I have been running a game where I have a LACP laser pistol and a UPS that is fully charged, yet every attempt to reload the LACP with the UPS leads to it saying that there is no ammo in my inventory, despite the ammo for the LACP being listed as a UPS.
Turn the UPS on.
It still says there is no ammo in my inventory, do I have to wait a bit or something?
Try firing it, normally they automatically drain from the UPS.
D’oh! It worked. LOL I feel stupid now.
Basically as far as I know UPS powers everything that needs it when turned on. So you can charge your pistol and use power armor from the same UPS.
Turn it on and fill it with batteries right?
Edit:
I mean fill it and then turn it on of course :D.
…No, that’s not how it works.
You need to have an ups with batteries. It does not need to be on for the laser to fire (just tested with a v29 laser pistol).
I already solved this issue with my superior brain.
some weapons (and tools) do need the UPS to be active to fire. Off the top of my head the NX-17 charge rifle, light amp goggles etc and maybe the coilgun too.
Not sure about the rest.
So the UPS behaviour is inconsistent. Lovely.
Edit:
since no one here has mentioned it: try UNloading the pistol. I got “placeholder ammo”.
If your placeholder runs out of ammo, you can always bludgeon the hordes to death with a none.
Was this on the latest experimental build?
Was this on the latest experimental build?[/quote]
Heck no. I’m not adventurous enough for that. “MOTD” in the main menu sez “v 0.9 Ma”
am I behind on versions?
Nah, not really. The next stable should be out today if we pray hard enough, that or within the next week maybe.
Protip: The experimentals usually work fine although you may find a game crashing bug from time to time. If you do, report it-- helps everyone all round. 
Generally they also have a lot more new content and features than the last stable version.
I got the unloading thing fixed now.
Was this on the latest experimental build?[/quote]
Heck no. I’m not adventurous enough for that. “MOTD” in the main menu sez “v 0.9 Ma”
am I behind on versions?[/quote]
[quote=“Iosyn, post:17, topic:5128”]Nah, not really. The next stable should be out today if we pray hard enough, that or within the next week maybe.
Protip: The experimentals usually work fine although you may find a game crashing bug from time to time. If you do, report it-- helps everyone all round. 
Generally they also have a lot more new content and features than the last stable version.[/quote]So in other words yes, you are waaaaaaaaay behind on versions, you’re missing out on TONS of newer features.
It is a tradeoff, the experimentals have new features, but every now and again the save system gets broken (usually temporary, but some times, it messes up your game and you have to start over).