How to balance Build and Craft triggers with Resource Control?

[DBM1243]

Hi, a new user here.

I'm trying to set my KS so that it would build a few buildings ASAP (limit infinite, trigger 0%)
but at the same time when resources cap to max, only use a portion of the resource to craft such as beams, slabs (limit infinite, trigger 100%, resource control consumption 10%)

but I can't seem to find a way to cope these two at the same time.
the problem if I set it like this is that the resource control doesn't allow me to use all the resources for building since i set them to use only 10%.

The immediate solve seems to be setting the stock value manually per resource, but since i'm a starter, the resource cap increases really fast.
is there a way to set stock values as a percentage rather than absolute values? Or is there a whole new way I can incorporate?

[oliversalzburg]

This is an excellent question, and a common issue people rightfully are frustrated with.

First of all, it's important to understand that KS 1.5 intended the Resource Control to only apply to resource crafting. In KS 2.0, they were promoted to a global system. The thinking here was, if I set a Stock value for a resource, I really want it to be always in stock, regardless of what operation wants to consume the resource. The Resource Control should be the tool to separate resources for manual actions from those KS will use for automation.

If this was a good idea, is debatable.

Setting stock as a percentage, instead of absolute, is something I've been thinking about myself a couple of times, but making changes to this part of the script is bound to irritate some users. Even just adding another option is going to be a challenge to balance.

So, I'm afraid I can't really offer any straight-forward solution to this problem.

However, over the past year I've grown very suspicious of some problematic patterns that were fueled by the default settings of KS. There is a tendency to have automations unlimited, which I consider counter-productive for almost any stage of the game. For some builds, even 1000 is an extremely high limit that you won't reach for years of game play. Setting the same limit to infinite will make balancing resource spend very hard, because KS is always going to want to also invest into this build. You might know the feeling of waiting for a specific resource to reach a certain value so that you can buy a Workshop upgrade, only to have the resources snatched right out of your stock to build the 126th of some building.

That's not to say that I don't understand the reasoning behind user's picking infinity as the limit. It even used to be the default. And you really want to have "as many as possible" of the selected build/craft. It really feels like an obvious choice. I also still perfectly remember running my computer the whole night to make more game progress. And I don't really know how many resources I need in the morning. So I rather have more than I need, than being short on my next upgrade.

So what can you do?

Eco Mode crafting with reasonably high limits is likely your best option, as it's the most robust balancing feature in KS today. KS will invest hard into the craft when you have very little of the resulting resource, and back off on the spending until the source materials are also in stock to higher levels.

1. Disable all resource control. Stock 0, Consume 100%, disable the option to also save some performance.
2. Workshop default trigger 0%. Refine Catnip either disabled or trigger at +50%. No other triggers.
3. Eco Mode enabled on all active crafts. Limits set to 10x of the most expensive spend you have on your shopping list.
4. Bonfire default trigger 0%. No other triggers.
5. Bonfire limits set to your actual current and reasonable targets.

This will allow KS to instantly craft any target materials, but it will not drain your stock indefinitely. After the first round of crafts, it will already back off due to Eco Mode, and probably even leave some source materials in stock. These can already be sufficient for the buildings you need. Otherwise your stock will grow until you can purchase them. KS will then flip-flop between building and expanding your stock with crafted materials, until you reach limits, at which point everything balances out until you cap your storage.

Also consider creating two settings presets in the State Management section. One for the start of your run, or when you're active on your computer, and another one for idle periods.

Hope that helps :)

[DBM1243]

This is great. Eco mode was the magic. Thanks for the big help, Love it!