The Scientific Method: Braindead teamsters?

[RainingMetal]

So I figured out how to use the cargo plane system in lieu of no Teamster Ports, and set up a weapons factory, rum distillery, and cigar factory on the island with the crazy guy who constantly demands those three resources. Even built a warehouse for it too. But even when I order the teamsters to deliver the goods, they just sit around doing nothing.

Is there some kind of bug that I'm not aware of? Is there any solution? Because my approval ratings are going down the toilet because I can't afford to cater to the demands of the ungrateful populace because this map is a nightmare.

[Kunovega]

Their needs have to be met before they will work, and if you have their needs placed far from their job it can take them years to bother going back to work.

The mission works, but you need enough teamsters and near each production area and with full support of their needs, basically build a bunch of small cities.

[RainingMetal]

I placed entertainment and medical clinics on the same island (and not too far away from their work sites), but it seems that they literally just go in circles doing nothing.

If anyone has a full walkthrough for this mission I want in.

[RainingMetal]

So I gave this mission another go, this time only going with the warehouse and the weapons factory and making sure all the resources were filled out. The teamsters are STILL circling around like birdies doing absolutely nothing even when I explicitly order them to deliver the goods. They even make attempts to travel to other islands even when I destroy the landings!

And before you ask, I placed a circus, a tavern, a church, and a clinic there too. Plus houses. I'm at my wit's end here.

Edit: After closer inspection, it turns out those teamsters on the island have homes on other islands. And building more homes on the island itself doesn't help much. How can I forcibly move them closer to their work places?

Double Edit: So it turns out I need to set my warehouse to "Deliver to docks" in order to actually get the workers to transport the goods out of the warehouse to the madman. I think that actually allowed the emergency order to work.

[Kunovega]

Teamsters can't use regular landings to move goods. Normally you have to use teamster landings to move goods between islands. (or bridges, but they are too far apart here) That mission disables teamster landings and additional ports. You have to use the cargo plane to transport goods from island to island.

There's no reason to even use a warehouse for anything in that mission. Heck there's rarely a reason to use a warehouse ever. Extra goods can be stored at the docks or at the cargo fields up to 10,000 each and if there's something you don't want exported you simply turn off auto-exports of that good in the trade menu. (and then it sits at the docks/cargo until it's either needed for production or is used for contracted exports that you specifically choose)

[RainingMetal]

Yeah, I know about the difference between Teamster Landings and regular Landings. It's not the goods that are being transported that way in that mission, but the people. You're probably right about the warehouses though, but I don't think my workers are smart/active enough to transport them out of the warehouses at this point without me demolishing them and wasting the resources inside.

[Kunovega]

For each slot of the warehouse goods can only go in or out, never both simultaneously. You have to manually tell them whether that slot is for input or output.

If you have it set to output, things will get taken out, however it's the last priority in demands.

For example if you have it marked allowed to move to factories:
If a factory needs input the teamster tries to fill it from the production building first, then from the docks (imports), then from a warehouse last. If you're still producing or importing enough goods to stock a factory that way then goods will rarely be taken from the warehouse unless there's a dip in production.

If you have it marked move goods to docks, then it goes in the que for pickup like anything else to be sold, but at the bottom. Production and factory buildings have a risk of filling up which stops production so teamsters move those goods first. The warehouse is the lowest priority because if you have it marked to take things out then it can't be filled up (nothings going in) and is therefore not a priority over buildings that would be crippled when full.

So, unless you have enough teamsters to cover every other possible thing that they could be moving and there's a place for it to go, nothings going to be moved from the warehouse as it's always dead last priority.

The docks were originally intended to be a warehouse, you can leave product there and turn off auto-exports and store up to 10,000 of each thing there and teamsters move things in and out of the dock for use as needed and you can export by contract even with auto turned off.

The problem is too many players couldn't grasp this concept and begged endlessly for an actual warehouse, so when they finally added it they tried to give it at least a unique functional difference from the dock, so it has to be micromanaged for goods in or out and since it was an after thought that the game wasn't originally designed to have it's last in the priority que because everything else the game was designed around is more important to the teamsters.

The only main use for the warehouse I've really seen are stocking up ridiculous amounts of a single item with the intention of manipulating the market for a super high trade route and then dumping it all. Thing is, very few missions go on long enough for this to matter. It's slightly viable in the couple of missions that run for 3 or 4 eras. Single era missions are too short to bother with market manipulation.

A secondary use is to store up coal and/or uranium to long term ensure that your power and nuclear plants don't run out. However, this is also almost never of any value unless you deliberately cause a mission to last far beyond normal to the point where your deposits risk running out. Even then you should be rich enough by that point to simply import coal/uranium as needed or you've reached the modern era and switch to solar/wind.

I've done both those things just to experiment, but never felt they were needed to win other than the one singular mission designed to force you to use the warehouse which came out with the DLC alongside the patch that added the warehouse. (llama of wallstreet? i think?)

[RainingMetal]

Yeah, Llama of Wall Street was the one that required the warehouses. And given the nature of that mission it was a breeze. I learned how to use multi-culture in that mission too.

I may order my teamsters to move the goods from the warehouse into the island's airport for safekeeping and see if they prioritize that a bit better. Still, that doesn't solve the whole issue of those teamsters always being on leisure time, moving to islands they shouldn't go to, or simply not doing anything even when on duty. I may have to put more teamster buildings there to compensate. This is still one of the worst missions ever.

[RainingMetal]

So I finally did it. What I did was in addition to not using the warehhouse at all, was to build houses on the crazy doctor's island before investing in the other buildings to ensure that those workers actually live there. And built a crapload of teamster offices for good measure. When I did that and covered the "necessities" (a church, grocery store with plenty of food stored in the airport, a circus & tavern, and a clinic), in addition to the weapons factory with steel being stored in the airport, the teamsters actually did their job! Every request that damnable doctor made was fulfilled almost instantly! Doing the tasks for the other doctors was comparatively easy as well.