Worker bug when automated

[jkraska]

I've noticed a bug in workers when they are automated. Basically, the AI will run them THROUGH enemy/neutral AI territory in order to get to my own territory. This, naturally, creates diplomatic incidents.

To be clear, imagine a city that has its influence expand to include land squares on the opposite side of a body of water, where the only routes through to those land squares are land routes through AI territory.

My automated worker will go improve those squares without regard to current diplomatic standing.

That's annoying.

Joe//

[Jaybe]

Don't automate your workers, then. I regret it almost immediately any time I do so.

Actually, the "incident" it causes is mild; tell them you will leave and then continue on with what your were doing.
If it is military units adjacent to one of their cities, or if SEVERAL military units are involved, then it can be serious enough to cause immediate ejection (or war).

[steven8r]

That's why they call it 'Manual' Labor. You have to do it manually.

Steven

[Vince278]

I usually just do "automate/this city only/no changes".

[anteos]

Does anyone know the keyboard command to automate workers to clear up pollution, and when no pollution is present they wait in a city?

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Vince278
I usually just do "automate/this city only/no changes".

I have usually found that this leads to massive amounts of irrigation with little mining. Manual is much better for controling your cities destiny.

When I have a city that is located in the middle of a jungle I will use this command, but that's about it.

[furrykef]

I think the real bug is in the player, not the program. Don't automate workers.

- Kef

[eris]

Originally posted by furrykef
I think the real bug is in the player, not the program. Don't automate workers.

- Kef

The real bug is trying to state there is one and only one way to play any part of this game. That's my observation, anyway.

Automating workers is not necessarily bad. You just have to know how those stupid little morons are going to behave when you set them loose. Then you have to adjust your expectations and control levels accordingly. For instance, I often manually control them until my core is developed the way I want it. Then I automate many of them. The manual ones do the extra levels of mining needed (since the cute little things have such an obsession about irrigation) and the automated ones fill in the rest. Occasionally I have to manually re-do a tile they have bungled. Other automation strategies are available, as already pointed out in this thread. You get to choose.

As for entering other folks territory. Yeah, they will do that, causing international incidents and raising the overall diplomacy tension level. If you get in a situation where you have the land in between two portions of another civ, you may find determined little workers consistently trying to get across your territory. If you are mean, you let them get a little less than halfway across and then boot them out. This wastes many a worker move on their part. If you don't want your workers crossing foreign borders, you will probably have to control them manually. Another cure is to remove the offending foreign border by assimilating the territory in question.

Workers are dumb and single minded. I have always considered this to be part of the "realism" of the game. The flaw is therefore not in the programming, but in the civil servants and work crews being emulated. Wonderfully irritating, aren't they?

[Vince278]

Originally posted by PLATO
I have usually found that this leads to massive amounts of irrigation with little mining.

Works for me. I rarely do alot of mining. I've seen the AI do it alot however.