Make bots NEVER recharge (until they comlpete their task)

[Avezo]

As title says. I believe that for the sake of both optimalisation and discouraging bots as a long-range means of tarnsportation (and fixing issues of 'lost' bots in weird shaped logistic networks) just leave them continue travelling forth when they run out of energy, except with much less speed as usual. Make them NEVER change waypoints to go to recharge until their task is complete. THEN they recharge.

It just fixes so many issues. Not sure about optimalisation though, devil is in detail I guess. If devil is small though, maybe make bots' speed scale with their power levels exponentially or something, punishing longer distances? Not like now where it's black or white that any power = full speed, no power = slow speed?

[ssilk]

Hm. At first I thought this is stupid, but actually I like it. I would give this a try, but many other players will cry out loud.

Hm. This makes only sense, if we would be able to set the number of robots that should be in each roboport.

[BenSeidel]

You would need more than just setting the number of bots in a roboport. You would also need to have the bots scheduler to choose the closest bots for a task, so that you are not effectively halving the viable size of a network. You are also limiting a bot network to two different sizes: Small enough that no task flattens a bot or extremely large that more bots just solves the slowdown issue. At the point of extremely large then the charging of bots could be seen as a hindrance and not a feature as you will be putting all the charging strain onto the roboport(s) nearest to the drop off location.

But, I really like the idea. These issues look like a good tradeoff if it removes the obnoxious behaviours that the bots currently exhibit.

[Avezo]

You would need more than just setting the number of bots in a roboport. You would also need to have the bots scheduler to choose the closest bots for a task

Isn't it already like this when bot picks up a new order?

extremely large that more bots just solves the slowdown issue

That would still have downside of huge energy consupmtion though.

[Brathahn]

This would have an enormous downside to bigger factorys with complete roboport coverage.
When all the bots are on the far left side of the factory because you build like a thousand solar panels there and now order them to the far right side, they would all be super slow the whole long way even with roboports.

[X] not recomended

[Avezo]

@ Brathahn
Yeah, but as far as I recall devs' intentions they don't want them to be effective in such large scale, that's why they've changed their power consumption in 0.14 for example.

[Shiandow]

I think this idea only makes sense if robots belong to a specific roboport and only perform tasks in that roboport's range. That does leave you with some other issues, such as transferring robots and items from one side of the network to the other. These problems would be solvable with circuit network / logistics, but only if you can find out what each roboport needs. It's probably better if roboports actually form a network and 'talk' to each other in some fashion, allowing them to exchange bots and items, otherwise things would get difficult pretty quickly.

[PadreSperanza]

While reading this thread I was thinking about "the settlers 2". In that game every items is transported from one waypoint to the next one. So how about to use this method:

Give the roboport an inventory of a chest. Instead of placing logicbots in the air place them in the roboport they should belong to. Now when there is an item that's need somewhere the logicbot is carring this item in its area to the destination when it's in its own influence. Otherwise the logicbot is carrying the item to the next roboport and returns to his own. But when at the destination's roboport there is an item to be carried to it's port or a destination in its influence it will also take this item back.

That would block travelpaths from the one side to the other side. Logicbots would just perform in their action area. So they would never travel too much and they belong to a station where they can recharge then after finishing the work

[SupplyDepoo]

This suggestion is terrible and unwarranted. There already is a significant penalty to long-distance bot usage. If I still want to use them for long-distance transport then let me. You have your play style and I have mine. All this would do is reduce the number of strategies and force others to play the way you think it should be played.

[MKNZ]

This suggestion is terrible and unwarranted. There already is a significant penalty to long-distance bot usage. If I still want to use them for long-distance transport then let me. You have your play style and I have mine. All this would do is reduce the number of strategies and force others to play the way you think it should be played.

There are reasons for and against it. Just picturing personal construction bots in vehicles is a million times better for example.

I'm against it though, the benefits are against Roboports, and that is mostly where robots aren't 'getting lost' in the first place. It's clearing the forest and turret creeping mobs, and requesting items to logistics then leaving it's field of range.

Or maybe just personal Robots could act this way and they could start to have different AI for different circumstances. Still against it though. Fusion Robots mod solves the personal-port issue at mid level balance cost leaving no need for this to me.

Long distance transport with Robots strung along with ports at what point is 'long distance'? It's insanely expensive to do that, it better work I agree.

[Machine Medic]

F2/No. Terrible idea.

This would completely destroy the functionality of character logistic slots and trash slots in mega factories.

Inventory management goes from semi-automatic back to manual with no just cause.