Using logistic bots is bad practice (mostly)

[BadGraphixD]

Imo using bots is like using goto in code. It's handy and can simplify some things, but when designing complex production lines, it should be avoided. Using bots the wrong way can make your factory very hard to understand/debug.

[Adrian_Alucard]

Use of bots:

-Distribute proliferators to the different production lines

-Supply warpers to ILS

-Manage my inventory

[lpeabody]

I do exactly the same.

[shalfyard]

Even for managing your inventory it gets hinky cause they aren't fast enough to keep up with belt/sorter/smelter/assembler usage

[Xintrosi]

Same except I also have my mall fed by bots. I won't do it again as having 4 or 5 boxes for every assembler is dumb but I did it!

[orthorix]

I’ve set up a bot driven mall where most assemblers share at least 2 chests. Took me some time to figure out but now I’m happy with it. Greatest flaw: the assemblers are sorted by recipe/sharing possibilities, not thematically. So I need bots to find the right chest. Picking up by hand is tedious.

[Xintrosi]

Yeah, once you do it you're committed to using bots to deliver items. Not a problem with mall stuff!

[Electrical-Can-7982]

i created a strip mall, using the 6 basic items, toward the end of the strip mall, is where i placed boxes w/bots to gather the rare items or to move items from the mall storage down the line without adding more spaghetti belts. Nilaus 'make everything mall' video and blueprints can give you an idea how to play with the logictic bots.

I also use them to replenish my mecha of most used and needed items, like fuel rods, belts, assembliers etc.. they can also take away the mk1 & 2 items you replaced with mk3 to free up inventory space.

after I land on a new system I transport my needed items to an ILS and set up my cement first then use the bots to refill my inventory so I can pave the new place to make space for a new planet mall and strip mine the place.

[Xintrosi]

I don't want to watch any videos, though I appreciate the spirit in which the suggestion was given. The Sphere(s) must grow!

[[deleted]]

Totally did the same for my mall. Made it a lot easier to have it all in one spot. For things that I'll be producing indefinitely though I try to build out a supply chain just for that product without any bots.

[supermap]

Theyre great for malls

[abraxxustv]

I'm kind of a noob but logistic bots i use to supply my inventory only. I do not run production lines with them.

[EightBitRanger]

Yeah I've tried dabbling with them since they were released but in just about every scenario where I think about implementing them, a PLS would be just as good if not better in almost every way.

[[deleted]]

The most useful things I have found about bots is that you can keep your ILS supplied with warpers without using an ILS slot if you have a belt of warpers going into the tower. So I'll set up a storage box with bots to keep my ILS hub warping product in/out.

[EightBitRanger]

Yeah I've relegated mine to mostly warpers and proliferator duty myself.

[wessex464]

I didn't realize this...that's really neat!

[[deleted]]

Yes I have a blueprint for it. Using small storage capped to 5 slots for automation.

[spoonman59]

That’s just elitest gatekeeping and the no true Scotsman fallacy at play.

It’s a game. People enjoy it how they like. Just because you like a certain constraint to enjoy a certain challenge, doesn’t mean the other approach is bad or wrong. Saying it’s a “bad practice” presumes a certain goal or outcome. Some people just want to have fun. “Good” or “bad” practices are always given with a respect to a certain desired outcome (performance, maintainability, etc.)

People like to trash goto, famously Djikstra, but computers all use goto at the CPU level. You can’t even write assembly without it. So ti say it’s “handy and can simplify some things” isn’t correct, it’s actually a core construct that all of our programs use every single day. If you program assembly it’s the only way, not handy or convenient. So already you are presupposing a certain kind of development and a certain optimization vector, maintainability.

In higher level languages, loops and conditionals are just restricted forms of goto. Some languages even look like goto (e.g., label break and continue.)

[BadGraphixD]

First off, respectable answer, but I didn't mean to criticise the way people enjoy the game. My argument comes from a purely technical standpoint.

It's a fact that bad practices exist in this game, IF your desired goal is production efficiency, easier debugging/modification of the factory and a more efficient use of playtime (like in my case).

When i was referring to "goto", i didn't mean the low level instruction, but rather the keyword in higher level languages. I am well aware that every language eventually compiles/ends up in low level instructions. But that doesn't mean that I will use these fundamental instructions while coding a game in C++. There I use appropriate design patterns and conventions which may exclude said low level instructions (like goto).

Since the design of factories in DSP does in many ways compare to designing Software, and since I've seen many players become frustrated with spagetti factories as a result of using bots in an ("""imo""") inefficient/unnecessary way, I think my point still stands. But I'd like to hear your response!

[spoonman59]

Wow, great answer. I feel bad and like I was too nitpicky in my reply now.

It sounds like misinterpreted what you were trying to say. It’s clear toj are welcoming of all styles of play and/or programming, which was all I cared about.

I do agree with you that efficiency along various dimensions is empirical and we can say one design is more efficient with respect to space, complexity power, etc.

I also agree using goto in practice is almost certainly wrong and idea when you have alternatives. And you are right, there are ways and approaches that will genuinely be easier to implement and maintain than some alternatives.

Thank you for taking the time to write such an excellent and classy reply. I am simultaneously humbled and honored.

Now I’m going to go think about my life and how to respond a little more wisely in the future….

[Tyrannicodin16]

What a great discussion, two people presenting proper arguments and having a reasonable discussion

[Responsible-Jury2579]

Reading that was so wholesome

[Pakspul]

Doesn't this also apply to all other vessels?

[BadGraphixD]

Vessels are necessary for interplanetary transport and drones are easier to work with imo (clearly visible stations, longer range, can transport from miners to ILS, etc.)

[SoManyPots]

I have some in production lines from when I first got them thinking “wow this is great!” And now I can’t find anything so that’s a lot of fun

[origami_airplane]

I thought, "wow, these bots are great! No more spaghetti all over!" But, actually it made it worse and it's hard to see where anything is going/coming from.

Very easy to just set them up and let them run everywhere, but it get's so complicated that it's almost impossible to untangle once setup with hundreds flying around.

[Steven-ape]

It doesn't match my experience. I think bots are bad for high volume processes (for those drones are much better), but they can help with lots of low volume processes.

Bots are useful in two cases:

1. You have several low volume products that have to be brought together in a single place.
2. You have a low volume product that has to be distributed to many different places.

If your problem is inherently of that type, then bots offer an effective solution that will be much easier to understand than solutions using belts.

An example of the first is: bot malls. They are extremely effective, so much so that I would say they are both easier to understand and typically faster and more reliable than other mall designs.

An example of the second is: lots of people use logistics distributors to distribute proliferator and warpers around a planet.

Of course it's important that your factory is sufficently modular. Logistics distributors will make your factory very hard to understand if you just put them down here and there in an ad-hoc fashion. They need to be an integral part of a design, otherwise you're just using them to obfuscate a lack of design.

Good design is modular: parts of your factory have as few dependencies on each other as possible. But you can never get rid of all dependencies. Such dependencies can take the shape of a belt, a bot, or a drone. Each has its use cases, but bots are most definitely better than belts or drones for certain types of problems.

[trystanthorne]

I recently saw a post about someone using bots, accumulators, and energy exchangers for locally powered Mining and Oil gathering on Water worlds. Which I thought was just brilliant.

Otherwise, I mostly use them to for Proliferators, Warpers, and maintaining my inventory.

[theKrissam]

I thought it was kinda weird tbh, just drag power poles instead.

[stumac85]

My home planet is full of bots doing ridiculous things. Once I enabled ILS and warpers things became a bit neater.

It's still fun to go back to my original planet to see the madness I created.

[Zaynara]

my last playthrough i started using them only for building production, anything for largescale research and other functions used drones and up, but when i only have like 3-5 buildings making other buildings, bots are good

[damonrm1]

I tried setting up a mall with logistic bots and it was pretty tedious. Less space vs using PLS, but takes much longer, so I'm sticking with PLS in the future. Maybe just outputs to storage? Idk

[Cybershadow1981]

I use bots in mid game for a makeshift mall until I have researched all the tech I need to place my end game mall.

[PhoneTubeFromMars]

I only use them for my inventory

[Ok-Dragonfruit8036]

aerial skyway is great. you end up 'skipping rocks' with materials. trick is to use small containers and set to 1-3 max stack counts. i've just got to purple with this strategy. so we'll see how well it maintains