Game Time: 5/26/2006 9:23:29 PM
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Starship Operations Queue - Overview
Using your ship's Operation Queue will allow your ship to travel the stars while you are away doing other things. Yes, the games runs 24/7 and you have a life, using the queue is how you can enjoy both. The ship operations queue is a sequential list of instructions you give your ship. Go here, do this, go there, do that. The queue is technically a First-in-first-out (FIFO) queue. Which simply means, what you put into the queue first will be what is executed first. Just imagine having a stack of papers on your desk, each with one instruction written on it. You always put new instructions on the bottom, and the ship always executes the instruction on the top of the pile. There are a few tricks you can learn that make the queue more flexible that you might think of at first but we'll share some of them with you in the advanced tips section. Simple vs Full Interface There are two different interfaces you can uses when working with the ship operations queue. The simple interface gives you the basic options that you will use on a regular basis. Its a great place to start when learning how to use the queue. Once your comfortable with the basics, you can start using the full interface which has more options like, "Follow, Guard and Patrol" just to mention a few. When you add an instruction to the ship's queue it is added to the bottom. Navigation Hold Operation The Navigation Hold is a very simple but powerful tool in your arsenal of instructions. When a ship encounters a navigation hold it simply stops executing instructions until the hold is removed. This is very handy for a few reasons. First, when you start building a queue, start with a navigation hold, this will keep your ship in place while you build the queue. There is nothing as unsettling as having your ship take off before you're ready. Second, when you want to arrive at a destination and do something there before moving to a future destination. There are more advanced uses for navigation holds that we will discuss in the advanced tips section and in the full interface section of the instructions. Move To Destination Using the simple interface there are three ways to select a destination:
You've arrived at your destination. You may want to sell all or part of your cargo and refuel. Using the automated trade instructions make this an easy operation. Overall information about commerce can be found on the Commerce Instructions page. The results of these trades and transfers can be found on the ship status page in the message queue under the "Trade" option. Trades - Buy/Sell Your ship is on a trip across the universe and fuel is running low. You want to buy some fuel. You will want to be sure your current destination will end in a sector where fuel is being sold. Now check the "Buy" option and press "Process Ship Operation Action". You will be presented with a list of item classes, select fuel. Now in the "Select Item" drop down menu, choose Fuel. Enter the Quantity you want to buy and the maximum price you're willing to pay for the fuel. (MAX quantity is discussed in detail below, so don't worry about this option just yet) You always buy from the lowest price seller. Now you have two options to choose from:
Using this option you can transfer items to and from other ships and bases that you control. If you are a member of a corporation you can also transfer items to or from ships and bases that are in control of the corporation. After checking either the To or From options and pressing "Process Ship Operation Action" you will be presented with a list of ships and bases that you control. You can choose the one that you wish to transfer to or from. One key item to remember is that for the transfer to happen successfully you'll need to have both entities (Base and/or Ship) in the same sector. Additionally you can click the link, "Show Corporate Assets" to expand the list of available ships and bases to include all those in the corporation. (See Corporation Instructions for more details about corporations). Next, just like when trading, you are presented with a list of item classes from which to choose. Select the item class, then select the specific item and quantity you wish to transfer. Finally you are presented the two options listed below:
There is a special quantity you can enter rather than a set number, MAX. MAX is short for maximum. When you enter MAX into the quantity field it means that your ship will try and buy, sell or transfer the maximum quantity possible. It is important to note that the maximum quantity could be ZERO! When using MAX the "In case of error, Wait" will have no effect as it is the same as telling your ship to use the maximum possible is effectively the same as selecting, "In the case of error, Continue". Factors that can limit MAX or number of credits on hand to buy items, number of items on hand to sell or transfer and free space available on a ship. Clear Queue If you want to clear all the instructions in the queue check this box then press the "Process Ship Operation Actions" and the ships operation queue will be cleared. You might want to use this if you're changing the current strategy for this ship or you just want to have it sit idle for later use. Repeating Queues Here is where you can make a repeating queue. By checking this box and pressing "Process Ship Operation Actions" the queue will repeat forever. This is great when you're moving lots of fuel, ore, metal or any other type of route you want to have your ships run on an ongoing basis. You will notice that unlike a "non-repeating queue" that once an operation is executed it moves to the bottom of the queue where it will be executed when it comes time. Insert Before Position Use this to insert instructions into the queue. Find the Operation ID in the table on the right, copy the Operation ID into the input field on the left and your next instruction will be inserted before the ID you just entered. Mining If your ship is a Prospector or a Miner and you have an Ore Scoop(s) installed you will have the options shown below:
If your ship is a Prospector or a Miner and you have an Ore Scoop(s) installed you will have the options shown below:
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