Posted by: Rich.h
« on: April 09, 2021, 09:15:06 AM »While there isn't yet a mechanic for dealing with MSP and fuel in a fully automated way. I really don't see the OP as an inssue for minerals.
Unless I am just really lucky in my game there isn't ever a problem, I just make use of things we already have, my logistics are laid out like this.
To start with Earth will be my only point of industry and the only place that needs minerals, when inside a system I make extensive use of mass drivers to shift things. They might not throw stuff around at fast speeds, but once the flow starts it just works perfectly and you can forget about it. As a mining operation starts to exceed the MD capacity you expand it to keep up, if this is done in a way where your MD capacity always slightly exceeds your mining then it will always balance out and keep 100% of minerals heading where they should be. As my empire grows beyond Earth to other Sol bodies I make a start on a MD network, for example I have colonised Mars and Titan with industrial capacity. First all MDs shoot for Titan, then Titan shoots to Mars, and Mars to Earth, this just expands and gets altered anytime I need minerals onto a new body. By using this combined with recourse limits on a planet I can control the minimum amount a colony needs to grow, and just alter the minimums whenever needed. This means that my freighters in Sol are only being used for shipping facilities around about 90% of the time, and I can forget about having to conduct mineral management orders. The exception to this is a small group of freighters kept in standby, these are used to ferry minerals to a new colony that might be in need of a kickstart to get up and running.
This approach applies to every single system in my empire so each system only ever has one final destination point where all excess minerals end up. To then shift this between systems in a simple repeat order of frieghters, pick up at point A and drop at point B, with a refuel order thrown in too. Once that starts you can again forget about doing anything for them for the most part, all they ever need is the occasional check to see if they are coping with the workload. If their capacity has been exceeded, then just build another frieghter and add it to that group.
Using this method my only real outlay costs are the mass drivers, but once they are established then you forget about them forever. over their lifespan I would argue they cost you less in minerals and definitely an exponential less amount of work to control than using freighters everywhere.
I'm not sure where an issue arises with a freighter not being able to load all minerals and then only loading them in order lies. That to me sounds like simple logistics, and is solved by just having two freighters. If the capacity of a transport is being outweighed by the output of a mine, then no matter what approach you take you will always have the same problem. The only solution is to increase your transport capacity, or reduce your mining output.
Unless I am just really lucky in my game there isn't ever a problem, I just make use of things we already have, my logistics are laid out like this.
To start with Earth will be my only point of industry and the only place that needs minerals, when inside a system I make extensive use of mass drivers to shift things. They might not throw stuff around at fast speeds, but once the flow starts it just works perfectly and you can forget about it. As a mining operation starts to exceed the MD capacity you expand it to keep up, if this is done in a way where your MD capacity always slightly exceeds your mining then it will always balance out and keep 100% of minerals heading where they should be. As my empire grows beyond Earth to other Sol bodies I make a start on a MD network, for example I have colonised Mars and Titan with industrial capacity. First all MDs shoot for Titan, then Titan shoots to Mars, and Mars to Earth, this just expands and gets altered anytime I need minerals onto a new body. By using this combined with recourse limits on a planet I can control the minimum amount a colony needs to grow, and just alter the minimums whenever needed. This means that my freighters in Sol are only being used for shipping facilities around about 90% of the time, and I can forget about having to conduct mineral management orders. The exception to this is a small group of freighters kept in standby, these are used to ferry minerals to a new colony that might be in need of a kickstart to get up and running.
This approach applies to every single system in my empire so each system only ever has one final destination point where all excess minerals end up. To then shift this between systems in a simple repeat order of frieghters, pick up at point A and drop at point B, with a refuel order thrown in too. Once that starts you can again forget about doing anything for them for the most part, all they ever need is the occasional check to see if they are coping with the workload. If their capacity has been exceeded, then just build another frieghter and add it to that group.
Using this method my only real outlay costs are the mass drivers, but once they are established then you forget about them forever. over their lifespan I would argue they cost you less in minerals and definitely an exponential less amount of work to control than using freighters everywhere.
I'm not sure where an issue arises with a freighter not being able to load all minerals and then only loading them in order lies. That to me sounds like simple logistics, and is solved by just having two freighters. If the capacity of a transport is being outweighed by the output of a mine, then no matter what approach you take you will always have the same problem. The only solution is to increase your transport capacity, or reduce your mining output.