18-08-2004 01:57									#1
	Worker automation problems Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

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.

	19-08-2004 08:44									#2
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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.

	19-08-2004 09:48									#3
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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.

	20-08-2004 03:39									#4
	Re: Worker automation problems Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

quote: 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?

	20-08-2004 05:31									#5
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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.

	20-08-2004 18:59									#6
	Re: Worker automation problems Remove this text

quote: 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?

	20-08-2004 19:11									#7
	Full PM-box? Change here!

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.

	21-08-2004 00:24									#8
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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

	21-08-2004 00:50									#9
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

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.

Last edited by Modo44 on 21-08-2004 at 01:44

	21-08-2004 01:34									#10
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

quote: 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.

	21-08-2004 05:45									#11
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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.

	21-08-2004 06:42									#12
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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.

	21-08-2004 09:32									#13
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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.

	21-08-2004 09:45									#14
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Good idea.

	21-08-2004 11:31									#15
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Here's a save from the game that prompted the thread...

Attachment: hiawatha of the iroquois, 1565 ad.sav
This has been downloaded 3 time(s).

	21-08-2004 22:42									#16
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With so many workers, I wonder how you have so many on roaded tiles?

I would definitely want to rid myself of about 100 of them.

Have a couple of 20 man slave crews for pollution and use only slaves for road/RR and other improvements.


Bump my lux slider to 10 right now. You have almost 70K in gold, be generious.

	21-08-2004 22:54									#17
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That's what I'm in the process of doing, but I'm well under the support limit, so it's been a low priority.

Pffft, the peasants can entertain themselves.

	22-08-2004 04:41									#18
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I saw you were under the support. That is a lot of land in that game.

Do you intend to take down a civ or two or just ride it out?

	23-08-2004 20:31									#19
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As soon as I get my air force, tanks and marines built up, I'm heading over to the other continent. Germany looks especially ripe for the picking, as does America. I'm also toying with the idea of slipping into Communism and tackling Russia, but I haven't decided whether I'd want to prune them back then focus on one of the other two or wipe them out.