Bot "Minimum Operation Time"

[Aricitic]

This thread seems to have derailed somewhat… I'll limit myself to OP's question.

This seems a bit strange name of a metric to me. I think that this actually means "Maximum Operation Time" if it is the time it takes for the bot to operate at something at the maximum distance.

Am I misunderstanding?

As far as factorio is concerned, "operational time" is the time it takes to drain the bots battery ("energy capacity"). If the bot is doing something energy intensive, i.e. moving, that time will be short:
minimum operational time = energy capacity / max consumption
The other extreme, just idling / hovering in place, allows the bot to be operational for longer:
maximum operational time = energy capacity / min consumption.
Idling seems to consume 3kW, thus for a normal quality bot: maximum operational time = 1.5MJ / 3 kW = 8min 20s.

I'm going to drop this unless anyone adds information that changes the flow - such as what you've done.

So, I must pose a question here: when *should* a bot ever "idle"?

Meaning, is there an ideal situation, for a normal Factorio player, where that player would want a bot to idle?

If there *IS*, then you've proven me wrong. If there is not, then my point still stands.

(other than this, you are correct, the topic has been derailed. I'm truly sorry for that, so I will (mostly) drop this)

[Nidan]

So, I must pose a question here: when *should* a bot ever "idle"?

Meaning, is there an ideal situation, for a normal Factorio player, where that player would want a bot to idle?

Should or want? Probably never, but those situations can occur naturally: For example a construction bot hovering at it's destination, waiting for other bots to clear an obstruction or to place landfill, or any bot tasked to store an item, but without storage space to do so.

[Aricitic]

So, I must pose a question here: when *should* a bot ever "idle"?

Meaning, is there an ideal situation, for a normal Factorio player, where that player would want a bot to idle?

Should or want? Probably never, but those situations can occur naturally: For example a construction bot hovering at it's destination, waiting for other bots to clear an obstruction or to place landfill, or any bot tasked to store an item, but without storage space to do so.

So here is what is driving this entire thing for me

It feels to me like the Factorio devs attempt to always insert information that is relevant or necessary for the player; either close to when and where it is relevant and/or necessary or within a few steps thereof.

That's why it confuses me when things are entered that don't seem to have any relevance or necessity under the context they can be found - or whose purpose is unclear given the circumstances and context... Well, that or the word choice of various things.

Rarely am I outright saying that it's wrong, but, perhaps a 'better' choice exists (and a given example thereof).

So, yes

So, yes, there are edge cases where the bots will naturally idle for a decent reason, as you suggested. The player still ideally doesn't want or need these reasons.
So, yes, that would be the true maximum before a necessary recharge, but for most players and under most circumstances this shouldn't be the "normal" case. Instead, the "normal" case is the bot constantly moving, right? Then the "necessary" maximum is that case - and not the "true" maximum. Is it not?

Again, Factorio is a game, not a user manual for some high-level machinery. People often argue about "being pedantic" - or overly assertive about the "scholarly or literary" correctness of a phrase - but under these circumstances I feel that we are worrying too much about the exactness of the phrase and not enough about who is reading it and why. Isn't that the most important part for these infographics?