Managing supply lines is a headache—this mod seeks to alleviate that headache by adding a simple-to-use system that automatically handles your supply lines for you, and also adds a collection of loosely related features to help tie your settlements together in a (hopefully) intuitive way.

This mod is a heavily refactored version of my original work, found here. Unlike the original version, this mod no longer requires Sim Settlements to work—however, Sim Settlements and Sim Settlements 2 are still supported!

Features and Usage
A basic overview of all included features is listed below. See the spoiler under each header for a more in-depth explanation, as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

- Logistics Desk, and Supply Lines
This feature cannot be disabled, as it is the core of the mod that all other features rely on.

The most basic feature added by the mod is the Logistics Desk. Found under the Special category in your build menu, simply place one—no more, no less—Logistics Desk in each settlement you'd like to connect to the network, and assign to it a settler.

Each constructed desk/station represents a new "node" in your Logistics network, and the mod will automatically create and maintain a network of efficiently-routed supply lines that connect all nodes.

Like the Sim Settlements plots that were their spiritual father, Logistics Desks have three upgrade levels, which start at level 1, and upgrade to level 2 and 3 after 10, and then another 20 game days pass. See Resources below to read about the effects of desk levels.

Also available is a system to manually tweak automatic routing, if you find that the default set of routes isn't quite to your liking.

- Logistics Station
With Sim Settlements, or Sim Settlements 2 installed, you also have access to the Logistics Station.

Full Logistics Stations inherit all of the systems of the basic Logistics Desk, plus a few additional SS-specific benefits.

To create a Logistics Station, place the appropriate plot type, then activate the ASAM Sensor, select "Choose Building Plan", and find the Logistics Station in the list.

• Sim Settlements 1:
  • For SS1, this is available as a 2x2 exterior, and interior Industrial building plan.
  • Sim Settlements does not include any native caravan support, so compared to the compact Logistics Desk, a full plot is primarily a visual upgrade.
  • However, Industrial plots also have an inherent scrap production bonus, of 2/4/6 items per day, for level 1/2/3 plots.

• Sim Settlements 2:
  • For SS2, this is available as a 2x2 exterior, and interior Municipal building plan.
  • Sim Settlements 2 already includes a native caravan routing system—however, its supply line algorithm is very simplistic, and lacks customization options.
  • Logistics Stations will always override SS2's supply line routing between stations—connections between native SS2 Caravan plots, or from a native SS2 Caravan plot to an ILS Caravan are supported, however, and the mod will not interfere with these. Mixing ILS and non-ILS caravan plots might end up looking weird on the map, though.
  • ILS-controlled "vanilla-style" supply lines do not have any distance limitations, and also work across different worldspaces. However, SS2 has an additional empire system that controls linkage of "virtual" resources, and some other (undocumented?) things. SS2 empire links will still only link between settlements that are in range of one another, defined by SS2's systems. So, if your virtual resources aren't linking over long distances, you'll probably have to build additional stations in unnetworked settlements.

- Resources & Resource Monitor
This feature is enabled by default, but can be disabled (globally and/or locally) by accessing any Logistics Terminal.

Want your farms to be farms, and cities to be cities? Now they can!

Settlements in your Logistics Network will automatically attempt to balance surplus resources in an efficient—and annoyingly Communist—fashion.

This way this works is slightly easier on the script engine than the vanilla implementation of resource sharing, and is done such that, as long as your total network is producing a surplus of food and water, settlers should never dip into your food stores. Why should settlers be allowed to claim to any of your rare food and water stockpile when an unending onslaught of the same seven vegetables is technically enough to keep them alive? 

As with standard supply lines, you still need slightly more production at producing settlements to feed settlers at consuming settlements - raiders, spoilage and other shipping losses and all. Efficiency of food and water redistribution starts at 70%, and then works its way up to 85% and finally 100% as your Logistics Desks and Stations increase in level.


v2.1.0 adds a new Resource Monitor system that actively monitors resource values in your settlements, and warns you if it notices any large drops; if so, you'll be shown a message box telling you where the anomaly was found and which resource values were affected. An option will be offered to teleport you to the affected settlement, re-record stats, and finally return you to where you had been as quickly as possible.


- Logistics Storage
This feature is not enabled by default, and takes a little manual setup to use.

Logistics Storage is a single, manually-defined container that the mod uses as both a source and destination for some features that work with inventory items.

The primary purpose of Logistics Storage is for the Logistics Locker—secondary uses include auto-collection, auto-donation, and the workbench re-link feature, described later.

To configure Logistics Storage, interact with either a Logistics Desk, or Logistics Locker, and select Set Up Locker. You will then find a Logistics Storage Designator in your inventory—find a Workshop Workbench, ideally one that's part of your supply line network, and place the Designator in the Workbench. You will probably be asked about disabling attacks in that settlement, if so select one of the options from that menu, and you're done.


- Logistics Locker
This feature depends on Logistics Storage.

Logistics Lockers are included with all Sim Plots, and can be built in workshop mode under the Special menu if Logistics Storage is configured.

The Logistics Locker's primary purpose is to allow remote access to your Logistics Storage container from any supply-line connected settlement, without having to physically travel to the container to interact with it. This way you can avoid long fast travels—or worse, walks—back to your preferred loot stash just to unburden yourself.

Additional options are:

• Store All Junk: works just like the native workbench menu button
• Fetch components from Logistics Storage: intended for player homes such as Home Plate, which don't support supply lines, this temporarily transfers a pile of components from Logistics Storage to the local workbench, which will automatically return when you leave the settlement. This allows you to build in workshop mode without having to manually grab components.
• Link Workbenches to Logistics Storage...: This will look for local workbenches (i.e. weapons, armor, chem stations etc) and relink them to your Logistics Storage container, rather than to the local settlement's workbench. This will redirect their native Transfer button to your Logistics Storage container, rather than the (typically useless) local Workshop Workbench. Also very useful in player homes.
• Locate Logistics Container/Hide Container Marker: Hides/shows a quest marker pointing to your Logistics Storage container, in case you forget where it is.
• Remotely Unassign Container...: If you decide you want to redefine or disable your Logistics Storage container for any reason, you can use this menu option to do so without having to physically retrieve the beacon from the old container.

- Auto Collection
This feature is not enabled by default, and depends on Logistics Storage.

This feature automatically collects surplus from settlements in your Logistics Network, which are the excess resources that settlements produce daily, such as food, water, and scrap items. When configured, auto-collection will automatically whisk these resources away to Logistics Storage, once per game day, synchronized with the standard workshop daily update cycle, to allow for easier item management.

You may configure which categories of items—food, water, scavenge, chems, etc—are collected by this feature in any Logistics Terminal.

This feature also allows you to "soft-bypass" the standard vanilla surplus production limit. See spoiler for details.

- Auto Donation
This feature is only available with Sim Settlements 1 (not yet updated for SS2), requires Logistics Storage, and is not enabled by default.

This feature will take resources from your Logistics Storage container, and donate them to each settlement in your network, using Sim Settlement's donation system. To enable and configure this feature, see the Logistics Terminal's [Donation Settings] menu.


- Logistics Terminal
Logistics Terminals spawn on Logistics Desks and in Logistics Stations.

Here's a mostly-complete manual of all Terminal options:
 
- Tools and Utilities
A few miscellaneous utility items may be crafted at a chem station, under Utilities:

• Packed Logistics Desk: While in a settlement, drop from your inventory to unpack into a Logistics Desk.
• Settlement Creation Kit: A craftable bundle of components that can later be scrapped and used to construct a medium generator, recruitment beacon, and City Planner's Desk.
• Summon Provisioners: Summons local provisioners to your location.
• Summon Homeless: Requires Sim Settlements to access; summons homeless settlers to your location.
• Summon Jobless: Summons jobless settlers to your location.

 
- Known Issues

• Logistics Desks still lack decoration. I'll add this in another version soon, I just didn't want to delay release any more than I already have just for that
• When you unpack a Logistics Desk, you can pick up the explosion for some reason, by pressing E on it. Literally, an EXPL record that goes in your inventory. I have no idea why. It doesn't seem to harm anything, though, so I haven't tried too hard to fix it.
• When ILS is set to clear/override redundant SS2 supply lines, this only happens during ILS's recalc process, so you might occasionally see a redundant supply line or two on your map until another ILS recalc occurs.