When is the next patch; game breaking vanilla bug.

[Guilliman]

Hi,

When can we expect a fix for the following issue:


Workers refuse to work and have to be told _every turn_ what to do. Issue effects vanilla version only.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=479499


This is game breaking, it sucks the joy our of the game everything someone declares war. I'm forced to play without barbarians as well. Issue is MONTHS old.

Telling me to buy the expansion is a no go. "Forcing" me to buy a fix for a product if I want to keep using this product within 2 years of purchase is illegal in Europe. I'm not someone to threaten but the issue is way to old to keep ignoring. I would really like an expected date to a fix. I did not spend money on a product that breaks after months and doesn't get repaired. A refund is possible but I rather see a fix.

Thank you

 

[Aaron90495]

Sadly, it doesn't look like Vanilla is going to get another patch. The devs have moved on to patching G&K and/or developing One World.

 

[Guilliman]

Sadly, it doesn't look like Vanilla is going to get another patch. The devs have moved on to patching G&K and/or developing One World.

They'll fix it eventually, they have to. Selling broken software is illegal. False advertising and all, can get software banned from being sold in nations of the EU if they refuse refunds.

 

[tmacdec]

My only suggestion is go through your patches and delete the g&k compatibility patch that may fix your problem honestly I would delete all patches put out after g&k and keep deleting until your bug is fixed good luck and keep us posted if deleting the compatibility patch works so others can know how to fix the problem.

 

[Guilliman]

Does steam even allow it? I mean, wouldn't it auto-update? Setting steam to a permanent off line mode is not an option.

Edit; I don't think it's possible to patch steam games from external patches?

 

[SalemSage]

If your workers stop working and have to be told what to do each turn, it's because they think there's an enemy unit nearby which could capture them.

They will not stop working if they are being guarded by a military unit on the same tile.

 

[Guilliman]

Vast empire = auto workers. I dislike having to micromanage them with a military unit ontop of them all the time.

The bug is; that they stop when the enemy units no longer exist or isn't there anymore! Wiping out the enemy entirely doesn't solve this issue.

This is a bug in vanilla, not a standard 'there must be enemies around'. Because there aren't enemies around.

 

[Biologist]

Since your workers are set to automated mode, are you sure they aren't just running out of things to do? It's possible you have them set to not replace existing improvements while automated, so they're trying to stop work each turn.

Edit: After seeing the bug report thread, that doesn't look like it's the problem.

 

[JanusTalaiini]

They'll fix it eventually, they have to. Selling broken software is illegal. False advertising and all, can get software banned from being sold in nations of the EU if they refuse refunds.

You'd have a hell of a time convincing anyone that this issue is a criminal offense. Giving workers orders every turn is repetitive and annoying, but hardly on the level of "broken" as to render the program unusable.

I get that you're justifiably frustrated and angry, but throwing the threat of litigation around just looks silly.

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

First, this AIN'T a bug, it's a FEATURE, you can't keep an eye on ALL of yoru workers, so this helps you save your workers, ALSO, the only reason why they stop what they do, is because it activates near enemies (which is what you stated)

Also, this isn't anywhere Game Breaking, that would be a bug in which technology would stop research in certain scenarios in the game, or policies becoming blocked because you unlocked everything too quickly (not that any of the two exsits, just examples).

 

[RedFuneral]

It's not a vanilla only bug, happens with G&K as well. Saying that it's gamebreaking is going a bit too far though...

The thing is, that it isn't always related to enemy units being around. While the workers do stop working when enemies are around usually it's never consistent. I've had workers quit working with no enemy within 20 tiles of them(well, maybe the ocean but that is over 10 tiles away) and workers who keep working with barbs 3 tiles away with no military escort.

They really should do something about it though. You're not the first to complain, and certainly won't be the last.

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

It's not a vanilla only bug, happens with G&K as well. Saying that it's gamebreaking is going a bit too far though...

The thing is, that it isn't always related to enemy units being around. While the workers do stop working when enemies are around usually it's never consistent. I've had workers quit working with no enemy within 20 tiles of them(well, maybe the ocean but that is over 10 tiles away) and workers who keep working with barbs 3 tiles away with no military escort.

They really should do something about it though. You're not the first to complain, and certainly won't be the last.

Yes, that is true, I rarely however notice it as being that bad though, but my point stands with it being just an irritating glitch.

 

[Camikaze]

If what is being described is workers discontinuing their work after an enemy has been killed, on the same turn that the enemy has been killed, then it's not really a bug (certainly not a 'game breaking' one; 'game breaking bug' does not mean 'something that makes me not enjoy the game as much'), so much as an unfortunate consequence of how unit orders work in the game. The worker's orders are disrupted at the beginning of the turn, when the enemy is within the requisite radius. What is being requested is for the workers to know that there are no more enemies, as they have been killed. But this requires a check to be performed for every worker whose work has been disrupted, when it would be their turn to receive fresh orders. This check requires processing, and time, and would be just as annoying (if not more) than the current situation. AFAIK checks are performed when you click 'end turn', and you find out you still have units to move, but what is being asked for is a check before this stage; before you get to ending the turn.

Anyone, I'd say the prospects of this getting 'fixed' for Vanilla are roughly 0. Firstly because it's debatable whether there's anything to actually fix (so I wouldn't expect anything on the G&K front either), and secondly because it's unlikely there's anymore development going into Vanilla.

 

[Zango]

I had this issue for a while, too. I turned my graphics down a bit and it never happened again.

 

[Djinn]

I have been experiencing this problem as well. However I just keep setting my worker back to the intended task. And they do complete it. It just takes repetitive selection of the task.

 

[RedFuneral]

If what is being described is workers discontinuing their work after an enemy has been killed, on the same turn that the enemy has been killed, then it's not really a bug (certainly not a 'game breaking' one; 'game breaking bug' does not mean 'something that makes me not enjoy the game as much'), so much as an unfortunate consequence of how unit orders work in the game. The worker's orders are disrupted at the beginning of the turn, when the enemy is within the requisite radius. What is being requested is for the workers to know that there are no more enemies, as they have been killed. But this requires a check to be performed for every worker whose work has been disrupted, when it would be their turn to receive fresh orders. This check requires processing, and time, and would be just as annoying (if not more) than the current situation. AFAIK checks are performed when you click 'end turn', and you find out you still have units to move, but what is being asked for is a check before this stage; before you get to ending the turn.

Anyone, I'd say the prospects of this getting 'fixed' for Vanilla are roughly 0. Firstly because it's debatable whether there's anything to actually fix (so I wouldn't expect anything on the G&K front either), and secondly because it's unlikely there's anymore development going into Vanilla.

In many cases there are and haven't been any enemy units anywhere near the worker. Do they consider AI(that you are not at war with) units enemy? I don't think any of those were around in my last game either but I could be wrong. I've pretty much got the whole continent to myself and don't allow open borders so I don't see how anything could have been disturbing my workers.

I also notice they tend to be inconsistent in when they stop their work. Sometimes it waits until after you click 'next turn' for them to stop and demand orders and I've also seen it happen during the turn itself.

It's a real pain as it tends to leave me with unfinished mines and plantations(that look finished when you're zoomed out a bit), it does affect gameplay in that regard, but again it's not gamebreaking.

 

[Aaron90495]

Keep in mind that whether a worker requires another order also depends on the range of the enemy unit. Archers have a range of 2 and 2 movement points, so any archer 4 or fewer tiles away will make a worker stop (it really should be 3 tiles, but whatever). In the same vein, a tank, having 5 movement points, will make any worker within 5 tiles stop working. And in addition to all of that, roads leading up to your territory from enemy territory also increases the "threatened range." Finally, I wouldn't be surprised if workers stop working if they're in range of enemy planes (I could very well be wrong on this front, though).

 

[Camikaze]

@RedFuneral - the other circumstance under which a worker needs fresh orders if when there's another civilian unit in the way. Such as when constructing a road, if your destination is occupied by another worker, your worker will demand fresh orders. This is the case for military units, too. If automated workers are conflicting in this way, then yeah, I think that would count as a bug.

 

[Guilliman]

I'm sorry but a bug that makes the game NOT FUN, I consider gamebreaking. Secondly, read the bug thread, it's a bug so stop telling me it's a game feature and that there must be an enemy unit nearby. There aren't. And finally, this bug is so old it's pissing me off. I have every right to complain about a product that I bought that stopped functioning like it should after they tinkered with it. The bug, for me, is sucking the fun out of the game. It becomes tedious and frustrating to micromanage workers _every turn_.

 

[RedFuneral]

Of course you have every right to complain but you're going a bit overboard saying the game isn't functional because of it. You also can't claim false advertising on something that was never an advertised 'feature' of the game.

As for my game the most modern unit on the field was musketmen and I was the furthest along tech wise so I'm sure there were no enemy units nearby. There aren't even any other AI players or barbs on the continent(beside Germany who were still in the classical era. Neither could it be possible that any of the other AIs had ships nearby as none of them had Astronomy. One of the workers was in the center of the continent in a ring of cities. The only thing I can think of is that there were some marshlands to the North-west under the fog of war. That was the only spot within 15-20 tiles of the worker that was not lit up.

Possibly the game thought about putting a barbarian camp in there and it triggered the worker to stop working? I had a longswordsman in the marshes in less than 2 turns and there was nothing there.