how to manage drones?

[VersataMeridian]

They seem to be auto launching when I dont want them to
They dont seem to be returning because the autolaunched near a Gate and every 1 minute some RED npcs speeds by and these cretins launch again. Clicking "Withdraw and Return" one by one is just frustrating - by the time i click on all of them - a RED whizzes by and I'm left snorting!

So - what do I do to rein these drones in and prevent
a) Auto Launching
b) Auto Return en masse?

[grapplehoeker]

You're referring to defence drones of course. I don't use any on my ships and only assign them to stations. I don't have to worry about managing them while flying then ;)
Even so, ignore them and their antics. They're cheap as chips, so if you lose any, it costs little to replace them, if you really need to.

[VersataMeridian]

Still sucks that even at 2.5 - such glaring gaps still exist in the game. Ive seen Egosoft games - they're extremely (beyond what you can call NORMAL bugs) at launch and can take upto 2 years for it to reach true release polish. I'm hoping the devs can sort such simple game mechanics out before the year closes (sheesh - that sounds just sad when I read it out loud).

Behaviour
~~~~~~~~
Can set drone behavior to Passive (meaning u need to auto manage deployment and recovery) or Agressive (they auto deploy like now at the sight of enemy). If in the wierd situation you managed to deploy near a Gate where every few mins a RED npcs passes that doesnt threaten u but is speeding onwards, you can set it back to passive and Recall Drones!

Should be simple! A new Menu for Drones management:-
"Drones" > "Set Drone Behaviour" > "Passive"/"Aggressive"
"Drones" > "Drone Commands > "Deploy Drones"/Recall All Drones"

[Set-115689]

You can control drone behavior with your turret settings. Turrets set to attack all enemies will launch drones whenever an enemies in radar range. Turrets set to defend only will launch drones only when your ship is attacked. There's a configuration setting in current commands (press the *) when attacking a target. I haven't tried messing with it.

[OZZO]

I think the answer is above, drones act like turrets. And yes, they react to red NPC because red is enemy LOL

[Kirshak]

even repair drones ?

[Awesome Dude]

Does anyone know how to make defense drones go back to the station and dock? My manager ordered or produced 650 (I set it before to keep them at 0) and send them all out, now I can't visit that sector at all because I have like 1 fps when I enter the sector.

[grapplehoeker]

Originally posted by ✪Kirshak:

even repair drones ?

They will automatically launch and get to work. They need no manual direction. But they'll be vulnerable to fire.
If your ship is in combat, then withdraw to a safe distance to allow your repair drones to get to work in safety.

[Kirshak]

Originally posted by grapplehoeker:

Originally posted by ✪Kirshak:

even repair drones ?

They will automatically launch and get to work. They need no manual direction. But they'll be vulnerable to fire.
If your ship is in combat, then withdraw to a safe distance to allow your repair drones to get to work in safety.

that's my issue, I want my drones to not get launched in the middle of the fight, they often get destroyed by my own turrets because they decide to go and get in front of my turrets while they are shooting :/

[VersataMeridian]

ive tried a lot of things - basic fact remains - a single red swings by even when you DONT want to - the drones launch. it also takes upto 10-15 minutes for all of them to redock back at the ship. I gave up and just left them in space...no more drones for me! which sucks because I see a gem in the concept..just executions isnt right..
we absolutely need a dedicated drone mamangement sub menu