To Automate or Not Automate?

[paxbrittanica]

What are you thoughts regarding to automating workers? I generally manually setup improvements around my first three cities, after that it becomes somewhat cumbersome when dealing with other aspects of the game. How good of a job do the automated workers do compared to ideal improvements? Its seems like they always lean towards commerce...

 

[shadow2k]

Your decision making skills are exactly the reason that the AI is given advantages at higher levels. Letting the AI make decisions for you is shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[Oggums]

I've never automated something, without regretting it soon after.

 

[Crimso]

Learning how to micromanage workers was probably one of the most rewarding experiences I got from Civ III, and much of it carries over to IV. If you're competent at using workers you'll reap huge benefits, and all other aspects of the game (economy, science, culture etc.) will come naturally. Also, workers are by far the most versatile unit, so even two years from now you can expect to still be refining your strategy with them.

One tip I can give you: pretty much ignore what the AI does 90% of the time. Do what you think is right, and learn from your mistakes.

 

[Elhoim]

Do not automate, unless they put some real automatizacion options like: maximize food or commerce or production in nearest city, improve city tiles and resources only (so they do not lose turns placing farms in every empty square when they are more important things to do), automatization AI must consider getting new resources high priority. I think with SDK we might be able to change this.

 

[Amourek]

I don't automate. Even when playing on a huge map.

 

[Morred]

Workers tend to chop down every single Forest when automated, which is bad. So I do it manually as much as I can, especially when I need health.

 

[alexti2]

After you've built all required improvements and primary roads, you can set workers on 'build trade network'. They're pretty good at building roads on their own. When you discover something that allows you to make new improvements you can always cancel worker's orders. I wouldn't trust AI to build improvements though...

 

[Draetor24]

Lately I've been manually controlling workers for every city I settle in the start of a game. Once there is no more land to settle, and I have everything set the way I like, I let them go automated, but select to not override improvements. I just keep a couple workers pinned in a city for when I discover new resources, I go and make sure they have the correct improvement.

Also, If I warmonger, and capture lots of new territory, I just let me workers automate them, since they already have most of their improvements, the workers don't touch those, and just fill in gaps when my culture expands.

 

[Tourmalyn]

The only way I will ever automate is to have the computer automate building my trade network. Even then, I will only set them to do that when they have absolutely nothing else to do.

 

[BubbaYeti]

I automate workers with the "build trade network" command after I discover railroads. The workers then replace your existing road network with railroads without me having to worry about it.

 

[crazymarco]

I am sorry to tell that i can't live without auto... Maybe I am just a newbie who don't know how to develop the tiles correctly. Actually, I don't know how to take a balance between FOOD and PRODUCT. My game started with warlord only and i can hardly win without auto. I guess there is sth wrong with my placement on tiles...

Maybe i give some more elboration... um... I just cannot recognize which tiles for windmills and which for mines. In the mid-game, both can be built but then i dont know which should be right.... Also, even in the commence of the game, I cannot decide which tiles for farm and which for mine... that mess me up!!! My city growth stagnate due to not enough FOOD? bah...

 

[Tourmalyn]

Its just a matter of learning what is necessary. I don't specialize my cities like a lot around here (ie, miliary city, GP city, etc). I try and keep all my cities balanced and useful. One of my stradegies for improving tiles is to keep the city flexible. Say it is a size 7 with balanced happy/unhappy ( 7 = 7 ). At this point, I want some tiles developed specifically for food (corn, flood plains, etc) so that I can work the fewest tiles and keep my city stagnant (as growing will make unhappy people who don't work). The rest of my people can then do other stuff. Work improved hills for production, or improved gold for commerce. If I don't need anything produced at this point, then make 2 scienists for plus to research and GP points. So it comes down to making a small number of workers (maintenance) and only having them do what needs to be done.

I think that people who automate their workers find they need more of them. You will find that you can develop successful cities with relatively few workers if done right. On the harder levels, this makes a significant difference as maintenance costs seem higher per unit produced. If I can get by with 3 workers instead of 8, that lets me build 5 more military units.

 

[obsolete]

I play with auto on ALWAYS. If it works for deity, I don't see why anyone should have problems with auto on anything easier.

 

[Tourmalyn]

I play with auto on ALWAYS. If it works for deity, I don't see why anyone should have problems with auto on anything easier.

What does that mean? You play with it on auto and you have won on deity?

 

[Mathemagician13]

A useful thing to turn on is "automated Workers leave old improvements" and "automated workers leave forests." With these two, after I've built up my cities the way I generally want them, I can automate my workers (mainly to build trade routes).

 

[Artanis]

I am sorry to tell that i can't live without auto... Maybe I am just a newbie who don't know how to develop the tiles correctly. Actually, I don't know how to take a balance between FOOD and PRODUCT. My game started with warlord only and i can hardly win without auto. I guess there is sth wrong with my placement on tiles...

Maybe i give some more elboration... um... I just cannot recognize which tiles for windmills and which for mines. In the mid-game, both can be built but then i dont know which should be right.... Also, even in the commence of the game, I cannot decide which tiles for farm and which for mine... that mess me up!!! My city growth stagnate due to not enough FOOD? bah...

The best way to learn is by doing. You'll never figure out how to manage your improvements if you leave it to the AI.

 

[Draetor24]

Generally, automated workers do real well in regards to what the city needs. The main problem with automated workers is the inefficiency in which improvements should go first, and sometimes I've seen them making a farm in a tile that won't be worked instead of a workable tile in city radius. Other than that, automated workers make each city balanced in a way that they will produce enough hammers to continually make units and buildings, and commerce where needed.

I find having a couple cities producing solely commerce is more beneficial for increasing in rapid techs because your +25%, +50%, +100% research buildings offer a lot more. I still think every city needs production though, and in the case of cities with all cottages/towns, you need universal suffrage.

 

[Pragmatic]

As Mathemagician has said (and he stole my suggestions, you bugger! ), I'll repeat the following:

1) There are three automation options. General improvements, improve nearest city, and build trade network. Put every third or fourth worker on "build trade network," and they'll rush to hook up all resources in your cultural borders, and when they don't have anything better to do, they'll cover every tile with roads and railroads. And, even better, they'll leave you to decide what to do with the other tiles.

2) Go into the Options screen, and select "Workers leave old improvements" (so your workers won't go around countermanding your orders) and "Workers don't touch forests" (Patch 1.52; so workers don't automatically cut down forests--if they build an improvement on a resource, that can chop down the forest, but that's the only time).


I REALLY wish there was an option to go into a (to be added) Governor Options screen for each city. Have a little triangle (like in Master of Orion 1), and you tell the governor how much percentage to focus on food, hammers, or commerce (and this tells workers what to emphasize), or something...

Oh well.

 

[Gufnork]

I generally manually control the workers until I can't stand them anymore (annoying little buggers), at which point I set them on automate. I occasionally take control of a few to fix some mistakes or do something urgent, but generally let them do whatever. It works for me, even on high difficulties.