Automation should not have been magic computers
Instead of having magic computer poles and sensors, beavers should be the automation system. Watchtowers could allow beavers to observe the environment (water depth, badtide, etc) and District centers could have bureaucrat beavers who watch statistics, and then when conditions are met they could leave their post and perform their tasks (opening factories, closing floodgates) OR they could signal to other beavers to perform the task (horns, semaphore flags, etc). Then the player has to plan for staff for their automatons, and route planning and coordination become a building mechanic.
EDIT: Perhaps upgrading to bots allows for the type of automation you're doing in 1.0
Also removal of sluices just made underground pipe control very difficult; this should be reconsidered.
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07 Mar
WhiteRooHighlighted comment
I also would like to add that I would not like if the automation would require workers to operate. It would be incredibly confusing for players for the signals not working because the signal beaver is asleep or unassigned.
It would ppbly make the whole thing unuseable. -
02 Mar
Jcheungre: underground pipe control, i don't see what the difficulty is precisely for that. there aren't many places where that would come into effect, as you can place sensors further upstream or further downstream to trigger the valves
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03 Mar
deejay4amYeah perhaps I've not really thought about it more than "I no longer get a sensor and a valve in a nice single-block package"
And just to be clear, I *love* the automation stuff. I still want it all; I just saw this and the thought occurred to me "hey, the beavers should be busy" :) -
04 Mar
WhiteRooI also feel like the implementation does not really fits, and you should at least need to build the connections like Power Shafts. Perhaps it doesn't need to hold up an entire square, just and upgraded Path (with little telegraph poles)
Alternatively, you should only build sensors, and the whole logic chaining should be on its own screen opened from an "administration building".
I also think that Beavers should build paths and they should have to go adjust floodgates as well. -
06 Mar
Qodvux@ Jcheung
I often build pipes below settlements where the only option to expand is to the sides, but not upwards (→ existing buildings and/or flooding) or downwards (→ map bottom, and anyway depth sensors placed lower than the valve could only sense up to 0.5 on valve level even with today's update). This applies both near the sluices and upstream/downstream. In rare cases a replacement could be achieved with (much more ungainly) depth sensor setups, but mostly not. -
06 Mar
Jcheungwhat would you need a depth sensor "upstream" of your tunnel for?
as for downstream, plenty of space to place it outside of the tunnel network. -
13 Mar
deejay4am@WhiteRoo I'd imagine that beavers "on duty" would stay up 24 hours, maybe rotate every few days? Alleviated when bots are unlocked.
It would be a lot to manage more than the simplest of setups. That's kind of the point, it'd be early game, perhaps even unlocked from the start (i.e. it's not science - it's just something the beavers can do with instinct).
The advanced automation gets unlocked later, like now. If you can make autonomous bots, you can probably do Wifi.
I just feel like if a beaver could build a flood gate, he wouldn't just stand there and let it flood everything, you know?