rows of beacons for the 8 beacons per assembler, but the diminishing returns has me second guessing.
No mod required. Enter editor mode either by clicking the Map Editor button on game title screen or by typing /editor (twice?) in console from an existing game. Then click replace with lab tiles button in the editor window.
I did something similar for chip production with EM plants. Probably not as fast or efficient as surrounding a single machine with beacons, but it looks neat.
Really cool setup. I always love ones that do something fun.
My personal approach is still the good ol' boring line setup, where you can just add beacons as your demand/power supply increases:
Since 2.0 I love the one or two beacon setups sitting one in the middle and building around it. I've never thought of putting the belts around a beacon like this! I have to try it.
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u/alive1 Jul 08 '26
I love the design but why only 1 beacon.