@Ego @5.0 "Copy command list"

[Bastelfred]

For 5.0, I would like to be able to select multiple ships on the map and then apply all commands and settings of the target to all selected ships via context menu.

Thank you!

[Alan Phipps]

Honest question, but can you not apply the 'mimic this commander' pseudo-behaviour to a selection of ships even now?

OK, that does not apply all of the individual settings and preferences for the commander to each subordinate, but you will be auto-applying your global setting options by default.

This is perhaps a more long-winded approach but it may offer some workarounds for now.

[Bastelfred]

Honest question, but can you not apply the 'mimic this commander' pseudo-behaviour to a selection of ships even now?

A mimic 2.0... the current mimic command can do far too few.

The changes in mining, which I am the only player to like, force the player to pull his goods from larger parts of the universe together or distribute them. Which works very well with the loop command. But one ship is not enough, you need 10-20-30 big freighters. For each route you have to set all commands again. Mimic does not work here.

Self created patrols, which can also be created super with the loop command. But also here... create each time anew, a simple copy would simplify very much. Mimic does not work here.

[flatbush71]

I took the rock out of the HQ center and have entire center packed with factories top to bottom. Everybody goes to the same docks
12 big and a bunch of small, don't know how many but a lot 30-40 bays. I send escorts with freighters, traders & miners. There's no need to have stuff / stations scattered all over the map anymore. The HQ is the best design change in years as far efficiency and productivity.

[-=SiR KiLLaLoT=-]

Yes please! Being able to mimic a ship with repeat orders would be ideal

[j.harshaw]

Sorry, but this is very unlikely to happen. Not all orders can be copied, and communicating which orders can and can't, when, and why is a whole can of worms. Default behaviors are written such that they can always be copied, so they can be mimicked, and the delineation between default behaviors and normal orders is (at least I hope) relatively easy to grasp.

[-=SiR KiLLaLoT=-]

Sorry, but this is very unlikely to happen. Not all orders can be copied, and communicating which orders can and can't, when, and why is a whole can of worms. Default behaviors are written such that they can always be copied, so they can be mimicked, and the delineation between default behaviors and normal orders is (at least I hope) relatively easy to grasp.

I fully understand the complication of making a selection of ships that can automatically sort to define the various edit groups.
On the other hand, wouldn't it be possible to implement saving a ship's repeat order queue as it is done, for example, with custom configurations for ship equipment or station designs?

[Imperial Good]

This is mainly an issue when dealing with repeat orders.

An example would be having your main production base in Argon Prime and trying to terraform Scale Plate Green. The simplest solution would be to set up a large number (50 odd) ships with repeat orders to move the wares from Argon Prime to your Headquarters in Scale Plate Green to bypass the 5 sector range limit on subordinate traders. The issue is currently that would require that you individually set up each of the 50 ships with the same repeat orders and have them clog your property list because you cannot mimic repeat orders. Ideally what should happen is mimic does copy repeat order list, meaning that not only do you have to setup just 1 ship with the order to have it apply to all 50, but the ships are also neatly grouped together in a single entry in your property list. What currently is likely to end up in a repetitive stress injury becomes trivial.

For now the sensible work around is a relay trade station.

[j.harshaw]

Sorry, but this is very unlikely to happen. Not all orders can be copied, and communicating which orders can and can't, when, and why is a whole can of worms. Default behaviors are written such that they can always be copied, so they can be mimicked, and the delineation between default behaviors and normal orders is (at least I hope) relatively easy to grasp.

[ubuntufreakdragon]

It would be nice if repeating orders could be mimicked.
Because that's the greatest use case.
e.g. I terraform some rock and need more of ware x than my HQ has on stock, my station Y has enough of ware x so a repeating order would slowly fix this, but due to the large amount I need 20 ships to get the job done fast enough.
repeated trade orders atm. use absolute numbers for mimic these numbers have to be translated for different shiptypes, so just use relative numbers (percentages of max cargo) for this.

[Bastelfred]

Sorry, but this is very unlikely to happen. Not all orders can be copied, and communicating which orders can and can't, when, and why is a whole can of worms. Default behaviors are written such that they can always be copied, so they can be mimicked, and the delineation between default behaviors and normal orders is (at least I hope) relatively easy to grasp.

Ok copy everything does not work, I understand, but then find another solution...

Make a whitelist with commands that can be copied. On the whitelist then things like buy/sell, and collect goods ect. None of this would lead to any problem, because every ship in the game can do all this. Everything that is not in the whitelist is simply not copied.

It is unsatisfactory that since 1.0 we do not have the possibility to transport many stuff.

[Botschafter Von Den Glück]

Some group commands are indeed THE ONE thing I miss in x4:
controlling groups of traders... select station.... trade 10.000...50.000 hull parts in ONE go to my armada of m traders (in a fleet)

copy the command of a previous trader would solve this aswell:
trader A does make a trade;
trader b, can buy the next x of wares with same root/destination.
should be worksome within the "usual" context.
interesting answer that 2021 cannot do this anymore. copied.

if a ship cannot obey, it shall be the problem of the ship;
because of circumstances changing over; but not because programmers cannot the one thing that a computer does: copy things;

[Tamina]

It would be nice if repeating orders could be mimicked.
Because that's the greatest use case.
e.g. I terraform some rock and need more of ware x than my HQ has on stock, my station Y has enough of ware x so a repeating order would slowly fix this, but due to the large amount I need 20 ships to get the job done fast enough.
repeated trade orders atm. use absolute numbers for mimic these numbers have to be translated for different shiptypes, so just use relative numbers (percentages of max cargo) for this.

I feel this. Some way so that we can treat multiple freighters as one single freighter. A caravan so to speak

[Imperial Good]

An alternative to solve my above mentioned use case is a "logistics manager".

Similar to lists and other empire wide restrictions, you can set up transport routes in the logistic manager. You can then assign ships a default order for "logistics". This default order lets you select an entry from the logistics manager representing a route, or set of routes, the freighter is to execute. Orders are then generated based on the route, similar to auto trade and other mechanics. The important aspect of this is now the route is tied to a default order rather than a list of orders so can be mimicked. Changing the route in the logistics manager will also update everyone assigned to it over time. This way you can control the orders of potentially hundreds of ships with a few button presses to get huge volumes of wares moved around trivially.

Logistics manager routes could support a variety of features, including M:N distribution of multiple ware types, full loads only for optimum transport efficiency, service priorities so some stations get wares before others, automatically drop unrelated wares for quick changing of bulk routes, as well as general classes of target to service such as all player owned build storages. For performance the request would be broken down into evaluated steps similar to how repeat orders work, where more complex routes would take significant time to evaluate and find a trade. To prevent it being used as an easy replacement for auto traders, limitations are in place such as not being able to set price levels and only being able to select specific NPC stations to buy or sell from. Additionally it would require 2 stars to be assigned as a default order, requiring at least shop brought seminars be given to the pilot.

[Bastelfred]

An alternative to solve my above mentioned use case is a "logistics manager".

Similar to lists and other empire wide restrictions, you can set up transport routes in the logistic manager. You can then assign ships a default order for "logistics". This default order lets you select an entry from the logistics manager representing a route, or set of routes, the freighter is to execute. Orders are then generated based on the route, similar to auto trade and other mechanics. The important aspect of this is now the route is tied to a default order rather than a list of orders so can be mimicked. Changing the route in the logistics manager will also update everyone assigned to it over time. This way you can control the orders of potentially hundreds of ships with a few button presses to get huge volumes of wares moved around trivially.

Logistics manager routes could support a variety of features, including M:N distribution of multiple ware types, full loads only for optimum transport efficiency, service priorities so some stations get wares before others, automatically drop unrelated wares for quick changing of bulk routes, as well as general classes of target to service such as all player owned build storages. For performance the request would be broken down into evaluated steps similar to how repeat orders work, where more complex routes would take significant time to evaluate and find a trade. To prevent it being used as an easy replacement for auto traders, limitations are in place such as not being able to set price levels and only being able to select specific NPC stations to buy or sell from. Additionally it would require 2 stars to be assigned as a default order, requiring at least shop brought seminars be given to the pilot.

Yes, that would be a possible solution.

It would even be ok if you could only create transport order at your own station (and Building storage).
For example, a station has ore in the stock, then you create a transport order for the ore to an other own station. Set the quantity between 1 and infinity. At the destination, the Allocated Stock Quantity is the limit for unloading. You can then assign ships to this order.

And if you then still want to annoy them players.... per manager star such an order.