Automating workers

[vincenzo]

Can I trust the AI to do the right stuff if I automate my workers?

I'm new to game and not sure right now what is best to assign them. I assume later I will want to manage them more closely.

If I do automate, is there a way to tell what they are doing at the moment, and what their next task is?

 

[general_kill]

u got it backward, u want to manage them early on and when you secure all ur land and need to focus on military and diplo, then u automate. I find the AI doing a better job then me at placing irrigation and mines. The computer knows how to balance it.

 

[dwedington]

I have found that Automating is essential, especially for later in the game. If you click on the during a turn they will tell you what they are doing and how long it will take. You will have to watch them for sometimes they like to move to other areas of your empire that may bring them into harm's way.

 

[jpowers]

I agree that early on, you need to match your workers very closely with your cities' needs but as your Civ grows and other considerations take the fore, you can safely 'Automate - don't alter' most of them, and use a select few to micromanage in certain spots as necessary. In very late stages, I like to have some dedicated auto-depollute workers as well.

 

[vincenzo]

Inside my city I have a forest with game in it. What kind of improvements would help the most?

Should I start by improving the areas being worked by the population, or some unocuupied areas?

Thanks

 

[Tassadar]

Originally posted by vincenzo
Can I trust the AI to do the right stuff if I automate my workers?

No.

Your best adventages over a.i is micromanagement with worker. Irrigate cow and wheat under despotism,mine shielded grassland. road forest,road and mine hills,irrigate non-shield grassland.Rule of thumb.

 

[dreadknought]

I never like to automate workers as they dont do things in the order that I like to max....gold-productivity...ect....

 

[MadScot]

Originally posted by vincenzo
Inside my city I have a forest with game in it. What kind of improvements would help the most?

Game of the Month 16 had a forest with deer inside the start location 21-tile radius. The overwhelming conclusion is that clearing the forest, irrigating the grassland underneath, was incredibly powerful as a starting strategy. Take a look at the GOTM files for #16 (Rome) for more info.

Should I start by improving the areas being worked by the population, or some unocuupied areas?

Improvements have NO effect on your output unless the tile is being worked by a citizen, the sole exception being the use of roads to connect to resources (luxuries or startegic resources) or to connect to the other civs for trade. Roads also help you to expand faster (settlers get to their destination).

Generally, you want every citizen to be working an improved tile (road + irrigation or mine) before you work on tiles you aren't using.

 

[superslug]

If I'm playing an 'essential' game (HOF, GOTM, etc) I micromanage them all the way through the game. If I'm playing for fun, I micromanage them until I get Steam Power.

Then, I control-N all of them to build an all city railroad network. After that's finished then and only then do I shift-A all of them. I wait until then because the infinite/immediate movement (I hope) compensates for any ineffiency in the AI automation.

 

[general_kill]

vincenzo, u should build roads connecting ur cities first, then build road to resources. After u claimed all the land you can start covering ur empire with roads everywhere. Roads gives a tiles 1 gold and another gold if u build railroads. After all that build mines on places with no shields and irrigation where there are no food. during modern time u should make it so that each city has just enough food to survive 3 population because during this stage of the game u dont need to make units that requires population to build like settler and worker.

 

[Matt_G]

Originally posted by general_kill
Roads gives a tiles 1 gold and another gold if u build railroads.

Railroads do not increase the gold a tile generates. They will give +1 shield if it's mined, or +1 food if it's irrigated, but they don't increase commerce like roads do.

 

[vincenzo]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I finally got a handle on all this.

 

[dojoboy]

Manage them yourself until the late industrial age. Check out Cracker's early-worker-moves piece, found in the War Academy. If you manage your workers, you'll beat the AI civs to many Great Wonders.