Need to empty workshops?

[Hosey]

I read somewhere a while ago that once each workshop for each settlement reaches a certain capacity, the settlers will nolonger get 1 random piece of junk per day. does this mean i have to every so often go around to each of my workshops, empty them entirely and pool it all into a single workshop to ensure my settlers are all still pulling their weight?

[steventirey]

Yes. There are caps in place for food, water, and junk items. If those caps are reached, settlers will not add more to the workshop. The food and water caps are rather low, and its easy to hit those. You will need to remove all ediable items (not just crops) and all drinkable items (not just purified water) if you want them to continue adding more of those.

The junk cap is a lot higher but in addition to counting junk items it counts any components you have in there as well, such as wood.

[tulle040657]

I use the Uncapped Settlement Surplus mod

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/12430

[kdodds]

Or just set up supply lines so no one's running short on anything.

[Premu]

Originally posted by kdodds:

Or just set up supply lines so no one's running short on anything.

The issue is if you have one ressource you're short of. If you for example want to build a massive vault and run out of steel regularily, your settlements will have lots of junk not containing anything with steel, and will not provide you with any new steel either as they are above their cap. In that case you'll have to make a tour to empty those. It's really helpful if you have the strong back perk for that purpose, though, which allows you to fast travel while being overloaded.

I personally have a single central "warehouse" which gets all that junk, while the rest of the settlements will be busy finding new stuff.

[hexnessie]

Originally posted by Premu:

Originally posted by kdodds:

Or just set up supply lines so no one's running short on anything.

I personally have a single central "warehouse" which gets all that junk, while the rest of the settlements will be busy finding new stuff.

I'm just starting my own workshop network and thought of doing it that way, with central storage at Red Rocket.

But will my settlers still scavenge for junk if I connect each settlement with Red Rocket's workshop full of stuff?

I.e. does the check for scavenging cap detect I have 1000s of items in my other workshops?

(I'm currently keeping most stuff out of workshop and in a locker, but it's a pain going back there to pick up every single thing as I build...)

[dtt.scanner]

I didn't know about random junk items. Is the cap on the number of different items, or is it on the total of each item added together... like by weight or something? If you strip down everything into parts, then there is a much smaller item inventory in your junk pile, but you will have bigger piles of components. Does anyone know if that helps or hurts your inventory cap? I have maybe 50 different components (without counting them) but each component could be a huge pile... like 500 steel.

What I do is scrap all of the items that I pick up in whichever settlement needs help with the settlement cap, and then take the components back out and store them in one settlement in the network, so that I know where to go to pick up items if I need to take something to an unconnected settlement for development.

My main storage/settlement is also at Red Rocket. Funny. Also, do you have to have someone assigned to a scavenger station in order to get the random items? I actually have only built one (very recently) in my current game, and have not noticed any new stuff showing up in any workshops... but now I know to look.

[steventirey]

Originally posted by dtt.scanner:

I didn't know about random junk items. Is the cap on the number of different items, or is it on the total of each item added together... like by weight or something? If you strip down everything into parts, then there is a much smaller item inventory in your junk pile, but you will have bigger piles of components. Does anyone know if that helps or hurts your inventory cap? I have maybe 50 different components (without counting them) but each component could be a huge pile... like 500 steel.

The cap counts individual items. And stripping down the items into components is a lot worse than storing the junk items. The cap counts each junk item and each crafting component in the workshop. So if a single junk item would break down into 4 wood, for example, as a junk item it would count as 1 towards the cap, but broken down into components it would count as 4.

Also, do you have to have someone assigned to a scavenger station in order to get the random items? I actually have only built one (very recently) in my current game, and have not noticed any new stuff showing up in any workshops... but now I know to look.

All unassigned settlers will generate 1 junk item per day. Settlers assigned to scavenger stations instead generate 2 junk items per day.

[Premu]

Originally posted by hexnessie:

I.e. does the check for scavenging cap detect I have 1000s of items in my other workshops?

No, the settlers only look in their own workshop. So while one settlement can't provide you with any junk items, all the rest will still work.

The cap is at 200 items AFAIK, by the way. So with 10 settlers working as scavengers, they fill up the settlement with junk in 10 days.

[dtt.scanner]

So if you make one settlement your repository, you don't really lose anything by scrapping everything and keeping it there. The other settlements will continue to produce random items. I just need to move my inventory to a low population settlement for minimal impact.

There is no limit on the number of items in a stack? (I haven't seen one yet.) It is only the extra colonist items that are affected once you reach 200 items? It seems, with the number of items that end up in workshops, it is really better to centralize all of your inventory anyway. Whichever workshop that is will already be at the cap, so no harm in scrapping everything to make finding resources easier. Also, since scrapping does give you a higher building cap, you still want to scrap items in the settlements that need it. I think I have been doing the right thing, even if I didn't know it.

I do sell items that have a higher cash value than scrap value, but if you are a settlement builder, you really do need a lot of scrap.

[Premu]

Originally posted by dtt.scanner:

So if you make one settlement your repository, you don't really lose anything by scrapping everything and keeping it there. The other settlements will continue to produce random items. I just need to move my inventory to a low population settlement for minimal impact.

There is no gain in scrapping everything immediately, either. Actually, a few items you might want to keep in their original form. Some components can be either used to build some advanced stuff or be scrapped down to their ingridiants.

Also, if you want to get settlement crazy and actually decorate your settlements, some junk items are great for that. An empty billard table looks nice, but a billard table which contains all the different billard balls and two pool cues? That looks so much better!

In case you're out of original materials to build something, but you have junk items which could be scrapped to produce those in your workshop, the game will break those down for you automatically. So don't worry about that.

There is no limit on the number of items in a stack? (I haven't seen one yet.) It is only the extra colonist items that are affected once you reach 200 items? It seems, with the number of items that end up in workshops, it is really better to centralize all of your inventory anyway. Whichever workshop that is will already be at the cap, so no harm in scrapping everything to make finding resources easier. Also, since scrapping does give you a higher building cap, you still want to scrap items in the settlements that need it. I think I have been doing the right thing, even if I didn't know it.

There is no (practical) limit, at least none which I have broken so far - you can have thousands of the same item in the workshop without much hassle. I guess the limit is defined by the maximum value of an integer type...

[Hosey]

Originally posted by tulle040657:

I use the Uncapped Settlement Surplus mod

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/12430

Theres literally a mod to fix everything 🤣

[dtt.scanner]

Originally posted by hosey11:

Theres literally a mod to fix everything 🤣

There are those who like to play with minimal mods (some who only play NO MOD or game console version where modding is not an option. It is always best to answer with a No Mod solution, if one exists. Of course, there is a mod to do just about anything, and if you play on a PC, console commands that you can change a game directly with. There is less chance of breaking your game if you use a solution that is already built into the game.

As for decorations, I understand completely. I figure there is always time to decorate, and most things will re-spawn by the time you need it. When you are expanding though, initial construction (food, water, beds) and defense of settlements will take a front seat to decorations. I still set aside a few things for "later," like a set of billiard balls for the rec room, rack, pool cues, instead of scrapping them (*not kept in workshop, so that I don't accidentally scrap them. I keep a "decorations" box, as well as a "weapons" "armor" and "clothing" box, for outfitting colonists so that they don't just grab stuff out of the workshop). I also check weapons and armor for mods that I might need before scrapping them, especially if I can't make them yet, and as I said before, some things are worth more for sale than they are worth as scrap, even if it is just a few caps, so I also have a "for sale" box.

I accidentally left a fusion core in a power suit, and it took quite a while before the colonist took it off. I don't leave fusion cores, weapon, armor or even ammo where colonists can get to them, so that they use what I equip them with.

Food and water I usually grow and use to make adhesives, or occasionally chem recipes, so I use them up as quickly as they are produced. I believe food and water is specific to each workshop though, so I try to have a place where I "cook" and store those in that workshop. I know food and water is shared, but the actual food and water that you can cook with I think has to be in the workshop where you are, or in your inventory. You have to collect them from the other workshops if you want to use them.

Oh... the gain for scrapping things comes with the weight and portability. The components usually weigh a fraction of the carry weight of the item, so easier to move to your central depot. Another gain is being able to find the component you need quickly without having to look at the components of 100s of different items -- if you need to move components to a settlement that isn't linked yet for a quick defense on a new settlement. Lastly, and maybe the most important gain: scrapping raises the building item limit in that settlement, which is a huge advantage if you want to make a large colony someplace (10+ people). You can virtually extend the building cap indefinitely (until you have so many objects that the game won't load). That usually is not an issue for most people. It would have to be an insanely complex colony, like making a mock-up of Trinity Tower.

[Hosey]

Originally posted by dtt.scanner:

Originally posted by hosey11:

Theres literally a mod to fix everything 🤣

As for decorations, I understand completely. I figure there is always time to decorate, and most things will re-spawn by the time you need it. When you are expanding though, initial construction (food, water, beds) and defense of settlements will take a front seat to decorations. I still set aside a few things for "later," like a set of billiard balls for the rec room, rack, pool cues, instead of scrapping them (*not kept in workshop, so that I don't accidentally scrap them. I keep a "decorations" box, as well as a "weapons" "armor" and "clothing" box, for outfitting colonists so that they don't just grab stuff out of the workshop). I also check weapons and armor for mods that I might need before scrapping them, especially if I can't make them yet, and as I said before, some things are worth more for sale than they are worth as scrap, even if it is just a few caps.

I accidentally left a fusion core in a power suit, and it took quite a while before the colonist took it off. I don't leave fusion cores, weapon, armor or even ammo where colonists can get to them, so that they use what I equip them with.

Yeah thats smart, i do the same. Have a designated storage for the cool junk things i find in the wasteland to be placed as deco when i have time later.

Never really checked armor for mods that i need b4 scrapping/selling but i realise i should. Need the sharp mod to give me max charisma for max settlers and it aint a peice of cake to make from memory.

Ive never had a case of settlers taking ammo or weapons from any storage other than workshop, and defs never seen them take a power armour. I get how would be annoying, but i have so much power armour i wouldnt mind lending it to my settlers so they can show it off for me.

[Bored Peon]

IDEK's Logistics Station 2
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/48389
This mod will take everything from every connected workshop and place it into a single container or workshop that is connected to the supply lines. Which means it will solve the production cap for settlements.

It even has an option to turn off settlement attacks for the storage location, because storing that much will attract more attacks.

Horizon also has a similar mod built in.