"Expedition is being prepared" taking multiple seasons?

[samthunder]

I'm waiting on 5 rations 5 Carbon Masks and 5 Metal tools. I have 71 rations , 73 Metal tools, and 12 masks in storage. I have 2 logisticians 4 settlers and only 1 scout. Where is the bottleneck here? My expedition station is only 14 road tiles away from the market and right next to a warehouse.

[=NickFury=]

Your scout is the bottleneck. The main job of scouts is to prepare expedition rations, so your single guy is likely busy carrying around food and water to make those, plus satisfying his own needs whenever possible.
I usually have 4 scouts to get expeditions on the road in a reasonable time, but you might find different numbers work better for you. But, having at least 2 would make a noticeable difference for you, for sure.

[samthunder]

Thank you. I only recently learned that you can allocate extra rations for explorers and was always confused why the default was 100 rations. If I hit this problem again I'll lower my production goals and or hire more scouts to get my scout to focus on equipping missions faster

[Enchantress]

i've had 200 or more ration for a 4-5 team for the easy expeditions and 2x now i have had so many seasons pass as the expedition settlers chose do other jobs. either the settlers chosen are moving across who knows where to relocate resources or the ones with a badge, let's say for farming..go and do their farming job while waiting for the others. so much time passes that an adult settler will die of old age, need to be replaced, and the vicious circle begins again.

i know i have a lot to learn so i must be missing something. the only way i've had a successful expedition is by choosing the young adults and even then they take sooo many seasons to prepare/waiting for others, it's frustrating.

-shifty eyes-> what am i doing wrong or not doing ? ty in advance.

[=NickFury=]

Originally posted by Enchantress:

i've had 200 or more ration for a 4-5 team for the easy expeditions and 2x now i have had so many seasons pass as the expedition settlers chose do other jobs. either the settlers chosen are moving across who knows where to relocate resources or the ones with a badge, let's say for farming..go and do their farming job while waiting for the others. so much time passes that an adult settler will die of old age, need to be replaced, and the vicious circle begins again.

i know i have a lot to learn so i must be missing something. the only way i've had a successful expedition is by choosing the young adults and even then they take sooo many seasons to prepare/waiting for others, it's frustrating.

-shifty eyes-> what am i doing wrong or not doing ? ty in advance.

You don't need to start an expedition to finish those "Make expedition rations" quests. If you happen to get one of those, just assign more scouts to grab food and water and let it play out.

Generally, 200 is way too much for any expedition anyways. Rations practically work like action points for your expedition team. The more they have, the longer they can explore the ruin you sent them to. For bigger ruins, 5-7 rations is plenty for one trip, for smaller ruins like glasshouses or storage depots 2-3 rations is all you need.

As far as placement goes, you know you want food and water nearby. To add to that, your expeditions will need tools and gear from time to time, and you'll want a storage where your scouts can put everything you brought back into. This makes placing your scout building close to a market usually a good idea: There they can grab the tools and suits needed for missions, and if you give them a well and some food production that puts food right into their storage (can just be a gatherer or fisherman), they'll make rations and prepare expeditions as fast as they can.

[Voice From Beyond]

I am not convinced that this is working as intended. I have had many successful expeditions, however, I have also had many expeditions that take a long time to finally prepare. My current expedition currently has 10/16 rations even though I have 100 expedition rations, which is also the limit. The scout, and the expedition members are not collecting the last 6 rations, instead they are performing "settler" work, moving other resources and doing "gathering" tasks.

Who is actually supposed to gather the expedition resources, scouts or the expedition members?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oudqhl143txzbvb/Rome%20Wasn%27t%20Built%20in%20a%20Day-1599469338.savegame?dl=0

[Assemble_Skoddy]

Scouts are supposed to create the rations, since they work in the Post. People who should go on an expedition should collect the rations, since they need them.

Do they need to gather some other things like Tools and Clothing or so?

[Enchantress]

exactly as @voicefrombeyond is what happens with me. i don't send them with the 100 as may have read above but i have 100+ made and they take forever to collect it, meanwhile lollygagging around doing other settler/random things. whatever tools/protection are made and sitting in the warehouse right next to the expedition center. some explorers have collected what they need and as they wait on the others, the seasons pass, and sure enough eventually 1-2 settlers end up dying of old age and the process starts again.

i also have screenshots that help explain this. will try and get those up here today.

[Voice From Beyond]

Originally posted by Assemble_Skoddy:

Do they need to gather some other things like Tools and Clothing or so?

Started a new expedition with 4 members. 95 rations and 56 metal tools available. Watched the members after they were marked as "explorers". This is what resources they transferred: metal, scrap, electronics, wood, metal, mushroom, corn. They seem to be doing everything except what they are supposed to be doing. Granted they eventually decide to collect the items for the expedition.

It has been 5 seasons now and still none of the 16 rations needed have been gathered with 91 available. What are the explorers doing: coal, idle, idle, cloth, strolls, idle, coal, scrap.

[=NickFury=]

Originally posted by Voice From Beyond:

The scout, and the expedition members are not collecting the last 6 rations, instead they are performing "settler" work, moving other resources and doing "gathering" tasks.

First thing to note is that it's the scouts who grab the rations, the tools and everything else. Here's 3 pics to showcase this:

An expedition is preparing, as you can see they still need tools
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2223088036
Maximillian on his way back from the storage above the market, note that he's a scout.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2223088585
Let's check his inventory: 3 metal tools for the expedition.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2223088758

As you know, the expedition has several phases, with the first one having the scouts collect the items, the second one being gathering the settlers and so on. Usually, the second phase takes the longest for me, since the settlers will try to satisfy their needs before they turn into explorers. However, having plenty of water, food, herbs and confidence buildings speeds this up a lot since that's all the marks they will try to check before they're ready to leave.

You guys seem to have an issue with the first phase tho (sorry about the misunderstanding, Enchantress), and this phase is entirely on your scouts,, so you need to check what's keeping them. Since it's not lack of tools or rations, and they're not busy making new provisions as your production limit has been reached, they can only either be running around trying to satisfy their own needs, or something is wrong with your layout.

So, for a start, don't bother checking your explorers. They'll do whatever work they can find until the scouts finished the first phase by depositing everything needed and thus give them the green light. Take a closer look at your scouts and I'm sure you can find out why they're taking so long.

Do note that some work in your settlement can interfere with the job priorities of your scouts: F.i. if you ordered some radiation tiles to be cleaned up, they can absolutely ignore the expedition and go clean up the land first. Of course, this would delay your trek significantly.

[Voice From Beyond]

Originally posted by =NickFury=:

Originally posted by Voice From Beyond:

The scout, and the expedition members are not collecting the last 6 rations, instead they are performing "settler" work, moving other resources and doing "gathering" tasks.

First thing to note is that it's the scouts who grab the rations, the tools and everything else. Here's 3 pics to showcase this:

An expedition is preparing, as you can see they still need tools
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2223088036
Maximillian on his way back from the storage above the market, note that he's a scout.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2223088585
Let's check his inventory: 3 metal tools for the expedition.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2223088758

As you know, the expedition has several phases, with the first one having the scouts collect the items, the second one being gathering the settlers and so on. Usually, the second phase takes the longest for me, since the settlers will try to satisfy their needs before they turn into explorers. However, having plenty of water, food, herbs and confidence buildings speeds this up a lot since that's all the marks they will try to check before they're ready to leave.

You guys seem to have an issue with the first phase tho (sorry about the misunderstanding, Enchantress), and this phase is entirely on your scouts,, so you need to check what's keeping them. Since it's not lack of tools or rations, and they're not busy making new provisions as your production limit has been reached, they can only either be running around trying to satisfy their own needs, or something is wrong with your layout.

So, for a start, don't bother checking your explorers. They'll do whatever work they can find until the scouts finished the first phase by depositing everything needed and thus give them the green light. Take a closer look at your scouts and I'm sure you can find out why they're taking so long.

Do note that some work in your settlement can interfere with the job priorities of your scouts: F.i. if you ordered some radiation tiles to be cleaned up, they can absolutely ignore the expedition and go clean up the land first. Of course, this would delay your trek significantly.

Did you see the reply from the developer that it is the expedition party that collects the expedition supplies?

Originally posted by Assemble_Skoddy:

Scouts are supposed to create the rations, since they work in the Post. People who should go on an expedition should collect the rations, since they need them.

First it should be determined who is responsible for gathering the supplies. I'm not saying your wrong, but the developer says it is the party. Since the party has all been designated "Explorers" before the supplies have been gathered, it would seem they should be the ones to gather the supplies. Regardless since all supplies are already available it should not take 5 seasons to gather those supplies.

[=NickFury=]

Originally posted by Voice From Beyond:

Did you see the reply from the developer that it is the expedition party that collects the expedition supplies?

I can only assume Skoddy meant the 3rd phase, where your explorers grab the provided tools before they set off on their expedition, or he was musing on how the game should work in his opinion. With all respect to Skoddy, the main reason why I provided pics was to focus on the facts, hoping that visual proof would bypass any confusion. Glad that worked out so well.

As far as collecting those tools goes, just load up the game, set an expedition and observe your scouts. Won't take more than 5 minutes to verify what I said.

I'm sure you realized that no one really seems to have a definitve answer on how to solve your problem. In part, I reckon it's because it doesn't happen to many people; I, for one, haven't had the issue that the prep would take forever (I did get annoyed by the settlers taking forever to feel "perfect" before heading to the scout camp tho). So your best shot is arguably to find out what's going on yourself. Check your scouts and you'll know what to fix in no time.

[Enchantress]

when i load the game up next i'll give an expedition another try and focus on the scouts. i still am not quite understanding though if the rations and tools are made. (all but 1 explorer is ready and waiting on others) w/tools in warehouse next to expedition center. 10 scouts and let's say 4 explorers...why would it take over 3 seasons to prepare the 1?
while nothing else of higher importance is queued up.

i'll have a closer look though and maybe i'll understand it better.
i'm giving the game a rest atm, it was getting too frustrating to watch how poorly they keep attention to their assigned jobs. missing quest objectives etc...

also reading, u (nick) haven't had it happen to u. while 2x in a row i had explorer's die of old age waiting on another.... it must be user error and something i'll need to work out.


thanks again for all the help and advice @=NickFury=

[=NickFury=]

Originally posted by Enchantress:

when i load the game up next i'll give an expedition another try and focus on the scouts. i still am not quite understanding though if the rations and tools are made. (all but 1 explorer is ready and waiting on others) w/tools in warehouse next to expedition center. 10 scouts and let's say 4 explorers...why would it take over 3 seasons to prepare the 1?
while nothing else of higher importance is queued up.

If the rations and tools are made (as in: ready and waiting at the expedition camp): That's the 2nd phase then, Your scouts have delivered the items and you're now only waiting for the settlers to turn into explorers. What's keeping them are their needs. So, if a settler takes forever to go to the other explorers, take a look at his profile:

- Is he healthy (remember that unhealthy settlers are slow)?
- Is he hungry or thirsty?
- Is he radiatied or sick?

An unlucky case could be that your last explorer was a scrap collector who had to travel to a remote deposit when he got the task. It would be understandable that he takes ages then, but you can, of course, check that if you take a look at that last, slow guy.

I had games where this "gathering the explorers" task would take a while, generally it always happened when I was short on something they needed. Herbs or Medicine, more often than anyting else.

[Enchantress]

in my 2nd case, i was taking screenshots to try and understand. my 3rd explorer was literally being a dud and visiting random buildings..had a drink at the pub, then i think he finally decided to join everyone.

maybe a fluke and i only noticed it so much caz it happened one after another.
i'll for sure give it another go and hope that was the case.

[Assemble_Skoddy]

Originally posted by =NickFury=:

Originally posted by Voice From Beyond:

Did you see the reply from the developer that it is the expedition party that collects the expedition supplies?

I can only assume Skoddy meant the 3rd phase, where your explorers grab the provided tools before they set off on their expedition, or he was musing on how the game should work in his opinion. With all respect to Skoddy, the main reason why I provided pics was to focus on the facts, hoping that visual proof would bypass any confusion. Glad that worked out so well. :hee:

Yeah, I was just assuming that they would do it. But now, as you mention it, it makes more sense that the Scouts do the work. Else the others wouldn't do their assigned job/tasks for a couple of time before they are on their way to a ruin.
Seriously, I just don't have an eye on everything and sometimes somebody asks a question I go like "Well, good one. Havent observed that yet". :D

Btw: Can someone else "confirm" this, that they really need to much time to gather stuff?