Container

Containers are static storage blocks designed to hold large quantities of items and act as a buffer between production, consumption, and transportation. They are commonly placed near turrets, power plants, factories, or launchpads to smooth out short-term spikes in demand: by storing ammunition, fuel, or raw materials, containers allow producers to continue operating while consumers draw fluctuating amounts. Containers can be picked up and relocated by airlift-capable units, which enables rapid redistribution of stored supplies across the map.

A key mechanical property of containers is that capacity is tracked per item type rather than as a single combined pool. This means a single container can simultaneously hold full stacks of several different item types; filling a container with 300 copper does not prevent it from accepting lead or titanium up to their own per-type limits. Because of this per-type capacity, moving an entire filled container by an airlift unit can be far more throughput-efficient than repeatedly ferrying individual items with cargo units.

Containers are especially useful as local buffers for:

• Turret ammo storage: keep turrets fed during heavy attacks by placing containers in turret supply lines to absorb sudden consumption surges.
• Power plant fuel: stockpile coal, charcoal, or other fuels near generators to prevent brief shortages when fuel consumption spikes.
• Factory inputs and outputs: stabilize production chains by buffering input materials or staging finished products for transport.

Operational and tactical notes:

• Any flammable or explosive items stored inside a container will ignite and explode if the container is destroyed, so avoid clustering containers holding volatile materials in high-risk areas.
• Units with airlift capability (notably Mega and Quad in current sources) can pick up whole containers and transport them. These same units can construct replacement containers at the pickup location, allowing storage to remain available while the payload is in transit.
• Using containers reduces the need for constant unit micro-management of cargo trains or conveyors during brief surges, but they do not replace long-term logistics planning such as dedicated conveyor networks or large-scale transport fleets.

Place containers where short-term buffering provides the most benefit: directly on turret feed lines, adjacent to generators, or at factory inlets/outlets to keep throughput steady and avoid temporary stalls.