Dumb auto Workers

Ghengis Thom · January 25, 2003, 07:32

Why do workers insist on changing my mines to irrigation on cities that are already max population and have plenty of food?

Ghengis Thom

Humongos · January 25, 2003, 07:35

And why, oh WHY, do they ignore pollution!?!?!

You can have a legion of automated workers and they´ll be irrigating and mining a landscape that looks like a dumpster.

Idiots, IDIOTS!!!!

Emma · January 25, 2003, 14:06

first i have to irrigate and mine where i think it is important. only in the later game do i let them improve cities on their own (without altering.) the big problem i have is in the industrial age when i have railroads. i share a huge continent and when i take one of my neighbours cities the stupid workers will start improving it! eighther they are caught or i can move them away fast enough. but next round some other automated workers will come! so when i'm at war i can't have automated workers, which is ridiculous with over 100 cities. so i just have to let the ai capture them and then recaputure if they haven't destoyed them.

Willem · January 25, 2003, 14:54

Quote:

Originally posted by Ghengis Thom
Why do workers insist on changing my mines to irrigation on cities that are already max population and have plenty of food?

Ghengis Thom

Because you're using the wrong automated control. That's the "Automate Virgin Territory" command, or the "A" shortcut key. You want to use "Automate Without Altering Improvements" which is Shift-A. Or you can use Ctrl-Shift-I, which will improve the immediate city without altering previous work.

Jaybe · January 25, 2003, 15:07

Lazy People! Don't Automate! I don't (well, I have TRIED the Shift-A but it just ain't worth it).

I keep my pollution clean-up crews in stacks of 6 (native, non-industrious strength) workers, which cleans up one grass pollution instantly. Between work assignments, I store them in their own location near one of the capitals.

Albert · January 25, 2003, 15:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaybe
pollution clean-up crews

I like the sound of this. Anyone that doesn`t have this kind of crews? Like their only mission in life is to klean up the filth of other people.

should be a special sort of greenpeace unit for this.

I would like to give my workers orders based on a list of oppertunities and cities. And put them in prioritated order as well
Like:
1 clean pollution
2make mining on hills, mountains
3make irrigation on grassland
around this cities: Trondheim, Athen,Washington

Datajack Franit · January 25, 2003, 16:29

Shift-A seems the only good option, as giving orders to up to 100 workers on large maps will turn you nuts

Willem · January 25, 2003, 18:16

Quote:

Originally posted by Datajack Franit
Shift-A seems the only good option, as giving orders to up to 100 workers on large maps will turn you nuts

It's probably the best for cleaning up pollution as well. If there's nothing to do, they'll go hibernate in a city. But as soon as there's pollution, they'll get right to work.

The auto pollution clean up on the other hand will only last as long as the pollution does. After it's cleaned up, they'll just stand around and do nothing.

I wish though that I could just assign a Worker or two to each city, and they'll just automatically clean up within it's radius. And when they're finished, they go back and hibernate within the city until the next patch of pollution.

But then we don't exactly live in an ideal world, do we?

Jaybe · January 25, 2003, 22:59

Quote:

Originally posted by Willem
...
The auto pollution clean up on the other hand will only last as long as the pollution does. After it's cleaned up, they'll just stand around and do nothing.
...

Ahh, if only that were so I would be quite satisfied. Unfortunately, they ask for new orders, and they won't accept new Shift-P orders without there being any to clean up.

HolyWarrior · January 26, 2003, 01:41

From the title of this thread I thought there was a labor strike going on and this belonged to off topic

Mad Bomber · January 26, 2003, 02:02

Quote:

Originally posted by Datajack Franit
Shift-A seems the only good option, as giving orders to up to 100 workers on large maps will turn you nuts

Up to 100? I usualy have twice that # of workers and occasionally 3X as many (map size: 180x180) And I would be in the nuthouse if I had to move each worker, I set 75% of the workforce to shift A and use the other 25% to work the tiles needed for immediate improvement. What is on my wishlist is an advisor so that you can tweak your automated workers for maximum efficiency. The advisor would give you full options for each tile set and also have certain basic instructions. e.g "maximize production for X city" or "Allow only X citizens for all cities" Allowing the automated workers to be instructed as to what your improvement preferences are will allow for smarter workers, and less frustration by Civ players.

Emma · January 26, 2003, 06:14

on smaller maps i also have these clean up crews. i call all my clean up crew workers "No pollution". and i also give my own not captured workers an other name, so i can instantly see which units are best.

Centauri18 · January 26, 2003, 07:26

Maybe it's just me but I just automate every worker I get - well, except for when I raze enemy cities, those workers I make join my smaller cities because I don't like enslaving them :shrug: - and just let the chips fall where they may.
And as for the pollution thing, they usually get it eventually - well, more easily if they have improved most of your territory. I don't know about otherwise, because by the time I have to worry about pollution too much, my territory is already almost completely covered with improvements.

Willem · January 26, 2003, 10:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaybe

Unfortunately, they ask for new orders, ...

Isn't that what I said? They do nothing in other words.

epics · January 26, 2003, 12:59

does the Automatic Workers change improvments which you have made?? and how do they know what to change!!

Theseus · January 26, 2003, 13:31

"a" will allow them to change improvements, whereas "shift-a" will not.

To reiterate some previous posts, check out cracker's EXCELLENT treatise on workers in the early game.

Do not automate until pretty far along... for me it's usually not until I AT LEAST have my military railroad network in place, and even then I always keep at least some decent number of workers on manual.

AIL · January 27, 2003, 09:32

I never had problems with my workers. As soon as they are built I hit the "a" key and never again take care of them. I think they are doing a relatively good (of course not perfect) job saving my time for more important issues. I don't like Shift-A because they do not change Mines into irrigation when they get access to water they did not have before. I also have not noticed em to ignore pollution. They always cleaned the laned on with the normal "a"-mode.

Stuie · January 27, 2003, 11:40

I always automate in the late game, usually once my rail net is in place and I have hooked up all the resources including uranium and aluminum. The exception would be workers in any area where a conflict is occurring or may occur. I want to be sure the tiles are worked to best effect where fighting may take place. For instance, if the auto workers create roads all over mountain or jungle tiles, then I lose choke-points. I need to control that.

bongo · January 27, 2003, 15:44

Even if I wish workers to be more intelligeng i would be satisfied if I could give a stack of them the same order. Pressing shift-c to remove pollution 6-12 times on a single tile is just too much.

MoonWolf · January 29, 2003, 05:22

I normally don't use automated workes before I get the railroad, but then I use shift-a and does the most necesarry work manually. I find it always wise to keep some in manually state, at least untill most of the work is done and I have a railsystem. If you're an industrious civ and have repleacable parts, you get your land covered in rails with very short time.