Automated Workers Hiding in Cities

[MrDidz]

This is probably a bit of a noob question, but I noticed yesterday that when automated my workers tend to congregate in my capital city. I must have had five or six of them loitering around in there apparently doing nothing.

Are they doing anything?

Or is it just where they go when there is no other useful improvements to be made.

[Will9]

They will go into your cities once there are no more improvments to build. Automated workers will road every square, and they will build an improvment on every square in all fat crosses along with any resources outsided of the fat cross.

[Veritass]

On a partially-related topic, if my idle workers are in a border city that is suffering cultural pressure, will they help keep the city from flipping, or are they not counted? It would be nice if they were good for something, instead of just deleting them or parking them until railroads.

[BobTheBackpack]

No I don't think they keep it from flipping. And if you are expanding at a healthy rate all your workers shouldn't be idle.

[zeace]

If your workers are idle before you finish railroads, you probably built too many workers. Try to build a few less. In some cases you may end up spreading out your worker related techs. e.g. Construction and Calendar shouldn't be researched back-to-back as your workers will already be busy. It can delay a few things, but the extra dozen units or couple of buildings can make up for that.

[Addled Platypus]

Re: Automated Workers Hiding in Cities

Originally posted by MrDidz
This is probably a bit of a noob question, but I noticed yesterday that when automated my workers tend to congregate in my capital city. I must have had five or six of them loitering around in there apparently doing nothing.

Are they doing anything?

looking for the pivot man....

[MontyMustDie]

With regards to idle workers...I tend to generate workers at a rate of 1 to 1.5 per city, letting them work in stacks of twos, meaning that at 7-9 cities (where, as far as I see consensus, a builder civ won't be expanding that much more, plus, space for peaceful expansion is all taken) there's pretty much no more left for workers to do than hang around waiting for Railroads. Especially when you're all carbon-emission friendly like me and avoid chopping to keep all those nice hammers flowing in, especially after Replacable Parts.

Viewpoints?

[Adagio]

I usually build 1 worker per 2 cities, but I quickly end up with more workers than that because of the workers I take from the AI, which means my workers are often doing nothing until I get to railroads

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Re: Automated Workers Hiding in Cities

Originally posted by MrDidz
This is probably a bit of a noob question, but I noticed yesterday that when automated my workers tend to congregate in my capital city. I must have had five or six of them loitering around in there apparently doing nothing.

Are they doing anything?

Or is it just where they go when there is no other useful improvements to be made.

I think that when workers are idle, they should do something UNproductive. Maybe spray paint graffiti on your buildings or something...

[MontyMustDie]

Originally posted by Adagio
I usually build 1 worker per 2 cities, but I quickly end up with more workers than that because of the workers I take from the AI, which means my workers are often doing nothing until I get to railroads

Only 1 wrk / 2c ? Doesn't that slow down your population and productivity growth a great deal? (...and access to resources...)

[Adagio]

Originally posted by MontyMustDie
Only 1 wrk / 2c ? Doesn't that slow down your population and productivity growth a great deal? (...and access to resources...)

Not really, as I quickly attack the neighbor and take their workers as slaves

I have enough workers for them to build improvements on all the tiles that is being used (before they are being used). It's only while I have 3 cities or less the cities are using unimproved tiles

[TimeTraveler]

I have found it a bit odd workers would start going to cities and sleep if they run out of stuff to do. However, if I knew how to mod the game correctly, I'd probably have it where automated workers that run out of things to do would consider their jobs complete and ask for new orders. At which point then I could tell then to wait at various locations where I can keep an eye on them.

[zeace]

Sometimes I like taking my spare stack of workers and using it to help my vassal build railroads. I like having a railway or 2 across each vassal so I can start wars quicker and/or help defend my vassal. In rare cases I'll even help a non-vassal ally with a railroad trunk.

[Nacht]

Originally posted by zeace
If your workers are idle before you finish railroads, you probably built too many workers.

Having idle workers just before you can built railroads is perfectly normal I think. They do cost some gold, but not that much... keep them sheltered and be ready for the big railroad campaign.

[TimeTraveler]

Originally posted by Nacht

Having idle workers just before you can built railroads is perfectly normal I think. They do cost some gold, but not that much... keep them sheltered and be ready for the big railroad campaign.

Or the medium-sized lumbermill campaign. I tend to spam city radii with as many of those as I can, when I can, with the only exceptions being when a special resource (like Uranium) is found on a forest square.