Whew, tough cookie this.
I reckon it'll be impossible to make worthwhile worker automation without similar changes to city governors, or at least without them being in tune with a 'smart' governor. The number of rules to implement will no doubt also be substantial.
Nonetheless, here are a few suggestions off the top of my head (not sure inhowfar they are realistic):
- Let workers pre-chop. Rather than having them build useless roads for lack of better work, let them chop forests up to 1 turn from actual chopping.
- Do not let them build useless roads, as they are very fond of doing with their current implementation. Have them build roads on hills and forests only if they really cannot do anything else (see previous rule) and let them interconnect cities/resources. Interconnection should be based on shortest-route first, and through forest or on hills as a secondary rule.
- When running Representiation + having built Pyramids and/or running Caste System, have them build food-oriented improvements primarily, unless the city can attain 20+ base hammers (a number I pulled out of my hat, mind). Otherwise, let them focus on building enough food-oriented improvement to fully sustain the nearby city, then primarily cottages.
- When the nearby city is building a wonder, let them chop trees unless this leaves less than 2 margin on health (again a number I pulled out of my hat) When the nearby city is building anything that would fully benefit from a chop (i.e. no overflow, as this may not fit the player's strategy) let them chop, again respecting the margin.
- Have fully automated workers focus on cities with the worst improved tiles/potential city size ratio first.
- Never let workers improve a tile that can be reached by an enemy civ in a single turn (taking maximal road movement and unit speed of enemy civs into account), unless the player is at peace with all nearby civs of course.
- Never let them chop tundra forests, except when the tile has river access. Have them lumbermill tundra forests instead, but with a low priority.
- Only have them build windmills when a mine or cottage would impede growth in the long run.
- Only let them build watermills when there are no other means to increase food yield or to 'balance out' total food yield. Note that ice/desert watermills should be low-priority, food should come first (typically cities with such tiles are low on food)
- Have them balance out between food yield and workshops on potential 20+ base hammer cities, such that the city can work the maximum number of tiles with the best hammer yield possible. Don't let them build workshops elsewhere, except perhaps when the nearby city has less than, say, 5 hammer output total.
- When railroads are available, have them focus on interconnecting cities first (shortest-route), then railing mines and finally railing lumbermills; preferrably let them combine these where possible. Don't let them rail other tiles as it is quite pointless.
- Let them cottage grassland hills (more often) when it benefits the city. Current implementation rarely, if ever, appears to do that.
That's pretty much how I let my workers improve tiles barring anticipation, which is obviously impossible to implement.
ff
