E2150 - Mining: Difference between revisions

In case of UCS, it gets very complicated, as there are many variables that affect the mining speed. First of all, UCS has 3 different harvester types that have different mining speed. As UCS, you can place 2 or 3 refineries for each resource field (ofc you can place just 1 or more than 3 but it doesn't make sense). What is more, you can place refineries in various ways - you can palceplace both of them on 1one side, you can also place each on the opposite sides of the resource fields etc. And that's still not the end of the possibilities, as you can space refineries by 1 square from the resource fields, or you can space them by 2 tiles.

Usually it is best to place just 2 refineries (although there are scenarios, where placing 3 refineries is a valid option - you should take into consideration the fact that it costs more money to set up such facility, as this means that you will most likely want more harvesters as well). Refineries that are spaced 2 tiles away from the resource field perform better than refineries placed just 1 square (as most players do) from the resource field. The reason for the latter underperforming is, that sometimes (especially with more harvesters around), the refinery pickup spot can be just next to a mining dot (sometimes even 3 dots at once). If the refinery is currently occupied by harvester, then any of the harvesters that are mining just next to the refinery pickup spot, upon finishing digging, will stay on the "dot" and wait till the refinery pickup spot gets free. In the variant with 2 tiles spacing, they would move by 1 square towards the refinery, freeing the mining dot for other harvesters. It doesn't make any difference whether you place refineries on the opposite sides of the resource field, or both on the same side. Since it is perhaps a bit better to have the buildings more grouped (to ensure more reliable energy coverage and to make the defense easier against rushing LC), it could be slightly better to place them on the same side if possible, however it is not a crucial factor. It is also important to not place any other structurestructures next to resource fields, to leave some space for the harvesters to navigate around.

GoingAs shown above, going 6 or more harvesters for each refinery is actually slowing the mining down due to units starting to obstruct each other more and more. Generally best options are 3refs and 3x4 harvesters, or 2 refs and 2x5 harvesters. Only T2 and T3 harvesters should be considered as an option.