Spidertron Hunter

Give your Spidertrons a mission.

Spidertron Hunter transforms idle Spidertrons into autonomous combat units that hunt enemy bases, scout unexplored terrain, and return home to repair and restock—all while using vanilla Spidertron autopilot.

Designed to feel like a natural extension of vanilla gameplay, the focus is automation, not stronger Spidertrons.

Highlights

• 🤖 Autonomous Hunter and Scout AI
• 🏠 Automatically returns home to repair and restock
• 🔫 Returns home when ammo runs low (configurable %)
• 🛡️ Tactical retreat with optional re-engage
• 🧭 Scout mode explores and discovers enemy bases
• 👥 Fleet Manager for controlling multiple Spidertrons
• 🕷️ Uses vanilla Spidertron autopilot
• 🌐 Multiplayer compatible
• ⚡ UPS-conscious

Gallery

Enable Hunter AI on multiple Spidertrons at once.

Choose how each Hunter fights: Hold, Strafe, Circle, or Flank.

Scouts automatically explore lakes, coastlines, and unexplored terrain while avoiding combat.

Manage every Spidertron on the current surface from one window — including Ctrl-click Scout enable and Hunter/Scout counts.

Quick Start

1. Research Spidertron.
2. Select one or more Spidertrons with a Spidertron Remote.
3. Set Mode → Hunter or Scout.
4. Hunter AI records the Spidertron's current position as Home.
5. Sit back and let them work.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Ctrl+Shift+H — Toggle Hunter AI
• Ctrl+Shift+M — Open Fleet Manager
• Alt+Shift+A — Scout Remote

Hunter Mode

Patrol
→ Search
→ Move
→ Attack
→ Linger
→ Return Home
→ Restock
→ Re-engage (optional)
→ Patrol

Hunters automatically:

• Search for nearby enemy bases
• Navigate around lakes using vanilla pathfinding
• Fight using configurable combat styles
• Avoid acid puddles
• Retreat when hull or shields fall below configurable thresholds
• Return home when ammo drops to Restock ammo % of the logistic request (default 20)
• Return home for repairs and logistics
• Optionally return to the previous battle and continue hunting

Hunter remote

Right-click issues a straight vanilla autopilot path (as before).

Ctrl+right-click uses a lake-aware path (same pathfinder as autonomous travel): ground clicks travel then resume hunting; enemy clicks path then engage.

Scout Mode

Explore
→ Chart Fog
→ Discover Enemies
→ Return Home
→ Restock
→ Resume

Scouts are dedicated exploration units.

They:

• Never engage enemies
• Chart unexplored terrain
• Discover enemy bases for Hunters
• Maintain standoff distance from biters
• Return home automatically

Scout mode requires:

• No ammunition
• No Personal Laser Defense equipment

If a Scout begins zig-zagging, it is usually avoiding nearby enemies. Send a Hunter group to clear the area.

Fleet Manager

Open with Ctrl+Shift+M.

Spidertrons are grouped by entity label (or prototype name if unlabeled). Each group card shows active Hunter/Scout counts (e.g. 2H, 1S).

Each group provides:

• Follow — Group follows the player
• Remote — Select the group with a Spidertron Remote
• Home — Return home (Ctrl-click sets current position as Home)
• Show Group — Jump to the group using remote view
• Settings — Open one Spidertron's settings
• AI Toggle — Enable Off as Hunter, or disable if all are on. Ctrl-click enables Off members as Scout (armed spiders are refused)
• Pin — Keep the window open while using remotes or Spidertron GUIs

Scout Controls

Vanilla Spidertron Remote

Click the map to choose an exploration focus.

This clears queued waypoints and begins autonomous exploration around the selected area.

Ctrl+right-click uses a lake-aware path when setting focus.

Scout Remote

Use Alt+Shift+A to place Scout waypoints.

Waypoints are completed in order before autonomous exploration resumes.

Ctrl+right-click appends a waypoint with lake-aware pathing.

Available exploration algorithms:

• Frontier
• Lawnmower
• Spiral

Why Spidertron Hunter?

Spidertron Hunter extends vanilla Spidertrons instead of replacing them.

Spidertrons still require:

• Ammunition
• Equipment
• Power
• Repairs
• Logistics

The AI simply gives idle Spidertrons useful jobs without changing their underlying balance.

Compatibility

Requires Factorio 2.1. Going forward, development and releases target 2.1 only (Factorio 2.0 is not supported).

Optional compatibility is included for:

• Spidertron Patrols
• Spidertron Enhancements
• Space Age

When Hunter AI is enabled alongside Spidertron Patrols, patrol control is temporarily switched to manual so both mods don't compete for Spidertron autopilot. Previous behavior is restored when Hunter AI is disabled.

Features

• Autonomous Hunter AI
• Autonomous Scout AI
• Fleet Manager
• Shared enemy discovery cache
• Automatic target acquisition
• Automatic return home
• Logistics-aware restocking
• Low-ammo return (configurable %)
• Repair waiting with timeout protection
• Tactical retreat
• Optional re-engage
• Configurable combat styles
• Multiple exploration algorithms
• Runtime configurable
• Multiplayer compatible
• UPS-conscious incremental scanning

Development

Spidertron Hunter is developed using AI-assisted tooling.

All architecture, implementation, testing, balancing, and release decisions are reviewed before publication.

Source

GitHub

https://github.com/ashlessscythe/SpidertronHunter

Issue reports and suggestions are welcome.