Workers

[Unimatrix11]

Anyone else find them bothersome ? Every game, after a certain time has passed, i am getting annoyed by them. Either because all the important improvements have been made and i find it hard to choose between DoesntReallyMatterA and DoesntReallyMatterB, C,...Z, or because there are just too many of them asking me for orders each turn. Then i sigh and hit the automate button, fully knowing that this is not optimal.

I liked it in Call to Power, where you could, IIRC, set a percentage of your hammer production to go towards a tile-improvement account, so to say. Whenever i had a certain number on that account, i´d go through my empire and buy tile-improvements. Very easy. It also indirectly gives an additional boost to your prouction once your empire is fully improved, since then you can set this ´hammer-tax´ to zero. Only downside i can think of is, that you cannot capture workers anymore this way. But: So what ?

BTW, chopping should cost just as much as it gets you, so with only one city, it wouldnt make much sense, while with more cities it would be, quite like the caravans in Civ1, a hammer-transfer, just from all cities to one.

Another version would be, to have the percentage of your hammers going to improvements set seperately in all the cities and have an account for each city. Then choping would merely be a matter of timing (like: you wait for a certain tech to come around in order to build something in this city - so you´d set the ´hammer-tax´ for this city high and chop with the accumulated hammers after the tech is researched and the building becomes avaiable). Problem would be, besides a lot of micromanagement, the areas between cities (outside the BFCs) - which city pays for improving those ?

[wodan11]

I tend to group them after a certain point. That way instead of having to order 4 workers, I just order them once. That way I can still determine what improvements I get but also I minimize the # of orders I have to give.

(It's a little suboptimal because you lose the occasional fraction of worker turns, but that's okay.)

Later on, I tend to put them on build network, with "keep existing improvements" flagged in Options.

[Nikomakkos]

IMO there should be an emphasize button on the workers for commerce, food and hammers. If you emphasize food on an automated worker, it'll build farms and not cottages or workshops. If you emphasize commerce it'll build cottages. It should still put appropriate improvements on resources.

I think this would work especially well if you use the 'automate for nearest city' button or whatever it's called.

But I love chopping trees, I wouldn't like a restriction on that, it makes the game more fun for me.

[frenzyfol]

I would use automated workers if..
The worker consulted the nearest cities specialisation.
If the city is tagged as a production city it should build mines and farms.
If the city is a commerce city it should build windmills and cottages.
If the city is a GP pump build farms and windmills.

[snoopy369]

Sounds like you should use AW then Since Blake's changes, workers do consult the city's focus (if you actually use the focus buttons).

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Sounds like you should use AW then Since Blake's changes, workers do consult the city's focus (if you actually use the focus buttons).

Please help me Snoopy369, "AW", what is this meaning?

[snoopy369]

Automated Workers

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Automated Workers

Just curious, when they are done, what do they do?

[Jaybe]

AW NEVER!

When improvements are complete, they go into conveniently located stacks of 2 to 4 in the interior, or into cities if there may be a threat.

[snoopy369]

Automated workers will do whatever they can until they cannot do anything else, then they go to various cities and sentry.

[Colm]

As Jaybe, when I don't know anything to improve, I stack them up in some desert tile until they are needed again. Like in the case the enemy pillaged or when windmills become available.
Sometimes I just delete them though or give them to a friendly nation.

[Krill]

The worst thing is when you are going for a domination win and you have 60 workers to move around every turn, and you are capturing a couple every turn as well. Then you can never escape the bastards.

[Tattila the Hun]

Originally posted by Colm
As Jaybe, when I don't know anything to improve, I stack them up in some desert tile until they are needed again. Like in the case the enemy pillaged or when windmills become available.
Sometimes I just delete them though or give them to a friendly nation.

You banish your faithfull workers to the desert? Ebil, ebil man! Watch ot, they might form a religion or something.

[rah]

I wish there was an automate for repairing damage from sabotage or pillaging. Granted if they're on automated network they'll automatically repair some of it but not those that aren't associated with resources.

[Grandpa Troll]

umm, dont remrebtrre, how many can join ciyt, or any?


i shudl nkow