Improve and simplify Distribution Post interface and mechanics - easy district resource sharing

56 votes

Okey, I am not sure if any suggestion like this is already out there, but I didnt seem to find one. I would really love if the hole interface/district trading system would recive more love. Currently I feel like I have to build basically every district self sufficent, because keeping an overview is so hard.
1. One easy thing would be to show us the resource interface of the district we are closest by with the camera. (I personally don't see the point in having an overall resources count).
2. The trading posts would profit of a better overview how many resources/day am I sending to which district, etc.
3. Resource Interface: Instead of "Material" and then having EVERYTHING there, how about all the wood products under the basic logs, a metal roster with all metal products, just like with food.

Anyways love the game, looking fwrd to updates!

[mod edit]: turning this topic into general distribution improvement topic.

On our radar Suggestion UI Suggested by: Daniel (26 Sep, '21) • Upvoted: yesterday • Comments: 57

Comments: 57

02 Dec, '21
latyper
This is a great idea. It would really help planning larger communities where it can be really confusing keeping track of what resources are going to what district.
25 Jan, '22
Kevin Merged
Posts cost more than Hauling posts, fit fewer workers, and take up more space. This highly punishes expansion of districts which is already harder alone. A logical improvement would be to allow them to carry goods back towards their native district. Basically they will adopt the tasks of the district they are currently in if it includes a route back home. Its painful to see so many empty handed beavers running past others carrying.
26 Feb, '22
Mathyell Merged
I would add another (quite annoying) inefficiency, that is the priority that haulers have, when choosing which product one is carrying. This is especially hurting, when they choose the same thing every day.
Example: I created 6 routes for the different kinds of food plus explosives and planks. I thought for my small (damm building) outpost with only 4-5 beavers a support-team of 3 or 4 haulers should be fine, but far wrong - even with 5 haulers they carry 2-3 food of any one type every single day, and only every other day one might carry some planks or explosives.
Please let us prioritize the routes or let the haulers choose goods, where they make a route with full pockets - maybe only overruled by something that is completely empty.

This behaviour stands out even more due to the fact, that haulers seem to walk their route only once a day (for longer routes).
23 Mar, '22
Félix GL Merged
District really just mess up my chain of supply so I avoid them most of the time on small maps.

Also, Having two separate buildings with two Science point requirement for trading ressources between districts should be abandonned. Beavers just dies of hunger when there are thousands of cooked potato just sitting in a warehouse two blocks away.
13 Apr, '22
joseph ernst Merged
districts really ruin the game for me. They are to cumbersome and really not needed. Just eliminate them.
22 Aug, '22
Wren Merged
Agreed. I want to build a huge sprawling city with tons of beavers but I inevitably have to duplicate a bunch of stuff or use distribution centers and receivers, which take up a bunch of space and limit the throughput. I can see wanting to be _able_ to separate things like that, and even agree that it's a cool concept, but I think it would have been better done by building the pass/no-pass into the gates themselves and using distribution centers, builders' huts, and hauling stations to extend the pathing network for supply distro
08 Sep, '22
Mat Steele Merged
I like the range limits districts impose, however would it be possible to add a building or an upgrade that allows all resources to be shared between all districts? Rather than having to select what resources to send to which district. We could call them resource management centers that just allow haulers to enter other districts storage and grab what they need
08 Sep, '22
MrJoshua Merged
Agree, districts put a damper on an otherwise fun game. It was pretty frustrating trying to make it work right too.
If they MUST use districts, they need to automate sharing resources instead of making us deal with distribution centers and drop off points.
Click to enlarge

10 Sep, '22
Kirill Merged
It is inconvenient to manually configure materials that need to be moved to the new center, and this is a pain in the ass. Because you need ALL the materials, or almost all of them.
Great mechanics in Survival Mars, where the player only controls the proportions. By default, all resources are balanced by pores
10 Sep, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Share all resources between districts" (suggested by Mat Steele on 2022-09-08), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
10 Sep, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Better UI for cross district trading (distribution)" (suggested by JP on 2022-05-15), including upvotes (3) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
10 Sep, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Distribution Post needs an efficiency boost [merge pending]" (suggested by Kevin on 2022-01-25), including upvotes (7) and comments (1), was merged into this suggestion.
10 Sep, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"shifting resources between centers" (suggested by Kirill on 2022-09-10), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
22 Sep, '22
eigenmeister Merged
Chiming in with a 'districts need work' example:
I have a thriving first district, and begin a 2nd district. The initial population will run to the new district center just fine. However, they are too far from the previous district for district 1 to finish constructing the path connecting the two, and the new district lacks the resources to do so for itself.
Further, since there's no complete path, distribution won't help either. There are "too far from district" warnings, but some of the structures - bridges, stairs, platforms, gate, drop-off point, were constructed despite that.
Now I have a useless district to abandon until I can perhaps build a third adjacent to the first two and hope I get the distances right.
28 Sep, '22
Chiyep Merged
Districts are the only reason I have a pause on playing the game. I really love the city building aspect and managing districts feels more like a chore than a fun gameplay mechanic
01 Oct, '22
Fram Merged
Sending construction materials from one district to another can be a bit clunky since you have to use a drop-off point and the redistribute. This usually means that there will be spare materials left at the drop-off point. I would like to target a building under construction specifically to provide it with only the materials it needs. It would also be nice to do this from a hauling post, since they are really not much different from distribution posts.
02 Oct, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"One-time delivery to construction site in a different district" (suggested by Fram on 2022-10-01), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
14 Oct, '22
manish Merged
very confusing while managing different districts.
17 Oct, '22
S Merged
When setting the low limit it is copied to the high limit if hitting enter while in the window or exiting the window copies too. I would like to have low and high be different
25 Oct, '22
steph Merged
Instead of having to click on the trading posts from one distribution center to another district's post, an interface where you can set trades between all districts and see/edit all established routes would be *sweet.*
31 Oct, '22
Ravenjrake Merged
I have to agree with this. Districts do not provide any positive addition to the game that couldn't be done more logically.
For example, if their point is to restrict city sprawl then logically that would be based on beaver home to work/food/amenities and that should be where the bottleneck stems from, not the district center which is just a that provides a workforce. If the building workforce is the restriction than the builder structure should expand the distance instead.
Having looked up how districts work, as there is no mention as to what they are or why you would want them in the tutorial, and reading the multitude of comments from various different threads and forums; districts are by and large an undesired mechanic, or at best, a mechanic that needs significant work.
My suggestion would be to remove them until their function or base mechanic can receive the polish it needs to add a positive aspect to the game.
31 Oct, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Ease the distribution part of the game ,its not very user friendly." (suggested by manish on 2022-10-14), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
31 Oct, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Distribution Post setting low and high limits copys low to high" (suggested by S on 2022-10-17), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
07 Nov, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"District use" (suggested by Félix GL on 2022-03-23), including upvotes (9) and comments (5), was merged into this suggestion.
07 Nov, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Distribution Overview: Set multiple trades in universal UX" (suggested by steph on 2022-10-25), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
01 Dec, '22
LWGShane Merged
1: Allow the use of percentages in when setting the hi and low limits, and allow combinations of numbers and percentages. For example: I have grilled potatoes being sent to another district. It would be so much nicer if I could set it to say 80% of grilled potatoes we keep and ship the rest out until the receiving district has 100 Potatoes.

2: Allow a lower "High" setting. Using the above example, say we have 1000 grilled potatoes. If I decide to use a number and keep 900 grilled potatoes, it would be completely ridiculous to set the other district to stop receiving at 900, especially if I only want that other district to have 100 grilled potatoes.
04 Dec, '22
Tyler Merged
The interface/mechanics for setting district limitations on goods isn't clear. At least the tool tip makes it sound like it works differently than it does. The way I read it is:

I am in the district distribution limits menu for District A
When I change the 'Low' amount, I will always keep that much in District A before I transport out
When I change the 'High' amount, I will check to see if the receiving district has an amount above this amount.

Perhaps a slight rewording.
Low: Quantities lower than 'Low' will not be removed from THIS district.
High: If this district has above the 'High' amount, other districts will not deliver those goods.

Something to that effect. I was confused about the high/low mechanics as it didn't work the way I thought it would based off of what I read. English is my first language.
05 Dec, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Distribution Post Requests" (suggested by LWGShane on 2022-12-01), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
08 Dec, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"District Limitations - ambiguous interface" (suggested by Tyler on 2022-12-04), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
10 Dec, '22
OptimalScrub Merged
"Moving" a district center by removing and replacing it ends up resetting the district limits assigned to the Distro Center and Drop-off Points. It makes sense that these get reset since for even a moment the old District Center was removed and the limits are no longer attached to a District, though it would be helpful to simply copy the current limits to your clipboard (maybe using a JSON string or something) so you can quickly paste the settings into the new District after moving the center.
14 Dec, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Ability to Copy Distribution Limits to Clipboard" (suggested by OptimalScrub on 2022-12-10), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
23 Dec, '22
ryo Merged
First of all, it is such an unnecessarily massive structure for what little it does. It doesn't hold storage for items to be sent out and it doesn't make sense for each product to be counted as a "route" while only allowing up to 10 routes meaning only up to 10 products could be sent out per post while taking up an extremely large area.

I would suggest that it should hold storage for items to be sent out and for it to allow a number of items per route (ex. Route 1: Potatoes, Logs, Carrots etc...) up to perhaps 10 routes per post. Or if we want to take shortcuts, increase the number of routes per post.
24 Dec, '22
HeliosTXG
I would actually recommend a slight overhaul to the entire system; instead of a massive building that takes up more space than a hauling post with fewer workers, I'd suggest having a sort of transport cart system. That would at least justify the massive amount of space the posts take up, and could allow better specialization of districts through bulk trading. I get having the drop off point for a new district, but once you get a new district up to the point where they can build their own distribution center, it should reduce the trouble with keeping the district running, not making things more difficult by taking workers off other jobs that keep everyone alive.
1) Each distribution center can establish a trade route with another DC, and can have up to 4 carts running at once, to be docked in the 4 small spaces in the corners, but each corner must connect to a road.
2) The district's haulers can load each cart up to 150-200 of a single resource.
TBC in another comment
24 Dec, '22
HeliosTXG
3) carts move slightly slower than beavers, but can haul many more resources
4) if more than 4 carts are waiting to unload at a DC, remaining carts will stop on the side of paths in nearest available square to the dropoff DC, blocking construction until they move but not neutering the district's workflow.
The increased resource flow allows multiple districts to support each other, but using a drop-off point to get a new district started is still necessary, overworking trade routes can disrupt new projects, but said disruption also makes the issue very visible and apparent, and not needing a drop-off point in a sufficiently developed district drastically cuts down on an overcomplicated system.
27 Dec, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin Merged
ryo, it does store items it sends though.
27 Dec, '22
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Rework the Distribution Post" (suggested by ryo on 2022-12-23), including upvotes (1) and comments (1), was merged into this suggestion.
29 Dec, '22
Whitecold Merged
District distribution is currently a mess to figure out what is going on. I have a few suggestions to both the mechanics and the UI:

- Remove limits on number of routes, in practice it encourages deletion and re-setting up routes instead of automating it once.
- The UI is currently quite confusing, and is also showing a lot of goods that are currently not being transported.
Instead, each trading post sets up separately to which districts it trades, and which goods it exports. You can then set export thresholds for the district, only on the goods actually being exported.
Similarly, clicking on the dropoff point, only the goods being imported are shown, and you can set the target amount there. Here it might be also useful to show the storage capacity of the district for that particular good.
01 Jan, '23
Gin Fuyou Admin
"District distribution improvements" (suggested by Whitecold on 2022-12-29), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
08 Jan, '23
Robert Merged
a deselect all at the top of the "set distribution limits" would be convenient
08 Jan, '23
terabyte Merged
It seems very unweildy to have to build two huge distribution centers just to supply a new district and retrieve metal from. Add a way to transfer resources more easily, perhaps let distribution centers also receive items.
17 Jan, '23
Gin Fuyou Admin
"select/deselect all for drop off points" (suggested by Robert on 2023-01-08), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
17 Jan, '23
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Add an easier way to get metal to a starting district" (suggested by terabyte on 2023-01-08), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
18 Jan, '23
JAGoodwin Merged
I'd be much happier if I could just tell my distribution post "These are the 10 things you can export, and the reserve and max-fill percentages." Then, I'd tell the receivers what they were allowed to import, and let the haulers haul. The current system just feels too finicky to me.
19 Jan, '23
Ian Pottinger
Update to above:

Eliminate the Distribution Post and move Distribution Limits to the District Center. Change the name to "Trade Restrictions" and "Low/High" to "Export Above/Import Below," This clarifies that the limits are for a district and not the route's source and destination, as some mistake.

Eliminate the Drop-off Point and move Trade Routes to the Hauling Post (or a simplified Distribution Post). Instead of binding routes between Distribution Post and Drop-off Point, bind a Hauling Post to an individual warehouse/stockpile/tank (target). A route is serviced sequentially while the Trade Restrictions are unviolated, and the target is neither full nor paused (contents frozen). Reassigning the target's goods changes the goods routed. Targets set to "Empty" are valid, keeping the target available. Prioritize routes using the current in-game priority scheme. Same-priority routes are serviced until they can't be before moving down to lower priorities.
20 Jan, '23
Ian Pottinger
Simplified:

Move the "Distribution Limits" to the District Center. There, change the name to "Trade Restrictions" and "Low/High" to "Export Above/Import Below," This clarifies that the limits pertain to that single district and not the route's source and destination, as some mistake.

Rename Distribution Posts to Trading Posts and eliminate the Drop-off Points. Instead of binding Trade Routes to a Drop-off Point, bind them to an individual warehouse, stockpile, or tank (target). Sequentially, each route is serviced until a Trade Restriction is violated or its target is either full or paused (contents frozen). Reassigning the target's goods changes the goods routed. To keep space available in targets, targets set to "Empty" are valid. Prioritize routes using the current priority scheme. Same-priority routes are serviced until they can't be before moving to lower-priority routes.
20 Jan, '23
Ian Pottinger
Move the "Distribution Limits" to the District Center. There, change the name to "Trade Restrictions" and "Low/High" to "Export Above/Import Below,"

Rename Distribution Posts to Trading Posts and eliminate the Drop-off Points. Binding Trade Routes to an individual warehouse, stockpile, or tank (target). Sequentially, each route is serviced until a Trade Restriction is violated or its target is either full or paused (contents frozen). Reassigning the target's goods changes the goods routed. To keep space available in targets, targets set to "Empty" are valid. Prioritize routes using the current in-game priority scheme. Same-priority routes are serviced until they can't be before moving down to lower-priority routes.

Drop-off Points are resource-free to build, allowing their creation in unpopulated new districts. To compensate, allow District Centers very limited inventories of Water, Berries, and Logs, and settable as Trade Route targets.
24 Jan, '23
LEE Merged
The current system of selecting a single material route is awkward to use. Why cant I select grilled potatoes, water, logs and planks and then select the drop off point. It takes so long to do that same process over and over.
25 Jan, '23
Hannah Merged
This feature is a bit too complex and time consuming for casual gamers.
25 Jan, '23
Gin Fuyou Admin
"Distribution should be more freeform" (suggested by JAGoodwin on 2023-01-18), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.
07 Feb, '23
Gin Fuyou Admin
"distribution post: multiple routes at once" (suggested by LEE on 2023-01-24), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.