X3TC CLS/Complex Support

[Cayo124]

Set up:

Complex A --- produces Crystals. Xadrian says 1400 extra per hour
Complex B --- requires Crystals. Xadrian says 1100 per hour.

Question:

How to set up the freighter to transfer only that amount per hour?
(I am worried that it will get all the Crystals from Complex A within an hour and might screw up the production in that Complex A)

Or does it balance itself during some period of time?

My thoughts came to CLS with waypoint system and limitations on cargo pick up/drop off, plus filling up the stock of crystals in Complex B before starting the CLS run and production in said Complex B.

Never done it before, only used closed system complexes or freighters assigned to buy at best price the needed resources.

Thank you.

[ancienthighway]

Production is constant, overtime. Your stocks won't just sit unchanging for an hour then suddenly push 1400 into your crystal fabs and pull 1100 from your SPP.

I suggest letting stocks build up in the SPP. If you have a shortage of resources to produce the crystals, there should be enough stock at the SPP to keep producing energy. If you need crystals for something else, you can always pick up excess from the SPP.

But if you are set on deliverying 1100 at a time, you can use CLS2 (Bonus Pack) to load 1100 at Complex A and unload it at Complex B. No deliveries will be made until the transport has 1100 on board, so Complex B will be idle until Complex A builds it stock and travel time completes. Complex B actually will need 1100 + enough to cover travel to keep production consistent.

[Timsup2nothin]

Set the pick up waypoint like this...

load crystals max cargo
unload crystals up to 100

Two 'stops' at the same station still counts as one waypoint. The unload guarantees that the freighter will never take away all the crystals and stop your production, though that '100' is just off the top of my head, you may want to use a bigger or smaller number.

As long as the freighter is fast enough this will lead to building up inventory at the drop off point, since you are producing and moving more than it consumes. If inventory doesn't build at the drop off point you aren't moving them fast enough and will need a bigger or faster transport or an additional transport.

If you do not want to build up inventory at the drop off point use an 'unload up to' command at the drop off point with some appropriate number. As long as the transport is fast enough it will 'top off' to that number each trip and return with the excess. That will reduce the amount it picks up and allow inventory to build up at the production facility instead. Don't use too small a number. You want to have some cushion in case your transport is interrupted by avoiding hostiles.

In any event, you are producing more than you are consuming. Wherever it is building up you want to figure out a maximum inventory and sell off anything above that. You can use a second CLS with a 'load 100 crystals' followed by an 'unload up to' with your chosen max inventory. It will skim off a hundred at a time and dump them right back in until you reach your designated cap, then start to fill. Give it sales waypoints (I suggest a price of 1775) and every cycle it will check to see about prices and if the opportunity presents itself it will fly off to unload your excess. Make sure your designated inventory cap is far enough from your capacity that you don't hit capacity while it is away unloading.

This combination should provide a reasonably stable inventory at both complexes with profitable distribution of the excess from whichever point you want to distribute it.

[Cayo124]

EDIT: Ok, I hung on to that "unload up to #" and that was screwing me up. Just "unload #" should do the trick. I hope.
Although I still want to know what that "unload up to" actually does.

Ok, I am still trying to figure it out.
So "unload up to 100" -- means, that the complex has 0 and CLS will unload that 100 every time the complex hits 0...?
but if I want to build up inventory in the second complex, I have to hit the max number, so it builds up to that point and keeps going afterwards...? (when the number of crystals go down below that point?)
Because I started as
"load max cargo"
"unload up to 1500"
And in a little while freighter told me he is done.
I didn't check why at the time. Stupid me.
When I did check the designated station had 0 crystals left.
So this time I did manual "trade", got it up to 5000 out of 13000 and changed the CLS command to
"load max cargo"
"unload up to 300"
And the freighter is on a standby full of crystals back at the Complex A

I don't get it.

I use External CL

[RayF]

What factories do you have connected in your Complex A? and how many?

[Timsup2nothin]

The 'unload up to 100' will do exactly what it says...it will unload if the station has less than a hundred in stock, however many it takes so the station does have a hundred in stock. Then it goes on to the next command. If the station already has a hundred in stock it just goes directly on to the next command.

[Cayo124]

So if I put unload up to maximum possible storage of that second complex it will build up inventory to max?... And then it will wait till...? Until the station drops below that max even by one item, to refill it or waits till it drops to zero before starting going at it again?

[TheDeliveryMan]

So if I put unload up to maximum possible storage of that second complex it will build up inventory to max?

Yes, I think so.

And then it will wait till...? Until the station drops below that max even by one item, to refill it or waits till it drops to zero before starting going at it again?

This might depend on your 'min amount on delivery' setting.

[Timsup2nothin]

If you put 'unload up to' the maximum inventory of the complex it is exactly the same as a regular unload command. It will unload as much as the station will hold and then go on to the next command.

Again, I recommend:

Load at source
Unload up to 100 at source

Unload at consumer

You won't ever run dry at the source because the ship will leave at least 100 behind, and the inventory will build up at the destination until it is full, as long as the ship is fast enough to deliver them faster than they are being used.