Supply movement type?

[Philo32b]

I am trying to understand supply better so I can construct better depot supply chains. In the RUS GameLogic file it says:

[INDENT]supMaxDistanceInDays = 35 // Automated Supply system: max distance in days per segment[/INDENT]

This helps a lot to know, but I also need to know what movement type supply points move as. Are they considered to move the same as supply wagons?

[JacquesDeLalaing]

That's a very important question (for all AGEOD games). I'd also be interested in the speed that supply can move along rivers. And, last but not least, it would be interesting to know if supply "searches" for alternative routes if one route is blocked (because of a lack of military control in a region).

Some rather vague information on suppy-movement: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?16847-Supply-Question&p=171214&viewfull=1#post171214

[Durk]

Supply takes several forms in Ageod games. Basically I think of supply has these three manifestations:
1. WIA and AJE/BOR where supply is city based,
2. Railroad games, ACW and RUS where rail and river lines are the focus,
3. And, ROP which is a blend.

All the game share the ability to build depots to enhance supply and supply chains. Think of the city plus the depots in the city as the pipeline. Supply can essentially travel across non-rail, non-river regions up to four regions. With rail or river, supply pretty much travels at the same rate your units do if moving via rail/river. However, each city/depot along the rail will want to fill before sending supply to the next stop. It is good to have each stop along the supply route capable of hosting at least 500 supply factors to limit bottlenecks.

Because supply is produced in cities and depots, some of the larger cities can be a hub for a chain of supply.

So long answer to say, supply moves at a pretty good clip along rail and unobstructed river lines. But to make your supply chain viable, you need cities and depots to receive supply about every four regions.

[JacquesDeLalaing]

Well all the games with "easy" supply mechanics (WIA, BOR) are pretty clear. But there is a lot of confusion concerning the more complex systems that include 2-3 "pushs" of 30-35 days' supply travel that is somehow (movement type unclear!) translated into regions traveled. I'd really hope some developer could one day write up a case study to show us how it works in detail.

What seems to be quite clear is the process:

1. Production of supply
2. Distribution of supply (in 2-3 pushes) - this is the big riddle
3. Consumption (+ refill of internal storages of consumers?)
4. Lack of supply-routines (looting)

There are really too many open questions to say anything with certainty. The ROP manual states that there is no limit at all on how many supply can move "through" a depot/structure during a push. And you'll also notice that the storage-space of structues in much, much higher than their production rate. So I don't think that there can be bottlenecks "in between" your supply line. However, maybe there can be a bottle neck in the region where a structure gives supplies to the consumers (push mechanics =/= "distribution to consumers"-mechanics)? And maybe a structure only asks for the amount of supply that it distributes to consumers? But I have not a clue, really.

And then there have been people who said that erecting too many depots will actually slow down supply, because supply stops its movement/push at every structure?

[vonRocko]

You should be fine with a depot every 3 areas in the line.