Why do my robots seem to travel as far away as possible to work?

[eBagger]

Gday, I’ve done a good bit of searching but I can’t find answer. Or maybe I’m too stupid to decipher it.

I’m learning bots, and I now have a rather robust network of robots across my factory and railway.

I of course put my first robots where my first Roboports were placed. So later on I’m across the map, I want to construct some solar panels, and I layout my first blueprint. I load up a roboport I’m next to out at the jobsite with several bots. I believe we are also closer to the supply chest. So I expect them to hop out and get to work, but I check the map, and the bots from where I had first placed my roboports and first bots are making the long trek…

How does the game decide what bots are going to be used where? Because I figured it would be whatever was closest. Was it because my first bots were created first? Or were they somehow closer to the supplies? Thanks for any help.

[mrvn]

The game has a list of ghost entities. Every tick it looks at one ghost, determines the logistic network the ghost is in, finds an item for the entity, finds the closest idle construction bot and if both work out it tasks the bot to do the work.

Once tasked the bot will build the entity. So my guess is the far away bots where already tasked with building your ghosts before you placed more construction bots into the closer roboport. The game will not replace bots already tasked with building something when other bots become available that could do it quicker.

Note: If you want only local bots to build your solar panels you should place the local roboport so it isn't connected to the remaining logistic network.

[ColonelSandersLite]

The thing you really need to be learning from this is that large bot networks are generally not good. They can be done but you're going to run into these sorts of problems. You will do well to divide your network into smaller sub-networks and move things between them with belts and/or trains.

[mrvn]

Or just be patient. You don't have to watch and wait for the solar farm to be build. Just put down the blueprint somewhere and move on. Extend the solar power early and often so it's done building by the time you actually need it.

Similar for other builds. Just place the ghosts and keep working. They will get build eventually provided you produce the resources needed. That you have to check, e.g. by placing down a logistic chest and hovering over it with the mouse. Then check the availability of items on the right.

[eBagger]

Interesting. Understood.

Thank you for the quick information. I hate Reddit, but I started using it just from the sheer number of communities and information on topics. The Factorio subreddit feels worse than most of reddit though.

Yah I'm along the lines of I don't mind waiting, but was just curious why it wasn't working out like I'd planned.

[astroshak]

I’m not sure how it decides which bot gets which task, but I strongly doubt that it has anything to do with proximity.

This is why its best to have small discrete bot networks, as someone else mentioned above.

[FuryoftheStars]

I’m not sure how it decides which bot gets which task, but I strongly doubt that it has anything to do with proximity.

Based on the dev responses in this thread, I believe it is: viewtopic.php?p=569235#p569235

[mrvn]

I’m not sure how it decides which bot gets which task, but I strongly doubt that it has anything to do with proximity.

This is why its best to have small discrete bot networks, as someone else mentioned above.

At first it is based on proximity, proximity to the source material. But when you start with bots or blueprint something huge you simply run out of bots and then it changes into simply availability. As each bot finishes it gets the next task.

The algorithm also doesn't take into account that a local bot might make 10 trips in the time it takes bots from far away to arrive. So the local bot gets one jobs and 9 others are summoned from fart away. And then the local bot sits around idle.

[Destro_Night]

The thing you really need to be learning from this is that large bot networks are generally not good. They can be done but you're going to run into these sorts of problems. You will do well to divide your network into smaller sub-networks and move things between them with belts and/or trains.

Similar situation as OP. I just now am learning to make more, smaller bot networks.

Started my first MegaBase, which I'm already learning to improve from mistakes/bad design.

But the bot network seems solid, so far.

Each square is it's own logistics network. The logistic portion (orange) stays within each square, so they don't connect to other squares. So far it's as efficient with less bots then my original base using bots, which took the all encompassing network approach. It was still working so far. But SOOO many bots, SOOO many roboports, my god the roboports. And at 9k bots and counting. I know some bases have in the 10sK bots, but 9k and counting seemed like alot for what i was asking.

Now I put 200-400 in a square, and they fricken rock it out. My megabase is just starting and still refining the design, but i have maybe 1.5k bots doing WAY more work using sectioned off networks.

[mrvn]

The problem then is that you don't have a nice big construction network anymore.

I really wish one could give roboports a logistic network ID and only roboports with the same ID connect. Or a way to make/break connections between roboports like one can do with wires.

I want one big construction network and then localized logistic networks for e.g. train unloading.