Pathing Orders

[DNK]

Basically what DF has, the ability to set additional tile pathing costs.

The reason is I want my pawns to take certain routes sometimes, but the pathfinding still isn't perfect and they end up walking over stone chunk stockpiles (they don't take them into consideration) or over my pretty gardens (I made a walkway for a reason!) or whatever, I just like to have this level of control. If I build a warehouse with paths, pawns, DON'T WALK ON THE MERCHANDISE. My reasoning is partially utilitarian and partially eccentric.

[BetaSpectre]

Support, TBH I hate it when I want my colonist to walk AROUND a fire but he goes into it anyway. Or waits! Then walks TOWARD the 30 guys with sniper/charge/miniguns.

Though It could be chalked up to the guy registering orders under duress.

[ja7833]

+1; in regards to general pathing and hauling logic... I hate it when a colonist mines at some remote location for a while and then gets hungry and instead of hauling a load of silver etc. back to the stockpile which also be happens to be right next to my walk in freezer with meals they just leave the silver (and why can't they take a lunch with them?)

[b0rsuk]

Could you elaborate ? You can manipulate pathfinding by placing paved tiles, etc.

[Joshuasca]

I think perhaps the pathing should prefer to walk on any kind of constructed floor.  I too have been frustrated by pawns walking all over the stuff and plants, when i had carefully dumped alot of bricks into a thought out way to get arround the base.  But im not sure if more ui micromanagement zone juggling is the best way to fix it honestly.  I find myself pretty busy with the orders already implemented.  Sounds like the pathing ai should automatically choose constructed pathways, which i naturally expected it to - and was pretty surprised to see my colonists ignoring my 5000 sandstone block highway in favor of climbing over boulders and wandering around in my stuff piles.

[mipen]

The game does already incorporate a 'pathing cost' where most items and chunks and terrain types give different resistance to being walked over. Pawns just don't care about taking the easiest route, only the fastest So while going the extra few cells to follow a path around the corner is easier and more logical, they'll happily traverse over a stone chunk as it means they get there slightly quicker

[DNK]

Could you elaborate ? You can manipulate pathfinding by placing paved tiles, etc.

Me? Not exactly. It's like the rest of the orders menu, like "home zone" or "no roof" stuff. You could set additional pathing bonus/malus to a tile. It'd probably need a submenu like we have with stuffs, click the "pathing" option and then you can set to like -99/-50/-25/0/+25/+50/+99. You can apply it and then pawns take it into consideration when doing their pathing.

This way they:
1) don't walk over my pretty flower bed
2) stay on my walkways! (I'm OCD a bit) And stay off my lawn, darn kids.
3) don't drag mud/dirt everywhere, requiring a lot more cleanup and beauty maluses

The game does already incorporate a 'pathing cost' where most items and chunks and terrain types give different resistance to being walked over.

This doesn't seem to be true to me. I see them regularly take inefficient paths. It needs fixing. They don't seem to care about chunks. For instance, I had a setup where they had two options: go over chunks or go through a nice unchunked hallway (part of a killbox). They never used the hallway unless it was already the most direct path, even though it took them half as long. I see other things, where they're not even taking the geometrically quickest path (with no terrain differences).

[Monkfish]

You'd have to be careful with a system like that that it doesn't send a colonist out of their way simply because the buff/malus applied to the selected pathing tile means that route is preferred over one that would be genuinely shorter/quicker.

Nice idea though.

[DNK]

You'd have to be careful with a system like that that it doesn't send a colonist out of their way simply because the buff/malus applied to the selected pathing tile means that route is preferred over one that would be genuinely shorter/quicker.

Nice idea though.

Well, I'm the one setting the bonus/malus, so yes, I would want it to send a pawn out of their way because I applied it as I did. That's sort of the point, not just to overcome shortcomings in the current pathfinding system but to create inefficiencies for my own twisted reasons.

[Monkfish]

You'd have to be careful with a system like that that it doesn't send a colonist out of their way simply because the buff/malus applied to the selected pathing tile means that route is preferred over one that would be genuinely shorter/quicker.

Nice idea though.

Well, I'm the one setting the bonus/malus, so yes, I would want it to send a pawn out of their way because I applied it as I did. That's sort of the point, not just to overcome shortcomings in the current pathfinding system but to create inefficiencies for my own twisted reasons.

Well, yes. My point was that a routing tile or tiles put in one place to fix routing issues from somewhere may have adverse effects on routing from other areas that would otherwise route differently, due to the tiles you've placed resulting in that route being the preferred on.

[Kegereneku]

I'm wondering, are the Colonist searching the shortest path over all the map or only more immediate surrounding.

I know it might sound idiot but it could have been made that way because else they would be taking way we didn't want them to through because of pure efficiency.