Stonehearth is a anti-micro game, that’s why we haven’t really had any priority system. However, the most thing I’ve wanted from a priority system has often been dealing with lots of hauling jobs to be done. Those moments when there items all over the ground, clogging up the AI.
Introducing: the clean-up zone.
This keeps in style with stonehearth by giving high-level orders: I want this cleaned up, similar to how you order swats of forest to be felled. That means that it’s a non-micro solution to the problem. As for how it works, I’m not sure it is more efficient, because I don’t have the knowledge to determine that, but here goes anyway:
When you set a cleaning zone, you delete all the hauling jobs within that zone from the AI to-do list, thus de-clogging the AI. Instead of that, it adds one to-do action that says:
- Go to the zone with as much storage capacity as you can get (empty backpacks, a stray crate).
- Find things to haul inside the zone (the pathfinder doesn’t have to work as hard here.)
- Put them in your storage
- Repeat step 2 and 3.
- Do not leave until
a. All your storage is full
b. There’s nothing left to haul
c. There are more pressing matters (hunger, fights, etc.) - Take the storage with you when you leave, of course.
- If you had a crate, sort all its contents in the appropriate place.
What do you think, would it work, would it be a good idea?