Item-Filtered Transport
A mixed item stream needs filter rules to send each thing to the right place.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Information · Optimization · Planning
No.003Factorio01The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Spot a mixed stream
- 02Set filter rules
- 03Items sort into routes
- 04Handle overflow and strays
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
A recycler outputs iron, copper and some slag on one belt; only iron and copper bins exist downstream.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
The player filters iron and copper but forgets an exit for slag.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
After two minutes slag fills the belt end and blocks everything.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
An overflow to an incinerator fixes it, teaching the player to always add a catch-all.
How it plays
Filter splitters or inserters pass only chosen items while the rest go to a default or overflow lane. Players turn mixed outputs from mining or recycling into clean lines, but any unhandled item can jam everything.
What the player weighs
- Mixed belts save space vs dedicated belts are safer: mixing is compact but errors are costly.
- Strict filters vs catch-all lanes: strays need somewhere to go or the line stops.
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Factorio
Filter inserters and splitter filter settings pick out specific items, used to clean mixed belts or feed specific machines.
Satisfactory
The Smart Splitter assigns an item or rules like Any or Overflow to each output, and the Programmable Splitter allows multiple items per output.
The difference worth noticing
Factorio spreads filtering across inserters and splitters, while Satisfactory centralizes it in dedicated smart splitters.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Mined ore carries trace impurities; the ratio your filters pull out becomes a clue to which hidden deposit lies nearby.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Drone Logistics Network
No belts needed: flying units deliver where needed, but you have to keep them supplied.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Build ports and storage
- 02Set requests and supplies
- 03Drones deliver automatically
- 04Expand or refuel the network
Conveyor Routing
Moving items from A to B is easy; keeping every line from tangling is the game.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Plan source and destination
- 02Lay belts around obstacles
- 03Watch flow and jams
- 04Reroute or add layers
Reusable Blueprints
Save a well-designed module and stamp it again; you shift from builder to planner.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Hand-build a good module
- 02Save it as a blueprint
- 03Stamp it elsewhere
- 04Iterate and revise