u/BubblyPhone1690

Architectural overview of my train-fed bus square grid mega base. I hope it appeals to some of you.

Main Bus

• Train (4*carriage) outputs to 4*mk4 belt bus
• bus lane 1 splits to left for each column mini-bus
• bus lane 2-4 merge to left to keep lane 1 full
• there is a pioneer path along the main bus
• contents (so far)
  • iron ingot
  • copper ingot
  • concrete
  • steel ingot
  • raw quartz
  • caterium ingot
  • plastic
  • rubber

Mini Bus

• a mini-bus draws relevant materials from the main bus
• each column on the bus ends with an Industrial Storage Unit and Dimensional Depot Uploader for one item
• each column is made up of 6x6 square grid blocks
• there is a one square space around all blocks
• there is a pioneer path along the mini bus
• conveyor belts may not obstruct the pioneer path

Construction Block

• a block usually contains one type of machine and performs one operation
  • up to 8 constructors
  • up to 5 assemblers
  • up to 2 manufacturers
  • up to 2 blenders
  • 1 particle accelerator
• each block has consistent labelled input and output locations
• each block can be scaled vertically by stacking another block on top and connecting the passthrough vertical conveyor belts
• all blocks have carbon fibre finish because black is the best colour

Space Elevator

• Project Parts are built in almost the same way
• Project Part start of mini bus is gold coloured
• Project Parts are exported onto a separate small stack of conveyor belts alongside the main bus
• Project Parts are then imported when needed underneath the main bus

Rail and Hypertube

• Two way railway with a hypertube in the middle
• Only 3 blueprints:
  • straight
  • incline
  • 4-way roundabout
• the hypertube ending at the roundabout deposits the pioneer in the center to choose a new direction
• the hypertube straight has occasional breaks:
  • accelerator built in speed over time, doesn't necessarily need cannons at start
  • easily leave the hypertube by switching lane, don't fly past where you want to be

Caveats

• at time of writing I haven't built to the end of the game, but the layout will stay the same anyway
• train stations are only unlocked in Tier 6, so I had a spread out starter base which was actually used for quite a long time before migrating to this
• it uses a lot of AI Limiters, Crystal Oscillators and Encased Industrial Beam, so the starter base should automate these before you can get started
• it's very very long! I use a Factory Cart to get around but perhaps should have incorporated hypertube into the bus for pioneer transport
• I am already approaching the end of the map and may have to u-turn. Should have allowed myself more space.
• yes, it's floating, I don't really care

Thanks for reading :)