Get started

Get started automates harvesting: “Automatically finds a suitable mineral and begins mining. If the storage facilities are nearly full, it will proceed to unload.” In build 23882143, its cooldown is 4 seconds. The Combine carries 200 minerals and the Big collector 460. Those are vehicle loads; “nearly full” refers to the return-to-unload condition, not a measured threshold in global resource storage. The description calls the chosen mineral “suitable”, which does not prove a nearest-mineral or safe-route rule. Watch where the harvester goes and consult the carrier page for the minerals it can collect.

Building storage and harvester cargo are different limits. The Empire Storage provides 400 capacity, Bio bubble 300, and the fourth faction’s Storage 400 in build 23882143. The phrase “nearly full” in this ability does not establish a reaction to that global total. Ball silos provide 250 capacity for 120 minerals, and Empire Storage 400 for 150. Vehicle loads of 460 and 200 describe cargo per trip, not trip duration or mining speed. Compare the storage and harvester pages separately when expanding the economy.

Use automatic harvesting to reduce repeated orders, but check the chosen route when the front changes. The description says suitable mineral, not nearest mineral, and does not promise avoidance of hostile units. The Combine has 500 base hit points, 15 front armour and a 100-mineral price. The Big collector carries 460 minerals per full load; that is cargo capacity rather than a measured income rate. Keep both routes within the ground you can protect, and review their unit pages when deciding where explicit orders are needed.

Automatic harvesting is not evidence that a vehicle will choose the nearest exposed deposit. The described rule searches for a suitable mineral, while the linked components record cargo and mineral restrictions. If you want to disrupt income, observe the actual route rather than assuming a search pattern. Maintainability concerns recovery of a damaged Combine, and Emergency call can bring another machine; Get started does neither. Compare the harvester and economic ability pages to separate routing, repair and replacement.