Direct order?

[apewithgrape]

Is there a way to directly order a survivor to turn on/off a switch?

Since laser cannons require a lot of energy they're normally turned off and I'll turn them on when attacks happen (I have no motion sensor everywhere yet).
Unfortunately, when you get attack at night you can draft your survivors to fight but not to turn on the switch.
While drafted they're in 'fight mode' and when I undraft them, they'll go to sleep.
Currently, I change their schedule for the moment, but have to pause every crafting, otherwise they'll try to pick up things or craft new shoes. So I have to change the priority, too.
That's a lot of micromanaging for turning on a switch.

Do I miss something here? I normally play with controller but switched to mouse to check if there's a right click option while survivor is crafted.

[Tazmo]

I have my switch on a fighting platform and when the first one shows up I pause and un-draft that one to throw the switch then redraft him/her. The rest come in from where ever they were and I'm ready to defend. When the fight is over I un-draft everyone then grab one to turn the switch off. After a few fights it becomes second nature.
I don't use a sensor because the guns don't shoot until the sensor see's the enemy. My guns work as soon as they see the enemy and they work with their own 360 degree radius. And if you loose your sensor you loose all your guns.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2903553883

Sorry wrong shot ...
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2903567486 Close

[Addamz]

Originally posted by apewithgrape:

Is there a way to directly order a survivor to turn on/off a switch?

Basic way is when an attack happens change the activity to handle and hunt, change the schedule to work for at least 8 hours from the point your at, then set the switch to be activated. Remember to change them back during or after the attack.

[Tazmo]

Click a survivor then right click the switch. Two clicks and the powers is off and the survivor returns to normal work mode.

[Addamz]

Originally posted by Tazmo:

Click a survivor then right click the switch. Two clicks and the powers is off and the survivor returns to normal work mode.

OP knows how the devices work, the question was about how to stop them doing whatever they want rather than activating the switch when they selected it. For instance, when the attack happens, they queue activating the switch but no-one handles it because they sleep, eat or generally get on with other workloads.

[Elgar]

I don't understand where is the difficulty :

1. Draft the survivor of your choice
2. Move him in front of your switch (this step is to ensure that the survivor will run to the switch)
3. Pause
4. Undraft him
5. Select him and right-click the switch to order him to turn it on.
6. Unpause. Done.

I detailed every single step but the whole action just takes a few seconds. No need to change the schedule and the priorities or to pause the crafting stations.

[Addamz]

Originally posted by Elgar:

I don't understand where is the difficulty :

1. Draft the survivor of your choice
2. Move him in front of your switch (this step is to ensure that the survivor will run to the switch)
3. Pause
4. Undraft him
5. Select him and right-click the switch to order him to turn it on. Done.

I detailed every single step but the whole action just takes a few seconds. No need to change the schedule and the priorities or to pause the crafting stations.

No-one said your wrong, this works 95% of the time. But sometimes they're too tired to do anything but sleep, and they will ignore all other commands to go to sleep, even drafting. Sometimes they cancel the draft themselves to prevent them from passing out. Happened to me loads of times with those Survivors that have low energy and get tired easily, like Maki.

It's why I put:

Originally posted by Dahmz:

**Basic way** is when an attack happens change the activity to handle and hunt, change the schedule to work for at least 8 hours from the point your at, then set the switch to be activated. Remember to change them back during or after the attack.

[Elgar]

Originally posted by Dahmz:

No-one said your wrong, this works 95% of the time. But sometimes they're too tired to do anything but sleep, and they will ignore all other commands to go to sleep, even drafting. Sometimes they cancel the draft themselves to prevent them from passing out. Happened to me loads of times with those Survivors that have low energy and get tired easily, like Maki.

Never happened to me during my 124 hours of playtime so far. Maybe it's because I never have my survivors so tired and sleep deprived. Do you use a full "anything" schedule by chance ? I know it's very popular among players, but in my experience it's better to have a schedule with sleeping periods (and relax and work too).

Or maybe it's an issue with a few survivors, like Maki that I never used so far.

[Addamz]

Originally posted by Elgar:

Never happened to me during my 124 hours of playtime so far. Maybe it's because I never have my survivors so tired and sleep deprived. Do you use a full "anything" schedule by chance ? I know it's very popular among players, but in my experience it's better to have a schedule with sleeping periods (and relax and work too).

Or maybe it's an issue with a few survivors, like Maki that I never used so far.

My schedule never has "anything" used, 4 hours brake then 7 hours sleep, 1 hour brake when they wake up and the rest work, changing the brake times in winter for a couple extra hours, one in the morning and one at night.

The problem usually arises when you get attacked just as they're nearing the sleep cycle, and a few of the survivors have health concerns or low energy, or went to salvage or something just before the evening brake time, and waste half their sleep cycle finishing the job. Sometimes they get drunk and that causes fatigue too.

[Furball]

I just select a survivor, right-click the switch, have them turn it on/off. It becomes a priority task, much like every other task you want them to do now...?

[Addamz]

Originally posted by Furball:

I just select a survivor, right-click the switch, have them turn it on/off. It becomes a priority task, much like every other task you want them to do now...?

It becomes queued with any other handling task, usually it can be the priority one if you daft them to the switch, click it and then release them from the draft, unless they have other concerns like health, food or fatigue which are always a priority above all else unless there is no food or medicine.

[alanda_b]

Select the survivor, right click the item...they activate it. DON'T hold shift when you do it and it won't be a part of the queue...it supersedes it.

[Addamz]

Originally posted by alanda_b:

Select the survivor, right click the item...they activate it. DON'T hold shift when you do it and it won't be a part of the queue...it supersedes it.

It supersedes other handling tasks yes. But not the life threatening tasks; sleep, food and healing. They are always a priority.

[Elgar]

Originally posted by Dahmz:

It supersedes other handling tasks yes. But not the life threatening tasks; sleep, food and healing. They are always a priority.

It's a non-issue since, as you said yourself, the direct order will work 95% of the time (to be honest it always worked 100% of time for me, but I trust you for these 5% of fail...). And in the hypothetical case it would fail for one survivor (again never happened to me), don't tell me your other survivors would fail too.

If all of your survivors are sooooo sleep deprived or starving that they will ignore direct orders and even drafting during an attack, you're screwed anyway. ;)

[Addamz]

Originally posted by Elgar:

If all of your survivors are sooooo sleep deprived or starving that they will ignore direct orders and even drafting during an attack, you're screwed anyway. ;)

It is true, you would be screwed, and one should always plan for the worst, like a basic option should the person you choose to do the switch indeed be the one that drops from fatigue, and the rest of the team are already in position and wouldn't make it in time.

I have had it where a few have been so tired, but that's because I had Maki who gets tired easy, the elderly guy with Dementia, the two woman who won't eat meat and was starving, I had choose Maki and one of the veggies as my starter and got the other veggie as a walk in and the elderley guy as a survivor I had rescued. I had run out of veggie food which they was about to farm and my freezer had broke.

Suffice to say I don't choose any of those survivors anymore.