[X3TC] CLS MK I advice

[ConorC]

Hi guys,
I would really appreciate it if somebody could give me an idiots guide to CLS MK I? I can't seem to figure it out. I've read the official documentation from Lucike, I've read stuff on here, watched a couple of Youtube videos, but I cannot seem to grasp how to get this thing actually working.

thank you

[ZacUK]

***EDIT - If you check out the mega thread of useful info - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=162408 - you'll see in the list a handy bunch of links for CLS - This one is what I was reading by user Alacard1 : https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByKDFbQ ... sp=sharing


Well I'm an idiot, so I should be qualified. I've also been setting up some 80+ CLS1 traders this week for various factories and complexes around my 'verse. I also struggled until I stumbled on something that inspired a moment of clarity.




Case study 1:

All new factories, all new trader ships, You'll need the CLS software obviously, but I also equip all my new ships with every software or upgrade they can take, including max shields.

Energy Cell production, with plexes / factories / mines around Argon Prime.


2x "Complexed" SPP XL in The Wall
9x "Complexed" Cahoona Bakery L in The Hole
8x "Complexed" Cattle Ranch L in The Hole
5x "Complexed" Crystal Fab L in Herron's Nebula
3x Separate Silicon Mine L in Herron's Nebula.

Each Complex or Mine has at least one home based CLS1 trader to it.

Solar Power Plant 'plex.
With a trader homebased and docked there, and with all software and upgrades installed

Open the ships command console
Option 3 for Trade
Start INTERNAL CLS.
Another menu will appear
I normally just go straight into Homebase products
Hit Add product
A list of products that the station supplies will appear, in this case Energy Cells.
**NOW THIS IS WHERE I WAS GOING WRONG**
It'll ask you to choose pricing, and I could only get CLS1 to actually do anything for me, when I chose "CONSUMER PRODUCT PRICE" - This means that the trader will sell the product to the consumer at the price set in the consumers options (You know the "Adjust Station Parameters menu > resource price.)
Hit escape, and you'll go back to the CLS main menu.
Go into Suppliers and Consumers
In this submenu, have a look at the supplier, and make sure it's set to the homebase. When a CLS or CAG trader is first starting out, at the "Apprentice" level, you can only pick 1 supplier, and I believe up to 3 consumers, but when he/she levels up, you'll be able to pick more suppliers and consumers.
Once the supplier is confirmed hit escape again, and go back into the Suppliers and Consumers.
Pick a destination Consumer factory (station) where you want the CLS trader to sell his goods to. In my case, it was the 2 plexes next door in The Hole. I assigned I think 5 CLS1 traders to this SPP 'plex, each with different target consumers so that all my local production get supplied with enough E.Cells
Hit escape once you've selected all your consumers, back to the CLS1 main menu.
All of my ships have jump drives installed, so I go into the "Jump Drive Settings" sub menu, and set "Use Jump Drive" to yes.
Hit escape one last time, back to the CLS main menu.
Hit Start Internal Commodity Logistics
Your CLS1 trader will crack on with the tasks at hand.

I have 5x CLS1 traders from my SPP 'plex feeding the various factories around.

I have CLS1 traders supplying meatsteaks from my Cahoona Bakery plex to the crystal plex, CLS1 traders supplying the Argnu beef to the bakeries, CLS1 traders supplying the silicon from the mines in Herron's Nebula to my Crystal Plex, and CLS1 traders from the Crystal 'plex feeding back to the SPP 'plex.

If you start your CLS traders from the Argon Trading Post in Herron's Nebula, there's a good chance that they will start out with more experience, and you'll be able to choose more suppliers/consumers.

[Red-Spot]

There is a lot to explain and at the same time is all pretty basic. Loads of basic changes still allow for a lot of customization though

Maybe explain what it is you do not understand to prevent 'tl;dr' style replies

In short CLS1 is for trade between player stations and allows you to sell of simply transfer goods, take goods from 1 or more plants and deliver it to 1 or more others. Only take goods from producers and only delivers to plants that do not produce it (so you can not use CLS1 to 'fill up' a factory that simply does not produce enough of a ware to be self-sufficient, you need CLS2 for that).

[ZacUK]

Actually, how do you get CLS1 to just transfer goods between player owned stations? I can't seem to work that out, and if I did understand it, it'd make my empire logistics a lot easier as I keep having to transfer funds in and out of various stations. With CLS2, there's the load/unload option, but I can't seem to find similar with Mk.1 ...

[jlehtone]

Actually, how do you get CLS1 to just transfer goods between player owned stations?

That is the only thing that the CLS1 can do. Perhaps the "transfer goods" means different thing to us?


I second Red-Spot: @ConorC please explain the bits that you do grasp and the bits you don't.

[ConorC]

Hi guys, yeah I do grasp what it's for. I am trying to move goods around between my own stations. I was using CLS2 to do this but my ships kept getting clogged up with undeliverable goods due to full storage in stations.
But I actually made progress last night. I got a CLS1 PILOT to deliver ecells to a couple of stations.it turned out I was looking at the problem from the wrong end. I was homebasing my CLS1 ship to the consumer and then trying to get him to go get the goods from the suppliers and he just didn't want to do that. I kind of thought he would act like a CAG, but that's not the case. When I home-based him to a supplier, I managed to get it working.
I still don't really get the commands and options for CLS1 it's not as clear as CLS2 which I use all the time.
But progress is being made. Any advice you guys could give me would be very much appreciated.

[ZacUK]

That is the only thing that the CLS1 can do. Perhaps the "transfer goods" means different thing to us?

What I mean, is to transfer goods between stations without the destination station having to pay for the goods. After all, the goods are owned by the same entity, the player.

[jlehtone]

Owned, yes, but the bean counters see a huge difference there.

You can choose the "Manual price" for the ware. Then you can type any number you like. The 0 is a number too. (I think I did use negative price somewhere to haul both ware and credits to the consumer.)


I have a Ranch and Bakery. The Ranch does have a CAG. I have set resource prices. The CAG does hopefully find cheaper offers most of the time. The prices are thus a "worst case". Furthermore, jumping will add fuel costs.

Any way, I can estimate the production cost of one Beef. The Ranch has CLS1, with Beef price set slightly above the cost. The Ranch will make at least tiny profit per every Beef. If the CAG sells the Beef to NPC, there will be more profit.

The Bakery will not complain about the credits the CLS1 will take; Bakery's CAG is willing to pay more per Beef.


The CLS1 is configured to make a delivery only when the Bakery is almost out of Beef. (That is not a default.) Therefore, the Bakery won't be filled with rotting Argnu.

I have a Missile Fab and CLS1 to deliver to my Equipment Dock. (Apprentice CLS1 cannot do that.) The CLS1 is set to wait until the Fab has more than the stock size at the ED. (Again, not quite the default.) That way the CLS1 will never fly with less cargo than what the ED can take.

[ZacUK]

Owned, yes, but the bean counters see a huge difference there.

Thanks man, it makes sense. I shall leave them all as is, it's not a big deal.

I just think like I am at work, and have inter-departmental charges to offset internal cost-centers.




If i'm not mistaken, aren't you the author of CLS / CAG ? If so, thanks very much, because it's a wonderful system that brings huge improvements to the player experience. ....and thanks for all the help in the other threads i've created recently.