Please use the new labor system the way it's obviously intended to be used

[John_Fuchs]

1. Job selection now prioritizes more highly-skilled dwarves. If you have a skilled dwarf available for a labor, they will be the one to get that job every single time. You don't need to make sure literally nobody else is doing that job, because...

2. Most jobs in the game don't actually have much difference between skilled and unskilled dwarves. The only jobs that don't have default details for which quality really, really matters are weapons and armor, and indeed you can easily make weaponsmith/armorsmith work details. You don't need every single job to be perfectly optimized all the time.

3. The point of the labor system is not to assign labor to dwarves, it's to assign dwarves to labor. This seems to be a major stumbling block, here; they're wanting to make sure each and every dwarf is doing only what is suited for them, but that's a great way not to get any work done. Then they complain work isn't being done, because they don't have labors assigned. That's why everyone does everything by default, because that's the best way to get work done. And it's not done badly, in, again, the majority of cases.

4. The default work details are all 1:1 with labors that previously existed except for "stonecutters", which are just wall smothers; "haulers", which is self-explanatory; and "orderlies", which are people who do hospital work that isn't diagnosis. I'm actually not sure where the unclear part is, here, and would like to hear about it.

5. Work details aren't just for assigning work; they're also for unassigning work. If nothing's getting done because all of your dwarves are hauling stuff, turn hauling off! This is a single click now, in the top right of the work detail: "nobody does this" means exactly what it says.

6. Utilize specialization! That green icon with the little hammer on it on the unit and labor screen means "this dwarf will do every job that everybody does". If you click it, it becomes red, which means that dwarf will do only the work assigned to them, e.g. your miner will only mine and do no other labor. Again, one click!

7. You are not intended to micromanage all of your 100 dwarves. The fact that you ever had to was was a total travesty. This is the intention of the new labor system: remove a huge barrier to storytelling, the real point of the game.

8. Strike the Earth

[Chromatism]

Sage advice. Well put!

[Colena]

I don't think the new system is perfect, but it's a huge step up from the micromanagement simulator it used to be.

[Empath demon]

Stonecutters are the new masons, masons are the new architects. Stone CARVING is the new smoothing.

Originally posted by John_Fuchs:

You don't need every single job to be perfectly optimized all the time.

That's a vicious lie and I won't stand for it.

[Strifeboy]

So you are saying the only important jobs are ones with quality like crafting and everything else should be done by everyone?

[Greggho]

after a massive migrant wave I got overwhelmed with job distribution... I was looking into how to install Dwarf Therapist for the steam version (spoiler, you can't).

I did a quick search in the forum here and voilá, you made me realize...

Originally posted by John_Fuchs:

7. You are not intended to micromanage all of your 100 dwarves. The fact that you ever had to was was a total travesty.

BY URIST YOU'RE RIGHT
up until this point playing this version I did very VERY little micromanagement of job distribution, and the fortress is running super smooth - the little buggers used LEVERS for once

ngl I still think Dwarf Therapist would have some uses - the skill summary/interface in-game is dreadful as always

[Teemo]

Your advice isn't quite right, I left my industries unmanaged and ended up with about 8-10 near worthless armorsmiths and weaponsmiths after a year. Specializing is still very important for the labors that matter based on skill. I was hoping it would work as you detailed, but it unfortunately does not.

[dotLach]

Originally posted by Teemo:

Your advice isn't quite right, I left my industries unmanaged and ended up with about 8-10 near worthless armorsmiths and weaponsmiths after a year. Specializing is still very important for the labors that matter based on skill. I was hoping it would work as you detailed, but it unfortunately does not.

Originally posted by Strifeboy:

So you are saying the only important jobs are ones with quality like crafting and everything else should be done by everyone?

The thing with this version to remember (and is point 1 in OP) is that job selection is by default prioritised by who is the most skilled where previously jobs were just first come, first serve.

Assuming no skilled migrants, a handful of unskilled dorfs become dabblers as they're free at the time, those dabblers are picked more often to do those jobs and become more skilled -> cycles back on itself due to prioritisation of skilled workers being picked for jobs.

Its not perfect but over the course of a few years will more-or-less select for dwarves to become specialists. Relieves the burden on new players while still having enough control for experienced ones.

As stated elsewhere, quality-reliant labours are really the most impacted by this and why the restrict-to-only-these-dwarves and specialist toggles exist - don't want your promising new weaponsmith getting assigned occasional hauling tasks and hurting precious skilling time? Toggle them to specialists (red hammer showing). Have a solid group of Armor and Weapon smiths and need high-quality gear? Turn off "Everyone can do this"

The beauty of the labour groups and skill-preference is that you can, for example, just group all smithing labours as "smiths", set it to "only selected" and then (for the most part) your specialised weaponsmiths will prioritise the weapons jobs and armorers will take the armoring jobs. You'll occasionally have hiccups if you workshop-to-worker ratio is off and/or your only weaponsmith is off sleeping so your armorers pick up the slack, for example. Would love to see some kind of number crunch on that.

[Lexyvil]

I want to be able to put unique symbols for Gem Cutting for the custom labor, instead of I, II, III, IV, etc...

[The Former]

Good stuff!

Originally posted by Alex:

I want to be able to put unique symbols for Gem Cutting for the custom labor, instead of I, II, III, IV, etc...

Agreed. One of my few gripes. I can deal with Roman numerals, but I'd prefer to be able to set icons.

Originally posted by Teemo:

Your advice isn't quite right, I left my industries unmanaged and ended up with about 8-10 near worthless armorsmiths and weaponsmiths after a year. Specializing is still very important for the labors that matter based on skill. I was hoping it would work as you detailed, but it unfortunately does not.

For these, you can still specialize with the click of a button, if you're so inclined.

[Veylon]

Originally posted by Alex:

I want to be able to put unique symbols for Gem Cutting for the custom labor, instead of I, II, III, IV, etc...

Yes! The graphics area already in the game. I don't feel like it ought to be that hard to have a stock-type menu to pick out an item to represent the job.

[Strifeboy]

Any other jobs besides crafting that are important enough for prioritize?

[Mindmaker]

Any source on that claim that the new system is smart and prioritizes the most skilled dwarves?

[TheRealTenman]

Since its obvious everyone knows it right? Or is it not actually that obvious and requires an explanation by you.

I wouldn't have a clue what the old system was since I always used Therapist and haven't played in years.
This one doesn't even explain what each specialist is nor can I customise them.
Hell I found this thread searching for what the difference is between Stone Carver, stone cutter and stone crafter and Miner are.

Miner digs. Duh.
Crafter Crafts. Duh.
Cutter.........makes blocks? Why isn't that crafting? Smooths walls? Id assume, for no reason, that would be the carvers job. but Engraver engraves, so carver doesn't engrave. and Smoothing trains engrave according to the internet.

But nah, the system that handles all of those skills that arent explained makes perfect sense despite the skills not.

And yeah, I checked the wiki. They don't even have the skills since its a new version.

Transparency needs to be worked on. Explainations too.

[Empath demon]

Originally posted by TheRealTenman:

Since its obvious everyone knows it right? Or is it not actually that obvious and requires an explanation by you.

I wouldn't have a clue what the old system was since I always used Therapist and haven't played in years.
This one doesn't even explain what each specialist is nor can I customise them.
Hell I found this thread searching for what the difference is between Stone Carver, stone cutter and stone crafter and Miner are.

Miner digs. Duh.
Crafter Crafts. Duh.
Cutter.........makes blocks? Why isn't that crafting? Smooths walls? Id assume, for no reason, that would be the carvers job. but Engraver engraves, so carver doesn't engrave. and Smoothing trains engrave according to the internet.

But nah, the system that handles all of those skills that arent explained makes perfect sense despite the skills not.

And yeah, I checked the wiki. They don't even have the skills since its a new version.

Transparency needs to be worked on. Explainations too.

stone carving is smoothing, stone cutting is the job that used to be called mason - makes blocks and rock furniture. And now engraving is its own skill. The new "mason" is the old "architect" which is out of the game now.

[TheRealTenman]

Oh and I forgot to mention, Mason. Who also works stone.