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[Starver]

Firstly, keep an eye out for no-job dwarves.  (I try to never have any idlers, if I can help it, and with the Miners it's quite easy to have a quick check at the top of the dwarf-list and then out, every other minute, without too much time game-paused.)

that's what i call cumbersome. annoying might be a better word.

No-job dwarves¹ make for an inefficient fort.  And if you habitually don't have any, then the Idle-indicator (already set, by default, by the "[IDLERS:...]" setting in D_INIT.TXT file, unless you've somehow nixed it) showing anything other than zero is your first clue.

Or just every couple of minutes tap open the (u)nit list screen, then quickly escape back, as soon as you've glanced at the status of the miners (assuming you aren't giving a non-miner that task) who are, by default, at the very top at the Citizens list that is the thing you'll see first of all

Or do the same with the (j)ob list and zoom straight to the end to check for dwarves without jobs.

Or, if you really don't like doing any key-pressing, and thus are doing absolutely nothing else, between which you can handily interleave an occasional check, just highlight your dwarf that you've forced into this activity with (v)iew unit and then (f)ollow them, so you can just look straight at the screen to see when they're idle and milling around aimlessly.


Don't get me wrong: I can think of any number of good ways to implement the feature you seem to want, but you're not really lacking in plenty of pre-existing viable alternatives that could suit your current playing style at least as good as an extra available layer of micromanaging control (i.e. that you'd probably find as cumbersome/annoying) in the background job-assignment level of things...


¹ And also those taking breaks/sleeping, but you have to let them do that...  Unless you're 'cheating'.

[cochramd]

• View by quality on stocks screen: Currently, there are 2 levels of detail in the stock screen. In one, I can see the total number of large serrated steel discs in my fort and order them all melted with one keystroke. In the other, I can see each individual large serrated steel disc in my fort and order them melted individually. What would be great is a third in-between level of detail where I could see how many large serrated steel discs of each quality level I had, and could order all the discs of a certain quality level melted with a single keystroke.

As an addendum to this, having a quality-level viewing option available in the building screen would be nice too, especially when it comes to traps and wells.

[Starver]

As an addendum to this, having a quality-level viewing option available in the building screen would be nice too, especially when it comes to traps and wells.

That's sort of already in, isn't it?

e.g. From muscle-memory: (b)uild, (T)raps/levers, (c)age trap, <cursor to position and Enter to place>, then e(x)pand to choose the mechanism quality that you will then <Enter to select>.

Although the cage-trap's cage, when supplied, will be the quality of the randomly associated cage, admittedly.

OTOH, if it's a (w)eapon trap, <position and place>, e(x)pand the mechanisms list to choose the quality of mechanism to <Enter to select> and the next choice of weapons is already expanded.  Full 'quality control', so long as you have available what you want to add.

And then there's (b)uild, wel(l), <position and place>, e(x)pand the block list¹, <select exact block>, <select exact bucket>, <select exact rope>, <select exact mechanism>.

...Unless it's changed in the latest version and I've just not noticed.


¹ Unnecessary, given the no-quality nature of blocks, and material-type already being choosable in the unexpanded list, but you could do it to select a block at a distance, and you might as well (x) it now as later.

[Bumber]

No-job dwarves¹ make for an inefficient fort.

A valuable dwarf with no job can be better than that dwarf taking an unimportant job and not being available when needed.

[Starver]

No-job dwarves¹ make for an inefficient fort.

A valuable dwarf with no job can be better than that dwarf taking an unimportant job and not being available when needed.

True, but that's when you finesse.

If nothing else, give them dummy-lever 'makework' in the vicinity of the real levers, if that's their vital but as yet unnecessary role, having also equipped them with bed'n'breakfast.  And perhaps also sealed them in by either burrow, locked doors or constructed walls, depending on how you're actually planning on resupplying their consolation vittles.

(Meanwhile, I always have more digging needing doing than I have diggers, no matter how many I assign to that task.  An idle miner definitely fits within my above aphorism, as far as I'm concerned. )

[Bumber]

No-job dwarves¹ make for an inefficient fort.

A valuable dwarf with no job can be better than that dwarf taking an unimportant job and not being available when needed.

True, but that's when you finesse.

If nothing else, give them dummy-lever 'makework' in the vicinity of the real levers, if that's their vital but as yet unnecessary role, having also equipped them with bed'n'breakfast.  And perhaps also sealed them in by either burrow, locked doors or constructed walls, depending on how you're actually planning on resupplying their consolation vittles.

(Meanwhile, I always have more digging needing doing than I have diggers, no matter how many I assign to that task.  An idle miner definitely fits within my above aphorism, as far as I'm concerned. )

I always put my levers near the meeting hall, as anyone can pull a lever. By valuable I meant more like skilled doctors/mechanics/chefs/scholars, etc. Nothing's worse than ordering up some goods, then checking back later to see that nobody's even started the task because they're all hauling rocks somewhere (or dead in a tree.) It's better just to have the idlers and check the units screen to see if your dwarves are doing their appointed tasks.

[cochramd]

*snip*

I like to make my weapon traps with masterwork mechanisms, and my cage traps with anything but masterwork mechanisms, so when I build either of them there's some scrolling in the selection menu to be done. And when I'm making a REALLY GOOD weapon trap, I have to do a lot more scrolling to make sure I only pick masterwork trap weapons. If I could sort by quality, I'd hardly need to do any scrolling.

[Starver]

I always put my levers near the meeting hall, as anyone can pull a lever. By valuable I meant more like skilled doctors/mechanics/chefs/scholars, etc. Nothing's worse than ordering up some goods, then checking back later to see that nobody's even started the task because they're all hauling rocks somewhere (or dead in a tree.) It's better just to have the idlers and check the units screen to see if your dwarves are doing their appointed tasks.

Another difference in play, then.  Anybody with an important important task gets excused some or all of the hauling (definitely stone, and maybe even bringing things to the depot to trade, now that that's an option).  to be ramped up or down as the need arises.  Food is one of the ones I'll generally leave (rotting being a potential thing), while dumping (despite the possibility of rotting) tends to be a common removal from anybody with any decent skill.  I used to use Corpse Hauling as a useful flag for "which of these dwarves is a migrant I haven't actually assessed yet?" (trying to play so that I needn't turn CH back on too much!), and so I'm still in the habit of having virtually no dwarves set to do that, at any one time.

The "dead or in a tree" bit I try to avoid by not having dwarves have any spurious reason to die... or to go into trees.

(I don't actually have a lever-room/dedicated puller, as I described.  I too tend to have important levers in proximity to the central core, although I might put some safety mechanisms in, just in case something I don't like(/doesn't like me) starts rampaging close that that lever-room.)

If I could sort [building components] by quality, I'd hardly need to do any scrolling.

I'd agree with that.  Especially when I've spammed mechanisms and I'm determined to use only *<particularly-coloured stone here> mechanisms* for a particular group of levers and only +<particular magmasafe stone here> mechanisms+ for the linkages, or whatever, and have to pick and choose the right quality and material out of a much longer list in order to fulfil both the practical andOCD requirements that I have set myself...

[letsdance]

(f)ollow them

yes if i had nothing else to do, this would work fine. unfortunately i'll also have to look at the workshops if they have produced enough goods by now, or add another queue if i didn't "R"epeat it, look at the trade depot if the trader has finally arrives, look if everything is going alright in the caverns, have a look if there's again food about to spoil in the butchery and about 100 more things. which is exactly the reason why it's easy to forget a lone burrowed dwarf somewhere and why it would be good to have better priority options.

i also usually keep a few idle dwarves for the reasons bumber mentioned. since there's no time pressure, there's also no need to have your fortress working efficiently. that also tells me when all hauling jobs are finished.

I like to make my weapon traps with masterwork mechanisms, and my cage traps with anything but masterwork mechanisms, so when I build either of them there's some scrolling in the selection menu to be done.

it's sorted by distance. i usually have 2 mechanism stockpiles with different quality settings. if all spaces of one of them are closer/farer than of the other one, they are sorted (same with boxes and bags). but i agree a sorting option would be better. added lever sorting to my initial list. this one is high priority too =)

[Starver]

(f)ollow them

yes if i had nothing else to do, this would work fine. unfortunately i'll also have to look at the workshops if they have produced enough goods by now, or add another queue if i didn't "R"epeat it, look at the trade depot if the trader has finally arrives, look if everything is going alright in the caverns, have a look if there's again food about to spoil in the butchery and about 100 more things. which is exactly the reason why it's easy to forget a lone burrowed dwarf somewhere and why it would be good to have better priority options.

Assign a Hotkey-zoom, e.g. shift-F8, to periodically jump-to-follow?  (Anyway, the above idea was if you weren't in the habit of continually pausing the game to do things.  If you do, 'check the the unit-list' option sounds like it already suffices as a half-way house.)

i also usually keep a few idle dwarves for the reasons bumber mentioned. since there's no time pressure, there's also no need to have your fortress working efficiently. that also tells me when all hauling jobs are finished.

...you actually run out of hauling jobs?  Are you using DFHack's Dump-teleportation exploit 'added feature', or something?

Anyway, TIMTOWTDI.  I'm sure you'll find yours.

[letsdance]

...you actually run out of hauling jobs?  Are you using DFHack's Dump-teleportation exploit 'added feature', or something?

i'm not using such features. but i don't need any stone that i ever mined carried to a stockpile. i have my 30 stones next to the mason and crafter and that's it. besides stone, i don't see why i should not run out of haul jobs? i usually play on a "project" basis. when one project (for example building x new bed rooms) is finished, i start the next one (and yes, my miner always work ahead so that i have everything mined in time). as long as i have no idle dwarves, there's no sense in starting something new.

[Starver]

i usually play on a "project" basis. when one project (for example building x new bed rooms) is finished, i start the next one (and yes, my miner always work ahead so that i have everything mined in time). as long as i have no idle dwarves, there's no sense in starting something new.

My chosen forum name comes from my (early) habit of failing to provide enough food.  With spectacularly funny repated-events such as "Urist McHunter cancels Hunt: Hunting vermin for food"  But these days, it might take a season or two but I usually end up with an excess of sustenance even for a 200+ dwarf fort.  (Fifteen times bitten, three hundred times shy!)

But I can't get that done whilst ignoring defences.  Or wells.  Or a depot-and-stuff-to-sell-in-it.  Or prospecting for where the next lot of resources will come from.  What tends to kill me, these days, is not having completed a particular path because I spent all my time on something else.  Which did need time spent on it.  But then that's the case IRL, too.