Tier System¶

Logistics organizes pipes and features into three tiers that represent progression from simple mechanical operations to advanced network logistics.

Tier 1: Mechanical Pipes¶

No item awareness - These pipes perform mechanical operations without looking at what's flowing through them.

Characteristics: - Operate on all items equally - No conditional behavior - Simple recipes (material + glass) - Available early in progression

Examples: - Stone Transport Pipe - Move items slowly - Copper Transport Pipe - Standard transport - Item Extractor Pipe - Pull from inventories - Item Merger Pipe - Converge to single output - Golden Transport Pipe - Speed boost

Tier 2: Smart Pipes¶

Item-aware routing - These pipes inspect items and make decisions based on what they see.

Characteristics: - Conditional behavior based on item type - Can filter and sort - More complex recipes (advanced materials) - Mid-game progression

Examples: - Item Filter Pipe - Route by item type - Item Insertion Pipe - Prefer inventories with space

Tier 3: Network Logistics¶

System-aware automation — treats inventories as abstract resources with global routing and request-based delivery. Tier 3 pipes communicate with each other across the entire network, advertising available items, fulfilling requests, and automating crafting without manual intervention.

Characteristics: - Request/provider model — items are pulled on demand, not pushed blindly - Global A* pathfinding across the full network - Autocrafting integration - End-game progression

Pipes: - Basic Logistics Pipe — Foundation for all Tier 3 pipes; accepts and deposits network items - Provider Logistics Pipe — Advertises inventory contents; fulfills network requests - Supplier Logistics Pipe — Maintains stock levels automatically - Requester Logistics Pipe — Manually request items from the network - Crafting Logistics Pipe — Crafts items on demand to fulfill requests - Process Logistics Pipe — Automates processing machines (furnaces, kilns) - Satellite Logistics Pipe — Named remote destination for network-addressed delivery - Chassis Logistics Pipe (MK1–MK5) — Modular pipe; behavior defined by installed modules

Modules: Tier 3 Advanced¶

The Chassis Logistics Pipe introduces a modular layer within Tier 3. Rather than a fixed function, the chassis is a blank frame that accepts swappable modules — each module contributes one behavior, and a single chassis can run multiple modules simultaneously (up to 5 in an MK5).

This effectively creates a tier within a tier: you build Tier 3 network infrastructure first, then use chassis pipes with modules to compose highly customized logistics nodes at key points in your network.

Module categories: - Extraction — Extractor Module, Advanced Extractor Module - Provider/Supplier — Provider Module, Supplier Module - Crafting — Crafter Module - Sorting & Routing — Quicksort Module, Terminus Module - Sinks — Item Sink, Polymorphic Sink, Enchantment Sink, Mod Item Sink

See Modules Overview for the full list.

Design Philosophy¶

Each tier builds on the previous: - Tier 1 provides physical connectivity - Tier 2 adds intelligent routing - Tier 3 adds abstract logistics — and at its advanced end, modular composition via chassis pipes

All tiers work together — you'll use pipes from all tiers in a mature network.