Scheduled Research! Heck, Other Jobs too!

[Rosario]

I've always run into an issue where I either Never have anyone researching, or I have someone just eternally shut in a room doing nothing but research. For the former, sometimes I just don't have a pawn that's good for it, or pawns with research skill/passion have too many other jobs that it gets put on the back burner forever because the game sets it as the lowest priority. For the latter, I dunno, something just feels depressing about it, it almost feels like the researcher is a prisoner.

But randomly when I woke up this morning, even though it's been weeks since I've played, it came to me. Put research as a scheduled task!

So right now there's:
Anything
Work
Meditate
Recreation
Sleep

Research can of course fall under Work and Anything, but why not also have a dedicated couple hours to research specifically each day? Your Bookworm/Farmer Pawn with a passion for Growing and Intellect can spend a chunk of their day in the fields, felling trees, and tending gardens, then have a meal and wind down for the day at the research table for a couple hours before bed.

No colonists that like research? They all have a mutual agreement to take shifts at the research table for 1-3 hours a day for the interest of the colony's survival. Everyone except Kyle anyway, he might have agreed to it, but he physically cannot bring himself to do research, so he goes off and does whatever (by which I mean pawns that refuse to do research scheduled for it would just treat Research hours as Anything hours).

Thinking on it, this could work for other tasks as well. Have a dedicated time of day for cleaning, or hunting, or doing art. Heck we've all had that problem where multiple crafters are trying to make their dream weapon or outfit and friggin Kyle who was supposed to be doing research the past 3 hours has been hogging the table making tuques. Give people different tasks each hour and Debby may actually have a chance to make that badass Devilstrand Duster she's always dreamed of rocking.

I'd say most jobs don't necessarily NEED a schedule option, the task priority numbers manage that decently enough, but lower end priorities like Research, Cleaning, and Hauling would greatly benefit from scheduled hours.

[glass zebra]

In general it's beneficial to have colonists do only 1 thing so they can get good at it. It's normal for people to spend most of their life on a single workbench later on in the game and just get food/joy breaks or get some resources to craft. Research is just far at the end because it's not crucial for colony survival. If you wanna play differently, there is manual priorities or if you want something really really close to what you suggested:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=725219116

[Rosario]

Originally posted by glass zebra:

In general it's beneficial to have colonists do only 1 thing so they can get good at it. It's normal for people to spend most of their life on a single workbench later on in the game and just get food/joy breaks or get some resources to craft. Research is just far at the end because it's not crucial for colony survival. If you wanna play differently, there is manual priorities or if you want something really really close to what you suggested:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=725219116

Later on, yes, but early on it'd be a great boon. Also depending on mods and start, research can be absolutely crucial. Like I like to do a custom version of the crashland start that starts you like a tribe, so you don't know how to make complex furniture and the like from the get-go. I would certainly have to figure out how to go about making a proper bed if I were suddenly thrust into the middle of nowhere, I wouldn't just happen to know exactly how to do it. Certainly my suggestion isn't necessary, otherwise it'd probably already be in the game, but it does open a new way for people to go about doing things. I'll check out that mod though, thanks!

[BurlsoL]

Set manual work priorities. If you have research to 1 and cleaning to 1, they will alternate between the two tasks and usually have some chance at fresh air. Combining research and hunting also works well since this is a task you usually can control. But eventually, it is in your best interest to start having specialists.

Setting up time specific for work, recreation, and decreasing sleep can also work reasonably well. 6 hours sleep, 2 hours before and after sleep for anything, 4 hours work, 2 hours recreation, 4 hours work, rest anything. Splitting up work hours with recreation makes the pawn switch between work tasks.

[Rosario]

Originally posted by BurlsoL:

Set manual work priorities. If you have research to 1 and cleaning to 1, they will alternate between the two tasks and usually have some chance at fresh air. Combining research and hunting also works well since this is a task you usually can control. But eventually, it is in your best interest to start having specialists.

Setting up time specific for work, recreation, and decreasing sleep can also work reasonably well. 6 hours sleep, 2 hours before and after sleep for anything, 4 hours work, 2 hours recreation, 4 hours work, rest anything. Splitting up work hours with recreation makes the pawn switch between work tasks.

From my experience, a pawn that sets growing and research to priority 1 will always go with growing until there is nothing left to do in growing, even with recreation between, actually even if growing is set to 2 and research is on 1.

[glass zebra]

If growing is on 2 and research on 1, they will always try to research before growing. The only way that would not happen is if the research bench is unreachable or used. Manual priority numbers weight more than the left right priority. If two tasks have the same number, then the left right priority comes into play.

[MortVent]

I often have one or two pawns set to research (often more) but each has a secondary skill to work on as well if possible (as there comes a time when research is all done)

Medical + Warden + research are my main choices with crafting as a secondary (making meds and chems)

[brian_va]

Maybe keep them less busy at the start so researching can become a priority. I'm sure they all want a bedroom, but they can deal with a barracks setup for a good while, even all game. Less stone cutting, less building. do you really need to mine out every ore vein right away? Of course you need stuff like planting done as well as a base level of construction, but maybe wait to build the palace while it's all hands on deck for research.

I'm not knocking your idea, but short of yourself or someone else making that mod, you'll need to work with the games limitations.

[Rosario]

Originally posted by brian_va:

Maybe keep them less busy at the start so researching can become a priority. I'm sure they all want a bedroom, but they can deal with a barracks setup for a good while, even all game. Less stone cutting, less building. do you really need to mine out every ore vein right away? Of course you need stuff like planting done as well as a base level of construction, but maybe wait to build the palace while it's all hands on deck for research.

I'm not knocking your idea, but short of yourself or someone else making that mod, you'll need to work with the games limitations.

Oh I do, believe me I absolutely adore the game as is. This was all just a QoL implementation that literally came to me for no reason as soon as I woke up this morning.

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Rosario:

Oh I do, believe me I absolutely adore the game as is. This was all just a QoL implementation that literally came to me for no reason as soon as I woke up this morning.

There's nothing wrong with QoL suggestions, even if they're of the back-of-the-napkin sort.

The issue is really of "built in inefficiencies."

You're supposed to juggle scheduling and you may have to adjust it throughout play, at least until you've got enough population where doing so doesn't make as much sense as just taking a pawn to do a specific job and little else. Even so, things may arise that require you to do some tweaking and the like, even in the late game.

That's the gamification of a sort of "realistic" schedule. And, if you try to "brute force it" with certain tasks instead of letting your fiddlings with this "built in inefficiency" rule it? You get problems, like some pawn starving while being forced to sit at their Research Bench. :)

Research maintains its priority level and the Job doesn't go away unless the player toggles it. Planting, crafting, etc, all have their "nothing to do here atm" points where a Pawn will then consider their next priority level. Research does not.

Note: You can have multiple researchers and multiple research benches, btw. The Research Benches will both focus on the same Tech and research speed will be increased. (It's not directly proportional, IIRC. But, it is significant, especially with long projects.)

Research always seems to isolate one pawn at that bench in the early game, sometimes in the mid and late, too. If I have issues, I'll break up their Work schedule with Anything periods and let them decide if they need some Recreation, etc.

Combining Research duties with a Crafter that only occasionally crafts Weapons or some such is a good choice if one must double-up duties. And, if one is operating without Greenhouses, pairing it with a Grower is fine too, for the Winter/off seasons. (That's really a nice touch, as it sort of duplicates what people would do when spending most of their time inside.)

[glass zebra]

I used to put my hospital, kitchen and research benches in the same room in the past because all of those aim for clean environments. There was less isolation that way. Before you even research sterile materials, you can just have your research bench with the other craft tables though. You only need like 1 planter and maybe 1 animal handler in early game and everybody else can craft + clean and haul when they finished their stuff. All of those people (except planter) can be in the same room, which can also be your recreation room.

Not the only way to do this or the best way, but there is no forced isolation or work juggling this way.

[Vermillion Cardinal]

I'd say it's a matter of priorities and task management on your end. If I don't have anyone with passion for research work I'll still try to assign the next best option as the ad hoc scientist because some research is better than none.

I'd try to avoid assigning very labor intensive tasks to such persons as a secondary job; like MortVent, medical work and wardening would be my go tos, crafting/cooking if it's early on and largely as a stopgap, but certainly not farming, mining, hunting, or construction.

[pureMJ]

3 mods can help you:

• WorkTab
  
• While You Are Nearby
  
• Do the F* Research