Minerbots do what they want

[PyroGX]

I assign my bots to mine something, crystal, quartz, etc. They start out wonderfully, but eventually they deliver the goods themselves through the area and then not just what they mine, but normal stuff.

How can I make it so that they only mine and no longer move around? Unfortunately, locking them up doesn't work with quartz.

[AmFatDragon]

Have you tried disconnecting them from the Logistics Network (The WiFi Icon in the bottom left)?

[DrunkHobo]

Right click on the logistics network icon and uncheck deliver items.

[Katitoff]

Disconnect them from logistics network and tell them to store in specific storage.

I use "pointer" bot that scans for ore and tells attacked miners to mine the ore, the miners store the ore in the "pointer" unit and then a hauler bot takes ore back to the dedicated storage within the base.

[darkmathis]

The very *most* your miners should do on logistics (right-click the wifi icon) is "Supply". Ideally you turn this off completely, anchor their [STORE] register to a designated other place, and just let them work. But there are cases early on where your miners are *very* close to the command center and it is okay to let them make their inventory open to other units to come and raid. Just don't let them deliver and they won't try to satisfy network requests.

[garyp156]

I came here looking for the same information. Maybe the wiki should have this as I know now I'm not the only one. :)

Thanks all!

[darkmathis]

The wiki is *very* new.

[Katitoff]

Originally posted by darkmathis:

The wiki is *very* new.

+ there are multiple solutions to the problem and none is definitive

[Overeagerdragon]

Some tips:

1: A miner should NEVER be connected to the logistic network (wifi-icon next to the powerbuttom)
2: Lock ALL slots of a miner to the stuff they actually need to mine.
3: Set them to a program/behaviour which allows them to ONLY mine the stuff they need to mine
4: Lock your miner to a node and let another bot do the ore transports via the "transport route" logistics option (right click the wifi-signal and check the box at the very bottom; then assign it a linked storage depot and set the miner as a target)

[darkmathis]

Originally posted by Overeagerdragon:

Some tips:

1: A miner should NEVER be connected to the logistic network (wifi-icon next to the powerbuttom)
2: Lock ALL slots of a miner to the stuff they actually need to mine.
3: Set them to a program/behaviour which allows them to ONLY mine the stuff they need to mine
4: Lock your miner to a node and let another bot do the ore transports via the "transport route" logistics option (right click the wifi-signal and check the box at the very bottom; then assign it a linked storage depot and set the miner as a target)

You don't explicitly need behavior controllers on the miners themselves. A basic signal reader that you assign from the [STORE] register will take care of that, and the output from the [SIGNAL] will control what they mine. The dedicated hauler is essential once your base is bigger than about 40 tiles.

[berlu135]

So.... the map is huge, you build some sort of industry near the starting base, obviously, and there is no "fast" transfer of resources from long distances back to where they are needed? The workers have to haul the stuff miles back to base ?

[darkmathis]

Yes. You'll set up a mining crew and have some kind of a hauler whose job is to pick up resources and shuttle them home. I think the longest distance something can move somewhat autonomously is 20 tiles, and that is pretty deep into research.

[Overeagerdragon]

Originally posted by darkmathis:

Originally posted by Overeagerdragon:

Some tips:

1: A miner should NEVER be connected to the logistic network (wifi-icon next to the powerbuttom)
2: Lock ALL slots of a miner to the stuff they actually need to mine.
3: Set them to a program/behaviour which allows them to ONLY mine the stuff they need to mine
4: Lock your miner to a node and let another bot do the ore transports via the "transport route" logistics option (right click the wifi-signal and check the box at the very bottom; then assign it a linked storage depot and set the miner as a target)

You don't explicitly need behavior controllers on the miners themselves. A basic signal reader that you assign from the [STORE] register will take care of that, and the output from the [SIGNAL] will control what they mine. The dedicated hauler is essential once your base is bigger than about 40 tiles.

I have my miners set to a behaviour to search out nodes of the resource they need to mine ANYWHERE on the map and return to their designated storage to drop off by themselves (the haulers ofc; not the miners).... I don't need to do anything for it...EVEN if there's no nodes in my discovered area they will actively go look for them.... so no; you don't need a behaviour to reach point 3 but man does it make stuff easier to never have to worry about your miners ever again...

[darkmathis]

I think mining is more efficient with a cohort of miners effectively outposting nodes and having a hauler as a go-between to your base. Time your miners spend in transport is time they aren't generating resources. Plus, you can use cheaper bots to do the work and their speed/inventory sizes won't matter because the one really good bot is the intermediary.

Personal preference, though. I had all my miners going out into the wild and returning on their own, but it created uncontrollable congestion and I had to have significantly more workers to maintain the throughput as the factory expanded. I do generally dispatch teams in diffferent cardinal directions, though.

[Overeagerdragon]

Originally posted by darkmathis:

I think mining is more efficient with a cohort of miners effectively outposting nodes and having a hauler as a go-between to your base. Time your miners spend in transport is time they aren't generating resources. Plus, you can use cheaper bots to do the work and their speed/inventory sizes won't matter because the one really good bot is the intermediary.

Personal preference, though. I had all my miners going out into the wild and returning on their own, but it created uncontrollable congestion and I had to have significantly more workers to maintain the throughput as the factory expanded. I do generally dispatch teams in diffferent cardinal directions, though.

I hated this when it comes to more than 2 miners though.... once your base gets developped too far (or nodes get too far away) you need more and more haulers to bridge the travel time haulers need before the miners are full again (especially with upgraded mining lasers) and 2 twinbots = 1 transportbot

Instead I have a dedicated storage hub for minerals a bit seperated from my base to avoid the congestion caused by miner/hauler traffic.... remember; you can move that storage hub with deploying packages after all so if your base grows to annex the hub you simply pack it in and move it some 15 squares away again

[Overeagerdragon]

Ideally though; you would want to break even when it comes to minerals mined VS minerals needed....

too little and your production grinds to a halt
too much and you get miner/hauler congestion....

the bigger your base the easier this gets to handle though.... ironically