Tired of colonists walking through fire

[Mistrornge]

I am on my way to pick up a rock and the easiest way is to go through this burning zone.  Ooops I caught fire now I will walk around in the fire stupidly until I collapse.  Then the moron coming to save me will also die in the fire.  3 colonists so far (out of maybe 15 total). 
Its these types of deaths that cause people to quit. 

[TheMeInTeam]

Since this is mostly designed as a hands-off game outside of raid scenarios, it really is annoying that there are a handful of tasks that effectively break that design.  This behavior is one example, but so are pawns collapsing roofs on themselves (can draft micro them to make it impossible), hunting in a fashion that exposes them to danger when draft hunting the same animal/herd is safe, pawns springing traps on themselves, pawns not reacting to being targeted by animals hunting them until very late despite the UI giving the information screen lengths away, and maybe a few more I'm forgetting.

Making non-control of pawns in daily scenarios mostly safe but then throwing in a few handfuls of false-choice options that allow micromanagement to handle 100% safely does not make sense.  Why implement automated versions of these tasks that are so strictly inferior to micro that they risk the pawn's life outright?

[RemingtonRyder]

Code Select Expand

if(!pawn.mapGrids(canTurnElsewhere))
{
     pawn.Walk(location.ThroughTheFire);
}

Have fun getting that reference.

[Daimonin]

I'm gonna guess that's the games alpha state coming through.

Also optimization. Pawns probably only check if they are getting targeted by a predator every xx seconds, or when attacked. The game KNOWS they are being targeted, but doesn't send an interrupt to the pawn process? Rather waiting for the pawn process to check for a flag being raised?

If that's the case, the pawn can't be checking for flags every second because it would make the game ludicrously laggy. So instead the pawn goes about his business until the set time interval, checks flags, and notices he's being hunted. Then he reacts.

Hopefully that will get fixed/optimized, along with path finding. I hear path finding is way better then it used to be, but it still makes some damn stupid decisions sometimes. Like walking through fires.

[TheMeInTeam]

Also optimization. Pawns probably only check if they are getting targeted by a predator every xx seconds, or when attacked. The game KNOWS they are being targeted, but doesn't send an interrupt to the pawn process? Rather waiting for the pawn process to check for a flag being raised?

In this case you give a simple notification on it happening like just about every other lethal threat in the game and call it a day.

Pawn consistently notices at a set distance very close to himself, which contradicts the explanation you offer.  I've debated the bad design of that particular mechanic elsewhere on the boards, and this is more of a general issue.  Pawns fighting fire should probably not walk into fire either, especially since draft fighting it is ALREADY more efficient without pawns suiciding or more typically self-immolating when you use the non-draft method.

The presence of other pawns screws with pathing quickly enough, so why not fire?

[freemapa]

I'm gonna guess that's the games alpha state coming through.

Agreed. In a year or two the posts on this forum will probably reflect fondly on the old days, when pawns would run straight into the fire.

Its these types of deaths that cause people to quit. 

Quitting an alpha release because of a broken feature is a bit silly. That's like showing up the day before the carnival starts and complaining that not all the rides are operating. As alpha players, it's up to us to play the game and report these issues. It's not for everyone, true, but the system is working as intended.

[sadpickle]

I seem to remember Tynan mentioning in another thread that pathing got borked this Alpha. It should be much improved in A18.

[freemapa]

I seem to remember Tynan mentioning in another thread that pathing got borked this Alpha. It should be much improved in A18.

I know a bit about pathing and how challenging it can be, but when I see a pawn going for a stack of wood and they, literally, walk over several stacks of wood to get to the one they "want"... I just gotta chuckle and shake my head.