How to make sexier complexes [Updated, again!]

mrbadger · Post by **mrbadger** » Tue, 13. Dec 05, 00:26

Yep. INS will switch you to an alternate view so you can change the height of your station, too. If you have a high enough resolution, you can see a shadow of your station-to-be floating around space under and around your map screen. That's invaluable during the placement process.

great, thanks. I couldn't face building another large complex with stations all over the place again.

redeye · Post by **redeye** » Tue, 13. Dec 05, 00:33

Very nice work.

That is one awesome looking complex - will need to make a far bigger effort when building my next one.

Saying that, I think my biggest complex is an almost exact replica of the digestive system of a Boron...

Galaxy613 · Post by **Galaxy613** » Tue, 13. Dec 05, 00:45

redeye wrote:Very nice work.

That is one awesome looking complex - will need to make a far bigger effort when building my next one.

Saying that, I think my biggest complex is an almost exact replica of the digestive system of a Boron...

ewwww

Deleted User · Post by **Deleted User** » Tue, 13. Dec 05, 01:06

I love it best when you're connect new fabs and the UT you had about to dock there just before you connected the hub starts to slowly ram your tubes... fun stuff - especially when you target them and watch them in the monitor window... Doesn't hurt them or the tubes!

XenonBuster · Post by **XenonBuster** » Tue, 13. Dec 05, 12:35

clearest explanation I've seen yet
sticky this one please

Bishop149 · Post by **Bishop149** » Tue, 13. Dec 05, 13:24

Well done!
Looks like a very nice guide.

So far I only have one biggish (more than 2 station) complex and its messy as hell!

I only have two points to raise.
1)

Ryuujin wrote:Ensure the 2 nodes are at least 2 and a half tunnel pieces away from one another.

Fancy putting an actual distance on that for us?

2) Can you rotate mines (Ore and Silicon)? In my experience you can't, so it might be an idea when constructing a complex to place the mines first and then align other fabs to them . . . . ?

Ryuujin · Post by **Ryuujin** » Tue, 13. Dec 05, 13:39

1) Not really, I havn't been able to work out a precise scale, even I get it wrong fairly often. But like I said, it's roughly 2/3's the width of an average, circlular perimeter station (that is, 2/3'rds going from the node).

If you position the 2 stations so you could just fit another station between them, you're on the right track.

2) I don't think so. It might be worth parking your ship over the top of the target asteroid, facing due north (use the sector map to orientate yourself), and then go to outside view, and get a birds-eye view, and then deploy the station, that'll give you a clear view of the mine, and see if it's possible to line it up neatly. I havn't tried to be honest, I usually park down a mine, and then use a sector trader or freighters to supply. If I use it at all (Many sectors have a perfectly good set of NPC mines).

Blacjacmac · Post by **Blacjacmac** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 00:49

I've not been able to create anything as nice as yours, and honestly I don't think I have the patience to do such a nice job. I wish I did, because mine are limited to 2-3 fabs before becoming unmanageable or becoming entirely too big, but this is just beyond me.

Still, the knowledge of the true north thing is incredibly useful in cleaning up even my basic complexes, so thanks again. I'll just have to wait until we get some kind of Ryuujin base optimizer software for purchase in game

Tx again.

General Dave · Post by **General Dave** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 01:08

A very useful guide, just a few points.

I've recently set up a monster complex

(SPP XL, 5 MCrystal Fabs, 3 L Chelt refineries, 3 L Rastar refineries, 3 Ammo Factories, 2 Thunderbolt Missile Factories, 1 L Silicon mine 64 yield)

Points to consider......

SPPXL comes with 5 (count em) 5 docking clamps as standard (5 lots of 6)
so it would be useful to have the crystal supplying complex seperated from it to allow maximum trade.

End resource points (good eg ammo factories) only have one hub point, so your best bet is to connect your food factories in a line, and have one of these factories coming off each one, it looks very neat.

Missile factories seem to have 2-3 nodes, food factories (at least L ones) seem to have 4 nodes, three located together near the docking clamp and one at the end to allow a straight connection.

It's prolly already been emphasized but the resources your factory will sell are not neccesarrily those you want it to.

Currently my XLSPP has 300,000 spare energy crystals as it is producing quicker than the factories attached are using it, and I cannot sell the energy as it is counted as in intermediary resource.

It doesn't bother me as I use this energy for Jumpdrive fuel by docking a TS at the station and adjusting parameters till my TS is full of energy, but if you start off a factory complex the first factory you build should end up as a product.

It doesn't always work though as my silicon mine is now also an intermediary product

Sorry for the

blackfire83 · Post by **blackfire83** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 01:40

Okay, here's my crazy idea on how to make complexes actually work. Kudos on the beautiful complex setup, though.

Anyway, I'm going to eventually make my own mega-sector. First will be a self-sustaining XL SPP complex, complete with 5 crystal fabs and all the food and silicon needed... Anyway, that complex's end product is bunchs of E-Cells, obviously.

Next up is a Food Complex for each race that I need food for (i.e. Argnu Beef for Argon, BoFu for Boron, etc.). I don't know if I can make this into one mega-complex that only requires E-Cells and spits out Argnu Beef, BoFu, Soja Husks, etc as end products, or if I'll have to make a complex for each end food product...

Next up, a few solitary ore and silicon mines. All they require is E-Cells...

And lastly, pepper the sector with Weapons and Shield fabs. Complexes where convenient (like the AI does with "Special Weapons Facilities", "PAC Complex" etc.). These will require E-Cells, food, and either ore or silicon (usually ore, unless I'm mistaken)... And here's where the beauty comes in...

Sector Traders... Grab a half dozen of them and let them loose. Make sure all my factories are buying and selling at the same price and the ST's (in theory) should move the e-cells where they are needed and move the food and ore where it is needed. It may take awhile to get going, and I'll probably need more ST's than a thought, but I think it'll be effective, with the end product being lots of weapons and shields.

-blackfire83

Sandalpocalypse · Post by **Sandalpocalypse** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 02:00

Dave - I was gonna say, for that number of facs you only really need an L SPP.

I would seperate the SPP from the complex and set prices of crystals and ecells so that it sells at or slightly above cost. Don't set the ECell or Crystal price too low though, your UTs might decide to get a piece of the action.

General Dave · Post by **General Dave** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 02:17

I use it solely to supply weapons, I just need to add more facts to it.

How do you seperate a station from a complex without restarting?

The loop is an internal one designed to provide an inexuastable supply of t'bolt missiles and MD ammo, although I have a mamba selling some MD ammo to cover the cost of buying ore in.....

Sandalpocalypse · Post by **Sandalpocalypse** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 02:50

You have to destroy the hub, then use a new batch of complex kits to resconstruct the complex without attaching the SPP. The easiest way is simply to use cheats. I don't consider it cheating per se; it's simply accomplishing a task the game should let you do for free.

Seperating the SPP has other advantages, though. You can use the XL to power complexes in other sectors.

General Dave · Post by **General Dave** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 03:24

I tried to destroy the near invinceable tunnels. There are 18 complex construction kits already in place totalling somewhere near 7,200,000 to replace, I think i'll just build many more weapons fabs on thank you very much.....

Great advice though, cheers

I cant hold off any longer, heres my super duper complex....You can't see it all in sector as it's cloudy, but it's really neatly laid out thanks totally to this guide. See the fruits of your labour....

Biggish Complex

X-it · Post by **X-it** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 03:59

GENERAL DAVE wrote:I cant hold off any longer, heres my super duper complex....You can't see it all in sector as it's cloudy, but it's really neatly laid out thanks totally to this guide. See the fruits of your labour....

(pic)

Wow, looks amazing!

I only have one wheat farm so far...

Anyway I'd say that this complex stuff is probably one of the more significant features of X3 compared to X2.

Short question (sort of):

If I were to build a complex deliving solely energy cells, in which order should I set it up / connect it so that ONLY the energy cells were available to sell?

I'm thinking of an XL SPP complex consisting of - for example Teladi:

1 XL SPP
5 M Crystal Fabs
2 L Flower Farms
2 L Sun Oil Refineries

and 2 L Silicon Mines, although these could be set up in a different location and have transporters carrying the goods.

General Dave · Post by **General Dave** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 04:09

your thinking of about 30,000,000 right cause it'll cost that much....

Short answer is the SPP first and then add everything to it, but I don't really know. Save the game beforehand and practise, but make sure you don't save over your game with a complex that's crap and don't work.

holo_doctor · Post by **holo_doctor** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 09:38

Has anyone ever though of generating a script to change the outgoign wares of a Complex, eg switching Ecells from resrouce to product. should not be hard I mean it wouldn't be much diferent to the older ware manager signed script from the X2 bonus plugins.

Maybe ego will add something like this for 1.3 should not take more than 5 to 10 Mins to kick up a simple script like that. Im no ehere near compleax building yet unless i cheat my way but someone who is there could do it.

Either that or put something in the complex console under each ware like

TRADE AS

with options of RESROUCE or PRODUCT

giving us compleate control over complex wares.

Just a thought bring on 1.3 and lets see what we get if we dont get something I may write the script myself

jlehtone · Post by **jlehtone** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 10:27

I wonder why the rotation of mines is not enabled. It could be a side-effect of the control interface too.

The examples of complexes look really neat. Too bad there are no precision tools to make it easier, for example ghosts of tubing directions and snap-on-nearest. Now they require work to achieve.

But I cannot help myself from thinking Ore Belt. If I ever put a mine there, I will not stop at one. More likely to stop when there are no more roids left. Leave the slideshow and never go back. Complex could be handy. Or deadly. More appalling than appealing.

arcana75 · Post by **arcana75** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 10:51

Someone already wrote a script that allows u to choose exactly which product can be sold at a complex. Check the scripts forum.

subjugator · Post by **subjugator** » Fri, 16. Dec 05, 16:25

A few tips and a question or two to refine the process.

First of all, Face North or the north gate. Place your first station.

I use normal sector zoom to initially place the second station ON TOP of a existing station (in the sector view, NOT FINAL PLACEMENT), I think you can press numpad 5 key to do this. Then I start zooming in. Each level of zoom gives you finer and finer control over positioning of the station.

On station spacing, if someone can work out what zoom level and station spacing (one blank between stations, stations touching in sector view, etc) gives you the optimal spacing for complex tubing (straight predictable connections between the nodes) that would help this process out alot.

Align the complex hub with ONE station that you choose to be the branch off point for connections with the rest of the complex.

For example: sector view 1

CH --> X
|
|
Station1 --> X---X <--station 2

Sector view 2

Station1 and CH --> X---X <--station2

Now, questions I have.

numpad 5 key. What exactly does this do. In my test, with a crytal fab anchored and placing a second crystal fab it aligned the second fab up with the first (When looking at them visually they looked like ONE station) Is this what the key does? or does it snap it to a default direction? Just some final word on what this key does would help alot in this process.

What is the mesurement of one section of complex tubing? If we know this, we can use a specifc zoom level to space stations correctly.

Sorry if this is unclear, it is difficult to explain a visual process in words....

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How to make sexier complexes [Updated, again!]

Re: How to make sexier complexes [Updated!]