Why do colonists appear to have zero sense of self preservation?

[_Shantak]

Walking out into sandstorms, not eating, not building structures that would allow them to eat more food. That sort of thing. I really think that direct control over the colonists would vastly improve the game while decreasing frustration over the AI. Which, judging from the forums, does not seem to be a complaint that I alone have.

I think there's also something to be said about colonists attempting to do things that they aren't technically qualified to do. You're telling me that a worker can't just "wing it" and try using a medkit on someone? I'm fine with it being less efficient or having a chance at failure. But it just seems kind of silly to have people just walking past a dying colonist because "Hey, that's not my job!"

[Rigel]

Yes, it's easily the most controversial aspect of the game.

You do not have much direct control over the AI. The idea is that you build things in more or less the right order and the right proportions. This affects their behavior.

It's best to see them as automatons who blindly react to your actions, not as humans.

It can be very frustrating at first, but I can assure you it's quite doable when you get the hang of it.

Of course it's possible that it's not your kind of game.

[Lark]

there is an alarm system that will have the people do things like stay inside and help repel attackers.

[Didz]

Originally posted by 01blaze2:

there is an alarm system that will have the people do things like stay inside and help repel attackers.

As 01blaze2 has said, on planets with hostile environments (e.g. most planets) its best to build a Control Dome reasonably early so that you can use the Yellow Alert to get everyone inside the base when necessary.

Its also a good idea to add Telescopes with at least two control consols each to provide advanced warning of incoming threats.

[SpiralRazor]

"A new life awaits you in the Off-World Colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure. Lets go to the Colonies!"

I trust the above about as much as i trust these devs...

[Black Jesus]

Originally posted by Didz:

Originally posted by 01blaze2:

there is an alarm system that will have the people do things like stay inside and help repel attackers.

As 01blaze2 on planets with hostile environments (e.g. most planets) its best to build a Control Dome reasonably early so that you can use the Yellow Alert to get everyone inside the base when necessary.

Its also a good idea to add Telescopes with at least two control consols each to provide advanced warning of incoming threats.

I don't think a telescope can receive more then one operator. All extra consoles do is create more jobs but the telescope only considers one operator. If your worrying about people staying at work it's better then keep extra engineers in the base and make the CC a high priority facility. This is also advantageous because it gives you more engineers to build things with and maintain bots in the early game. But Telescopes, radios only can be manned by one person at a time.

[Didz]

Originally posted by Black Jesus:

Originally posted by Didz:

As 01blaze2 on planets with hostile environments (e.g. most planets) its best to build a Control Dome reasonably early so that you can use the Yellow Alert to get everyone inside the base when necessary.

Its also a good idea to add Telescopes with at least two control consols each to provide advanced warning of incoming threats.

I don't think a telescope can receive more then one operator. All extra consoles do is create more jobs but the telescope only considers one operator. If your worrying about people staying at work it's better then keep extra engineers in the base and make the CC a high priority facility. This is also advantageous because it gives you more engineers to build things with and maintain bots in the early game. But Telescopes, radios only can be manned by one person at a time.

I disagree, by having more than one consol per Telescope you double the odds that one will be manned at any given time. If you only have one, and the operator wanders off to get a drink, or catch some shut-eye, then even if there is another person free to take over it takes time for them to walk to the consol after the task has been scheduled.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1179135909
The above screenshot shows the Radio Control Dome of my current base, 12 x Radio Consoles monitoring 6 x Radio Transmitters maling sure I don't miss any distress calls.

Lookng at it in another way. If you really are going to employ 2 x Engineers per Telescope, then you may as well give all 12 a seat to sit on, because sure as 'eggs is eggs' if you don't they are going to wander off and start delivering spares to wind turbines or something and won;t be around when they are needed.

If fact, in critical situations I have three consols per Telescope, or Radio Transmitter just to make sure. Because, it's really annoying when an operator skulks off to get a drink just at the moment the RNG god decides to target your base with a meteor.

[Lark]

You will need more than one control station to increase the accuracy of the laser that destroyes meteors. This will require more than one telescope too. You need to work the percentages by clicking the laser and see what the numbers are. also, you want to tell folks to man that and you will want extra engineers to keep someone on duty.

[Didz]

Originally posted by 01blaze2:

You will need more than one control station to increase the accuracy of the laser that destroyes meteors. This will require more than one telescope too. You need to work the percentages by clicking the laser and see what the numbers are. also, you want to tell folks to man that and you will want extra engineers to keep someone on duty.

Yes! the accuracy of an Anti-Meteor Lazer is directly affected by the number of manned Telescopes at the time of the meteor strike. Hence the importance of keeping at least one Telescope Console per Telescope manned at all times.

In my opinion the best way to do that is to have at least two consoles to every telescope.

[Lucky-E]

i see it as - it's a sandbox type game, .. so .. the AI.... is the only obsticle, it sucks they decide to just die of starvation with food in thier hands, but- it's the only complaint i see that constaly comes up. in my view- . thats the challenge.

[Didz]

To be fair its a pretty common complaint about every game of this type. You get exactly the same complaint about Banished for instance.

[Deadmanrunning-=dust=-]

I think that if you have to build in a specific way, meaning finding that specific "order" in which to build and only that order, to get the colonist to "work" appropreatly, is a broken aspect and should be addressed.

Haveing your medic walk by the lab table, the only one in the lab-hab, and ignore it while 2 worker colonist are in the medical hab with broken bones, (no medical supplies, considering these 2 workers are the ones working the mine, so break there "leg/arm" every other day) and the lab table filled and ready to have the medic do his/her thing to make the med kit is broken. Haveing it take 9 days, of continious "priority" on the lab hab, with no other construction going on, no other "priority" on any other building is also broken. I mean, the lab table had all the nesceary reasources, with 15 extra medical "plants" in storage, which was connected to the lab-hab, and the medical hab was connected to the lab-hab, there was enought O2, power to spare as well.

I just ended up walking away, while I let the game run, and not building anything and let the colonist run around doing what ever it was they were doing, mostly eating and sleeping from what I could see, with the bio people taking care of "growing" the food. And finally 9 days later the 2 in the medical hab were finally healed.

How does that make sence, or is there something I am missing?

[Mia Ishata]

The Horrible AI really kills the game for me, even some of the updates seem to have made it worse. I remember finishing challenges and planets with ease back during release. Now its even harder to keep those blockheads alive. And i feel like the dev is completely ignoring the fact that them clinging onto their AI Damages their own game :c

[Alaskan Glitch]

Originally posted by BiscuitHammer:

Walking out into sandstorms, not eating, not building structures that would allow them to eat more food. That sort of thing. I really think that direct control over the colonists would vastly improve the game while decreasing frustration over the AI. Which, judging from the forums, does not seem to be a complaint that I alone have.

I think there's also something to be said about colonists attempting to do things that they aren't technically qualified to do. You're telling me that a worker can't just "wing it" and try using a medkit on someone? I'm fine with it being less efficient or having a chance at failure. But it just seems kind of silly to have people just walking past a dying colonist because "Hey, that's not my job!"

There can certainly be a lot of frustration concerning the behavior of the colonists, until you figure out how the AI works. Even then there will still be issues where you have to intervene, like when they build themselves into a position where they can't get out.

First and foremost, if you want your colonists to perform the tasks you set for them they need to be happy, uninjured, and well rested. If they are unhappy, injured, and/or tired then they will not perform the tasks they have been assigned. Their first priority will be to get healed, sleep, or watch a video to get happy again. So the mood of the colonist is critical to getting them to do their job.

They will perform tasks in the order that you give them. For example, if you build a windmill, solar panel, and a mine in that order then the colonists will attempt to build those structures in the same order. However, there are certain things that will take priority. For example, if you create a trade your colonists will drop whatever they were doing and load the vessel. No structures will be built or maintained and no food or resources will be collected while they are loading the Trader's spacecraft.

Sand storms, blizzards, and solar storms can injure a colonist or damage robots. Always signal a "Yellow Alert" from your Control Center whenever one of those storms starts up. It will cause all your colonists and robots that are outside or in a mine to drop what they are doing and come back inside the base. It will also send the medics to their Sick Bays standing by.