Why Do Pawns Insist on Staring at Art?

[Meta Vakama]

So, I use mods to add more recreational furniture, and have a legitimately awe inspiring (from a pawn's perspective, anyway) rec room.
...but pawns INSIST on continuing to use much less effective rec activities like staring at art in the middle if a random hallway - or worse, another pawn's bedroom.
Is there any method or mod to make sure pawns are smarter about how they spend their rec time?

[Astasia]

Pawns need a variety of recreation sources because of a diminishing returns system. Each recreation type has it's own meter, the recreational furniture you can make is generally dexterity or cerebral play, you might have many varieties of these but it doesn't matter, a pawn will use one and get somewhat bored of that entire recreation type. Staring at art is a form of solitary recreation, like praying, visiting a grave, going for a walk, or meditating, none of which you can normally really boost or control where a colonist does, it's just one of the things they will do occasionally.

[Bigslam1993]

"Is there any method or mod to make sure pawns are smarter about how they spend their rec time?"

Why do you play Rimworld instead of studying or working? Why isn't there a mod that lets you do the smart things in life?

Jokes aside, Astasia did a good job of explaining it. Pawns basically get bored of the activities int he rec room. They do choose the best activity for their own needs - its just that you have not noticed their needs

and this, ladies and gentlemen, is why communism is wrong.

[Meta Vakama]

Thanks for the answers.
If the AI is actually programmed to pick the best rec activity inside a category, this might be a bug...

Because, well... I said in my original post that I use mods to add more recreational furniture. What I neglected to add to that was that one of those furniture mods add punching bags, and using those falls under "solitary relaxation" the same category as staring at art. Except punching bags fill the rec need faster...

[Kittenpox]

I want to preface this by saying, OP, that I know this isn't what you're trying to go for - and I'm not misinterpreting your original post.
But having said that, I can't help but be amused that the other way of looking at this goes a little like this:

Hey, random colony pawn.
Take some time...
Chill out a little...
Relax...
Relax harder than that!
Why haven't you finished relaxing yet?
Don't you know there's important work to be done?
Why arent you completely relaxed yet dammit?!

:-p

[Meta Vakama]

Originally posted by Kittenpox:

Hey, random colony pawn.
Take some time...
Chill out a little...
Relax...
Relax harder than that!
Why haven't you finished relaxing yet?
Don't you know there's important work to be done?
Why arent you completely relaxed yet dammit?!

How dare you imply that my authoritarian dictatorship ruled by an unseeable deity doesn't respect the freedom and happiness of its bags of organs hat-making materials nutrient paste dispenser fuel colonists!

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Meta Vakama:

So, I use mods to add more recreational furniture, and have a legitimately awe inspiring (from a pawn's perspective, anyway) rec room.
...but pawns INSIST on continuing to use much less effective rec activities like staring at art in the middle if a random hallway - or worse, another pawn's bedroom.
Is there any method or mod to make sure pawns are smarter about how they spend their rec time?

Aside from the fact that variety is the spice of life, Rimworld is designed so that you can never achieve maximum efficiency... If you could, the system you just made perfectly efficient would no longer have a lot of gameplay value.

Enjoy watching your pawn engage in recreational activity that marks them as a being with an elevated mind!

Or, perhaps they're just a mouthbreathing moron with severe dendritic efficiency? It could take them a bit more time to process... things.

Joywires are A Thing ™, too.

[Astasia]

Originally posted by Meta Vakama:

Thanks for the answers.
If the AI is actually programmed to pick the best rec activity inside a category, this might be a bug...

Because, well... I said in my original post that I use mods to add more recreational furniture. What I neglected to add to that was that one of those furniture mods add punching bags, and using those falls under "solitary relaxation" the same category as staring at art. Except punching bags fill the rec need faster...

The thing with solitary recreation is there isn't any recreation power to check for in vanilla and there are a large variety of activities that fall under that category, I think the game is designed specifically to randomize it a bit so sometimes you see them viewing art or sometimes they go to their room to meditate, otherwise if they used "logic" for it they'd always do whatever was closest to them at any given point which would be "going for a walk" which they can do on the spot anywhere. So if you have a mod adding essentially new mechanics there it would be up to the mod author to add the AI to understand them.

Or in other words, I don't think the vanilla AI is capable of understanding that those punching bags are a better source of solitary recreation because solitary recreation "shouldn't" have recreation power.

[Meta Vakama]

Thanks, Astasia, that makes a lot of sense.
Guess I'll just have to cope with my pawns being little idiots.
.....
Not like that's anything new. In retrospect, it's kinda the appeal of the game.

[ichifish]

Another benefit of colonists staring at statues is that it can improve the emergent narrative if you know the artwork. I saw a pawn staring at a rather humiliating sculpture of his rival once. I wish there were thought bubbles for times like this!

[Kittenpox]

Originally posted by ichifish:

I wish there were thought bubbles for times like this!

Perhaps try this: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=1516158345

[climbingeastofwinter]

Originally posted by Meta Vakama:

So, I use mods to add more recreational furniture, and have a legitimately awe inspiring (from a pawn's perspective, anyway) rec room.
...but pawns INSIST on continuing to use much less effective rec activities like staring at art in the middle if a random hallway - or worse, another pawn's bedroom.
Is there any method or mod to make sure pawns are smarter about how they spend their rec time?

Try making the main hallway of your colony a rec room with multiple pieces of art decorating it.