A few general thoughts that would make the game more enjoyable for me. By "enjoyable" I mean more strategic planning and less micro-management of colonists.
First off, managing bulk goods stockpiles can be real pain. I usually farm in a large excess of what I really need to survive -- both to manage unexpected food needs but also for some trade profit. The problem is that after a big harvest my kitchen stockpile zone can be completely filled leaving no room for hunted animals or drop pod food.
I could set a second stockpile with a different priority, (a corn silo, say), but if it is a higher priority then I don't get any corn in my kitchen until the silo is full -- if it is a lower priority it doesn't start filling up until my kitchen is already overflowing in corn.
I could split up my kitchen into multiple small stockpiles such that only a few squares are reserved for corn with a high priority and then the rest is put in the silo but that leads to really inefficient storage since i still cant put anything else there as I use up the corn (like the meals I'll be making from it), but I can't set it to corn AND meals, or else I might not have room there after my next harvest.....
A simple (ha!, i know, probably not simple to code) solution would be a quantity limit for stockpile storage. I could set my whole kitchen as one stockpile, but limit raw corn to whatever I need for immediate cooking. also, if i needed to change the limits of corn (or anything else), i could just adjust the limit without having to manage a ton of small stockpile zones.
The second suggestion I have is adding a construction skill limit for furniture and joy items similar to the skill limiters on crafting bills. Especially early in the game I generally have one colonist with far superior construction skill than everyone else, but a ton of unskilled construction projects that I want everyone possible to help with. Most constructions don't matter what the skill of the constructor is (outside of build speed that is) but furniture does matter. I only ever want my best constructor to build furniture (except for lamps, for which build quality only modifies the market value) and joy items except in times of emergency (gotta build that bed fast so I can capture a wounded raider!).
I was initially thinking about a skill limiter in the orders tab, but it would probably be best (and make for a cleaner UI) to add the limiter to the blueprints after they have been laid down. In order to ensure my best constructor builds my "quality critical" items I sometimes have to do some really serious micro management. First I need to prioritize the blueprint for each required material haul, and then prioritize the actual construction of the filled blueprint. This can end up being 4-5 prioritization events needed for just one construction task.
One last suggestion would be to automatically mark trees/bushes that lay under existing blueprints as needing to be cut down. This would give my priority growers (who can usually cut down a tree MUCH faster than my priority constructors) an opportunity to get rid of that tree before my constructor spends his whole afternoon trying to get rid of one stupid tree. Yes, I know, I could just mark it myself, but I frequently forget to until too late.
First off, managing bulk goods stockpiles can be real pain. I usually farm in a large excess of what I really need to survive -- both to manage unexpected food needs but also for some trade profit. The problem is that after a big harvest my kitchen stockpile zone can be completely filled leaving no room for hunted animals or drop pod food.
I could set a second stockpile with a different priority, (a corn silo, say), but if it is a higher priority then I don't get any corn in my kitchen until the silo is full -- if it is a lower priority it doesn't start filling up until my kitchen is already overflowing in corn.
I could split up my kitchen into multiple small stockpiles such that only a few squares are reserved for corn with a high priority and then the rest is put in the silo but that leads to really inefficient storage since i still cant put anything else there as I use up the corn (like the meals I'll be making from it), but I can't set it to corn AND meals, or else I might not have room there after my next harvest.....
A simple (ha!, i know, probably not simple to code) solution would be a quantity limit for stockpile storage. I could set my whole kitchen as one stockpile, but limit raw corn to whatever I need for immediate cooking. also, if i needed to change the limits of corn (or anything else), i could just adjust the limit without having to manage a ton of small stockpile zones.
The second suggestion I have is adding a construction skill limit for furniture and joy items similar to the skill limiters on crafting bills. Especially early in the game I generally have one colonist with far superior construction skill than everyone else, but a ton of unskilled construction projects that I want everyone possible to help with. Most constructions don't matter what the skill of the constructor is (outside of build speed that is) but furniture does matter. I only ever want my best constructor to build furniture (except for lamps, for which build quality only modifies the market value) and joy items except in times of emergency (gotta build that bed fast so I can capture a wounded raider!).
I was initially thinking about a skill limiter in the orders tab, but it would probably be best (and make for a cleaner UI) to add the limiter to the blueprints after they have been laid down. In order to ensure my best constructor builds my "quality critical" items I sometimes have to do some really serious micro management. First I need to prioritize the blueprint for each required material haul, and then prioritize the actual construction of the filled blueprint. This can end up being 4-5 prioritization events needed for just one construction task.
One last suggestion would be to automatically mark trees/bushes that lay under existing blueprints as needing to be cut down. This would give my priority growers (who can usually cut down a tree MUCH faster than my priority constructors) an opportunity to get rid of that tree before my constructor spends his whole afternoon trying to get rid of one stupid tree. Yes, I know, I could just mark it myself, but I frequently forget to until too late.