can someone explain supply chains to me

[DrwHem]

so im about to unlock the ability to set up supply chains and like most things with the settlements there is no real in game guidance past food, beds, and water. Currently i only consider the paradise place as my main camp, the co-op also has a few people and cows i cant seem to tame and i want to set up the drive-in as an artillery base.
is it possible to have the coop be nothing but a lot of food and export the food to fill the drive-ins food need? ect
also, other than traders, how do i improve happiness onces everyones needs have been met?

[Mr. Self Destruct]

If I remember correctly, it basically allows you to use your resources from one settlement at another settlement, so you don't have to carry everything with you. It apparently also helps you attract certain special settlers that have population requirements or something like that, I've got a supply line from Sanctuary to the Drive-in, and I don't know if food and water sources were shared, it didn't seem like it.

As for happiness, best way to increase happiness after needs have been met is to increase defence, and help the settlement whenever it is attacked. That's what the strategy guide says, anyways.

[Mr. Self Destruct]

Also, to tame the Brahmin, you need to create a feed trough, which is in the misc. menu under resources.

[Naptown]

Actually the game explains everything in detail when you press ESC and go to the help menu.

This is directly from the game:

Supply Lines

Once you've acquired the "Local Leader" perk, you can create Supply Lines between your workshops.

To create a supply line, highlight a settler in one of your settlements and press [Q] to display a list of workshop

settlements. Select the settlement you want to link to your current settlement.

The settler will now be assigned to "supply line" duty and will travel between the settlements. (If you ever want to

remove the supply line, simply assign the settler to some other work object.)

Linking your settlements with supply lines provides the following benefits:

- When building at a workshop, you can use the inventory of all linked workshops.

- Linked workshops can share resources. This means if you have a surplus of food at one settlement, you can link it to a

settlement with a food shortage.

[magickmynd]

The supply line will only work with junk items or resources, not weapons, aid items or armor. But it does share water and food. The stock of junk items at the other connected location will not display at the workstation, they will be there invisibly when you try to build something that requires resources from the other end of the supply line. If you assign a settler to the supply line then that settler will not count to your overall population total. The supply line is very helpful when you do something like break down all your equipment at the Red Rocket station and want those broken down supplies to be available in Sanctuary without running back and forth between the two.

[ImHelping]

Originally posted by magickmynd:

The supply line will only work with junk items or resources, not weapons, aid items or armor. But it does share water and food. The stock of junk items at the other connected location will not display at the workstation, they will be there invisibly when you try to build something that requires resources from the other end of the supply line.

See, stuff like this is why people keep making threads like this. No matter how many times people say "But it says supply lines make SUPPLY LINES right in the help files guys! It couldn't be more obvious!".

The hopes I could transfer proper items between settlements with that perk was why I was wanting it in the first place.

"There, I finally have the skills needed to make those sweet upgrades to that plasma weapon and Cryo blaster I stashed in sanctuary!... Oh right, I have to go all the way back there to get it even with supply lines sharing crafting components."

Still a useful perk, but also still poorly explained in game. On top of the whole "Oh it works, you just can't see the extra materials in the workstation inventory" thing adding further confusion.

[Diesel]

omg... i just spent an hour looking at all these posts because i linked mettlements but when i looked at the dif workshop inventories they showed different items.... but when you actually build something it is all availible... thx for this post

Originally posted by magickmynd:

The supply line will only work with junk items or resources, not weapons, aid items or armor. But it does share water and food. The stock of junk items at the other connected location will not display at the workstation, they will be there invisibly when you try to build something that requires resources from the other end of the supply line. If you assign a settler to the supply line then that settler will not count to your overall population total. The supply line is very helpful when you do something like break down all your equipment at the Red Rocket station and want those broken down supplies to be available in Sanctuary without running back and forth between the two.

[DrwHem]

is there a way to abandon settlements i have no desire to protect ect? they give you way too many way too fast.

[Diesel]

Originally posted by DrwHem:

is there a way to abandon settlements i have no desire to protect ect? they give you way too many way too fast.

Just dont return to them i guess.