Why does it take so long to get the splitter/merger?

Question

I really think the splitter/merger should be available when you get conveyor belts or just make the conveyors much more like factorio. Planning with expansion early is not really possible imo when you HAVE to go : 1 mine ->  1 smelter->  1 construction for roughly 3 different resources. (most likely twice for iron). Then bam you finally have the splitter so you can mine just one patch and smelt  twice but by this point you basically need to tear down everything you started because it was all on a one track system. It feels frustating/slow to upgrade.

Answer 1

I don't think this is an issue. The mine and smelter operate at exactly the same speed.

Some construction recipes do run at half speed, but I feel like I had unlocked the splitter by the time that became an issue.

Comments

I understand where you are coming from, but the mine is faster than the constructor in most cases which at least for me when I felt like I needed around 3 or 4 by the time i got the splitter, felt weird considering my past experiences in similar games. I'm more wanting the option to produce rods and plates simultaneously to ramp up production overall with one mine.

It's not awful don't get me wrong, just an inconvenience I had in my first playthrough and was wondering if anyone else was having the issue

Answer 2

Takes to Long? I thought it where way to fast to get them - btw in factorio you DONT get the splitters etc with the belts at the same time. But you can plan your "place" and build to have enough room for the Splitters/Merger later