Freight Drones - they work!

[Dodgey]

Hmm confusing. I have a TL parked in a large sector where I have two TS ships collecting Nvid. On the TL I have 2 freight drones.

I set the FDs to be homed at the TL.
Then on the TL, I selected Trade, Transfer frieght using drones, then selected the target as my 1st TS, and ware to return with being Nvid, and keyed in a high quantity and clicked "start freight transfer".

Drones both flew over and just hung around. In the end I used the TS's transporter to load the Nvid, and they dutifully returned home to the Tl and unloaded.

OK, that's useless, I thought. So i tried the same on my other TS in the sector that does NOT have a transporter, just for the hell of it, then logged in here to research freight drones, finding the general consensus is that they don't work too well.

When I went back into my game (running in the background) I was surprised to see the drones back on the TL and the freight transferred! I've just repeated it to be sure.

My only guess why they stalled on the 1st ship is maybe is was maneuvering a lot at the time (though I'm OOS). Will do another test on the ship with the transporter in a minute to see if there is a bug or it was purely just so slow i thought it wasn't working.

(Oh, and they are recharging energy - either when they reach either ship, or when they are stationery - not sure which yet...)

Edit: small update - workes with both ships - must have just been slow on one occasion.

This may not be groundbreaking news but just about every post I searched for regarding freight drones ends in "I may be wrong", or "I'm not 100% sure". - well - for collecting goods from ships with no hangars or transporter and returning to a ship with hangars (TL in this instance) - they most definately work and save me interrupting my ore collectors and dragging them 40 minutes (return) away from their work

[Master of the Blade]

All drones recharge when they land at one of your ships(not stations). Yeah- freight drones are the best thing that happened to my Deimos since falcon haulers.
I do think that the commands for freight drones can be a little buggy- if they're taking ages, it's probably best to reissue the command.

[em3e3]

Quick question - did you have to eject the drones first, and then give them the homebase command? Are they turning into Quick questions - did you have to eject the drones first, and then give them the homebase command? Are they turning back into freight when they dock at the TL? And they stay charged? One final question - how in the world did they transfer freight from the TS without a transporter device?

[Gizmocat]

Every time I use freight drones from my Orca - usually to load recently "abandoned" materials, I set them to collect ware (special) then when they're done (received message) I set them to return home (Navigate) I have never had to assign a home base - though there is some difficulty if the Orca is moving...

[Dodgey]

Answers...

1) I bought the drones and put them on the TL. Then I assigned the same TL as their home.
2) No I didn't need to eject them - I just selected "trade", "transfer freight via drones". Then I get a new menu where I ignore the "outward freight" option and just selece Nvid on the "inward/return freight" option, then select the target ship, and enter a silly high quantity.
3) Yes, they turn back into freight when they return.
4) Yes, they recharge, at each end, so it seems.
5) I have no idea - I assume as freight drones they have their own transporter?

It 100% works - I tested twice b4 posting and I've done it loads since.

X3 Tc 2.5

FYI, My TL has (other than the usual jump, boost, etc)
Nav con mk1
Mineral scanner
Ore collector
Special command mk1
Trade Mk2
Trade system extension

Edit: one more thing, they are intelligent, in as much as If I issue the command when a ship only has a few Nvid, only one drone goes. If it has loads, then 2 drones go.

[Deleted User]

Nice one dodgey, this was exactly the info I was looking for.

I opened my own thread about how to automate freight drones recently because I couldn't automate the drones at all using fetch ware. Now I know, trade2 software is the key!

Thankyou, you have saved me much manual inputting.

[Dodgey]

Nice one! - One more discovery....

If you watch the sector map - even OOS, frequently the drones just hover round the target ship and NEVER load up with the goods. BUT - if you just order one drone (out of 5 for me now) of the cluster to dock at your TL, then, as if by magic, they all load up and return!

OOS, and NOT watching the map, the transfer works every time. Truly odd.

[Danielwhateley]

add to masteroftheblade the commands do suck a lot there needs to be a command to buy stuff from other stations rather than just transfer from your own

[Dodgey]

Another anomily I've found - regardless of where I am and what I'm watching, they still occasionally just buzz around their collection target without loading up - and the solution - just tell one of the drones to return to the TL - and with that, they ALL magically load up and return to the TL.

Clearly bugged. But still fast when you need them