Port, Guppy Difference?

[4xC]

Confusion: I notice that the port acts like a relay between mines and other ships with ports, but it looked like energy was being displaced even without guppy support unless in a high-demand pinch.

How do these work and what different purposes do they serve?

[GoodMorning]

As far as I have experienced, in the current version:

A given ship can request up to 30eps from a mine or port in range of the bridge.
A ship will be preferentially supplied from a mine, to the exclusion of ports in range.
A port can only supply the energy from the internal reserve of the ship.

This behaviour supports chaining of ports/ships, with delays, for piping up to 30eps.
The receiving ship does not need to have a port. Ships require a port only to send power out.

The guppy acts as a remote bridge for a ship.
When the guppy is empty, it departs for the nearest energy mine.
It orbits this for a set period of time, taking on power in the same manner as a bridge.
When the timer expires or the guppy is filled, whichever comes first, it returns to the ship, carrying a payload.
This payload is used by the ship in a similar way to the energy stored in tanks.
The guppy will be emptied into tanks over time, and sent out for more, if one or more tanks have space available.

The port and guppy operate independently.

The port can only supply as much energy as is in the stock of the ship possessing the port module. This can be bolstered by guppies, but is one-to-many.
The guppy gets energy directly, but only for the ship with the guppy base, and is one-to-one.

Neither is a perfect solution for a fleet supplier.
Ports will distribute energy evenly between requesters, but each ship with a port cannot request more than 30eps.
Reactor modules and Guppies can increase this in the correct circumstances.
Guppies have significant limitations on their power (in the sense of energy over time).

Guppy reserves can be charged while the bridge is in mine range.

In case of high demand, guppy power supplies drop off, as the guppy is not fully charged while in range of a mine.
Ports are also unable to invent energy, and so will effectively 'drain the pipeline' into requesters.
This has the effect of making far-flung ships lose power more rapidly in the event of a shortage.

If this does not answer the question, could you rephrase it?

[4xC]

Answered my first question.

Now for number 2: what function do tank modules serve if there's already reactor modules and ports to use as "forwarding" relays?

And if I am following correctly, guppies are used only if the tanker is outside of mine range, right?

And ports are dependent on their ship's individual energy supply, right?

[GoodMorning]

Tanks are good to store large amounts of NRG. Reactors work as CW Reactors, free energy which can be handed out if required.

Only very large ships need tanks, or ships which must carry an energy supply for use faster than it can be replenished. Tanks also let mapmakers build a standard fleet which does not supply itself, requiring mine capture or mire production. The HQ is the only stock ship, I think, which has Reactors.

Yes and yes, I think.

Note: Tank plus port is sometimes required, as a port can supply unlimited eps provided that the ship has the energy to supply, which is where the tank comes in. So a tank is a battery, a reactor is a charger, and a port is a 'wireless wire' to supply other things. A guppy is a mobile battery, effectively a small tank which can fly off to a mine to recharge and return.