Botanist too slow, can't use items

[SithStalker6]

Love the game so far! The biggest issue I've been running into is that the botanist is far too slow. It takes them double or triple the time it would take for a regular player to do the same tasks. They bottle neck the whole production and make it not worth using them. If the speed that they perform their tasks could be bumped up, that would be greatly appreciated.

They also don't seem to be able to use items placed in their inventory to help with tasks, such as giving them better clippers, fertilizer, speed grow, etc. They continue to go back to the same shelf where all the materials are stored instead of using what's in their inventory. They also don't seem to have the ability to use the auto-water and auto-soil devices, which slows them down even more. I basically have to babysit them all day to make sure they're actually getting things done, which is pretty frustrating.

[di eshor ribly]

1) Don't put stuff in their inventory. When their inventory fills up they destroy items as they pick them up. They don't need better clippers, watering cans, pot sprinklers, or soil pourers. Those tools are for your convenience.

2) You need to use the clipboard on the pots, the additives (fertilizer, speed grow) are assigned there. The botanists will pull these additives off their supply shelf and use them as needed. You just need to order their use.

3) It's delegating tasks. Sure, players are faster and more efficient, but we have limited time. We cannot handle 32+ plants, 8+ mixing stations, 2x meth labs, cauldrons, and ovens by ourselves while getting supplies and doing deals. They're meant to remove the 'busy work' from your schedule so you can do other things.

[This PC]

You misunderstand their purpose rofl, it's not about "they're slower than me", it's about "I don't have to take care of plants anymore, and I can use that time to do other things". From that perspective, they are really valuable, and cheap. :P

Also, the time the plant grows doesn't change if it's you or the botanist who sowed it. Doesn't matter if the botanist is slow, as long as he keeps all pots taken care of. :P

[SithStalker6]

I guess I should clarify a little more. I have assigned all those things on the clipboard, the issue is that anything above 2-3 pots they have a hard time managing. If you have any additives such as speed grow or fertilizer, the botanist needs to individually go back to the shelf for each item. Then they individually need to keep watering each pot because they ignore the auto-water devices. If I have 4-6 pots, I can manage them all fairly easily and get 2-4 batches of product per day out of them.

The way the botanist currently decides pathing and the speed it takes them to do each task (I timed them and it took them 30 seconds to snip one plant that a real player could do in under 5 seconds), it just all adds up to them not getting much yield out of any of the pots in a given day.

So it's not about the speed at which the plants grow, it's about the speed it takes the botanist to do every task, and the fact that they do it so slowly that it leads to a noticeable decrease in the amount of product you get per day. And that's what I would love to get fixed.

[gutlor]

I like to have all my bots close to the entrance as possible within reason. That way they can take care of the plants in as few a steps as possible. I had a working 6X8 bot plot for 8 planters but the recent bug destroyed any chance of that.
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[Shaitan]

Time to complete tasks is irrelevant. It is a trade off between doing everything yourself, or automating everything, but at a slower rate. Never use speed grow when using workers, and if you are a player who regularly wastes time after the clock stops, note that water continues to deplete. If you don't water those plants before going to bed your workers are forced to waste time watering them all first thing in the morning. This SEVERELY lowers your daily crop harvest.

Lastly, place all pots at the front of the property. Workers wasting time pathing is more of an issue than their time to complete tasks. I just hope that the Dev eventually allows workers to idle at their lockers OR an assigned station, rather than pathing back to, and idling, in the front yard. If he makes this update, then this would eliminate alot of issues.

[Xeromaus]

you dont need to babysit them. If your build flow is good, they just work. Theyre not supposed to be faster, theyre supposed to be automation, which has trade offs. They use no tools, they dont really use their inventories that much at all tbh. They also dont have to fill their watering cans, so theres that.

[Xeromaus]

Originally posted by gutlor:

I like to have all my bots close to the entrance as possible within reason. That way they can take care of the plants in as few a steps as possible. I had a working 6X8 bot plot for 8 planters but the recent bug destroyed any chance of that.
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Minimal walk and easy access to supplies.
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For coca, you're better off to run a line of supply shelves flowing all to one, in sequence. Stock each shelf exactly the same, and one worker will run items 5 shelves down the line. (shelf>shelf>shelf>shelf>shelf>shelf>supply, in any number you like) You only need two supply points, and you can supply those points with two handlers on each side, for a total of 10 restock shelves max per side, though you can use less and incorporate other jobs if you like (8 each side and the handlers can refill the gas in the cauldrons). Works best at Barn, 16 pots at the back, 16 racks after, 4 cauldrons, 4 ovens, product runs tword the door.
Bungalow works fine on 16 pot plants, 16 racks, 4 botanists, and one handler supplying two points, but you'll need to do a stack of long life soil to each supply point yourself daily when you grab product, and you dont want to try and walk around inside while the workers are doing anything.
if you set up meth (16 labs, 8 ovens, and enough shelves to restock fully twice) and mix (8 stations, 2 racks to refill each item) at the docks, it runs fine on 6 chemists and 4 handlers. just swap chemists and handlers to other jobs to run each line when they complete that batch. Trying to run both at once just makes you run small mixes for less profit, or you run a horribly inefficient line.
I can restock my lines once a week with the above, making maxed product (all of em at once), with just a daily collection round. Trying to add automated mixing with a production line for anything but pot will end poorly in one way or another, and doing it with pot will require using a property that would be better used for other products.