Automated Drone Constructing

#### Tag Binding

Tags are very useful when automating more complex drones, as players may run out of free keys to assign.

They can be turned on by selecting the "TAG" button on the top right when in the drone editor. They work the same way as keys do, except with words.

**Organization**

Organizing your systems is very important for complex drones that need a lot of inputs and outputs to work. Remember that you can have a system that does not need to be connected to the thing they control. That is because of the fact that key-activation affects the entire project you have active. That includes ALL objects you have, which have been bound to a key, or Tag. And if you need a system that can send out drones, but you don't want one drone to be able to make all the other ones do the single thing the first drone is doing, you can use Logic Splitters to make each drone have a separate operating system. That means that commands it sends, won't be received by drone parts that are placed as it's root block, but only child-blocks. Logic Connectors can allow blocks that are connected after it will still be able to send a receive commands from the main drone, and other sources of transmitted commands.

**Defense**

Without any manual input, defending your drone may prove difficult. As with any other automated drone, Sensors will be your friend. Free Hinges with VTOL-thrusters can allow for rotating weapons which will try to point at the enemy. Remember to have a Not Gate which will activate the thrusters. A Distance Sensor which activates the firing of only its own guns, attached to the Hinges. Another turret design is a Motorized Hinge, Directional Sensors, Distance Sensors, and the guns. Make the Directional Sensor have an origin point set as the enemy, and make the sensor rotate the turret the right way. The Distance Sensors fires the guns. Also, remember that proximity sensors can detect projectiles. Thanks to that, drones can have an automatic defence that makes sure only melee enemies can hurt you.

**Stabilizing**

Stabilizing your drone can be a time-wasting, rage-inducing nightmare to some, but I have compiled some of my tips of how to more easily stabilize your drone.

1. Make sure you have thrusters on each corner of your drone. Making sure it can turn and control it's movement is vital. Thrusters must cover all aspects of rotation for the drone.
2. Have Directional Sensors that can give Pitch-Up-commands and Pitch-Down-Commands to your thrusters.
3. Have an Altimeter that can tell your drone that it is too high up, and needs to go lower. Also, a few logic gates that make the drone not be able to pitch up if it is too high up. If your thrusters have more upwards pushing-power for pitching, this may be quite helpful.

**Different simple attack-modes**

Hover And Maintain Distance: The Drone will hover above the ground while it makes sure to try to point at the enemy, and try to not collide with it. You will need some VTOL-thrusters on the back and front of the drone, with a few others that are forming a rough circle around the center of mass. All thrusters for hovering need to have an opposite thruster that is exactly on the opposite side of the center of mass. The thrusters in the circle need to be set to point at Point of Gravity, while the VTOL thrusters in the back are set to Inverse to Enemy. The VTOL-thrusters on the front need to point at the enemy. All thrusters need to be able to be shut off. Have an altimeter that makes the drone just hover, distance/proximity sensors to fire the weapons and turn on the reverse thrusters, and shut off the front-placed thrusters.

Orbit: The Drone will circle around the planet, while hovering at a set altitude. Good for large warships that are too heavy to turn around, or hoverships that aren't very easy to get further down to the planet, because they aren't very manouverable. You will need a few Not-Gates, an altimeter, Directional Sensor, and thrusters that pitch up and down. The Not-Gates will make the vehicle flying forwards, the altimeter will make sure the ship does not get too high up or too far down. The Directional Sensor will pitch the ship up and down. That's about it.

Ram: These are simple. Hit the target at high speeds. Preferably with a spike or more that impact the enemy. You will need VTOL-thrusters in the front and a Not-Gate. If you want the drone to be able to make sure it does not need to bother about terrain in it's way, you can either use a proximity sensor that detects terrain in front of the drone, that activates a little miner that clears the path, or an altimeter that activates thrusters that keep it above the ground.