Automatic Workers?

[gurkan]

Automating Workers? Is it right or wrong?

Since they do not decide as good as us (?) automating them might cost us not to get as much as we can. Am I right?

What do experts do?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Turner]

Well...basically, you can use your workers a lot easier than the AI can. They often do things like irrigating grassland, or running around doing different things instead of logically working it out.

There's been a lot of talk on this, but basically I say if you want to play above regent, then micromanage your workers. It's just easier to win that way.

Now, the govenor is just fine when you're learning how to play. But after a while, you'll know better how to use your land than the AI will.

 

[citizen001]

What's wrong with irrigating grassland? and what's wrong with mining plains? i do that quite a bit on chieftain and doesn't really affect the game.

 

[Turner]

Irrigating grassland under despotism is a waste of time, because of the despotism/anarchy penalty. Anything over two produces one less. So irrigating the two food grassland will make it a three food grassland, or two food grassland under despotism.

With plains, I usually stagger them, one mined one irrigated. When you get to RR this gives you four food for two squares, so it's self-sufficent.

I always try to max my cities at pop 20, so all tiles are worked. This also gives me max shields for that area. So while mining plains isn't such a bad thing, there could be better uses for it.

 

[The Omega]

I know it's better to micromanage workers, but I don't have teh patiance to do so.

 

[Stoo.W]

Yeah I cant be bothered to tell each individual worker what to do!! sometimes I can have 20-60 workers!!! It would take ages - and I have wars to win, stuff to build and trade to manage. I always automate them. I usually control them until I have about 10 then start to autimate. At the start it is important to be selective, get roads going to other cities and resources, but later on when you have loads - you want them to build roads everywhere. PLUS - when your at war, they will automatically retreat to a city. This is great cause the amount of times ive lost loads of settlers in Civ II cause of this. Use automate and then forget them. They will conect everything and remain on hand to clear polution. Having said that- come the end of the game when you want them to settle in your smaller cities, can you find them? can you F#$&, and when youve build loads, its a right nightmare cause they're all over the shop!

 

[alamo]

You can automate in some ways, but the AI is pretty stupid.

I usually manage them myself until the RR backbone is complete, then I start automating around each of my core cities (shift-i).

Build-to roads and RR works good, though the pathfinding is pretty stupid.

Only if almost everything is RR'd and not too much jungle around will I completely automate. Even then you may have to interrupt them to clean pollution.

What workers tend to do early is alternately irrigate/mine a single square, which may make sense for a growing city, but is very bad for overall efficiency.

 

[subbss]

People keep saying that workers switch irrigation into mine and vise vera but I have never seen this, ever, and I do watch what the workers are doing.

Many CFCers have brought up this same question many times about whether or not to automate workers and people always endlessly complain about the worker AI and say how bad it is. They also bash anyone who automates workers as being newbs who must be bad players if they automate workers. I am sure micromanaging can gain you more production and food but I don't think it is nescesary until regent level.

This will shock some people but I ALWAYS automate ALL of my workers. I just don't have the patience for micromanaging because my civ games are already extremely long as it is and I have better things to do than to endlessly give workers orders and anyalize terrain and add up numbers for a few extra production and food.

I have won many games without micro-managing up through regent and had fun doing it.

Does micromanaging help, I am sure (though I have never tried it), is it absolutely nesccesary to win or have fun, NO.

 

[Wolfwood]

I almost always micromanage until I've got the road or rail network going (I use road-to commands most often, so it's half automated). On small islands I automate if there aren't cities to join. In late game I automate since micromanaging a hundred workers will kill the enjoyment of the game...

 

[Longasc]

You have limited workers in the early game, you need to manually assign them to the most powerful squares you will be using first! Otherwise you will greatly WASTE potential, you will have much better production and growth if you use your workers wisely.

Later, in the age of railroads, you can automate them. But not earlier!

 

[citizen001]

Irrigating grassland under despotism is a waste of time, because of the despotism/anarchy penalty. Anything over two produces one less. So irrigating the two food grassland will make it a three food grassland, or two food grassland under despotism.

With plains, I usually stagger them, one mined one irrigated. When you get to RR this gives you four food for two squares, so it's self-sufficent.

I always try to max my cities at pop 20, so all tiles are worked. This also gives me max shields for that area. So while mining plains isn't such a bad thing, there could be better uses for it.

so is it ok to irrigate grassland on any other government?

isn't it better to grow your cities over 20 pop with the early pop growth, or is it better to shoot for shield production?

 

[Turner]

Sure, because the despotism/anarchy penalty only applies to despotism and anarchy.

Seriously, I know what you're asking. I irrigate grassland all the time, when I have few grassland and lots of mountains or hills. Even plains... I target my cities to be size 20, and they never get over size 30, unless I'm in some kind of flood plain haven. Anything over 20 is not really productive, as then I have tiles that could be producing shields that aren't. Of course, in high corruption cities it would be better to have a high pop with low shield production, and turn the excess into Civil Engineers. Of course, that's only available with C3C.

 

[vanatteveldt]

Actually, in the case of golden ages it is most beneficient to irrigate the bonus grasslands and mine the normal grasslands as each will get the +1 production bonus

I only play at emperor and demigod level and I never micromanage workers after around 1000BC. I just put them all on automate until railroads, at which point I take control again for a short while to create a barebones railroad system connecting most big cities.

Micromanaging workers might make it easier to win, but hey! who needs that against the AI ;-). And in multiplayer you will want to get a decent number of turns per hour so we usually ban worker micromanagement except in the initial phases.

 

[Nicci]

why irrigate grasslands before u can build hospitals? cities don't grow past 12 anyway?
after i can build hospitals i put a lot of workers on auto

 

[Tomoyo]

Cities with irrigated grasslands get to size 12 quicker, and when it hits 12, you mine them again.

 

[Yuri2356]

By the time I have railways there are normaly anywhere between 50 and 100 workers in my nation, so Once I can get a railway network I automate about 50% of them to clean polution. I then send the rest to make sure that the land develops the way I want it to.

 

[Admiral Armada]

I agree with some of the previous posts, i am to lazy to micro 60 workers, as the game goes on, my turs last a while anyways, and i dont want to lenghen them by individually commanding workers.

 

[Owain]

Micromanaging workers might make it easier to win, but hey! who needs that against the AI ;-). And in multiplayer you will want to get a decent number of turns per hour so we usually ban worker micromanagement except in the initial phases.

That's the ticket

I mean, its one thing if you're going for a HoF game or something, but I don't play Civ to manage workers. I play EMp and Diety games and sometimes they're challenging, sometimes I get my butt kicked, and sometimes I kick butt.

I MM alot at the beginning because its crucial, but I play on huge maps always and once I get to be a large empire its just too much of a headache to MM everything. I even use governors then. When you have battles involving hundreds of units, you want to think and worry and work on that... you don't want to do a hundred little worker actions and forget what you were planning to do once its time to move your units!

The AI can handle all the unfun aspects of playing Civ... Like MM and getting slaughtered by me!

I guess for me automated workers/govs are the benefit of a secure empire... It means its smooth sailing time for the rest of the game.

 

[Tomoyo]

Since I'm a builder at heart, I'd rather just have a command that pits my troops against the AI automatically than having MM banned.

 

[kb2tvl]

Manually moving workers can move your play up one level. If you understand what improving a certain tile can do in a particular gov't then you can form a strategy for improving tiles.

Simple considerations might include:
- Have 5 food per turn in despo and then in Rep/mon.
- Have every tile worked producing a shield. (GA/moblize)
- Work river land first due to trade bonsus.

Improving tiles is a strategy within itself. Production rates can improve by 50% and growth will occur and an even/steady rate.