Why Build a Main Bus?
An alchemy factory main bus makes expansion easier because finished goods can travel from separate production areas to one organized distribution route. Instead of rebuilding your shop whenever you add a recipe, you connect a new output to the bus and let it feed storage, shelves, or another factory.
This approach is especially useful once your workshop makes several saleable items at once. Gears, mortars, rope, linen, bandages, potions, and other products can otherwise create a tangle of conveyors that blocks future construction.
A bus does not need to be a single giant belt carrying every material. In Alchemy Factory, it works best as a planned logistics corridor: a set of parallel belts, boxes, lifts, and tunnels that move selected finished goods toward the shop. Keep raw-resource processing close to its farms or purchasing portals, then send only the useful outputs onto the shared route.
| Bus element | Job | Practical placement |
|---|---|---|
| Main belt | Carries goods toward storage and shelves | Along a wall or behind the shop |
| Vertical lift | Moves an item between heights | At each shelf module or factory exit |
| Storage box | Buffers supply and allows manual pickup | Between the bus and shelf feed |
| Tunnel conveyor | Hides or crosses logistics lines | Behind walls and shop fixtures |
| Catapult | Sends stock into a shelf-facing area | Behind each selling module |
The main benefit is flexibility. A factory can output at a different height than its neighbor, but a lift and box can adapt that output before it reaches the shared belt. That means a future rebuild affects one connection instead of the entire shop.
Plan the Bus and Shop Together
Start with the shop, because it defines where finished items need to end up. A modular shop layout can use shelf sections along the outer wall, with catapults and tunnels hidden behind the displays. Leave a narrow logistics hallway behind those walls so you can reach boxes, belts, and lifts without walking through the sales floor.
A corner module is valuable because it lets the same pattern continue around a plot edge. Build the shop modules at consistent spacing so the catapults always line up with their receiving boxes and shelves.
| Shop module | Front-facing purpose | Hidden logistics behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Potion shelf | Displays potion stock | Box, lift, and catapult connection |
| Standard shelf | Displays normal goods | Box receiving the matching bus item |
| Corner shelf | Continues the display around an edge | Tunnel route that preserves the corner |
| Entry area | Keeps villager access clear | Avoid blocking the required entrance path |
Place the bus along the back wall of this logistics hallway. Then use vertical lifts to pull individual items from the belt into their dedicated boxes. The boxes create a buffer, so a shelf remains stocked even if a production line pauses briefly.
A good early shelf order groups related items, but perfection is not required. One workable progression is:
- Large gears and small gears
- Mortars and rope
- Linen and bandages
- Pulleys and nails
- Vitality or health potions
Put products that share ingredients near one another only when that helps you remember the system. The bus is about dependable routing, not visual symmetry. If an item’s production line later moves, you can change the lift position or box connection without redesigning every shelf.
Keep enough clearance around the corridor to pick up items manually. This is useful while testing a new recipe, restocking after a rebuild, or taking materials to another construction area.
Produce Goods Before They Join the Bus
Treat the bus as the destination for finished goods, not a substitute for production planning. Each factory should first meet its own recipe demands, including any branch that consumes the item later.
For example, wood can support large gears, small gears, and pulleys. Flax has more competing uses: it can become rope and linen, while linen and portions can contribute to bandages. Sending every intermediate item immediately onto a main route can make those branches harder to balance.
| Product chain | Important inputs | Output-routing consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Large gears | Wood processing | Send finished gears to a shop buffer |
| Small gears | Wood-derived gear processing | Can join a separate belt from large gears |
| Mortars | Rock crushing and processing | Leave a stone pickup point if useful |
| Rope | Flax fiber processing | Reserve some rope for pulleys before selling excess |
| Linen | Flax fiber processing | Reserve linen for bandages |
| Bandages | Portions and linen | Send to the shop only after both inputs are stable |
Rate checks prevent a bus from hiding a shortage. Mortar production provides a clear example: if each crusher produces 20 rocks per minute and each processor needs 15 rocks per minute, three crushers provide 60 rocks per minute. That exactly supports four processors consuming 15 each.
For flax, work backward from the final product. A linen-focused assembler can require a large volume of flax fiber, and one nursery may not be enough to supply it. In the observed setup, a nursery grows flax at 120 per minute, while six grinders feeding a linen processor require 360 flax per minute. That means three nurseries support that one assembler arrangement.
Use buffers only after you understand these rates. A box is excellent for smoothing deliveries to shelves, but it cannot fix a production line whose inputs are permanently below demand.
Route, Buffer, and Expand Cleanly
Build each new connection in a predictable sequence. First decide whether the item is for sale, for another recipe, or both. Then make the split before the item reaches the bus. A dedicated branch protects critical crafting inputs from being drained by shop demand.
When an item serves multiple purposes, prioritize its downstream recipe. Portions, for example, may be sold from a shelf but are also needed with linen for bandages. If the bandage assembler requires 15 portions per minute and the current line cannot supply that rate, adding another shelf connection will only make the shortage more obvious.
Use this routing checklist when adding an output:
- Confirm the producer’s output per minute.
- Check every recipe that consumes the item.
- Reserve dedicated belts for mandatory internal consumers.
- Send the remaining output through a lift or tunnel to the bus.
- Add a box near the shelf to buffer deliveries.
- Watch the line until storage fills and no required machine starves.
Vertical building is particularly helpful for compact factories. A box can split an input into several grinder lines, processors can sit above lower belts, and another box can recombine outputs. This is bulky compared with a flat line, but it protects floor space for future equipment.
Avoid running every conveyor at the same level. Use lifts to pass over a route, tunnels to hide crossings behind walls, and bridges where an item needs to cross the logistics area. These tools turn the bus into an understandable network instead of a maze.
| Expansion problem | Main-bus response |
|---|---|
| A new product needs shelf space | Add another shelf module and connect a new lift/box point |
| A product arrives at the wrong height | Adjust its lift before it enters the bus |
| A recipe needs an item already being sold | Split production before the sales route |
| A shop redesign removes a factory area | Keep the bus wall intact and rebuild factories around it |
| Stock arrives unevenly | Add or enlarge the shelf-side buffer |
Do not be afraid to rebuild a small production corner. A modular bus makes that less painful: dismantle the local machines, keep the destination box and shelf arrangement, then reconnect the rebuilt output. The shop can continue functioning as long as its stock buffers have enough inventory.
FAQ
What is an alchemy factory main bus?
An alchemy factory main bus is a shared set of logistics belts that carries finished goods from production areas to shop storage, shelves, or other designated destinations. It usually runs behind the shop wall and uses lifts, boxes, tunnels, and catapults to keep the selling area tidy.
Should raw materials go on the bus?
Usually, no. Process wood, rock, flax, and similar resources near their sources or processing lines. Put finished goods on the bus, and only route intermediate materials there when multiple distant factories genuinely need them.
How do I keep shelves stocked without blocking production?
Split the item before it reaches the bus. Reserve the amount needed by internal recipes first, then route excess to a shelf-side storage box. This is important for materials such as rope, linen, and portions that may be both sold and consumed.
Can I change my factory layout later?
Yes. A bus designed with boxes and lifts is intentionally adaptable. You can move or rebuild a producer, then reconnect its output to the same bus lane or shelf buffer without rebuilding the entire shop.
Why use boxes near shelf modules?
Boxes buffer delivery, provide manual access to items, and make each shelf connection independent. They also let you adjust where an item joins the belt system when its factory changes height or location.