SHEPHERD

SHEPHERD — a server-legal inventory sorter

SHEPHERD keeps your grid's inventory sorted, keeps your machines fed and your loadouts stocked. It also crafts and refines what you're short of. It's a from-scratch script built to stay inside strict server programmable-block runtime limits (such as the Advanced PB Limiter): at most one conveyor transfer per tick, pacing off its own last run time, and backing off when the server's simulation speed drops.

Found a bug or have a question? Open an issue at github.com/chrumck/SHEPHERD/issues — include your [SHEPHERD-LOG] panel and, for performance, the [SHEPHERD-DEBUG] panel.

Using Sacrificial Stockpile Manager?

SSM is a client plugin by scotlandsyard, installed from the Pulsar plugin list. It gives you a full in-game interface to your grid's inventory: menus, LCD pages, sorting, quotas and crafting. The two complement each other: SSM is what you work from while you play, and SHEPHERD runs on the server, so it keeps the grid going whenever the server has it loaded, whether or not you're at it. Run both: [olist] [*]SSM for the interface and general grid management — checking stock, sorting on demand, unloading ships, setting things up. [*]SHEPHERD for automated, headless operation — sorting, machine feeding, reserves and crafting, within the server's limits. [*]Give each job to one of them. On a SHEPHERD grid leave SSM's Automation off, or keep its quotas, limits and accepted items away from what SHEPHERD handles, so the two never move the same items back and forth. [/olist]

Quick start

[olist] [*]Subscribe, build a programmable block, open Edit → Browse Scripts → SHEPHERD, then Check Code and OK. It starts itself — there's no timer block or argument to set up. [*]Tag your containers by name: Ore Bin [SHEPHERD:Ores,Ingots] [*]Give at least one container the catch-all: [SHEPHERD:*] [*]Optionally name a screen [SHEPHERD] for status. [*]Give it about half a minute to get going after a compile, a server restart, or your grids arriving in another sector. A script's first runs are its slowest, so SHEPHERD gets them done early, spaced out on purpose to stay under the server's runtime limits. After a compile, wait for warmed up on the [SHEPHERD-LOG] screen before you log off. [/olist]

What it does

• Sorting into seven built-in categories: Ores, Ingots, Components, Tools (including gas bottles), Ammo, Consumables, Others. You can also add your own categories and per-item overrides.
• Fill priority — [SHEPHERD:Ores:#5] fills before lower numbers.
• Machines — feeds reactors, H2/O2 generators and refineries, harvests machine output, and refills gas bottles.
• Reserve pools — [SHEPHERD-RESERVE:Ammo] plus quotas in Custom Data (e.g. AmmoMagazine/NATO_5p56x45mm=2000). It moves stock in to meet each quota, and with MA on the quota (2000MA) it crafts or refines whatever is still missing (LA disassembles a surplus instead) — crafting on the assembler you tag [SHEPHERD-Main], helped by any tagged [SHEPHERD-Coop].
• Learning — it works out modded blueprints and measures ore yields itself. In learn mode you teach categories and loadouts just by placing items.
• Docked ships — your docked ships are unloaded and their reserve containers restocked. Other players' blocks are never touched, unless you turn on factionShare for blocks shared with your faction.
• Several PBs — several SHEPHERD blocks on one ship or docked group elect a single leader.
• Displays — status, log, run-time profiler, reserve levels and per-category stock screens, and status lights.

Tags

[table] [tr][th]Tag[/th][th]Meaning[/th][/tr] [tr][td][SHEPHERD:Ores,Ingots][/td][td]Container for these categories[/td][/tr] [tr][td][SHEPHERD:*][/td][td]Catch-all / overflow[/td][/tr] [tr][td][SHEPHERD-RESERVE:Name][/td][td]Reserve pool container (quotas in Custom Data)[/td][/tr] [tr][td][SHEPHERD-Main] / [SHEPHERD-Coop][/td][td]The assembler SHEPHERD crafts on / the ones that help it[/td][/tr] [tr][td][SHEPHERD] / [SHEPHERD-LOG] / [SHEPHERD-DEBUG][/td][td]Status / history / run-time screens; on a light, a status colour[/td][/tr] [tr][td][SHEPHERD-Off][/td][td]Leave this block alone[/td][/tr] [tr][td][SHEPHERD-Split][/td][td]On a connector: don't manage anything beyond it[/td][/tr] [/table]

Commands

• configReload — re-read Custom Data after editing it.
• learn — enter learn mode; run it again to save.
• statsReset — restart the run-time measurement window.

Full manual and source

The full manual covers settings, custom categories, quota syntax, docking rules, learn mode, and a migration guide for anyone switching from another sorter. It's on GitHub, along with the source (GPL-3.0-or-later license): github.com/chrumck/SHEPHERD