Complexes vs CLS/CAG in AP.

[Wheem]

I'm still fairly new to the game, especially the part where I actually have enough money to do very much station building, and am having trouble building complexes that don't have tubing that looks weird and/or awful. Even when only placing a couple of stations, I just can't get the "tubing nodes" lined up the way that I'd like; once I'm looking at >= 10 stations I'm sure that it'd be a huge mess.

So I was thinking, is it a realistic option to use CLS/CAG pilots for supplying my own stations from one another? I'm actually not even sure how I would set that up, to be honest...maybe a CLS pilot (or plural?) with pickup/dropoff waypoints? All I've really done with those plugins, so far, is have an agent that bought supplies from NPC stations for his home base factory, and that doesn't seem very practical for larger numbers of stations - the amount of freighters required would get huge.

As an aside, are there any stations out there that can be "snapped" to one another with NumPad 5, and then moved a short distance one way or another and end up with straight tubing? CdrDave's youtube video made it look like his Teladianium complex was going to end up that way, but I have to do a good bit of moving and rotating with a Paranid 25 MJ Shield Production Plant and Large Soyery, and still can't get it to look right (but I guess I am a little picky...) If some stations can be complexed with straight tubing fairly easily, that'd help cut down the number of freighters and waypoints quite a bit.

[Timsup2nothin]

I fought the tubing battles, often for hours at a time. I won a few, lost even more, eventually conceded the war.

This mod replaces the tubes with null models...you can't see them, you can't run into them, but they function just like normal in the complex. Since it just replaces the models it has no effects at all on how the game plays and won't change your 'modified' status.

Now I build complexes by overlapping the stations. You can line up the tubular structure of individual stations to connect them in WYSIWYG fashion and just let the invisible tubing fall where it may.

[Wheem]

Hmm, the mod could be interesting, but it may look funky just having the docking hub floating out in space with no connection to the factories

Thus far I've built 2 Paranid 25 MJ Shield Production Facilities, 1 Soyery, and 1 Soy Farm, with an XL Solar Power Plant and some Mines getting deployed soon (followed up by some Crystal Plants, since those are pretty pricey to purchase for the SPP). I managed to get the Soyery and Soy Farm complexed without too much spaghetti; it isn't perfect, but it's a lot better looking than when I was trying to connect the Soyery to the Shield Production Facility.

Using CLS1/CAG to move/purchase supplies has been fairly easy so far, with so few stations, but I have to ask - is there a way to have my freighter(s) move the Soy Husks as necessary without buying and selling them from my factories? I can foresee some station(s) running out of money without me noticing, especially since I'm not allowing them to sell to the AI right now, and I'd rather not have my production cease because of it. It looks like CLS2 can pickup/unload stuff without using money from any of your accounts, but I can't figure out how to get CLS1 to do it, and it may be the easier software to use once I have a larger number of largely non-complexed stations.

[Timsup2nothin]

I actually like the free floating docking hub. I just picture it as the 'loading dock and warehouse' connected by industrial grade transporter devices to nearby production facilities.

As to the CLS usage...I use CLS 2 for just about everything, and have pretty limited knowledge of CLS 1...but I can vouch that anything you want to do you can get done with CLS 2. It may not really be the easiest way, but I find that because I practice with it so much it is usually the easiest way for me.

[hourheroyes]

CLS is cool, but it's nothing compared to the utility of building the complex. If you are worried about the dock being out in the middle of nowhere, try using an Advanced Satellite on the map to finagle it really close to the complex!

[Wheem]

So I've expanded my number of stations a little, while only building complexes when I can get the tubing to look decent'ish, and for the most part things have been going fine. I mean yea, I've had a little frustration being unable to use CLS1 to move goods around without touching the stations' credit accounts, but so far I can live with that. However, it seems that I can only get one CAG to actually do his job - every other ship and pilot that I've tried will just sit around on permanent standby.

Here's the issue:
My largest complex consists of 1 Solar Power Plant XL, 2 Crystal Fab L, 1 Cahoona Bakery L, and 1 Cattle Ranch L (I'll be adding at least 1 more bio and 1 more food soon, just haven't gotten around to it yet). Since I don't yet have enough Meatsteaks being produced in-house, I've had a single CAG set to buy more, and he appears to be doing his job just fine. But he isn't able to keep up with the demand by himself (especially since he's flying a slow Vulture Hauler), so I decided to add two more freighters to handle business until I get more stations added.

Problem is, both other CAGs just sit around on standby. The station has money (in fact, money from my other stations ends up flowing here since they all buy the energy), both ships are equipped/home-based, and are only supposed to buy products (so rank shouldn't matter, though one of the two isn't stuck at Apprentice anyway), but they don't do anything at all. Even after saving/loading the settings from my functioning CAG, and letting several SETA hours pass, they just hang out in the dock of the complex. I tried canceling all of their orders and removing their home-base setting, then redoing it all and starting them up again. The only thing that changed is that my Vulture Hauler went out and bought some fighter drones before continuing his proper duties, while the others still sat around in the dock.

Any ideas? Am I missing something simple?