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Author Topic: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.  (Read 15672 times)

GhostDwemer

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #15 on: March 16, 2012, 02:53:49 pm »

I've never seen a "dwarfs bumping into dwarfs kills FPS" issue though everyone seems to talk about it as though it were common knowledge. In fact, I will state this categorically: every damn thing that anyone says about FPS is dubious at best.

I generally use stairs. Except where I use ramps instead. I always use ramps for temporary scaffolding or roofing access, because they are easier to remove.
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Exponent

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #16 on: March 16, 2012, 03:15:53 pm »

I've never seen a "dwarfs bumping into dwarfs kills FPS" issue though everyone seems to talk about it as though it were common knowledge. In fact, I will state this categorically: every damn thing that anyone says about FPS is dubious at best.

I generally use stairs. Except where I use ramps instead. I always use ramps for temporary scaffolding or roofing access, because they are easier to remove.
The bumping-into-each-other issue does not concern FPS, just general fort efficiency.  When multiple dwarves cross paths in the same tile, if they don't have options to move into side-by-side tiles to pass each other, then one of them has to stop and squeeze themselves out of the way while the other passes by.  Once by, the first dwarf can get back up and proceed, but they've definitely been slowed down.  If this happens a lot during a dwarf's attempt to get from A to B, then the overall trip's duration can take notably longer than it would have in a more efficient fortress with wider hallways, fewer moving entities, or other more creative means of getting dwarves to not walk on top of each other.
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bombzero

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #17 on: March 16, 2012, 04:17:03 pm »

new idea, use one 3 tile wide straight ramp for the main entrance into a central courtyard, with a trade depot and barracks.

have 2x2 hallways coming from this 'courtyard' to different sections of industry, have ramps linking each industry section to the dining room, bedrooms below the dining room, and stockpiles above the workshops, minimal walking, and no long stair drops, mining shaft could be a room off the dining hall due to its central location.

also the space a 3 tile wide spiral ramp is negligible when compares to the fact that it leaves a 1x1 unrevealed tile in the center that can be filled with surface water from a river, from there it can be run to any floor in the fortress easily.
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Nil Eyeglazed

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #18 on: March 16, 2012, 04:20:22 pm »

The bumping-into-each-other issue does not concern FPS, just general fort efficiency.
People say that when the next tile in a dwarf's path is occupied, the dwarf reevaluates its path.  From what I've seen, this is accurate, although I don't believe it used to work the same way (maybe as far back as 2d).  As such, the more bumps, the more pathing calculations, and even without the hit to efficiency, you have a performance hit.
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psychologicalshock

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #19 on: March 16, 2012, 04:24:34 pm »

I tend to build 1x4 staircases and 4 tile wide halls, I haven't noticed excessive bumping like back when I build 2 or 3 tile wide halls.
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daishi5

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #20 on: March 16, 2012, 04:32:30 pm »

I have always suspected that stairs caused issues because of line of sight.  The dwarves could see all the way down the stairs and it would have to consider everything they saw.  I also wonder about temperature, a central staircase exposed to sky is affected by any temperature change.  Ramps would solve both problems it they were real.   I have no real clue if my theories are true.
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kaijyuu

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #21 on: March 16, 2012, 04:36:06 pm »

Units only normally path once to their destination, but check to see if there's obstacles in front of them, and repath if there is. So yeah, bumping can result in FPS loss if pathing is a big issue to you (and that depends on your computer and map).
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For, in order that men should resist injustice, something more is necessary than that they should think injustice unpleasant. They must think injustice absurd; above all, they must think it startling. They must retain the violence of a virgin astonishment. When the pessimist looks at any infamy, it is to him, after all, only a repetition of the infamy of existence. But the optimist sees injustice as something discordant and unexpected, and it stings him into action.

bombzero

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #22 on: March 16, 2012, 04:42:54 pm »

Its more efficiency vs fps for me.

my main theory on why stairs are inefficient comes from observing any staircase over 1x1 tiles,

when dwarves are on a staircase, even by themselves, they tend to just randomly run back and forth while they go down, every step taking one extra turn.
e.g.
Code: [Select]
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...
  .
  .
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..
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so the extra time taken seems inneficient, combining the spiral staircase with building stuff on only 2 sides of every floor, means my dwarves only move horizontally, and the any vertical moves move one space horizontally anyways. can combine with shortcut 2x2 straight/spiral ramps for boosted efficiency.
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Triaxx2

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #23 on: March 16, 2012, 05:09:21 pm »

It's not a matter of in time. If the dwarf moods, I secure the doors as soon as he's inside, and then dump what he wants in from above. That way if I don't have it, I don't have to deal with him. Or I can just drown him if I feel like it.
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bombzero

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #24 on: March 16, 2012, 05:17:15 pm »

It's not a matter of in time. If the dwarf moods, I secure the doors as soon as he's inside, and then dump what he wants in from above. That way if I don't have it, I don't have to deal with him. Or I can just drown him if I feel like it.
hmm? im not sure what post your replying to...

anyways, i have never had a failed mood in any fortress, i always bring everything i need for cloth and leather industries, and trade for what i don't have.
(not counting one bugged mood who wanted cloth despite me having rope reed cloth, pig tail cloth, and silk cloth from almost every spider species, and almost every species of animal, DFhack said plant cloth so i have no idea, no locked doors/forbidden items either, so idk)
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PopeRichardCorey

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #25 on: March 19, 2012, 02:08:26 am »

Wait, when did Ramps stop being non-euclidean monstrosities that were consistently possible to path over?
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Flying Dice

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #26 on: March 19, 2012, 02:13:00 am »

Wait, when did Ramps stop being non-euclidean monstrosities that were consistently possible to path over?
They stop being this for individual players when said players bother to figure out how they work instead of responding with "Omg hurr y dorfs no climb ramp" before promptly restarting and running a 3x3 up/down through the whole map.
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bombzero

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #27 on: March 19, 2012, 03:54:20 am »

another point, central stairs are dangerous... a thief gets into dining room, i favor pet dragons as war animals.... its messy.

however you can put a pastured dog on every floor of a 3 tile spiral ramp, meaning it would be nigh impossible for a thief to get in.
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Grax

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #28 on: March 19, 2012, 12:59:31 pm »

What about pathfinding efficiency and accuracy? Maybe there's some difference between ramp and stairs?
I mean bug when dorfs consider that a stockpile placed strictly 1z-level lower but with a nearest downward stair 20 tiles away (making dorf walk 40 or 42? steps to reach its destination) is nearer than the similar stockpile 10 tiles away on the same zlevel.

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Loud Whispers

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Re: Why ramps instead of stairs? and other efficiency questions.
« Reply #29 on: March 19, 2012, 01:15:49 pm »

What about pathfinding efficiency and accuracy? Maybe there's some difference between ramp and stairs?

The difference in path efficiency is negligible, and needn't be considered ^-^
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