Storage Container
The Storage Container is a building that is capable of storing large quantities of items, which allows for storage automation and large storage buffers.
The Industrial Storage Container is the larger variant of the Storage Container with double the size and double the storage capacity. It has two inputs and two outputs, whereas the regular Storage Container has only one of each.
Behavior
If a conveyor is connected to the input of a container, items will be automatically inserted into the container. If a conveyor is connected to the output, items will be automatically outputted. If both are connected, items will flow through and only back up if the outputting conveyor is also backing up or if the output conveyor is slower than the input.
The conveyor mark determines operation speed; containers themselves do not limit throughput.
Having two outputs, an Industrial Storage Container usually prefers the belt that is built first, but it can switch priority after a save-load. As it does not balance either the inputs or outputs, this can lead to strange behavior and unevenly dispensed items. It is therefore not recommended to use Industrial Storage Containers in load balancers.
Inventory sequence
The Storage Container outputs based on the 'Last in, first out' (LIFO) method, which means it will always attempt to put the last item in the last slot onto the output belt first if there is any connected output belt. This can only be observable if it stores more than one type of item.
Stacks and ladders
Containers can be easily stacked on top of each other.
Containers have ladders on the sides, which can be used to climb very high.
Alignment
Both Storage Containers and Industrial Storage Containers align differently to foundations than other buildings. The container width is 5m, and is centered at a distance of 2.5m from the side, while other oddly numbered width buildings are centered at a whole number. This alignment, with the center being at a half meter, results in either side of the hitbox laying also at a half meter position, resulting in a 0.5m gap between a container and any adjacent buildings other than a fellow container. A constructor for example, also a single port per side building, uses a width of 8 to avoid half meters.
Tips
- Pointing at a container in dismantle mode will reveal its contents, for up to 100 m away.
- When relocating several containers (up to 49) of full-items (usually when revamping a base), it can be difficult to do manually, as you have to manually travel several times.
- A 'trick' move can be performed by first building a dummy container near the destination point, then using mass-dismantle Ctrl to highlight all the storages one wishes to move, but don't click the dismantle yet. Instead, move to the target point then dismantle the dummy container altogether.
- As the item cannot fit inside the inventory, all the items will be dropped into a crate instead, at the last targeted container, transferring all the items there.
- There are different ways to label containers, for a player to understand what is inside:
- Unlock signs in the Awesome Shop and build/attach to the container.
- Building a short belt from the container outputs. This also turns the container into a dispenser, as players can take the item from the belt.
- Dropping a single item in front of the container/on top of it.
- Color-coding by painting the containers with colors.
See also
Gallery
History
- Patch 0.8.2.0: Updated Storage UI so that Industrial Storage Containers no longer use a scroll bar when using small inventory slots
- Patch 0.1.5: Renamed Storage Container Mk.2 to Industrial Storage Container and added a second input and output
- Patch Closed Alpha 2 : Added stacking functionality for Storage Containers
Early game development
Prior to Closed Alpha, in Sprint 6 (week 12) the storage container was first revealed.
- See also: Game Development - Storage Container