[0.9.1] Logistic robot suicide

[liq3]

I've just discovered what I consider a fairly huge problem. If a robot travels a long distance and it's not near a robo-port, it just disappears when it runs out of energy. This means if you have say, a large L-shape of chained roboports, and they try traveling one tip to the other, they can disappear mid-flight, and they'll suicide in droves doing this. I think I've lost over 300 robots already due to this.

I can think of two ways to fix this. Either make the robots stay near roboports so they can't just die, or instead of killing them, just reduce their speed to say, 1/4th (or w/e amount). Maybe they're running on a solar panel or something.

And yes, I consider this a bug. :<

[ssilk]

https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... sue#p15177

And the next page with slpwnd's answer.

[liq3]

Ah. Yes I expected something like that. Still could implement a 1/5th speed instead of death.

Well I've put in my own fix for now. They have the same operational energy (300kj, recharge at 60kj). except they have 1000 energy now (recharge at 760kj). Should hopefully stop them dying so much without changing their balance much.

[ssilk]

Well. 1/5 is unrealistic. They are flying. No energy, no fly.
And this can be used to cheat: the more bots a player uses, the more advantage. Because that depends also the construction bots.

Realistic: they fell down where they are.
Options then:
- construction bots refill them. Optionally the transported item is crashed.
- cb bring them to the roboport, the transported item is lost
- they become an item when they fell down. Player needs to fetch that.
- as now but with a warning on screen and a short animation/flash for the crash

Eventually like so: research emergency landing. If researched: like 1 or 2, because they can then land before power goes down, otherwise like 4.

[MF-]

Well. 1/5 is unrealistic. They are flying. No energy, no fly.
And this can be used to cheat: the more bots a player uses, the more advantage. Because that depends also the construction bots.

Realistic: they fell down where they are.
Options then:
- construction bots refill them. Optionally the transported item is crashed.
- cb bring them to the roboport, the transported item is lost
- they become an item when they fell down. Player needs to fetch that.
- as now but with a warning on screen and a short animation/flash for the crash

Eventually like so: research emergency landing. If researched: like 1 or 2, because they can then land before power goes down, otherwise like 4.

Heh, sounds good.

Are construction bots capable of reaching stranded robots?
Wouldn't they need extra range to do that?
Where will the refill energy come from?

[ssilk]

Since 0.9 the construction bots have a much larger building area than the logistic bots. But, well, what happens, if the construction bots also get stranded?
And the refill energy could be a repair pack... sounds logical, cause the construction bots "repair" the bots on ground.

[MF-]

OOps, I mis-worded my concerns.
I meant power-wise capability of construction bots to reach their stranded colleagues.
After all.. if one robot took the energy-exhausing journey, the repair robot could easily choose the same path.
Or construction robots work in a different way? (No idea, since I cannot run factorio)

A repair pack for fixing hard-landing damage would make sense...
.. but how does the robot get powered up again?
Unless the construction bot picks it up and carries it home of course. Sure. Why not.
The other ways seem to involve some sort of an "replacement battery" item that would be simply delivered
to the stranded robot, charging it up.

[ssilk]

Well. If they are inside of a robotic network I don't see any problem. Outside can happen also, but that can't be seen by the c-bots. There is one case left, when a robot leaves the robotic net to take the shorter way. These constructions should be avoided! And the devs said anywhere, that they currently take always the shortest way, but shouldn't in some future, because then it is much safer to fly from port to port for example. But till then this case exists.

The idea with the battery pack is good. The bots need a repair and a battery. Two construction bots. That avoids to use this as a trick.

[dafvid]

Please show an icon WHERE the robot was lost. I'm placing ports like a mad man and the STILL keep disappearing. =(

[andyad]

Please show an icon WHERE the robot was lost. I'm placing ports like a mad man and the STILL keep disappearing. =(

yes place a button in and a hint

[Psycho0124]

Yay! Looks like this one has been pretty much solved!

From 0.10.0 patch notes:

• Features:
  • ...
  • Logistic and Construction robots slowdown to 20% of regular speed when out of energy (instead of dying).
    ...

Now we can watch for bots limping around to know where the problems are without losing tons of robots.