Automata

[h2]Early experimental build[/h2].

The mod mostly works, but there's a lot of features that need polishing and cleanup. Some features will be tagged as experimental, and might get removed later on

Automata

Automated drones that assist you.

Features

• Automated drones!
• Logistics oriented gameplay: no more massive bases, create small hubs with puprose, your drones will deliver for you.
• Weld anything: whether projected, hand-placed, or simple repairs, your welder drones will fix it.
• Grind: tag anything with the grind color and watch it go away.
• Mine: send your drones to scout for ores, and mine them!
• Fight: control your your combat drones to engage an enemy, or escort a friendly.

Full guide here https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3817492846

TL;DR

The blocks:

• Drone controller: does all the work
• Orchestrator: coordinates all the work
• Logistics Computer: tells the orchestrator what is available. Needed for inventory access.
• Construction Computer: tells the orchestrator what needs to be built or ground
• Mining Surveyor: collects ore survey data and tells the orchestrator what needs to be mined.

The network:

• To form a network, grids need to be connected via antenna range. Laser antennas work too.
• Grids need to belong to you, or your faction

To weld:

[olist] [*]Build a basic welder drone, add a Drone Controller. Set behavior profile to Welder:All. [*]Set a drone's observation area through its home connector and GPS. [*]You can visualize the area in the terminal or using /automata debugdraw droneobs. [*]Place a block or project in the area, drone will build it, if you have the materials. [/olist]

To weld, bigtime

[olist] [*]Build several basic welder drones, add a Drone Controller to each. Set behavior profiles to Welder:All. [*]Place an Antenna, Construction Computer, Logistics Computer, and Orchestrator on a nearby grid. [*]Use the Construction Computer terminal to resize, offset, or visualize its Observation Area. /automata debugdraw ccobs also visualizes it. [*]Place a block or project in the area, the drones will build it. [/olist]

To grind

[olist] [*]See Weld sections, replace the welders by grinders. Set behavior profile to Grinder [*]Select the grind color of the Drone Controller or Construction Computer. [*]Paint things that color, they will be ground. [/olist]

To survey for ores

[olist] [*]Place an ore detector on a drone [*]Place an Antenna, Orchestrator, and a Mining Surveyor on a nearby grid. [*]Make an Industrial Target Designator at any SKit or assembler. [*]Point your Industrial Target Designator in TAG mode to the drone. [*]Point your Industrial Target Designator in SPOT mode to where you suspect the ores are located [*]Your drone will fly there, and gather data. Once the drone is back, it will report to the Minnig Surveyor what is found. [/olist]

Notes:

• Industrial Target Designator has a range of 5 km.
• Using a camera on the grid the orchestrator is mounted on has a range of 15km. See the guide for more details.

To survey for ores, bigtime

[olist] [*]Place an ore detector on a drone. Set its behavior profile to Ore Scout [*]Place an Antenna, Orchestrator, and a Mining Surveyor on a nearby grid. [*]Make an Industrial Target Designator at any SKit or assembler. [*]Point your Industrial Target Designator in TAG mode to the drone. [*]Point your Industrial Target Designator in AREA mode to where you suspect the ores are located. [*]Your drone will fly there, and perform an area sweep while gathering data. Once the drone is back, it will report to the Minnig Surveyor what is found. [/olist]

NOTES:

• Only drones with the "ore scout" behavior profile.
• Industrial Target Designator has a range of 5 km (15 km from an Orchestrator camera, see the guide).

To mine

[olist] [*]Build a mining drone that can bore, meaning that its hull can fit the hole the drills make. [*]Place an Antenna, Orchestrator, Logistics Computer and a Mining Surveyor on a nearby grid. [*]Survey for ores, the Mining Surveyor needs data to place an order. [*]Use the Mining Surveyor terminal to create an ore order. [/olist]

NOTES:

• Mining orders exhaust themselves as the ore comes in. There is an option to make them permanent, but ore and stone will likely overflow your cargo.
• Stone is mined, not dumped. Due to this, orders are a bit slow, but after a few trips your ores show up.
• You are free to deal with it yourself through any method you like.
• Logistics Computer only accept ores if the grid its on has a refinery, or ice if it has an O2/H2 gen. You need to tick "Accept ores/ice" in order to take them without these blocks.

To request items:

[olist] [*]Place an Antenna, Orchestrator, and Logistics Computer on the grid that wants items. [*]Place an Antenna, Orchestrator, and Logistics Computer on the grid that has items. [*]Ensure the grids are either within antenna range, or connected via laser antennas [*]Check the Request work mode on the grid that wants items [*]Check the Provide for logistics work mode on the grid that wants items. [*]On the grid that wants items' Logistics Computer, configure the ITEM:MIN:MAX you want [*]A drone will pick up the items at one grid, and deliver to the other grid. [/olist]

To fight:

[olist] [*]Create a combat drone, place an AI Flight, AI Defensive, AI Offensive, and a Drone Controller on it [*]Configure the "Combat handover" section of the drone