Refueling empty ships

[DasTactic]

Situation is that one of my Explorer ships on the frontier was badly damaged and couldn't move. The AI then dispatched one of my construction ships to repair it - but it didn't have the fuel to reach it so it got 3/4 of the way and stopped - not being able to move because the tanks were empty.

So the AI dispatched a second construction ship. This one had enough fuel to get there so completed the repairs, but it didn't have enough fuel to get back again. So it is also now stuck in no-mans land not able to move.

How do I refuel ships that are completely empty? Do I send another ship to them, form a fleet, and they share fuel? Of is there another method?

Thanks.

Really enjoying this game BTW.

[DasTactic]

Think I solved it - although it doesn't make a lot of sense.

I had given the ship 'Refuel at nearest point' orders but they didn't move. In the end I told them to travel to a specific system. Then once they were in the system I gave them refuel orders and it worked. I thought that the original refuel orders would have got them moving.

[Gerth]

Yeah, too bad the ai is sending repair ships despite fuel shortages. I like the idea of fuel as a strategic resource, but the current implementation is more of a headache than any kind of fun. Hopefully this will get sorted out in future patches.

[Spacecadet]

I'm having some refueling issues as well, but mine's a bit different.

I have a fleet sitting at a station, and from the fleet menu I ordered them to refuel & repair.
Well, now one of the ships is sitting there empty and I don't see the others making much progress towards getting refueled either [:(]

This seems to happen at other stations as well. It seems the station gets overwhelmed and can't keep up or runs of of fuel - I have no idea of which it is.

This is really making conquest quite a challenge when I can' keep my fleets fueled.

[Astorax]

Ya know, this got me to thinking. I should make a "border" version of a spaceport that has a lot more fuel cells on it so multiple ships/fleets can refuel there at once without depleting it all in one go. You could make them all the same and just upgrade the 'ports where you need excess fuel supplies.

I realize you could take a Resupply Ship with you but this seems to make good logistical sense, too.

[Spacecadet]

The thing is, it looks like only one ship at a time can refuel, so by the time everyone's done refueling (not just my ships) you may need to top off again just so you can jump into a battle without worrying about running out.

I might be wrong about only one ship at a time refueling, but it seems to be working that way.

[Astorax]

Nope, thats definitely wrong, Spacecadet. As many ships as you have available docking bays (and fuel of course) can refuel at once. I watch that happen at my space ports all the time refueling in-system defense fleets. 

[Spacecadet]

That's good to know Astorax [:)]

So I guess what I'm seeing then is that the base has run out of fuel to fuel everyone.

Looks like I need to start building bigger bases then. One of the tips I saw on here said to only build small bases, so I guess that wasn't totally accurate.

[Astorax]

It may not have been that it was out of fuel (though it may have been), it may have simply been that the Private sector had most of the docking bays full with their ships and all of your military ships couldn't dock at once. Next time you see this behavior, check the 'port out and see what is all docked. You may want to add a few more docking bays at heavily used bases.

[Deomrve]

I have a refueling question; when ships are refueling do they take fuel from the fuel cells or cargo hold or both? If they only take fuel from the cargo hold what is the value of having a lot of fuel cells on the base?

[HsojVvad]

Having alot of fuel cells on a base is to power the energy weapons if in combat. I believe it's to recharge the shields as well as power to the weapons that the solar panels that will not be able to keep up with once in combat.

Also, if you put a base in deep space with no star, then the base can get no power and can only use reactors for power, wich require fuel. Of course the base is useless once the fuel runs out so that is why you don't have many people putting bases in deep space.

[Deomrve]

So, if I am understanding you correctly, ships get refueled using the fuel stored in the cargo hold and the reactors use the fuel in the fuel cells to power components during battle. Which by the way probably get topped off from the fuel in the cargo bay and making it even more difficult for your fleets to refuel. I wonder if that was a design decision or an unintended consequence.

[HsojVvad]

I still not shure how it works Deomrve. I think when you refuel, you just take the fuel that is in the cargo holds, not the refueling ships or refueling base fuel tanks. The fuel tanks belong to the ship or base, so what ever they have in their cargo holds, those are the ones that get used up. I could be wrong, but this is how I think it works for now

[Deomrve]

ORIGINAL: Davor

I still not shure how it works Deomrve. I think when you refuel, you just take the fuel that is in the cargo holds, not the refueling ships or refueling base fuel tanks. The fuel tanks belong to the ship or base, so what ever they have in their cargo holds, those are the ones that get used up. I could be wrong, but this is how I think it works for now

I think we may be saying the same thing, but I will try to rephrase for clarity. Ship A needs fuel so it travels to a Starbase, Port or Refueling ship for refueling. While refueling Ship A gets the fuel from the cargo hold of said Base, Port or Resupply ship. Said Base, Port or Resupply ship gets into a battle and uses some fuel. Where does the Base, Port or Resupply ship get it's fuel? From it's own cargo hold of course, which may also contribute to a potential fuel shortage. If what I'm saying is true then it might be nice to have some control mechanism in place to prevent the base from refueling itself until all ships have been refueled or the Base, Port or Refueling ship reaches a certain fuel level.

[HsojVvad]

Ah, ok. For the resuply ship, it has to deploy by a star that has the resource you want. So if it's carson fuel, you need to go to a star or planet that has carson fuel and deploy it there. There is a button that says to deploy and takes 30 seconds to deploy. Then it mines the star or gas giant.

For bases, when it runs out of fuel, the civilian ships are suppose to refuel them or restock them. I havn't seen this happen yet, but a few people say it has. I don't bother what civilian ships do so that is why I never noticed if this is true or not.

I would like to have more control over the civilian sector to so I can at least make a star base or planet a priority for resource or what not.

[OberonDark]

@Davor, early in the game if you click on freighters, you can commonly see them transporting Hydrogen or Caslon. Look at your large freighters. Fuel is frequently shipped to your home world early game because it's the only place where your large number of ships can refuel. It's also your center of commerce for a long time, possibly the whole game. This happens less and less as it is upgraded, so the capacity is increased, and the need for refueling is lessened.

And I shy away from manual base construction, but maybe you just don't have enough private ships? I agree we should be able to "commandeer" the private sector somewhat, like the U.S mobilizing its economy to build tanks in car factories during WWII, etc.

[Deomrve]

So what I'm hearing is that the bases and ports do not refuel from their own supplies. I figured that bases and ports would refuel themselves and the freighters bring in fuel and place it the bases or ports cargo hold.

[Fishman]

When I get a message that a ship is immobilized, I usually just scuttle it entirely. They're almost never worth the effort of saving. In any event, whatever caused that is most likely going to kill it shortly anyway, and going to save it is generally a death trap. On the other hand, it's funny to cripple an enemy ship like that, then when his constructors show up to save it, you shoot them down.