Queing up constructors didn't work.

If you queue up construcutors  before selecting starbase expansions, they won't get used for the starbase unless you manually move them to the said starbase. Which I believe then cancels any the starbase actually queued up. If you park a constructor in a starbase orbit, then select starbase expansion it uses the constructor in orbit.

Don't forget, you also have to wear a pair of blue suede shoes, and sit at an angle of exactly 48 degrees to your screen and sing cum bi ya.....

Does anyone actually use this useless constructor calling feature at all????

They want to make it less annoying and micro-management but it's turn out to be the most inefficient and obnoxious instead. This is why i won't play with +2 in Capacity and -25% Mass on Construction Modules. Go full ham on capacity increase just to make Constructor management less obnoxious. Use them until it has 1 point left then refit it into another identical blueprint just to get constructor point back. Seriously, i would be gladly to pay the bloody credit to upgrade Starbase.

Yes.  I normally edit the list of ship yards supplying each star base, however, to better control what yard is building what, and check the box to auto-order constructors.

Seems like too much effort for one module per ship constructors? And if i was advanced enough to not care about that, then i would rather save myself allot of work by simply shutting down my shipyards entirely, which is exactly what i normally do.

On the other hand, if i could 'set and forget' with little effort, no complicated name changing and all that

Too much effort? It's basically a one time setup for each star base.  Compared with manually managing constructors, which is what I thought the OP was talking about, it's a huge reduction in micro management.  I admit it's probably not as efficient as using the upgrade constructor strategy, but then I'm playing this game for what I find fun, and I assume that you are too, which might be different.

If I'm playing on a huge map with 40 or 50 planets, say 5 or 6 star bases per planet (or more), I don't want to manually send constructors to each star base, and then check each turn to see if I have star bases with unused constructors to build with.

As always, your mileage may vary, I've corresponded with people in the past who loved micro-management, and far be it from me to tell them how to play.

Actually i don't even use the upgrade constructor strategy either.

My current strategy when i am advanced goes like this; (once all my starbases generally have all the basic productivity i need and its mostly military left over)

Shut down all shipyards except one per general area of space.

Then i will park one constructor near each starbase and set that constructor on 'guard'

Then i will park several more constructors with it, so the rest automatically go on guard as well.

I do not do anything more until i have all the technology that can add modules to starbases.... i don't want to have to go back over them all, no freakin way!

When i have 3 constructors, (usually with about five modules each) parked next to each starbase, then i start putting them in the starbase and then frenzy click through all the modules without even looking until all the constructors are used. Often i may have some constructors left over and no further modules,,, i don't give a shit about whats left and move to the next starbase.

My trick before getting to the advanced stage is to park one constructor next to each starbase that has completed a certain degree of development, so i know which starbases have not..... (the parked constructor usually has one module left and i ejected it from the station even though there are more available modules, but having it as a flag is more important)

Thats it

It basically only works if you have none thing else to do.

So how can we make it easier?

Have advanced construction modules in the tech tree with increasing numbers of modules (and only one allowed per ship). Then The AI can build standard constructors with multiple modules.... and they should work for the constructor calling system since they are core ship designs.

I don't know exactly how, but somehow make the constructor calling system less finicky?

Problem solved.

Simply like i suggested before that they hadn't done before where you pick which shipyards sponser the starbase would make it easier. With an option for shipyards to have no sponser. This way i don't have to use all my shipyards for an automated starbases. I don't have to delete constructors from my shipyards. And stardock can reuse what they are already doing with shipyards.

Let the starbase call any closest idle constructor to go and upgrade it before request build a new one from shipyard. This way we can mass produce it and stock it somewhere then forget about it. Has the option to determine how far it will looking for an idle constructor. If none available then it will request a new one from shipyard. Has the option to let starbase either or both request new constructor from nearest or sponsoring shipyard. If you set it to nearest only then it doesn't matter if it been sponsoring by 18 trillion shipyard, it will only request to build constructor from nearest possible shipyard.

Hyperbole aside, yes I use the feature copiously.  I use upgrade constructors with 2 modules and one of the latest engine. For relics and resources, I use searching constructors that claim anything they find. I am greedy. I have empires of up to 100 planets and I circle planets with econ starbases. I am completist. For planting econ bases, I build a cargo hull with several constructor modules and no drives. It plants a starbase near a nearby planet then moves to build another one until it runs out.  I then cue up 1 module request in all four categories of the econ base.  The econ base then fills itself to current tech levels and I don't care in which order or when. It just happens.

The result is a steady flow/cloud of constructors named 2up coming from everywhere and going everywhere.  I love it.  It is not maximum efficient, but it is manageable and creates a steadily accelerating economy that then builds even more constructors and grows even more.  It is also useful for setting up those newly conquered regions with all those new planets.  Set it and forget it.  I use 2 module upgrade ships because then I can avoid sending a lot of extra constructor modules that sit there waiting for a new tech. For high production shipyards, I cue up lots of the latest warship and fill up their cues.  That convinces the constructor request paradigm to avoid clogging those shipyards with requests. I do not manually edit starbase sponsor shipyards.

I have 2 stages where I research the precursor techs two at a time, which triggers the double constructor upgrade automatically.  I will go through the relics bases and prioritize those module requests, which gets them out of the shipyards and traveling to distant relics much sooner.  Then each upgrade ship gives me a 20% bonus of some kind when it gets where its going. I have done Mining research two techs at a time for a similar little cloud of constructors. Once I was very late in developing Mining and then blasted through the tech branch. Constructors everywhere!

One thing that may be different from other playstyles:  I build lots of low production shipyards at low production planets.  These are excellent at steadily spitting out the occasional constructor that then goes out and does something useful for the empire.  A lot of people only put shipyards in high production situations and let lower production planets concentrate on their research, wealth, whatever. This may affect how well the constructor mechanisms work out for other people.

I also use the auto-upgrade extensively,

with around 14~ Starbases per Planet.

you just have to use a 5-Module-Constructor,

build Starbase click the 4 Modules and forget,

everything else happens automagically^^

Yeah, when you capable to stuff your constructor with 3 or more modules then this system wasn't that bad taste but it still not good enough on the early-mid game.