Worker automation problems

[Solomwi]

Playing C3C 1.22, huge map, and I'm far enough along in the game to be automating my workers (~150 of them). I've started seeing two things, though, that are just strange. I didn't see these in my last 1.22 game, so I'm wondering if anybody else has seen them:

1. If a worker isn't right on top of pollution, and I click the Automate-Pollution button, it goes running off to one particular spot on my northeastern coast, where there is no pollution. It's the same spot every time. I suspect if the worker was close enough to "see" the pollution, it would go to it, but haven't confirmed that. Now, it's railroad the whole way, so he stops at the coast with the full movement point remaining and it's not a practical problem. It's just strange.

2. Every turn, at the end of the automated worker moves, I have a handful of workers (that began the turn automated) with yellow lights (i.e. went onto a roaded tile, came back off it and went straight to where I find it) get turned back over to me and sit there waiting for orders. These seem to congregate at one of about three different tiles, any connection between which evades me. No longer do my automated workers go into a city and go to sleep.

Did I change a setting and forget it? Has anybody else seen anything like this? Is it all just a musical dream from a quiet vibrationland? I'll try to post a save when I get home tonight if anybody's interested.

[Theseus]

Re #2: Yeah, I've seen the same thing, been meaning to post about it. It's been below my "micro-management threshold", though, so it hasn't driven me crazy. But it's dumb...

Worker 1: "Let's go over there and clean up."

Worker 2: "OK."

Worker 1: "Screw it, let's get a beer."

Worker 2: "OK."

Worker 3: "What's this? Pollution? Let's get on it, men!!"

Ad nauseum.

[Solomwi]

That's exactly how I've been thinking of it.

"The hell with this, I'm tired of thinking for myself."

"Maybe Dear Leader will order us to get a beer."

(Me) "Lazy-assed SOBs... here's some pollution for you. Drink that."

Agree it's below the threshold, and more of a nuisance than anything, but still curious behavior.

[Tattila the Hun]

Re: Worker automation problems

Originally posted by Solomwi

2. Every turn, at the end of the automated worker moves, I have a handful of workers (that began the turn automated) with yellow lights (i.e. went onto a roaded tile, came back off it and went straight to where I find it) get turned back over to me and sit there waiting for orders. These seem to congregate at one of about three different tiles, any connection between which evades me. No longer do my automated workers go into a city and go to sleep.

Any chance there could be enemies/friends (hah!) nearby? And the preference setting "cancel orders for friendly combat units" on?

[Solomwi]

No chance, but that is a good thought. I've got the whole continent to myself and unchecked cancel orders for friendly units. I meant to save a turn at the beginning and post it, but am too lazy at the moment.

[MotownDennis]

Re: Worker automation problems

Originally posted by Solomwi

1. If a worker isn't right on top of pollution, and I click the Automate-Pollution button, it goes running off to one particular spot on my northeastern coast, where there is no pollution. It's the same spot every time. I suspect if the worker was close enough to "see" the pollution, it would go to it, but haven't confirmed that. Now, it's railroad the whole way, so he stops at the coast with the full movement point remaining and it's not a practical problem. It's just strange.

I've seen this exact same thing. I thought it may be something due to the shape of the continent. The workers seemed reluctant to travel through an 8-tile or so chokepoint to the other side of my empire. Maybe the map shape has something to do with it?

[Solomwi]

I've wondered about map shape, but the kicker is no matter where on my continent they are, they go to this one isolated coast that requires crossing a two tile checkpoint. I'll have to at least post a mini-map, because this is one of the more interestingly shaped continents I've had.

[Arrian]

I've OFTEN seen workers I've shift+A'd run off to a particular tile for no reason and then return to a tile to do something useful. This typically blows some or all of their movement points. Total waste. Yet another reason not to automate (until all tiles in the empire are RR'd). Volcanoes, unfortunately, mean that nowadays I will never automate... unless I have a simply ridiculous number of slaves.

Instead, I just form teams of however many workers I need to clean up pollution immediately (preferably three, so I can combine them to clean a mountain) and fortify them next to my capital. Then I can wake them up, order them to group move to the polluted tile, and clean it.

-Arrian

[Modo44]

That never seems to happen in PTW. However sometimes automated workers do "things", like trying to walk home from one colony half a pangea away... Just today I actually built some rails over AI territory to help my stupid slaves with the long march. It wasn't of much use because of a cultural win a couple turns later. Oh well.

[MotownDennis]

Originally posted by Arrian

Instead, I just form teams of however many workers I need to clean up pollution immediately (preferably three, so I can combine them to clean a mountain) and fortify them next to my capital. Then I can wake them up, order them to group move to the polluted tile, and clean it.

-Arrian

Yeah, I do stuff like this too. Unfortunately, when I have literally hundreds of slaves (from razing lots of AI cities), I really want to automate rather than spend an hour playing one turn.

[vmxa1]

If you have 100's, start joining some to towns. I keep about three stacks forted some place close to each other. They are grabbed to do cleanup.

Each stack is at least enough to clean a mountain tile. I move a stack to the site and stack them cleaning, if it is cleared and more workers are left, I fort them all there.

If I have more tiles to clean I move the left overs to the nex tile. Once all tiles are done, I fort the remainder. Next turn I join back to get my stacks back to three.

[MotownDennis]

Yup, I do that too until my cities literally cannot support any more population. Of course, I'll mainly do this with workers from Civs that I've already wiped out, so as to not have to be concerned about culture flips.

[Theseus]

Speaking of joining slaves, I had a 'stupid breakthrough' today... early in a game, I had a surfeit (literally... no more improvements to do) of Slaves, and chose to join them to my capitol for GW building at 12 pop, with no CF risk... never thought of that before.

[MotownDennis]

Good idea.

[Solomwi]

Here's a save from the game that prompted the thread...