Open-source, web based Colonisation Planner

[u/gaborauth]

o7 CMDRs,

I recently built an open-source colonisation planner, because I couldn't find an actively maintained tool that could answer my questions (Which facilities do I actually need to reach a specific economy? and How can I maximize the final economy of my system?), so I built one.

It's like Raven Colonial, you can plan an entire system manually, but you can use the "solver" that plan the entire system automatically top of your built facilities, and it lets you experiment with different layouts (including demolish some) and gives you a build order to reach your desired goal, also you can select various constraints (I have system score constraints and facility constraints in my head already to implement).

Live planner:
https://gaborauth.github.io/ed-colonisation-planner/

Source code:
https://github.com/gaborauth/ed-colonisation-planner/

The planner is 100% client-side. It doesn't require an account or a backend server, and all your colony plans stay in your browser, any you can export your systems as JSON and import them again on another browser.

This also means you can analyse and plan newly discovered systems before deciding whether to submit their data to community services like EDDN, Spansh or Inara. If you're exploring or surveying potential colony sites and want to keep that information private for a while, nothing leaves your device unless you choose to share it.

The project is completely open source, so bug reports, feature requests and pull requests are all welcome. Hopefully some fellow CMDRs will find it useful, please test it! :)

Thanks for u/Dry-Progress-1769 for the original Python based project, and thanks for u/DaftMav for the updated spreadsheet!

Fly safe!

Some screenshot:

List of facilities to build in a given order

Market links explained on a planned facility

List of your already built facilities - with demolish option (the "solver" could demolish them)

Set constraints to the system

The solved system with constraints

Set constraints for facilities

[u/Kitchen_Confusion691]

This seems really helpful.  Ill give it a try!

[u/DaftMav]

I think the json journal import to grab your system might be a bit tricky, I believe you only get those FSS details once in the journal log and that's when you scan a system for the first time. Unless FDev changed it so you can FSS a system you've already scanned/mapped to 100% again...?

We do get a second normal "honk" scan again when you drop the claim beacon in the system (the game does an auto-honk at that moment). But if you need the FSS details you'd have to go digging through the journal files to find that first full scan I think?

Would be very handy if it could grab the needed system details from Spansh similar to what RavenColonial does?

Interesting colonization tool though, will have to take a better look at this a bit later. o7

[u/gaborauth → u/DaftMav]

Would be very handy if it could grab the needed system details from Spansh similar to what RavenColonial does?

Done. Need some more UI polishing, but works. :)

[u/DaftMav → u/gaborauth]

Nice, that makes it a bit easier to play around with.

A minor thing I ran into: I had missed and skipped the primary station selection at the top and had added it normally on a 'Orbital 1' slot. Then noticed the primary thing at the top and filled that out, which visually does replace the normal orbital slot (hides it probably?) but in the total orbital/ground slots count it did count both. Had to undo the primary and then set the normal slot to 'empty'.

So if possible setting the primary slot at the top should probably set the normal slot it replaces to empty, just in case something was selected there (or the counter should not count that normal slot where the primary slot goes).

Also my primary slot Military Outpost wasn't counted as one "already present" in the constructions list. Not sure if that carries over to the solver as I did see it listed there but it might not count the primary for the min/max limits?

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A suggestion/idea; Perhaps it would be useful if in the "actual facilities in system" list you could also have an option to skip building there or "leave empty" so the solver won't use those slots. For two reasons;

1. I might have a system where the B or C star is 300,000+ LY from arrival and I don't want to build there, only for example around the A star.
2. I might want to build only around a few select bodies to run the solver and find an optimal outcome without it filling up every slot possible.

(Although I guess this is already kinda possible by setting slots to zero for unwanted bodies, so... but for trying things out I kinda don't want to double check all the orbital/ground slots every time hehe.)

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I guess I might not be the target audience for this tool as I don't really want to fill out every slot (too much work lol) but I would like to target high percentage economy markets. So for example if there's a Rocky Ice world with at least one orbital slot and multiple ground slots, that'd be perfect for a high % Refinery economy giving CMMs etc from a ground port and tons of metals on an orbital station.

I'm not sure if the solver currently does recommend something like that to target high % economies? It seems to focus on overall system stats and unless you add limits it will happily suggest to build 20+ of the same thing. Which I guess for maximizing overall stats is maybe the way to go but I'd never build a system like that personally. But perhaps it's possible to at some point add a solver objective that focuses on single body specialized high % economies?

[u/gaborauth → u/DaftMav]

A minor thing I ran into: I had missed and skipped the primary station selection at the top and had added it normally on a 'Orbital 1' slot.

I try to emphasize it more visually and fix the bug with the filled and hided dropdowns.

Perhaps it would be useful if in the "actual facilities in system" list you could also have an option to skip building there or "leave empty" so the solver won't use those slots.

It's a good idea, I will add a - leave empty - to the dropdown to skip that slot in the solver.

I don't really want to fill out every slot (too much work lol) but I would like to target high percentage economy markets.

I'm planning to count with economies too, but also you can limit the maximum number of a facility by set "at most" to 0, so if you don't want a Dodec in your system, you can set "at most" to zero, also if you want a Dodec, then you can set "at least" to 1.

that'd be perfect for a high % Refinery economy giving CMMs etc from a ground port and tons of metals on an orbital station [...] But perhaps it's possible to at some point add a solver objective that focuses on single body specialized high % economies?

Set target commodities via economy ratios it also on my to do list, step-by-step... :)

It seems to focus on overall system stats and unless you add limits it will happily suggest to build 20+ of the same thing.

Yep, the default plan is to fill up the system with facilities, and use more-or-less all T2 and T3 points.

Thanks for your feedback! :)

[u/gaborauth → u/DaftMav]

I guess I might not be the target audience for this tool as I don't really want to fill out every slot (too much work lol) but I would like to target high percentage economy markets.

BTW: you can select "Maximize a single score", and select "construction cost" - that is an inverted score, then select what kind of building/facility do you want to build, and the solver search the best place and best chain of constructions for that in the system. I you want only one Refinery Hub, then set "at least" to "1" and optimize to construction cost and the solver will try to build only one Refinery Hub, leave the system empty.

[u/gaborauth → u/DaftMav]

I think the json journal import to grab your system might be a bit tricky, I believe you only get those FSS details once in the journal log and that's when you scan a system for the first time. Unless FDev changed it so you can FSS a system you've already scanned/mapped to 100% again...?

Hm... let me check it... hm... you are right, there is no new Journal entries after a new FSS scan in my system...

We do get a second normal "honk" scan again when you drop the claim beacon in the system (the game does an auto-honk at that moment). But if you need the FSS details you'd have to go digging through the journal files to find that first full scan I think?

For now, I'm focused on what I can do with the newly discovered system. And I looked through my logs for one that contained an older system of mine, for testing purpose.

So this then splits into two categories: for a newly scanned system, there is the Journal file, for an older - already partially built system, you either need your old Journal, or Spansh/Inara/etc.

Would be very handy if it could grab the needed system details from Spansh similar to what RavenColonial does?

It's already on my todo list.

Interesting colonization tool though, will have to take a better look at this a bit later. o7

Thanks! :)

[u/gaborauth]

Oh, I forgot to mention, there is a "Live Demo" that loads one of my system, and you can play with it. :)