[2.1] Planets "steal" items from platforms that import them from other platforms

[ignatio]

TL;DR

Provide a way to import items from platforms but deny drop requests for them from the planet surface.

Background

2.1 introduces the toggle "Import from" which can be set to "Planet", "Platform", or "All". On my platform I want to request an item coming from another planet and is brought into orbit by another platform.

1. Before 2.1, "Import from" was effectively always "Planet", so items had to be dropped to the planet and launched back up, and I don't want that.
2. If I set it to "Platform", the other platform can resupply, but then the planet can request it from my platform and "steal" the items just received from the other platform.
3. If I set it to "All", I believe the planet won't request from my platform (because that'd be a cycle), but then it may instead launch a rocket to satisfy my request.

What?

I'd like a combine #2 and #3 by only requesting from platform but still denying requests from the planet.

• A tickbox "Deny requests from planet" just below the toggle could be one way to address it.
• A more thorough solution would be to add a way to specify which platform(s) to request from in the cargo landing pad requests.
• Adjust the logic so that the "Platform" option, when combined with a specific planet to import from, automatically excludes requests from the surface of that planet (and other platforms around it). After all, they can just as well request directly from the platform that supplied my platform.

Perhaps it's supposed to work like the last option above, and what I'm seeing is actually a bug?

Other options

Other ways to solve this don't really address the problem in a reasonable way:

• Unchecking "Unload" for the planet in the platform schedule would stop the planet requests, but it doesn't work because there are other items that the planet should get from this platform.
• Unchecking "Automatic requests from space platforms" in all rocket silos on the planet would stop it from responding to the platform request, but that would of course impact all other requests, and hence require completely separated logistic networks etc to work around.
• Using circuit networks and a universal channel to make the planet request the item only when my platform is away would be rather clumsy, and could starve the planet if there are a lot of platforms that need to be away at the same time.

Why?

I'm using Nauvis orbit as a transport hub, with platforms acting as shuttles to and from the other planets. In particular I'm importing calcite and other stuff from Vulcanus that I want to distribute to many planets. Using platform requests between the shuttles in Nauvis orbit is great, but since Nauvis surface also needs those items, it can request drops from any shuttle platform. A shuttle that was fully stocked and about to depart to resupply some other planet (and also bring back science packs) can get blocked from leaving until it receives another calcite delivery.

[SquirrelsBane]

I too have experienced this.
My cargo ship that exports steel from my Nauvis smelter station for rocket pad construction is always getting held up because of it.

My Thought is to have them add a "Drop Priority" slider like train stations planet side.
Or just program it to always request from whomever has the most of said requested item(s)

The joys of playing experimental versions.

[robot256]

In a discussion thread, I raised the idea of having separate minimum *and* maximum values for both planet and platform transfers. That way, you could set the "planet supply threshold" to be higher than the "platform supply threshold", and the difference would always be reserved to supply platforms. (Or vice versa, of course.). You could also set the "planet request threshold" lower than the "platform request threshold", so that rockets don't start launching until your orbital buffers run out.

This could be implemented if individual logistic groups contained the "planet/platform/both" option and the max value of the group is treated as the supply threshold for that transfer type.