Load Balancer Tips for an Efficient Factory! - Satisfactory Tips (Beginner + Advanced)

Load Balancer Tips for an Efficient Factory! - Satisfactory Tips (Beginner + Advanced)
More Satisfactory tips today and this time we're going over load balancer tips! We'll check out load balancer designs, how to load balance, and useful and advanced tips on how to utilize blanacers!
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About: Satisfactory
Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory building game with a dash of exploration and combat. Pioneering for FICSIT Incorporated means charting and exploiting an alien planet, battling alien lifeforms, creating multi-story factories, entering conveyor belt heaven, automating vehicles, and researching new technologies. The Satisfactory Train update and Nuclear update also adds in trains, train stations, and nuclear power plant to enjoy, if you can handle the nuclear waste that is! In some of our videos, we go over Satisfactory tips and Satisfactory building tips, as well how to build a mega base and manufacturer setup. Our Satisfactory Early Access let’s play ep 1 was started a few months ago, but now we have hundreds of hours since Satisfactory ep 1 and have built a giant base with computer production, supercomputer production, a huge nuclear power plant and hundreds of trains! Our giant train system covers the entire map and gathers uranium, deals with our nuclear waste, and Satisfactory trains are a very satisfactory way of travel!
This Factorio like game has heavy automation, with automated mining, crafting, and you can even automate movement! Follow my Satisfactory Early Access Gameplay for the best base building, best Satisfactory tips, and more!
#ImKibitz #Satisfactory #SatisfactoryEarlyAccess

[@ImKibitz]

Check out MORE tips + tutorial videos here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3XNiGh8hKuJp5o

[@angelman4374]

what about OVERCLOCKING! no one did a guide for that. do machines need more source for that or do machines produces more with the same amount of input....even you make balance your system. after a while you want to overclock your system everything mess up...

[@cheeky_farquar]

I use the overflow method because it’s more environmentally friendly ;) but mostly because I’m too lazy :).

[@theboshbosh6074]

That is not how ficsit works

[@opZylo]

TheBossJosh hahaha Ficsit disliked that

[@Ligma-balls]

me too

[@cee_ves]

opZylo Ficsit wants you to fics this problem now *cocks xeno-zapper*

[@LaneyTheOne]

I gave up on load balancing. Overflow is just so easy, versatile, and expandable

[@wyldcat9396]

Me who only overflows: You know what? nah

[@rauminen4167]

Same. Train already balances if you use the same (two) cart (s). Just build more trains for throughput. Industrial storage also balances as long as you have stuff in it.

[@BYERE]

And then you have the Let's Game It Out method of building a tornado out of conveyor belts XD Love the organisation and tips btw :)

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

that's more an alternative storage solution

[@Etyenneuh]

Nuclear waste everywhere fuck yeah

[@theprysm6467]

Lmao yeah

[@Nhatanh0475]

Well to him if it's working, it's no problem.

[@Zerberos22]

@@Etyenneuh well he found a solution to get rid of that nuclear waste :D

[@TotalXclipse]

I love load balancing, it makes the factories look so much cleaner but it isn't faster than a manifold/overflow system... well it is faster but only until the belt fully saturates, which isn't an issue in the long term. I also looked over the load balancer and had no idea that's what I've been doing in some of my video guides... I just assumed it was even splitting between lines, but the load balancer makes sense :D

[@nomoturtle1788]

I love load balancing too :D Since you're new to it, you can use the base 2 and 3 way splitters in a recursive manner to make any rational ratio you like. If you want to split to 1/n, then simply split with known splitters to n+1 and redirect 1 output to the input. That's how the 5 way is done in this video, but you can do the same for any prime number: 7, 11, 13 etc. 'Known' splitters can even include recursive splitters.

[@hatterson]

The TLDR is that for a constantly running factory there is no difference between overflow and load balanced setups. The difference comes if you have a factory that either starts and stops a lot,or one that has resources come in unreliably (maybe trains are messed up or something). In that case, a load balanced setup will generally have all machines start at the same time and stop at the same time (roughly). It will go from not running to running 100% speed faster and it will go from running 100% speed to stopped faster. Whereas an overflow setup will take longer to spin up and spin down.

[@MrAntice]

The joy of fluctuating power consumption that situation causes.....

[@shards1627]

@@MrAntice was going to say just this it might almost be easier on your grid to do all overflow systems just so it smooths out the power usage that might also be why the game always recommends a buffer on your input...

[@NiteSaiya]

This assumes that resource input overpowers factory consumption. If it doesn't, like say you're trying to make the jump to midgame with only one or two iron mines and limited power supply from organic burners, then the overflow method won't work because most of your iron will go to surplus plates and screws and rods, and most of your steel may go to tubes instead of beams. You need all of those products, so you want to balance the inputs carefully to ensure that you don't end up with, say, 500 steel tubes and only 50 steel beams, or 2,500 screws and only 20 reinforced iron plates.

[@francoiscoupal7057]

@@NiteSaiya That situation happen all the time up to and until you unlock everything because a first-time player has no idea how much ressources will cost the next tiers machines, and how much is need for the next milestones. Also you can't build everything at once: hence, there WILL be an overflood of production once in a while while you setup other things and figure out how things work. Basically, you can't estimate what will the next tier looks like until you get there. Then, usually, all calculations are out the windows and you need entirely new factories to build those new things, in correct quantities.

[@Triggernlfrl]

More easy to set up and buffer is also handy for the fast material grab;)

[@Aolsucs]

I discovered this game 4 days ago. I have 48 hours playtime already. On my first and only save so far. And then I found your channel, and this is some seriously helpful stuff.

[@sortofgrim]

Seeing this really feels like satisfactory becomes a job :( I'd rather keep my little factory disorganized...for now.

[@AlternativelyBananas]

It's a good way to practice your supply chain optimization strategies! Or optimize code! It's not a game, it's a zero to hero course!

[@brodriguez11000]

@@AlternativelyBananas : Kind of funny in a way. Learning a dry subject in a fun manner. Like GTA and chaos theory. :-D

[@DzZuppy]

Its actually math with fun

[@DzZuppy]

Working efficent and seeing the machines work on like 98-100% efficency is what makes it fun to me

[@steeljawX]

That's the joy of it being a game. You can do things your way with little to no consequence to you. If this was an actual job and you didn't optimize ahead of a competitor or a situation, well SOL (S**t Out of Luck) is also a short hand like ETM (Employee of The Month). But the real only consequence you'll have is that it just takes a bit longer to reach the higher tier stuff. No one suffers, besides you potentially from grinding all of that material, and nothing is lost besides time. Efficiency is a side effect from lots of effort. Use time to save time. . . .

[@SilvyReacts]

You can just split a line in front of each machine with a splitter and when one fills up the next will, and as long as you have the correct amount of machines for the input you have, it will balance itself. It's more beneficial doing it this way because it fits in a smaller space, is more easily expandable, just as efficient, much easier to do, and looks amazing. The only downside is the time it takes to fill up the necessary machine inventories to get it balanced. What I do is I just turn on the machines one by one just to fill them up, and then when they are all full is when i turn them all on at once.

[@SilvyReacts]

Ahh, you call it the overflow method. Ya just use that method. It's not less efficient. Just has a bit of a start up time to get to peak efficiency, but the benefits totally outweigh that start up time.

[@icantth1nkofanam40]

you could hand mine some and put it in to start it or use a portable miner or something idk

[@NateDemerest]

You can split last one and make it back to start, maybe doing a container on the path is a good idea so you can have some buffer.

[@TheAudioCGMan]

now with the sink it's maybe a good idea to split away the unused resources

[@RealQuarlie]

2:46 for that example, you can also just take the sum of the percentage (250%) and then just split those up between 3 machines (each having 250%/3... = 83.33%). This way you just take all of the frames and simply 3-split them

[@hypercynic]

I got this the day it dropped on Steam but am just finally sitting down and getting into the game. Coming from Factorio it is kind of mind-blowing how perfectly they've translated that into 3D gameplay. Looking forward to checking out more videos since I'll definitely need them.

[@adaptive-tom7143]

I rememeber years ago, early in satisfactory i used to load balance perfectly. Spent hours building, spreadsheeting to make it work. But now i just overflow in my super simple one time connect factory i made. Easy to add onto and expand without much work.

[@GIRGHGH]

Something tells me you're doing these tip videos just because they have good frame-rates.

[@Electric_Bagpipes]

hes waiting on mk 2 constructors or something actually, he said it on a livestream.

[@HotStonerChick]

THANK YOU. I LOVE Satisfactory but would get confused once I got to the space elevator. I couldn’t keep up! Now I’m running a few super efficient factories and I can’t thank you enough. I was literally like “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MAKE ALL OF THESE AND CONNECT ALL THESE BELTS!”. I watched another channel and his content was very “advanced” to say the least. You broke it down bit by bit and I can’t thank you enough. This was my “...for dummies” guide that I needed. I really can’t thank you enough. This will be the first time I can say someone definitely DESERVED my sub. You have my thanks, and my future viewership. I stumbled upon some of your other videos the other day and was amazed at these HUGE builds you have but really was looking for a basic, hold my hand, kind of guide, so then I could attempt to get on your level lol. Thanks man.

[@ThiagoGasparino]

It's always more efficient to have all machines that are making the same item at the same clock speeds. I.e: your pipes @4:50. If you need 4.8 times the production rate of a single 100% machine, it is more efficient to have 5 machines at 96% than 4 machines at 100% and one at 80%. The power consumption for overclocking and underclocking follows a power function: P=Pb*OC^1.6 Where P is power usage, Pb is base power, or the power usage of the machine at 100%, and OC is how much OC you are using, 100% is OC=1; 50% would be OC=0.5; 200% would be OC=2 and so on. So, 5 machines at 96% is ____5*Pb*0.96^1.6 = 4.68*Pb and 4@100% + 1@80% is ___4*Pb + Pb*0.8^1.6 = 4*Pb+0.70*Pb = 4.7*Pb It's a small difference here, but, then again, the load balancing is easier, since all machines require the same amount of input. PS: You could also have 10 machines at 48%, for even lower power consumption. 10*Pb*0.48^1.6 = 3.09*Pb Yeah. You can save a lot of power by adding lots of extra machines and underclocking them... Don't ask me what that would make to your frame rates. :S

[@snowdrop9810]

My bren gun is disfunctioning i think it has started to age

[@ThiagoGasparino]

@@NightFlyerKilo Another option would be having 5 machines at 50%. Saves even more power and the productions rates are perfect.

[@GIRGHGH]

What happens if you minimum clock and have loads and loads of machines?

[@GIRGHGH]

Wait a second... does the same function apply to fuel consumption of power making machines?

[@monad_tcp]

@@NightFlyerKilo its a trade-off, sometimes I want machines so tightly spaced that I will overclock them. (ironic as the game has almost infinite space, but still restrictions are fun)

[@notmyfirstnameineedalastna9593]

I want to explain how it is possible to split for a number that is not a multiple of 2 or 3. To split into 5, for example, you need to split 300 -> 100+100+100 -> 50+50+50+50+50+50. Then you loop back a 50 into the original 300 belt. This may seem like it won't work at first, as now you get 350. However, if you think about it, the 'loopback' will steadily increase. 350 -> 116.666 + 116.666 + 116.666 -> 58.333 + 58.333 + 58.333 + 58.333 + 58.333 + 58.333. The loopback becomes 58.333.... The next run will be 358.333 -> 119.444 + 119.444 + 119.444 -> 59.722 + 59.722 + 59.722. Once you get to 360, it will now work fine. 360 -> 120 + 120 + 120 -> 60 + 60 + 60 + 60 + 60 + 60, then loopback 60 into the 300 to get 360 as the input again. One way to think about it is: You split 1 input into 6 equal outputs, but since you loopback one, you have 5 equal outputs. Since 1 input turns into 5 equal outputs, the only possible way is if it had split into 5 exactly. This strategy works for any number that is not a multiple of 2 or 3. Just loopback the extra outputs.

[@YHK_YT]

your'e noob, i know how

[@Syyuna]

If only math classes were like this

[@TSPxEclipse]

It should be noted that you can also use the speeds of the conveyors themselves to split into weird ratios. I.e. 1x Mk.4 line can be split into 2x Mk.1 lines and 1x Mk.2 line for a balanced 1:2:1 ratio. For a 1:2 ratio (aka 1/3 plus 2/3) you can just split a Mk.3 line into 3x Mk.1 lines and then merge 2 of them into 1x Mk.2 line. The most difficult to build load balancers have prime number inputs and/or outputs, such as the case when trying to evenly distribute a saturated Mk.5 line into 13x saturated Mk.1 lines.

[@raziel29a]

00:30 it makes your factory run at 100% sooner, not faster. Even the simplest chain of splitters on a single belt will work exactly the same as a balancer eventually. And if you start building your factory from the miner and let it all build up as you construct next steps, due to time saved by not placing balancers your factory will even start sooner on a simple splitter chain.

[@AtTheEnd1000]

When you said "put logic into it" I was out the door! That's why i bang my head at the wall when I try to work with Assembers!

[@patmalloy3569]

I can make everything thing flow well until I hit an efficient assembler setup to church out the 4 products i need lol. Things slow way down. I love/ hate this game.

[@crafty1975]

Well I could have done with this prior to 70 hours of building and tearing down to work it out myself. Thanks for the content as always. New sub so I'm binging all your content, which is fantastic btw ;)

[@The_Unholy_Nerd]

I am so jealous of how perfect your conveyor belts look. After 100 hours, mine look like I drew them in photoshop while blindfolded. I guess it's just the right mix of practice and OCD, but I'll get there eventually!

[@italixgaming915]

2:03 The second load balance system is not necessary. You can simply feed each constructor with a conveyor directly connected to a smelter. More generally speaking, you don't always need to merge the outputs then to split them again. Suppose that you need 12 machines to produce the inputs of 18 machines. In that case, you just need to make groups of 2 and 3 machines in each line of production: you merge the production of 2 machines and you split it into 3, and you do that 6 times. That's way simpler than merging 12 convoyors then splitting again into 18.

[@francoiscoupal7057]

Not necessary, but this kind of games is ultimately about your personnal goals, and some people like having a system that is efficient/good-looking/forward-thinking -> all of the above. Me? I just want to unlock that next tierin the next five hours...

[@Nhatanh0475]

What if you have this set up material and bring that to another factory to process. Would you draw ton of conveyor belt across the terrain?

[@italixgaming915]

@@Nhatanh0475 Of course no. You need to think your whole network in the most efficient way. For example, Kiblitz had the brillant idea to bring gazillions of cubic meters of water and oil to the middle of the desert, which was a terrible decision, as building factories above the sea is much more efficient. You want to avoid to transport raw materials and water across the entire map when you have a lake or a sea next to your node where you can transform your resources into more advance products. You want to avoid to move raw iron across the whole map when you can convey a small amount of motors instead. And if you don't know if you'll need stators or rotors for example, building a line of production for each type of output (and eventually use only one of them) is still simpler than conveying raw iron or coal to a megabase at the opposite side of the map.

[@HawkNutz84]

Ill stick with the overflow meted, Im way to lazy to do the math and set this up :)

[@KevinSolway]

TLDR: Load balancing is absolutely not necessary.

[@Gekayy]

Yeah I started to try and it just takes WAY to much time for the end result. Its just easier to over saturate ever step of my factory and use the overflow method.

[@craazyguy2000]

Sounds like an eventual power problem, a waste of space, and time :/

[@italixgaming915]

I made a factory that produces 56 turbo motors/minute. Show me how you can make it only with load balancing. I'm curious.

[@sparktite]

lol i was about to write a comment similar to yours :D

[@UniqueBreakfastTaco]

ie, math is hard

[@od1401]

Overflow works just as well with power cell overclocking to be honest. Just go out and get a bunch of slugs while waiting for production and you'll be fine. You can amend the %s and do a little load balancing here and there to maximise efficiency but you can make overflow the basis of your factory and you will do just as well.

[@robertleparthe7450]

00:28 You can save space by stacking all the splitters and using vertical conveyers from the first splitter to the second and third, then regular conveyers from your second and third splitters to you melters. It will not look symetrical but it will work.

[@aY227]

You dont need balancers in Satisfactory - this is not Factorio ok, maybe for loading trains But generally? No Waste of time.

[@kiledamgaardasmussen5222]

You don't even need balancers in Factorio.

[@DarkNexarius]

you need them in factorio lol

[@nuarius]

​@@DarkNexarius you actually dont, you can apply the same logic in both games. you dont need ballencers in factorio if you just brute force it by tossing more belts at things than they can consume.. its not ideal, but nor is having backed up systems in Satisfactory. People commonly confuse what is easier with what is better. Its easier to just run 1 line with splitters for every station, and let the backlog figure it out. that doesnt inherently make it a better system. But at the end of the day... whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaares. if you dont like them dont use them people, you dont need to shit on every damn person in the community that is willing to put more than bare minimum effort into setup because "thats not how YOU do it"

[@lumitry]

this is the most canadian voice i've ever heard, i love it

[@Matthatguy119]

I have always used it even without thinking, as it is more energy efficient and looks great

[@Orgull]

Thank you for this. I'm new to Satisfactory and factory games in general and the concept of load balancing never even occurred to me. There's so much I don't understand about the basics of manufacturing and most "tutorials" or "tips" videos use terminology and assume knowledge I just don't have. This one I sort of get.

[@MrMoon-hy6pn]

Tbh load balancing isn't super necessary, the "overflow method" is just as efficient after a startup period.

[@Orgull]

@@MrMoon-hy6pn Thank you Don! :)

[@goodolarchie]

That's funny, I do this but with sideways (perpendicular) Industrial containers (2 inputs, two outputs) that are daisy chained if it's going from two machines into two other machines. One of each input and output is used to cycle between the two in case one fills up first. Industrial containers and overflow work so nicely until you get to oil/refineries in which you're trying to extract both power (via fuel or coal plants), and produce a good like plastic/rubber/alumina. Because power demand is so variable, it's impossible to predict and have consistency with how much gets produced at these nodes. I've resorted to just packaging the heavy fuel and AWESOME Sinking the overflow that doesn't get used in my fuel power plants. The Plastic must Flow!

[@randomwowjunkie]

This is exactly the kinda thing i was trying to figure out, thanks for the video!

[@jbkid202]

I liked and subscribed because of how goddamn flawlessly you integrated your ask into the content. Well done

[@MightyElemental]

Never used this method and I can see why xd Glad there are mods for this now that make it so much easier, but I still go for manifolds for the most part.

[@parsimonia346]

I have to tattoo this in my memory... Thank you for the tips :D

[@wta1518]

The easiest way is (if your belts can handle it) to have all of the inputs merge into one belt, then all split off. This is why I love the simplicity of pipes. If you need to transport 1200 oil per minute, and you only have MK.2 pipes, just have two parallel pipes with a junction in the middle to deal with overflow.

[@ellies_silly_zoo]

I personally use overflow for all my machines and then load-balancing between them. I do however underclock some machines for the ratios, and if I have a little too much of one thing (like 8 screws per minute) I just use a smart splitter to route the overflow over to my resource sink. Currently (early game, just before making steel) my only fluctuations in my power usage are from the resource sinks, and once in a (very long) while, a constructor for my concrete might stall (they use 40.05/min but only get 40) for a second or two. Everything else works at 100%, even with overflow. I'll probably use proper load balancing later when making heavy frames or crystal oscillators

[@sniper6823]

I'm still a bit of a newbie on Satisfactory so having these to look at will greatly help me out

[@monkofmayhem1373]

My method is build 3 of everything and use one splitter and I’m an engineer irl lol

[@francoiscoupal7057]

Sometimes you just wanna have fun and not import your job into your hobbies (even though, it's fun at times).

[@monkofmayhem1373]

François Coupal yup

[@larrytheloose]

Agreed, these people are OCD, there is no benefit in playing like this when you consider the amount of time you are building rather than just going to get more mines setup....

[@demris15]

Love this series. Please do one on your take on expandable, modular factory design. There are a couple of these videos out there, but no one covers design in the current builds (inclusive of lifts and updated spacing)

[@sparktite]

So what are the benefits of load balancing over not load balancing? You didnt really go into detail all you did was say it makes your factories run faster which it doesnt. Sure it takes slightly longer for belts to be saturated with overflow but you wind up at the same points. Was really hoping you would have gone into detail, was just waiting the whole video to hear some practical examples :( I really like the look of some people load balancing setups, it can look really crazy in a good way. But i spent quite some time on the reddit reading about the subject and discussing it with others because i wanted to get to the bottom of why people are doing it. The conclusion from people doing it and from what i was able to understand was there really is no point at all, its purely a style/aesthetics thing.

[@nuarius]

load ballencers mean the base always runs at even distribution. if you have 6 belts of iron going into a section of factory using overflow. and you need to pull 2 belts to build somting, or just decide to tap into it. suddenly the overflow factory will find the far end starved, and the near end running at full, completely fucking up ratios for all downstream production.. Whereas the factory using balancing will have the total production of that section equally scale down to 66% production, But all ratios still remain in tact.

[@mage3690]

In a truly balanced system, all devices run at exactly 100%, and there is no product standing still on the conveyer. That's the sort of system this system is designed for.

[@francoiscoupal7057]

Quick answer: it is not required. If you have a fast enough belt to "brute force" push ressources all the way so the last machine has enough to run at 100%, and have a reliable input, then it's enough as the game will have ressources "stall" on the belts with no problem. It will also require a small startup time wehere the first machines have to "get full" before further machines will receive enough to run at full capacity. Hence, it requires a belt that is strictly faster than the sum of the inputs needed. The faster it is above that, the lower the startup time will be before all things are equalized in the input capacity of the machines. In realf life though, this is a very problematic solution. An output that overfeeds an input will break the input. Think about what will happens if someone forces you to swallow 1 cup of water per second, for 10 seconds... Hence the need of a load-balancing system: to avoid breaking the inputs, and getting exactly enough materials in a given period of time (procurement), as you don't want to overspend on ressources (usually). What this game offers is the possibility to create a balanced input/output system, if you so want it. But let's not try to inject too much reality in a game where you have quantum pockat dimensions, please....

[@SmolSir]

3:04 do I have to change my game files to get rid of the deconstruction bar?

[@YEAHKINDA]

Probably a mod mate. He's stated in other videos that he uses mods, so idk.

[@HyperpigGaming]

Just overflow everything, energy is infinite, overflow with buffer is the most safe method, you never run out and can pull out from the buff anytime you want.

[@momo1442]

yeah you never run out of production but everyone can do that. For a perfect Factory you need to use your brain and there are quite a few who like that me aswell.

[@fahimzahir2085]

@@momo1442 There is no benefit to it unless you are working in some related field. Its a game, you are wasting time. There is no output. The challenge is moot since there is not inherent societal benefit. There is no real product or service being created. So I suppose OP likes to play for fun! Also you statement impliclty is stating that OP isnt using their brain which isnt very nice

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

@@fahimzahir2085 Yeah you can just build a ton of generators for infinite energy capacity so you can fit the biggest energy spikes possible no problem, but it's kinda unsightly to me. I find using that many splitters still stupid because that's an useless exercise, as the issue can be solved in a practical way with just first grade maths, balancing the input number with the output number and just making sure if there's any conveyors causing bottlenecks and need upgrading.

[@iaeeniaeen1898]

Load balancing does not make anything more efficient nor does it make the factory run faster. As long as you have the same throughput capacity, the factory will reach steady state and process the same amount of material regardless of how the machines are fed. The only difference is how fast each system reaches steady state. A load balanced system is at steady state effectively as soon as you start feeding it, while an overflow system runs at a reduced output while it accumulates material in the machines closer to the input. In our example of 4 smelters processing a 120/minute belt of ore, an overflow system needs to accumulate 2 stacks of ore for the first two smelters, so that's 1 minute 40 seconds worth of material that it needs to accumulate. The thing is that only happens once assuming you don't stop feeding your factory, so 1:40 in the total time the factory is totally insignificant. Also, if you need to build more factory downstream of your smelting line, you're probably not even in a position to utilize the full 120/minute output as soon as you turn the line on.

[@natedogbfd]

I find its easier to just budeget +2-4 per minutes on the input, and it slowly gets clogged until it naturally stacks up and balances itself correctly no matter what your set up. It works just as well and takes less space and planning. Its only flaw is if you have low tier belts (3 or below) you will not supply enough to one of the objects, and in particular not be able to remove the output fast enough.

[@Taran72]

Awesome! thank you for sharing. As I play Satisfactory I see that all your tips come in handy when I want to make improvements.

[@xavieribanez-padron4857]

4:52 for a picture showing most (or all?) merger/splitter options

[@markkalsbeek5883]

I think in the general case this really doesn't matter, except for power plants. I like to load balance my power production facility because if the feed is unreliable one can shut off and crash the whole system. This is especially relevant because I've chosen to centralise my power grid map-wide and therefor have very few redundancies in case of failure.

[@54m0h7]

Nice video, still useful now. lol I'm fairly new, just built my first fuel generator, I've been just using the 'split everything evenly' method. Looked up your video since I'm just setting up my first Mod Frame line. I really like the 'send back to a merger idea'. One thing I've been doing as well is put a Smart Splitter at the very start of the line with overflow going to the Sink. Then if it does back it will just dump any extra.

[@mightykadoom815]

Would using the overflow method compared with load balancing make your entire factory run slower if a number of smelters are using an overflow method. I totally love the way your load balanced systems look as everything is flowing nicely. However, looking at the mechanics it seems as if the factory would still run at the same speed after everything got started. Additionally, I have recently started a gaming channel and I am looking at expanding to computer games. I was wondering what gaming computer you are using as it does not seem to lag and can run high fps demanding games. Your channel is incredible as I love these factory games and working out the mechanics behind them but my computer is unable to run games such as Satisfactory so watching your videos is really entertaining and useful for me to learn the game.

[@mrscrodobaggins3865]

a couple questions 1) when you have 2 things that need to go 100% and one that needs 50% could you not just set all machines to 83.33 so they all require the same amount? 2) when you are using a balancer and you send something back to the start of the line wouldnt that clog your input line?

[@astrid2432]

My method is this: I seperate all the same. Like wenn I have under 3 things I want to supply, I use one splitter, but if I have like 4 I use 3 splitters The supply gets to the first one. There it splits into left and right. Then at both side there is again a splitter. Now if I add more to them or planned it. I add it in a row, like 1-3 and add stuff to it like by my coal planets But if I know there will only a certain number, then I try to split it nicely up like 2-2 And well you can call it a organized overflow as specially I add mostly a storage contaìner in the production so I can grab stuff that I need to build, research or craft If I know

[@SuperCrisis123]

Hi there man! Your vids on Satisfactory is just amazing!!! I love the explanations and the enthusiasm! I have bought the early access too and I am trying my hand at factory building. I love construction and designing stuff on a grand scale and have been playing Cities: Skylines, so this game is just cool!!!

[@ImKibitz]

Thank you buddy! And man oh man, you're game tastes are right up my alley! You're really going to enjoy my channel!

[@vivacianon]

We produce too much of everything, the overflow is sent to storage, the overflow of the overflow goes to sink. We have main belt lines going to storage with multiple items on them, then use smart splitters to devide it all into containers, then have all the overflow from smart splitter line going to a series of sinks. Mk5 belts. We use the overflow line system and load balancing from resource nodes only.

[@jozzaman325]

overflow method is always my go to haha

[@wulfrickackerman9453]

The problem I have (and the reason why I clicked on this video) is, that I match the input and the consumption rates, but the ore still piles up on the input side. For example cement... it makes 15 cement a minute by using 45 limestone a minute. I have two drills. One that does 60 a minute and one that does 120 a minute. I split both of them 4 times to 4x30 and 4x15 a minute and fed 4 constructors with them. They should constantly flow into the constructor and be instantly used up, but they pile up.

[@unhappiness6125]

If you ever need 37.5 percent out of a line split it in half, add a 3/4s extractor to either line and bring the extra 1/4 over to the other line.

[@AkaiKnight]

thinking about the splitters and mergers in terms of percentages made everything just click for me, thanks

[@Warp9pnt9]

From 4+ years in the future, the game is recognizable but many models and UIs look so different.

[@zakbradow1972]

I want you to tour my factory and see where I can improve or what you would do to overhaul it and make it better! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

[@Stuntman707]

I only use load balancing to get the fastest rate of production. If stuff is sitting on conveyors it’s not getting built!

[@spookkey1]

Great game it is. Im playing for 10 hours now and i found water. Its 2miles from my coal so the puzzel begins.

[@Ugotnobalz]

When i finally found water it was like 3 miles from base and another 4 miles the other direction for the nearest coal deposit so ive got looooong huge pipes and conveyer belts stretched super far lol

[@baestplace1082]

What I did was and this is super inefficient was a just sucked it up got to oil then bottled the water sent about 6 tractors to my coal using stunted delivery so it won’t run out and just like that it was done 1/10 would not suggest just run a pipe or belt trust me

[@sebastianmeyer4408]

LOAD BALANCING DOES NOT AFFECT EFFICIENCY!!! This is bugging me since the start of your Satisfactory Series and I almost watched every video.

[@Ruhrpottpatriot]

Only if you put in more than the consumers consume. If you have for example 120 in and four smelter a proper load balancer gives every smelter 30. The minimal solution gives the first 60, the second 30 and the last two 15. Two run on 100%, the last only on 50%. Load balancing isn't about giving each consumer the same amount, it's giving each consumer the amount it needs at least.

[@GIRGHGH]

The effect on efficiency that's presented has to do with the start of the process. With the overflow method it takes time for the materials to trickle into each machine. If you don't care about how long it takes when you start up your machines that's fine, but for really big projects that stop and start all the time it can get annoying.

[@Sacredarrowable]

Then your not load balancing, your doing overflow.... kids these days.

[@SilvyReacts]

​@@GIRGHGH Not sure I understand what you mean. In what scenario would you need to stop and start machines all the time? Cause the only one I can think of is with containers being full, and that wouldn't require to do the refill process as they would already be full.

[@GIRGHGH]

@@SilvyReacts loading and unloading vehicles?

[@adrian3482]

I have mile long belt lines backed up and that's the way I like it.

[@wertacus]

I wasn't subbed until I got got so good like that

[@ajturness]

Thanks kibitz keep up with the vid!!!

[@patmalloy3569]

I understand how this would be the most efficient method, and I love this game, but I hate this kind of management lol. I may never make it to end game cause this drives me nuts

[@GXD3S]

Having ore nodes that are infinite makes this obsolete imo. Just pump everything through full throttle. Balancing only pleases the efficiency OCD.

[@nomoturtle1788]

Infinite or finite nodes make no difference. People are talking efficiency in throughput. Having low efficiency does not mean you are losing any resources, you are losing throughput, or rather, you are losing time. Though yes, this can also be overwhelmed by simply increasing 'throttle' so long as there are still resource nodes for you to use.

[@slippydouglas]

Alternatively, slightly oversupply resources via over/underclocking at each stage, and the input buffers of each machine will remain full, making sure the machines further down the line (manufacturers) are always running. Easy, done. Practical over perfectionism.

[@TheBaldr]

Not only does load balancing take up space, but if there is lag issue, all your machines probably won't be running at at 100% efficiency compared to the overflow method in which maybe your last machine won't be running at 100%. Load balancing has so many cons.

[@amahashadow]

I prefer using a manifold (overflow) and playing with the machine speed, it's as efficient and a lot faster to build

[@nuarius]

everyone says this, but its only true so long as your input is, and always remains, higher than consumption. as soon as you say, tap into one belt for something elsewhere in the factory. manifold falls apart as downstream production halts while upstream consumes everything. its not better its brute force. theres nothing wrong with doing it that way but that doesnt mean its equally productive. expecially if you are someone like me that grandfathers builds once they are done, and like to tap in here, tinker with this, rebuild that. My factory never sputters or starves it only scales production evenly to what it can handle.

[@slambat2905]

One thing I have to disagree on. Never underclock a machine unless it's a miner or you don't have enough supply to run it at 100%. Just load balance the extra it makes off to a storage bin. Especially if a machine running normally makes like 15 and you need like 12 or something, because that's easy to load balance out.

[@BYOBando]

Yea... I don't really get why you wouldn't just go to a storage bin and then eventually you'd overflow but that doesn't make anything run slower down the line so it's not really an issue. Or if you really care you can send excess to Awesome Sink for tickets and maintain 100% efficiency. Unless you don't have the power and need to underclock or it's fluids which can't be awesome sunk directly (again assuming you don't want overflow in inputs down the line for some reason) I see no reason to underclock

[@michaelpauli734]

Bro you're a wizard at this game! Any tips on calculations? Like would you work backwards from the end product or start from the beginning output? I always find myself sitting there clueless drawing things out on paper. Just curious if you have a more standardized approach.

[@wolfpackflt670]

Me seeing gaps on the conveyor belts: o_O

[@RealEmerald]

2:20 Strange. I thought the favorite this to make was the SUPAH COMPUTAHS

[@LeifEriccson43]

Overflow for life.

[@AV_402]

who does math. but seriously. this was kinda mind blowing.

[@yeahyeah3116]

the overflow method is just a manifold which is just as efficient after the belts are fully saturated

[@st_cuthbert544]

0:49 You're right is't really easy to like and subscribe! Ty for the tip! ;)

[@MultiTool0815]

You can also use the overclock system to optimize the production. You can set 50% and have the right output instant.

[@francoiscoupal7057]

There is a non-trivial power cost to do that though. In the early game, it can mean the difference between having to use 5 coal stations versus 15.

[@snickle1980]

YOU get a like ANDDDD a comment for that clever insert.

[@andresgarciacastro1783]

overflow eventually works just as fine. It's just a time thing

[@Kenjuudo]

@ImKibitz I finally got around to liking and subscribing. After watching tons and tons of your videos no less. (Shame on me, but at least I've provided a view here and there...) Your content is top-notch. Carry on! :)

[@jantolinek9888]

He talks funny, I like it And the Content is amazing

[@bobingabout]

Eh... I don't bother load balancing, Just go in a line and cut where needed. So the first machine will probably fill up first, and while the ones at the end of the chain starve, but the first splitter might be fed by a MK4 belt, and each time I fork off, the fork only has a MK1 belt, so you go from a 480 feed, to a 60 and "The rest", leaving a flow of 420. Which is great if you're doing something like diluted fuel, as it wants 60 items per minute in, so the MK1 belt does your load balancing, restricting the splitter to only feed it 60 per minute. and if it's not, just let the first one back up, everything will get a full stack eventually when the output jams for some reason. I'm not saying load balancing isn't useful, I just don't really use it.

[@hinteregions]

In the first example you divided 120/min by half and half again, into four lots of 30/min, to feed machines that want 30/min. This is much better than just splitting off a single line into machines (overflow system) I do agree, and I think that is what you are trying to express here. But this is not a 'load balancer,' it's just dividing up a line for machines. Balancing doesn't happen in Sat. as it does in Fac. where belts have two sides which can fill unevenly. In Sat. feeding a machine exactly what it says it wants is '100% efficient,' not 'load balanced.'

[@thestylemage2092]

It's not even that much better than load balancing. It only affects the start up and makes no difference in the long run.

[@Frankenator01]

Love your videos. Could you do a tip video about how to keep track of your resource inputs/output. With so many resources I keep losing track of how much each belt is fed, and how much from each belt is consumed.

[@Reignor99]

It helped me to memorize the ingredients of stuff. When I remembered what it took to make a modular frame, I automatically remembered how much my machines were making.

[@safrussalmus9056]

This whole conversation is similar to the one in factorio a while ago, about weather priority splitters on a main bus make sense. In Both the complicated method, has no benefits but loud supporters.

[@nuarius]

"loud supporters" LMFAO! i see the occasional person simply say they used one, and the whole damn comunity comes out of the woodwork to scream and yell and piss and moan about how your an idiot and playing the game wrong and wasting all your time bla bla bla. Calling them "loud supporters" is like being a rich white man screaming about how discriminated against you are rofl

[@baky8856]

TY !

[@astrid2432]

best way: use overclock, so 1 machine works like 2 and you don't need to split or give a fish about that you produce more as you need so you could literally take some of that route then later, if you do something per hand

[@tomfoolery2913]

Problem with overclocking is that it increases power usage exponentially

[@anthonystahl8996]

I am totally about stacked BUS's right now it makes things "easy" , currently trying to feed 1, single Nuclear plant,, og kibitz..

[@ronhish8429]

How many would you recommend to make steel pipes and how many for steel ingots and then how many for reinforced iron plates and rotors in early game? Like how to combine them all from different ore deposits

[@generalagondray]

ive been playing less than 2 day, i put storage containers between everything for back flow, allows me to grab stuff at all phases and throw it somewhere else

[@Triggernlfrl]

Did that first to but they take a lot of room and get lost with containers everywhere. Have now most stuf split to one floor with only containers so i can run freely and know where to grab stuf. Most machines has a buffer wich can be used to grab stuff on the go. (not with balanced loading)

[@timv9850]

is there anything particularly inefficient about not under clocking production to have even load balances? would it use that much more power from not under clocking? or could I leave everything cranked to 100% and it's all good?

[@Who_needs_a_brain]

I had a nuclear fuel rod production system and I overclocked it to make 1 per min so I could run 5 but Idk how to split from 1/5 so I lost power by using 4 instead of 5

[@kypinkham7670]

Cool 😎 thanks 😊 I love you 💕

[@shayraecok578]

I do not understand thefeedback from the split 3/5 and 4/5 combos. How does it add up ? Doesn't the return infinitly re split up in the feedback ?

[@playlikesarix8705]

Theres an important aspect in Satisfactory that makes load balancing rather useless. Unlike Factorio, where the splitters have a set output, in Satisfactory they dont. A splitter will output as close to the half of its input as possible. If you dump a full 780 mk5 line in and split it to a second mk5 and one mk1, that mk.1 will get 60 / min. However, as soon as the machine is full and the material flow has backed up to the splitter, it will get its 30 / min, not more and not less. The only benefit of load balancing is that the startup is nearly immediate. For the overflow method to work it takes time, starting 26 smelters all fueled by one mk 5 line takes nearly 22 minutes until every smelter actually works. With load balancing it'd be like 2 minutes. TLDR: Its not worth the amount of time and space wasted on the load balancer.

[@francoiscoupal7057]

Farther on you can obtain (research caterium) splitters that CAN adjust exactly what you want, instead of having to use factors of 2s and 3s to split/merge belts. How much time you spend designing and creating such a system is subjective: some people have fun doing that. I don't, but it's not my place to tell them otherwise if they have fun.

[@officergreenmate2209]

Correct me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t your conveyor level also factor into this? Wouldn’t it be harder to load balance with a level 5 conveyor compared to a level 1 as your resources approach the machinery at a much higher rate? Or am I wrong?

[@Thoron_of_Neto]

I don't think so..? The machine outputting, determines the resource numbers going to the input, so it doesn't matter how fast they move, it just means there will be more space between the individual parts on the belts. I guess, its better to have faster belts moving fewer resources, than slow belts moving to much