Refueling Shuttle Hubs manually

[King Doom]

Is this even possible? I'm getting tired of my drones doing everything but refuelling the shuttle hubs, and manually telling them to pick up fuel and move it to the hub doesn't seem to work. They pick the stuff up, but after that they refuse to interact with the hub at all. Is there something I'm missing, or is it really not possible?

 

[mizushimo]

I think something needs to be fixed about the way drones fuel the shuttle hubs, I'm constantly getting 'no fuel for shuttles' messages even a reasonably full fuel depot is a square or two away from the hub.

 

[JAMES187]

1) Have enough fuel refineries. I aim for at least X + 1 where X is the number of main consumers (landing pads, polymer factories, shuttle hubs)

2) Have enough drones to transport the fuel to the shuttle hub - there is only so much these guys can do!

3) Have a fuel refinery and fuel depot within the same drone commander range as each shuttle hub (close isn't always good enough if they are in different drone commander ranges)

4) Prioritise your shuttle hubs above all other fuel consuming buildings. This includes rockets, polymer factories and extractors with the fuelled extraction upgrade. Setting them all to the same (high) priority won't help.

 

[mizushimo]

There's still problems even if you do all of these things. I have 4k extra fuel, with depots and refineries right next to the hubs and many times I get the no fuel for shuttles message when the drone hubs load is 'low' and there's a fully stocked depot right next to the hub. There needs to be a better way for the drones to keep up with demand, perhaps the hubs could double their fuel capacity when you research the tech that lets you have 10 shuttles per hub?

 

[FunkyBigodon]

perhaps the hubs could double their fuel capacity

Hello.
I remember seeing a post from one of the developers in which he said they were seriously considering doing that. Unfortunately I could not find the thread to post it here.

Cheers!

 

[JAMES187]

OK, with the above steps I rarely get problems. Yes, the message flashes up from time to time, but it is resolved by a delivery before I even have time to check on the shuttle hub.

However, there is a way of supplying up to 6 shuttle hubs without ever getting the message:

1) Place a drone commander within the influence area of another with access to lots of fuel. Ensure there is open space of about 6 hexes all around the new drone commander.
2) Set the area of influence for the new drone commander to minimum (it should cover 4 or 5 hexes in each direction).
3) Surround the drone commander and depot with a hexagonal shaped cable run, 3 hexes long on each side. This should leave 3 empty hexes inside the cables with the drone commander.
4) Place a fuel depot inside the cable hex, next to the new drone commander.
5) Place up to 6 shuttle hubs is a hexagonal shape outside the cables.
6) Connect the cables to your power network (you should have a gap between each shuttle hub).
7) Add a few drones (you won't need many extra).
8) Throw in a couple of scrubbers to ensure no maintenance is required.

You have now created a setup where the drone commander has only one task, to keep the hubs fuelled. So long as you have fuel in the depot and enough drones (24 is more than enough for 6 hubs with 10 shuttles each), you shouldn't have any issues or messages as the drones cannot prioritise other tasks and have very short supply routes.

I will post a pic when I can for clarity. Give it a try and let me know the result.

 

[JAMES187]

Here you go. Note the drone hub range.

 

[mizushimo]

I cannot lie, that's a really good idea. I'll definitely try circling the hubs when my colony gets big enough. I still think they should tweak the fuel storage or the warnings, right now, the "no fuel" warnings are meaningless if your hubs are maxxed out and placed less deliberately, they don't tell you anything useful besides "drones aren't fast enough"

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

How about we just pipe fuel in?

 

[JAMES187]

I cannot lie, that's a really good idea. I'll definitely try circling the hubs when my colony gets big enough. I still think they should tweak the fuel storage or the warnings, right now, the "no fuel" warnings are meaningless if your hubs are maxxed out and placed less deliberately, they don't tell you anything useful besides "drones aren't fast enough"

Cheers, but you don't have to use 6 shuttle hubs, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 work just as well (you can add more as you grow). The key is the dedicated drone commander with access to fuel.

 

[Walshicus]

How about we just pipe fuel in?

This. Why isn't fuel a piped resource??

 

[Promethian]

This. Why isn't fuel a piped resource??

Gameplay. If we could just pipe it in refueling rockets would be trivialized. The drone effort and time spent is a major factor in how you play, especially in the early game, double especially if you are the Paradox sponsor.

 

[Jean le Chauve]

Here you go. Note the drone hub range.
View attachment 387991

It would be better to place the fuel depot a little further from the buildings: it can explode.

 

[Jean le Chauve]

In fact, it is best to place refineries near shuttles and buildings (using fuel) and not use any fuel depots on the map. Refineries can keep 100 units of fuel in stock. Otherwise, your shuttles will waste fuel to transport fuel, it's the snake that eats its tail. Refineries will stop consuming water and energy when their internal stock is full.

 

[Chazn2]

Good tip Jean