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[WoobMonkey]

Hey all -

Has anyone done the !!SCIENCE!! on the pros/cons/interesting points of Quantum Stockpiling with zones vs. minecarts and stockpiles?

My visceral reaction is that , despite using more materials and time to set up, minecarts dumping to a 1-tile stockpile are more efficient (and less micro-manag-ey) than mass dump/reclaiming items (especially raw materials, like stone, ores, and wood).

But has anyone done a controlled experiment?  It feels like a minecart track, 2 stockpiles, and some wheelbarrows are more controllable, with less hassle - but is that setup as efficient, in dwarf actions, than just setting a garbage zone and dumping?

Please forgive me if this has been covered in detail elsewhere.

[Carsius]

Setting the quantum stockpiles on fire seems like a bad idea.

But as far as I've seen, minecart-based QS' are superior to dump zones in almost every way. Less micro, and acts as a regular stockpile on top of that.

[Sutremaine]

Dump zones can work better if you want some localised dumping done (eg. moving stone out of an area that's about to be collapsed or flooded), but you need to keep track of where your dump zones are, if they're active, and if they dump over open space. It's something you need to think about before you place any dump zones at all, given how hard the UI makes it to find zones and how badly it organises them.

Once you've set up QSPs a few times, you can do it very quickly. Just remember to set the giving stockpile first, so you don't have to make two trips to the routes screen.

[WoobMonkey]

Once you've set up QSPs a few times, you can do it very quickly. Just remember to set the giving stockpile first, so you don't have to make two trips to the routes screen.

This is true.  It was some months ago that I first learned to properly use minecart QSPs; haven't looked back since.  The main reason I opened this thread was due to a (semi) argument in a succession fort: I'd spent hours setting up minecart piles, linking them to other spots, and micromanaging what's in them - only to have a kibbitzer berate me for poor organization.

Is there any empirical evidence (# of dorf actions, dorf steps, time to setup and use, etc) to support one system over the other?

I understand that a lot of it is situational; a one-tile dump zone is still how I remove rocks from a foundry's magma cistern, for example.  From the first couple responses (thank you, btw), it seems that the minecart system is more efficient in the long run.

Perhaps, instead of asking others, I'd best just spend a couple hours doing the research for myself.  Cheers.

[Merendel]

In general minecart QSP's are superior from a storage standpoint

Pros
Automated once setup
Can easily control number of haulers filling it via the number of feeder stockpiles and the wheelbarrles in them.
Can have several holding different items without interfearing with eachother.


Cons:
Slightly more setup involved along with a small material cost
Slightly more space used than a zone pile(although still very compact)
Hard to convince dwarves to move specific items to the pile before others.

On the other hand zone based piles are ideal if you want to clear out a specific area in a hurry.  Every avalible dwarf with refuse hauling will go and grab whatever you marked.   They are fast and easy to setup with the drawback that you have to be careful and deactivate any other dumping zones or risk stuff ending up where you dont want it.  You also cant use wheelbarrles with a zone based QSP.   This is not really a problem if your just hauling stones to the hallway right outside the room you just cleared, can be bad if you need to haul them accross your fort.

Pros
Quick setup
No resorce cost
Able to prioritize items from a specific area.

Cons
Lots of micro management needed to dump/claim items
Micromanagement of specific zones needed if you utilize several.  If your not careful you can end up with stuff you ment to go into the quantum stockpile hauled accross the map and tossed into the shaft leading to the magma sea.
Can not use wheelbarrles for hauling heavy items.
Can not limit the % of your hauler force involved in the job short of turning on and off labors. (easy to starve out other industry due to other hauling jobs not getting done)

[Sutremaine]

Hard to convince dwarves to move specific items to the pile before others.

You can use stockpile links and stockpile options to restrict what goes into the feeder stockpile for the QSP. It won't help with individual items, but it'll separate out the category those items are in.