Drone Station

[Saki Bomb]

Does it make sense to have more than 1 drone station? I have 1 station at my main base with 36+ drones and counting and I'm not sure if adding more drone stations raises efficiency in any way?

[Phoenix Cat]

Nope, I have had hundreds of drones at one station. They still work the same as far as I can tell. Unless you wanna have one for T1 drones and one for T2 drones.

[Trolling4Motorboating]

I think it helps for travel time efficiency. Say you've got drone station center map, and an extractor way out mining obsidian. Drone then has to leave station, all the way, all the way back. Two trips before item gets to destination. If you have another station out at the obsidian spot, only takes one trip cross map to deliver the item.
You'd likely not notice the time difference unless the whole economy is rolling continuous (extractors-storage-autofab-traderocket) at scale.

[Saki Bomb]

Right now I have all my drones working 24-7. They are never idle at the station, so that's why I was wondering if it even mattered where the station was, how many, etc. I just hope my drones don't decide to unionize because they don't rest.

Next thing is to upgrade to T2 drones but again - is it worth it? Do they carry more inventory? Fly faster?

[Trolling4Motorboating]

I upgrade to the T2 drones soon as possible. They still only carry 1 item, but they move significantly faster. If you never have idle drones, usually sign to build more.

When I finally can afford to unlock the T2 drones, I take a moment to pause all the supply (or demand, whichever is easier) to get all the T1 drones to come back home. Then I recycle them to make way for the upgraded ones.

[Robirda]

I don't even bother with the T1 drones, I just wait until I have the recipe for the T2's before I make any drones at all, that way they can hop right to it with no switch-over needed. I've tried various approaches over several different games and this one works the best for me. with the least amount of muddling needed - just set it up and let it run, no tending necessary.

[DarkFaceGlow]

I had a plan to put stations at each extractor. This way the drones are right there to pick up ores and deliver in half the time. But at the same time, my storages are always full, so it’s kinda doing it just for the sake of doing it.

[StormySynapse]

Real world, think about app delivery programs. They need drivers spread out over every different are in each zone. Zoom in a bit to one specific zone and you see their drivers spreading out from the main marketplace from the minute their peak hours start until it finishes. You want you drivers away from the most important place...and near the places that have the resources your home base needs. This ensures your drones come from the spot you need the resources, rather than flying from your home base to get the resources and back. An app driver would also appreciate such courtesy.

My drones are heavily concentrated at the spots i need resources from the second i start using them. I automate Pulsar shards and Fusion battery cells. Uranium was typically the toughest to keep filled due to the distance they had to travel and get back. One trade ship is worth 75 Uranium. I have room for 100 drones to spend the night in the uranium mines.

[Alshain]

Originally posted by Trolling4Motorboating:

I upgrade to the T2 drones soon as possible. They still only carry 1 item, but they move significantly faster. If you never have idle drones, usually sign to build more.

When I finally can afford to unlock the T2 drones, I take a moment to pause all the supply (or demand, whichever is easier) to get all the T1 drones to come back home. Then I recycle them to make way for the upgraded ones.

You don't have to pause anything. Just set a demand for T1 drones on your recycler and supply for them on the Drone Controller, and ensure you are crafting T2 to replace them. Then all you have to do is click the button a bunch of times. Eventually you will get them all.