The Hub.
Introduction[]
The Hub is a building with sixteen (16) inputs and 1 wires output (showing the shape to complete the current level). It cannot be placed, copied, or deleted. Upon creation of a new savegame, the Hub appears in the center of the screen, with the status of the game on top of it (current level, the required shape and amount needed to advance, and the level reward).
The Hub can be considered the center of the game, both figuratively and literally. This is because, in order to advance levels, gain upgrades, and unlock new buildings, shapes corresponding to the current requirement must be delivered to any of its sixteen inputs. Due to the limited number of inputs on this building, it is only possible to deliver at most 764.8 items per second (45,888 per minute).
Strategies[]
Upon reaching later levels with large shape requirements (say Level 18 which requires 250,000 shapes), the limitation of only sixteen inputs can get in the way of quickly advancing levels. This is why most advanced players choose to connect Balancers to it in order to increase the amount of inputs. This is a useful tactic because Balancers can route two inputs to one output. This same strategy can be applied with Storages; and although it takes up more space this way, if there is any kind of stalling or overflow-- or just a need for an "alternate" hub --, Storages can handle it better.
Statistics[]
| Size | Inputs/Outputs | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| 4x4 | 16/0 | Limited by belt speed (max of 764.8/second) |
Trivia[]
- The Hub is at the intersection of 4 "chunks" (16x16 areas of space). Of those 4 chunks, the upper-right chunk will always have squares, the lower left chunk will always have circles, and the two other chunks will have red and green.
- Chunks positioned further from the Hub will have deposits that are bigger, and more complex, meaning there are fewer deposits that are purely one shape.
- Conveyors are not needed to import items; if the output of a building leads into the hub, the hub will accept it.