Priority Merger
The Priority Merger is a variant of the Conveyor Merger with a configurable priority for each of its three inputs.[1]
Obtaining
Unlocking
Usage
Priority Mergers can be interacted with to set the priority (low, medium, high) for each input.
The higher priority input will be exclusively fed through the Merger and out its output. For example, if you set a high priority on the center input, medium on the left input, and low on the right input, ONLY the center input will be fed through the Merger so long as there is an incoming item. Once the center input has no more items coming in, the medium input will then exclusively be fed through.
Inputs with matching priority do not have precedence over each other, and will alternate between taking from each input, akin to a regular Merger.
The Priority Merger will display the set input priority via use of 1 to 3 horizontal indicators lights above each input in the shape of a trapezoid[2] as well as 1 to 3 vertical lights on both sides of each input.
- ― (above) and┃(1 bottom light / sides) for low priority.
- ═ (above) and ╏ (2 bottom lights / sides) for medium priority.
- ≡ (above) and┇(3 full lights / sides) for high priority.
Example use case
Your local factory produces 400 items/min, but consumes 480 items/min, so you decide to import the 80 additional items by train or drone. You want to prioritize the local production and only use the imported items when needed, the Priority Merger will take care of that.
If you use a standard Merger, you have to merge a Mk.4 belt for your local production (400 items/min) with a Mk.2 (80 items/min). The Mk.2 will interrupt the Mk.4 and draw more items from the remote source (up to 120 items/min for a Mk.2), which will cause your local production to pile up.
This is even worse if two Mk.4 belts are used, as the Merger will try to draw half of the items from your local production and the other half from the remote source.
The Priority Merger solves this problem by pulling items from the remote source only when needed.
See also
Gallery
The interface of a Priority Merger
Priority Merger in-game
History
- Patch 1.1.0.0: Introduced
- This is a new type of Merger that allows you to prioritize which one of its active inputs should be output first
- There are 3 levels of priority to choose, so if two inputs share the same level of priority, the output will alternate between taking from each input, allowing you to control the output of your factories much more carefully
References
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