Current and maximum number of bots?

[psychicv]

Just wondering if it is possible to check how many robots I have and how many my network can support, or if it is a planned feature.

Despite the fact that I only have one assembler making engines, and two robot frame makers each feeding one assembler for each bot type (which then feed straight into the first roboport I built), I have what looks like many hundreds of bots after a few hours. Kinda curious how many I have. Is it a bad practice to not control bot production or do most people do it this way?

[doulos05]

The info box for the roboport tells you robot stats. I don't believe it's detailed enough to tell you exactly how many you have. As for how people do it, you'll find both ways. Arumba has upwards of 1,000 robots in his videos, others have far fewer. It's a matter of taste, though if you've got tons of idle robots then you need to give them things to do by adding more requester and provider chests and moving more of your assembly line from belts to bots. Also, you don't need more than a couple hundred construction bots unless you're losing them regularly to biters.

[-root]

The whole ratio question is being hotly debated in other parts of the forum, reddit and youtube

See here what I do.

Youtube Link

I personally believe its a bad thing to let production to go out of control. You need to be smart with your resources.

I agree with Doulos, you don't need tons and tons of construction bots.

In my let's play, i've got just over 1k and I don't have "tons". There are players out there that have plenty more. It depends on what you use them for. A good number would be so that you have 200-300 spare logistics bots at any time. This depends on the size of your factory and how much you are utilizing the logistics network. You can check by hoevring over a passive provider, active provide, storage or requester chest.

[FishSandwich]

Just wondering if it is possible to check how many robots I have and how many my network can support, or if it is a planned feature.

At the moment it's not possible for construction bots, but hovering your mouse over any logistic chest will tell you how many logistic bots you have, as well as how many of them are idle.

[SHiRKiT]

I don't use conveyor belts except for green circuit production. I have 450 bots and I normally have 300 doing nothing.

[Xecutor]

While there is no (easy) way to tell how many construction bots you have, there is definite sign that you have too few:
when you place construction plan and the game tells you that some objects are missing construction bots!

Basically you need couple dozens of bots for repairs plus double or triple number of items in your biggest construction plan,
depending on how many you put simultaneously. That is if you want everything to be built as fast as possible.

[ssilk]

https://forums.factorio.com/wiki/inde ... ic_network

[darkminaz]

let all your trains arrive at the same time, if you still have some bots left -> you got to many (atleast my trains get cleared by bots)
if it's often on 1-30 you might need more

depends on what you use them, to build giant setups since you are to lazy -> GET MOAR
to basicly do belt stuff since you don't build any belts? -> GET MOAR

the more important factor is the ammount of robotports, only had 6 in my middle section (storage, factory, smelting, train) and the robots were waiting for electric a lot, that slowed the whole process down.
most of the time you end up with to many. Id say around 2000 is a good ammount + 300 builderbots. But that depends on how you play the game.
There are some that probably use 0 ;D