Fortress Craft Evolved's freight cart system can greatly simplify the logistics of a large and modularized base.

This guide is written in four major sections. I encourage newcomers to avoid section 4 until they've experimented with the freight system.

1. Comparison to other systems
   
2. Key concepts and blocks
   
3. Example implementations
   
4. Advanced details and other minutia

For recipe details and nerdy numbers, use the in-game handbook and FCEDB[www.fcedb.com]. This is a usage guide: I will not be copying recipes and values into this guide.

For questions and feedback, reach me at the FC:E Discord[discord.gg] @Mark#6948.

This section could be it's own spreadsheet or even developed into a whole guide. I do not intend to develop this section any further.

1. Conveyor Belts: Low to medium throughput, no power, cheap to make, very flexible layout. Only medium in this list that slows in Cold Caverns, and is also susceptible to Mynocks.
   
2. Transport Tubes: Medium to high throughput, no power, moderately expensive, very flexible layout.
   
3. Cargo lifts: Upgradable high throughput, low to medium power, initially cheap to make with very expensive upgrades, extremely rigid layouts (vertical 3x3 shaft only).
   
4. Matter eMitters (MM): High throughput, very high power (scales with throughput), MM are themselves cheap to make but the power network may be expensive, flexible layout (must be laid out similar to Laser Power Transmitters (LPT)
   
5. Logistic Falcors: Low throughput, no power, cheap to make, semi flexible layout, beacons require sky clearance.
   
6. Mine carts system: Upgradable high throughput, no power, moderately expensive, simple layouts recommended. (see following section)
   
7. Freight system: Upgradable high throughput, no power, moderately expensive, flexible layouts. Very complex settings. Can directly pull and push from Mass Storage (MS) without the need for MS ports.

This guide does not focus on the minecart system. Minecarts are implemented similarly to Minecraft's minecarts, if not simpler. Minecarts have no complex intelligence and can only make routing decisions based on "Do I have any materials?" or "Do I not have any materials?".

The freight cart system is materially built upon the minecart system. It uses the same track pieces and carts, but different stations.

Research that is minecart system only (not used by freight):

The freight cart system is a part of the "FortressCraft Evolved: Adventures Pack" DLC.
You can buy it here: https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/590460/FortressCraft_Evolved_Adventures_Pack/

For material & research requirements, I recommend using FCEDB. Here's some quick links:

Rolling Stock[www.fcedb.com] (initial research)
Rolling Stock requires that you've completed the "Metal Alloys" research, which only requires you to scan iron ore and nickle ore.
Bulk minecart[www.fcedb.com] (best minecart)

The section is meant to give you a quick understanding of the fundamentals of the system. Nuances and real implementations are discussed in later sections.

The freight network monitor is key to understanding the health of the freight system, and for troubleshooting issues. Many problems can be solved by thoroughly analyzing the information that the monitor provides.

Track is what the carts move on. You can have as many grids of track as necessary, it is not required to have everything on one uber-grid.
Physical track grids should not be confused with freight-networks. Multiple networks can exist on a single grid. However, you should never have a network that spans multiple grids.
Below you can see screenshots of two separate grids. The game helpfully colors grids so you can tell when you have a disconnect. Dead-ends of track will not be lit.



Depots are where your carts spawn and de-spawn. A depot simply makes carts in any hoppers connected to it available to the grid. Any networks on the grid may request a cart to be spawned.

Carts are couriers, bringing goods to where they need to be. They will always try to take the shortest route between destinations, while trying to avoid passing through non-destination stations.
There are various tiers and types of carts. Tiers affects max speed, acceleration and capacity of carts. Ore-type carts can only carry ores (& crystal deposits) and fluid-type carts can only carry gas-canisters. Ore and Fluid carts have a capacity and transfer bonus over all-purpose carts.

Stations are the interface between a track-grid, carts, and storages. They are also how you control most of the settings in the freight system.
A station must be associated with a network. Naming stations (and storages) are optional.
A station monitors the storage that it is attached to, and reports to the network.
Freight stations must transact with either hoppers or Mass Storage (MS) grids. Stations cannot transact with any other machine or block, nor the player.

The freight system is only compatible with two methods of storage: hoppers, and Mass Storage grids (MS). The item transfer rate is the same for either storage method.
A storage has it's own ideal stocking limits per network that it is associated with. To connect a storage to multiple networks, simply connect more stations to the storage.

Through stations, you can set a storage's stocking limits for a network (referred to in-game, as "Set Freight"). The stocking limit is the storage's "ideal amount for X item" within that network. If one of a storage's network-limits is set to 100 nickle bars, but has 140, then it has s surplus of 40 bars, and will offer them to that network. Similarly, if it dropped down to 70 bars, then it would demand 30 bars.
There does not need to be a limit for every item in a storage, but if an item doesn't have a limit, then the storage won't demand of offer it. Setting a stocking limit to "0" is common: it means you don't want any of an item in that storage: offer it to be transported elsewhere.
It's useful to remember: a storage be connected to many networks, and have different stocking limits for each network.
Also note: Hoppers can only have a single stocking limit, but MS can have many.

A network is a conceptual grouping of storages (and attached stations) that should share items.
A network will attempt to match stocking demands with offers, and tell depots to spawn carts for related stations when matches are found.
A network should never span multiple track-grids, because carts won't be able to reach every storage in the network.

I didn't cover everything in the above section; however I believe that should be an adequate introduction to get your stock rolling on an experimental test track. After-all there's no learning like hands-on learning. I encourage you to load up the game and experiment with the freight system while continuing to read on.

((Also I need more time to finish the rest))

Here's some tips and guidelines for building a robust freight system.

A.K.A. 4-lanes of traffic.
Cart collision can be a problem in high-throughput bases. A good mitigation for this is having 4 "lanes" of flow that then branch off to other areas. One lane for empty carts, another lane for not-empty carts, and then two opposing and mirrored lanes. Use one-way tracks and hop-over slopes to direct flow and prevent lane-intermixing. Stations should be the transition between lane-types.
This tip isn't useful for small / specialized grids.
.

Stations and depots should not be located on any main-lanes of track, they should be branched off. The branch should be long enough to accommodate every cart that could be visit the station without backing up onto (and stopping traffic in) the main-lanes. Remember: carts assigned to other stations may visit.
Above, you can see the stations are branched from the inner (not-empty) lane.


This only applies to "4-track grid" designs.
Each storage-network combination should only be either a "requester", or a "supplier".
In more words: Stations should be the transition between lane-types. That means that a requester station should have carts come from a not-empty-lane, deposit their cargo, then depart into the empty-lane. Similarly, a "supplier" station should have carts come from an empty-lane, load up with some items, then depart into a not-empty-lane.
If a storage has both requests and supplies in the same network, then carts may arrive/depart from/to the wrong lanes.
If you have a general "Components" network, this typically results in any manufacturing-rooms requiring two storages, one for requesting inputs, and the other for supplying the output. Same for any jet-fuel networks: one storage for delivering fuel, another for taking empty canisters.
Picture above is a room mid-creation. The stations on the right are delivering goods (branched from the inner lane). There is (so-far) a single station on the left for output, branched from the outer lane.

Having multiple networks can make troubleshooting a little easier in the Network Monitor. I also find it help me have a more organized mind-map of my system. Tips for distinguishing networks:

• Networks must not span multiple grids.
  
• Networks for certain types of carts (ore & gas): When setting up stations, this can be a reminder to change the assignment-filters of the station, ensuring that sub-optimal "regular" carts will not be used.

If you're designing your base properly -spread out- and you're suffering throughput issues, you likely need more carts assigned to the stations. Observe the troubling station(s) for a while and take note of how long the station stays empty vs. has a cart in it.
If there is a continuous stream of carts through the station, then you need more stations! Be-careful not to saturate your grid with carts and cause traffic issues!
Don't forget: for extreme throughput, you may want to look at other logistic options like lifts or MMs.

Don't worry about making everything in one area. Also don't worry about making all of one thing in one area. Spread your base out, and make it modular (and in rooms too!). Importantly: the fewer things you do in a room, likely the better.
As I progressed into the Frozen Factory expansion, I realized my old clock-making room wasn't producing enough. Did I:

• Tear down the walls, add more stations and GACs, then rebuild the room?
  
• Tear down the walls, start to add more, then realize I was out of space?
  
• Tear down everything and move it elsewhere?
  
• Make a second, larger clock-making room?

I took the last option. I saved time by not tearing down anything, plus the old room continued to supply clocks. I was able to easily do this because raw-crystal was being supplied from a different room on the grid. Having "supply" rooms that do-less makes expanding easier in the long-run. Furthermore, if you supply-room isn't cutting it, you can make more (more extractors/ lifts/ smelters/ etc.).

Generally, the more stations a grid has, the more depots it may need to respond to station requests in a timely fashion. Of note: whenever a save is reloaded, all carts start unassigned to a station, and will unload any cargo they have, then travel to the nearest depot to be de-spawned so that they can then be spawned and assigned. This can be very disruptive in single-player games, as it can take a while for 100+ carts to reach depots, and then respawn.
"Restarts" like this can be mitigated by having multiple depots, allowing for many carts to spawn in a short period of time.
In a 4-track system, carts should spawn into an "empty-lane". Carts will sometimes arrive to a supplying station only to be de-assigned at arrival, and will enter the "not-empty" lane destined for a depot. Make sure depots can easily accept carts from the "not-empty" lane.
Pictured above are six depots: one for de-spawning, and 5 for spawning. (a depot can do both, but I prefer separation.)
A turntable is used to take carts from the center hopper (that the de-spawner uses) and redistribute it to two neighboring hoppers. This allows 300 carts to be in storage.

Best to ask me for an example of something on Discord, and then I'll add it here. You can also search this on Discord "has: image from: Mark™#0001 in: media"

Wait for Full / Any.
A Network mustn't span multiple track-grids.
Tiers and types of carts.
One-way, junction, booster, corner, slope.
4-lane system.
Stations can access storage in-front or behind, at the same height of the base or one space higher. Scroll up to the "Physical Track Grids" section for examples.
Cart settings only affect what carts the station will request (spawn). Any kind of cart may visit a station.
Stations must connect to a single storage source (hopper or MS-grid)
A* routing?? (link to a video?)(I mainly want to note that stations have a higher "resistance" than track). (also mention dead-ends not lighting up, picture)
Carts collide, but aren't aware of each other (They don't route with consideration of each other)
Auto upgrader
Rooms. Straight track ignores air-clearance. Slopes require air-clearance else derail.
World re-load minutia
Stuck carts will periodically try to reverse course / re-route in order to break traffic jams.
Stations will search at height and height +1, front and back for a storage. (if two storages are in range, a station might pick something else on world reload)
Advice on when stations should have 0 carts assigned (requestable)
Depot placement and airlocking, request steveman0 to add resistance to depots.
Avoid slopes immediately before or after a station. One-ways, corners, and straights are fine.
Until patched, gas-carts do not work / cannot be spawned by a depot.

Scrap and regular carts transfer at 1 item/tick, 3 ticks a second (they exist on the mob-thread). Totaling 180 items per minute throughput. This does not account for cart-changeover time at a station, so throughput over time will be less.
Ore & gas carts transfer at 5 times faster, in addition to having larger capacities.

Check freight monitor:

• How many grids are there?
  
• Does the storage names and contents match your expectation
  
• Does the network-inventory match expectation

Do the stations have proper cart tier, type, and count settings? Wait for full/any?
Ensure the path from the station to the grid is complete.
When in doubt, re-make the stations connected to a storage.

This indicates that a station is connected to the grid, but carts cannot reach the station. Typically this means the stations has a one-way path from the station to the grid, but no path from the grid to the station.
If you're quick, you can press "U" to sit in the cart and see what station it is assigned to.