Ender Chest Ultimate Sorting System

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trunksbomb

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Jul 29, 2019
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You have to explicitly set up an RP system to spit items out into the world. BC does that as the default "fail" operation. I'd rather have items keep bouncing around in pipes rather than spitting out at the first incorrect input. That said, it's easier to design a BC system improperly than an RP one in my opinion. If a BC system "jams" then you stand to possibly lose a lot of items. When an RP system jams, things just get stuck.. simply plop a chest on the line after the blockage to clear it out.
 

Guswut

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Jul 29, 2019
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You have to explicitly set up an RP system to spit items out into the world. BC does that as the default "fail" operation. I'd rather have items keep bouncing around in pipes rather than spitting out at the first incorrect input. That said, it's easier to design a BC system improperly than an RP one in my opinion. If a BC system "jams" then you stand to possibly lose a lot of items. When an RP system jams, things just get stuck.. simply plop a chest on the line after the blockage to clear it out.


...

When an RP system jams, things just get stuck.

...

things just get stuck.

...


I don't think you've ever seen a RP2 sorting system just barely handling a half power quarry get caught up, because what happens is this: First, things end up getting stuck and bounce around, getting OTHER things stuck. If you have a decent overflow system, this can handle this for a bit (restriction pipes are wonderful). After your overflow gets overflown, then it starts to flow back upwards until your quarry's ender chest is full. Then you get items all over the ground.

With a BC system, properly designed, you should still be able to get most things sorted even if some things start to spew all over the place.
 

Saice

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Ok let me rephrase. I have never had an RP system dump 50,000 items on the ground cuaseing a server to crash. Ever even when over loaded it never has broken down in a way the causes my system or server to crash. It as never litiraly spilled items out of the transit system.

That is one of the resons I like it move BC. That said I have said mutlitple times I use hybrid systems often so I do use BC in places where it does the job better then RP. but the vast mojorty of my systems are RP based.
 
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Guswut

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That said I have said mutlitple times I use hybrid systems often so I do use BC in places where it does the job better then RP.

Yup, we both entirely agree there, and for a good reason: Because it is the right thing to do for optimal awesomeness!
 

KirinDave

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Jul 29, 2019
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You have to explicitly set up an RP system to spit items out into the world. BC does that as the default "fail" operation. I'd rather have items keep bouncing around in pipes rather than spitting out at the first incorrect input.

If your input exceeds your processing rate, a fault will happen with either system. The faults are just different. If you do RP2 from start to finish, then you get jams. If you ever mix with other mod machines, then the tunneling/mining machine itself will usually spill.

Both systems require some considerations if you don't want faults.

That said, it's easier to design a BC system improperly than an RP one in my opinion.

I sort of agree with that. Pneumatic tubes definitely work harder to try and prevent spillage. They do this at the cost of the "jamming" though, which itself can be a problem.

If a BC system "jams" then you stand to possibly lose a lot of items. When an RP system jams, things just get stuck.. simply plop a chest on the line after the blockage to clear it out.

It's usually bad no matter how you slice it. In the common quarry case, you usually end up losing the most valuable layers and finds at the end of the run to the sky as your ender chest sits full.


EDIT: In the terms I think about on a daily basis, you might say that the RP2 system never sacrifices consistency and would rather completely shut down than have one inconsistent operation (in this case, a dropped item). It is like a centralized SQL database. BuildCraft uses a model that allows for partial failures and lack of consistency to try and keep the system available, with the argument that some small losses are less important than losing the bulk of the incoming material, which is not unlike some NoSQL databases put on partial agreement.

The CAP Theorem: you cannot escape it. The effect of human perception on these systems is anecdotally documented and usually people perceive the centralized system to have fewer failures because of selection bias. It's an interesting phenomenon.
 

trunksbomb

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Jul 29, 2019
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Gus, I don't often run quarries so no I have not encountered that. However, the fault lies in the Quarry (BC) spitting items out- not in the Redpower system. Items will spill with a jammed quarry system in both RP and BC, it just spills at different places.

Kirin, I agree.

I'm by no means advocated the sole usage of RP over BC. Saice put it precisely about using each one where it shines. Now, this has quickly devolved into a BC vs RP argument that I don't think any of us intended. Oops.
 

DoctorOr

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Jul 29, 2019
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Ok let me rephrase. I have never had an RP system dump 50,000 items on the ground cuaseing a server to crash.

Funny. I have. Backflow in a filter can cause that exact problem, since there is absolutely no way to determine _what_ is backing up a filter and the only way to find that out is to remove the filter...releasing the backflow into the game.
 

Guswut

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Jul 29, 2019
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Gus, I don't often run quarries so no I have not encountered that. However, the fault lies in the Quarry (BC) spitting items out- not in the Redpower system. Items will spill with a jammed quarry system in both RP and BC, it just spills at different places.

Theorycrafting here, but block breakers in a frame quarry. Nothing needs to be BC, and you can still end up with a system that gets clogged in the same way. What happens when your frame quarry tubes are filled with stuff and the system backs up to the block breakers? I'm guessing it does not pick up the block it breaks, and, instead, just leaves it laying there and moves to the next block.

I'm by no means advocated the sole usage of RP over BC. Saice put it precisely about using each one where it shines. Now, this has quickly devolved into a BC vs RP argument that I don't think any of us intended. Oops.

And yes, we are discussing the merits of the two systems. I used to use mostly RP2, then I moved to a good mix, now I'm mostly BC and LogPipes. Soon I'll be AE, LogPipes, and BC, and, someday, hopefully AE alone (digitalization is GOOD).
 

trunksbomb

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Jul 29, 2019
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Funny. I have. Backflow in a filter can cause that exact problem, since there is absolutely no way to determine _what_ is backing up a filter and the only way to find that out is to remove the filter...releasing the backflow into the game.

Or put a chest/chests after the filter to flush it.


Theorycrafting here, but block breakers in a frame quarry. Nothing needs to be BC, and you can still end up with a system that gets clogged in the same way. What happens when your frame quarry tubes are filled with stuff and the system backs up to the block breakers? I'm guessing it does not pick up the block it breaks, and, instead, just leaves it laying there and moves to the next block.



And yes, we are discussing the merits of the two systems. I used to use mostly RP2, then I moved to a good mix, now I'm mostly BC and LogPipes. Soon I'll be AE, LogPipes, and BC, and, someday, hopefully AE alone (digitalization is GOOD).


Blockbreakers get backstuffed and stop breaking. The tunnel bore will simply refuse to move until there's a valid inventory to send things to.
 

DonnerVarg

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Jul 29, 2019
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My ultimate sorting system involves making the products of all my mining (by device or by hand) and farms available in one place. There are dedicated machines to make things like sand, glass, and mod items. All the blocks and items that can be processed automatically and are cheap, are processed automatically, either on-demand or until supplies are exhausted. Things stored and processed on demand are available from anywhere in the system by retriever or manager. There are banks of Project Tables dedicated to certain crafting efforts with supplies maintained by manager. You want to do something, you walk into the crafting area or storage area and you make or grab what you need and move on. Make commonly used supplies available remotely with ender chests kept supplied by managers.

I haven't finished it yet, but that's a glimpse at my vision of the ultimate storage system.

For high-volume inputs I'd use a manager pushing items through inline sorting machines and/or filters.
 

Lambert2191

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Jul 29, 2019
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Except over at the quarry or arcane bore. :)
Remember though, the quarry is a BC machine.
When BC fails, it spills out on the floor and if one isn't around at the time, maybe it's on a chunkloaded area of a server or you're off mining or whatever, it can get to catastrophic levels where it will lag your client out.
When RP2 fails, it will jam your machines and will cease operation.

if what happens to you happens, it's because you design your RP2 systems wrong :)[DOUBLEPOST=1361961561][/DOUBLEPOST]
Theorycrafting here, but block breakers in a frame quarry. Nothing needs to be BC, and you can still end up with a system that gets clogged in the same way. What happens when your frame quarry tubes are filled with stuff and the system backs up to the block breakers? I'm guessing it does not pick up the block it breaks, and, instead, just leaves it laying there and moves to the next block.
nope, if the blockbreaker has nowhere to output to, then it will refuse to break blocks.
 

PhilHibbs

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This is good work an all, but aren't you guys incredibly bored of RP2 multi-sort systems by now? They're the ez-mode of sort systems in terms of resource costs and difficulty, and have very middle-of-the-road characteristics.
Well, this is my first build, so no I'm not bored of it yet. I've only been playing with mods since the start of this year.
 

Abdiel

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Jul 29, 2019
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This is good work an all, but aren't you guys incredibly bored of RP2 multi-sort systems by now? They're the ez-mode of sort systems in terms of resource costs and difficulty, and have very middle-of-the-road characteristics.
Frankly, I am quite so. Unfortunately no other system comes anywhere near close in terms of compactness, efficiency, throughput, and ease of set up/use. (Well routers/barrels, but that is even more overdone and can't do what I need of it (always keep a particular resource in a particular barrel, even after it empties).)

I am experimenting with interfacing a sortron with CC, but that would be using pretty much the same back-end (colored tubes and filters), just with a different front-end. On the plus side, I would be able to sort an unlimited number of different items using only one block. Imagine a system that understands terms such as "decoration blocks", "machine parts", "pipes and tubes", etc. and can sort them in appropriate chests.
 

Hydra

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Jul 29, 2019
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How would you interface a sortron with a CC computer? Do you have some kind of Forth <> CC bridge?
 

Abdiel

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Bundled cables and custom-written protocol. All I need to transfer are item IDs from the sortron, i.e. 32 bit numbers. All the logic would be handled on the CC side.
 

Guswut

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Jul 29, 2019
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nope, if the blockbreaker has nowhere to output to, then it will refuse to break blocks.

That's pretty nice. It beats having the system keep on going, for sure. Although it still isn't as good as having a properly designed system that doesn't shut down, right?