Artisan Archive

It was recently suggested to me that I set up some harvesters to gather resources which are needed by PAs & PCs in my area. I am working on this andfound a few questions.

1. Does your wind generator have to be in the vicinity of your extractors for them to gain power, or can I have a wind generator 1000's of m away from myother extractors if I wanted. (I found a 98% concentration of fuel that I want to mine but the wind in the area maxs at 16% and that is 700m away, right next to the fuel it's 9%. But I know of another spot that is about 2000m away where the wind is in the 70's. I would like to use both if I could and I don't have enough money to just start buying harvesters to plop around and see what happens.)

2. Does resource content look the same for everyone? By this I mean if I look around and see a place with 20 to 30 wind generators wouldn't it be a good idea to start my survey there for wind power? Is it considered rude to place generators near a Player city that you don't belong to or a players mining operation or house that you don't know?

3. What is the difference between a personal harvester (which I have) a medium harvester and a large harvester? I am operating under the idea that each upgrade in harvester type means it canextract multipletypes of resources (personal 1, medium 2, large 4(?)). With larger harvesters can you have each of their drills harvest the same resource?

1. Harvesters don't connect to your power generators. What you have to do is have the wind generator extract for a while, then there will be "solar power" resources in its hopper. Put this into your inventory, and go to your harvester. Select "Deposit Power" from the radial menu, you'll get a dialog box up with the amount of power in your inventory on the left, and a box to enter the amount to deposit on the right. You'll need to deposit 600 units for each day you want the personal harvester to run.

2. The concentration map is the same for everyone on that planet and server. So yes, if you see a spot with a lot of wind generators already, you can know that there's probably a decent concentration there. Of course, the concentration you can build on may be a few % lower, since the old generators are going to be on the concentration peak. As far as placing harvesters and generators next to existing buildings, I've found that most people are understanding, as long as you're not placing them in a road. If the houses are lined up nicely, don't impose on their setup. If there's just one or two random houses, you're probably ok. Player cities may have zoning restrictions (meaning you can't place anything unless the mayor gives you permission), and even if they don't there may be a property tax that will increase your harvester's maintenance.

3. The difference in harvester classes is the amount they extract in a given amount of time. On your harvester deed and in the "operate machinery" dialog box you can see the "Base Extraction Rate" or "Spec Rate". This is how many units that would extract on a 100% concentration spot. The maximum personal rate is 4, the max medium rate is 10, and the max heavy rate is 15 (or maybe 14). This rate get's multiplied by the percentage you actually build on, so a personal harvester with a rate of 4 on a 75% spot will extract 4*0.75 = 3 units per minute. The maintenance rate and power consumption is also higher for the bigger extractors. Personals need 30 credits/hour and 25 power/hour, Mediums 60 credits/hour and 50 power/hour, Heavies 90 credits/hour and 75 power/hour. Medium and heavy harvesters still only extract one type of resource at a time.

The larger harvestors function exactly the same as smaller ones, they simply cost more to operate and extract more (all harvestors use one lot). They donot harvest more than one resource at a time, they simply harvest the one you selected faster. You can place as many harvestors on one resource as you have lots, or many harvestors on different resources if you want. I usually look for good quality resources of a type I need, then put all my harvestors on it and get as much of that kind as I can. I have a bunch of BER 10 medium harvestors, I find that they are the best compromise between extraction rates and cost, and then are easier to place than heavies.