Understanding drills...

[HeTiCu7]

So, I built a large block mining ship with 9 drills, in a pattern that makes a tunnel large enough for the 3x3 ship body to fit through. Then I went over to one of my GPS tagged uranium asteroids to test it out. After 2 bores into the U, until I hit stone, I backed out and studied the collection. The connector and single small cargo box were filled, showing that the conveyor system was working. But, the drills were not evenly filled. Some had higher amounts of U than the others.

I tried some more drilling and it got to the point where some drills were maxed out, but they kept destroying U as I worked on filling the other drills. I tested this in an uneven spot, and it appears that the drills do not use the conveyor system to balance out the ore between them. This means that if I don't drill perfectly evenly, I will eventually end up destroying ore without the benefit of collecting it.

That's not so huge for all the other ores, since I have scouted and tagged many locations for each of them. But out of 50+ asteroids that I have tagged, I have only found 2 with U on them. Am I missing something, or is this just the way the drills and conveyors are designed? I was expecting the drills to balance out the intake so I could keep collecting until they all were close to full. I know they are all connected by conveyors because I can drag ore from any drill to another drill in inventory.

Any experienced thoughts on this? Thanks!

[Gorbadon]

A full drill still destroys voxels and there is no auto balancing, that is normal in SE.

There are scripts that do auto balancing however, this is the one I use on my mining ships:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=546221822

[HeTiCu7]

@Gorbadon:
Thanks! However, I am still new to SE. Is a "script" like a mod in other games? I download it and install it?

[Gorbadon]

Scripts in SE are code written in C# that can be loaded on a programmable block in game.
Your subscribed scripts show up on a list in the programmable block edit window.

You need to enable "experimental mode" in game options and scripts in world options in order to use them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkhZ7BbYgvc

[HeTiCu7]

Thanks, but I think that this is unavailable to me because my first game (and only game so far) is a vanilla "Scenario" called "Learning to Survive". When I try to go to the Load Game and "Edit Settings", all options are grayed out except for Delete, which I don't want to do at this time.

Apparently, I need to start a "Custom Game" and start over in order to run scripts? If so, what custom game would you suggest that would start me out in space, on an asteroid, with some tools and supplies? And I would be running survival mode. Thanks!

[Gorbadon]

As far as I know you should be able to activate scripts in scenarios, unles that got changed somehow.
Keep in mind scenarios get saved in a folder, you have to open that folder to edit the saves in it.

If that is the case "Star system" would be what I usualy use for starting a new save.

Did you activate "experimental mode" like described in the video I linked?

[HeTiCu7]

Yes, I did activate "experimental mode" like described in the video. And just to be sure, I exited the game and steam entirely, and reloaded. It still won't let me do anything except delete my game, and therefore I cannot open the "edit settings" (as well as anything else).

It appears I have reached the limits of the scenario game, and need to start a new custom game in order to advance further. Thanks for the advice and help.

[Gorbadon]

Hm... try to double click the save in the list.
From your description it sounds like you try to edit the subfolder that scenarios get saved in instead of the save itself inside the folder.

[HeTiCu7]

Ahhh... That did it! That is not obvious to me, that when I go to Load Game I am seeing a folder in the list, instead of a game. Yes, I saw the "folder" icon, but still, that did not suggest to me that I needed to double click it. It worked, though. Guess I need to get used to the SE interface. Thanks!

[Gorbadon]

Only sceanarios do it like that and I have to agree it is not quite that obvious for new players.

Custom games and workshop scenarios should save without a subfolder.

[HeTiCu7]

Btw, when I follow your first link to get the script, it appears that I need to "Subscribe" in order to get the script? What am I subscribing to? Am I joining something?

[Gorbadon]

By subscribing on the workshop you only get access to the script or mod in your game, that is all.
You are not joining in to anything by doing so.

[HeTiCu7]

Gorbadon: Thanks for your help. After some time learning about programmable blocks, scripts, etc, I got my mining ship set up and its working great. I went and brought back a complete load of U with all drills same fill level, and purple/red lights (spotlights) letting me know they were filled. This has opened up a whole new level of game play. Thanks!

[Shadow Delta]

Honestly, I never use the storage inventory of the drills much. This problem is so easily solved. Add a large cargo container! If you have a large ship model, than it will hold up to 125k liters! That's the normal option too. All of the drills will automatically empty their inventories, and dump all of the ores into that container, or whatever other container you have that's still free. Trust me, it's a much simpler life if you have everything in one spot, plus you won't need to fiddle with scripts.