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[crossmr]

I currently have over 400 threads available to be spun into cloth.

You think this would be a matter of simply setting my two weavers to repeat and sitting back.

But it's not..because my farmer who is currently processing in season pig tails and year round rope reeds, is generating tasks over and over. Whenever he finishes a processing job, he generates upteen pick up tasks (isn't the whole point to move just 1 container??)

and the multiple bins that I have for threads (currently 4 holding threads) all seemingly get tasked with picking up the results of his job. which means bother weavers cancel their repeat and sod off. Because the 400 threads 2 feet away from them aren't enough to continue.

These things are side by side.. processor stock pile two weavers and it's not enough.

tell me someone has a mod for this or something, because this is just idiocy.

[Girlinhat]

Disable hauling on relevant dwarves?  You should have enough migrant cheesemakers to handle all hauling forever.

[Loci]

Disable thread in all your stockpiles -- no more container cancellations. If the workshops are "right next to each other" you'll see almost no performance impact either.

[crossmr]

Disable hauling on relevant dwarves?  You should have enough migrant cheesemakers to handle all hauling forever.

Hauling isn't the problem.
The weavers aren't hauling

Farmer processes a pig tail
the finished pigtail threads generate several hauling tasks
there are 4 bins for pigtail threads
tasks get generated for each bin

while dwarves show up to move those bins and pick up the pigtails (why all 4 get tasked and not just 1, I have no idea)

the weavers meanwhile finish what they were weaving and look for the next thread to weave

all the threads are currently busy because all 4 bins are being picked up to clean up the new pig tails threads.

They immediately cancel their jobs which are set to repeat
I have to wait for the 4 bins to be set down again before I can tell them to weave again, and we start it all over again, next time they finish weaving, the bins are busy again picking up the next pigtails.

[crossmr]

Disable thread in all your stockpiles -- no more container cancellations. If the workshops are "right next to each other" you'll see almost no performance impact either.

That doesn't fix the underlying problem. The problem is present in many industries. Processing itself can have this issue around harvest time when dwarves come in to get containers to harvest crops and interrupt the processor.

There is already a backlog of over 400 threads to process, the farmer will get choked up long before they complete that.

[Loci]

Disable thread in all your stockpiles -- no more container cancellations. If the workshops are "right next to each other" you'll see almost no performance impact either.

That doesn't fix the underlying problem. The problem is present in many industries. Processing itself can have this issue around harvest time when dwarves come in to get containers to harvest crops and interrupt the processor.

Then disable containers in all your stockpiles. Problem fixed.

Or go on the forums and complain; that sounds like a good solution too.

[YAHG]

I have had this sort of problem to a lesser extent with my herbalists running back to the food stockpile for a barrel to run with it all the way back to the plant, then all the way back to the stockpile before going back out to get another plant..

I now use 2 stock piles, 1 with barrels/bins disabled that gives to a nearby stockpile with barrels/bins enabled. The first one gives to the second one and the second one only takes from links.

If you still got the save its probably worth a shot to see if you can use a staging stockpile for the loose thread to get past your issue.

On the main page it seems like there is/was a bug involving jobs being set up automatically on too many workshops at a time but that it has been fixed for the next version.

Another workaround for your problem may be to turn off autolooming in the Orders menu. You can use the manager to set up weaving jobs, this lets you save some thread for ropes if you want to make some ropes.

[i2amroy]

I like to use feeder stockpiles. Set up a 1-wide strip on your stockpiles as a feeder stockpile with containers disabled that takes from anywhere. Then set up the main large stockpile to take from it and only take from links. The end result should be that items are carried to the feeder stockpile, then a dwarf occasionally briefly picks up a container to vacuum up all the items in the feeder stockpile before putting it back.

Edit: Ninja'd!

[crossmr]

Disable thread in all your stockpiles -- no more container cancellations. If the workshops are "right next to each other" you'll see almost no performance impact either.

That doesn't fix the underlying problem. The problem is present in many industries. Processing itself can have this issue around harvest time when dwarves come in to get containers to harvest crops and interrupt the processor.

Then disable containers in all your stockpiles. Problem fixed.

disabling the containers means I'd need massive stockpiles.
Or we could just fix the bad mechanics causing the issue.

This wasn't an issue until it was decided that dwarves should haul around containers to pick up one item. This only works as a benefit in very limited situations. 95% of the time it makes their job harder and causes more issues.

dwarves shouldn't be taking containers to pick up light items, especially when they aren't going to pick up multiple items. As well, they shouldn't be generating multiple hauling tsks when you process several items at once. If the point is to make it easier to pick up things like this, one task should be generated to grab a bin and pick everything up, not many tasks to grab all the bins to pick up just 1 or 2 from the pile.

[crossmr]

I like to use feeder stockpiles. Set up a 1-wide strip on your stockpiles as a feeder stockpile with containers disabled that takes from anywhere. Then set up the main large stockpile to take from it and only take from links. The end result should be that items are carried to the feeder stockpile, then a dwarf occasionally briefly picks up a container to vacuum up all the items in the feeder stockpile before putting it back.

Edit: Ninja'd!

That's a work around, but I'd rather have this broken mechanic fixed. It wowed everyone when it was first introduced (oh look at the one dwarf cleaning up the battlefield!) but as time went on it really showed what it was made of. Frustration and aggravation.

[firelord84]

I like to use feeder stockpiles. Set up a 1-wide strip on your stockpiles as a feeder stockpile with containers disabled that takes from anywhere. Then set up the main large stockpile to take from it and only take from links. The end result should be that items are carried to the feeder stockpile, then a dwarf occasionally briefly picks up a container to vacuum up all the items in the feeder stockpile before putting it back.

Edit: Ninja'd!

That's a work around, but I'd rather have this broken mechanic fixed. It wowed everyone when it was first introduced (oh look at the one dwarf cleaning up the battlefield!) but as time went on it really showed what it was made of. Frustration and aggravation.

I have to agree.  While feeder stockpiles are a fine workaround for this, the mechanic itself needs to be improved.  This is not a bug, persay, but it is a feature enhancement that would make everything flow much better.  At least don't spam job cancellation just because the container is being carried around.  The dwarves who need things from the container should just wait for it to be taken back to the stockpile at the very least.  Or, if you're just picking up one item, take the item to the container and not the other way around.

However, I have a feeling that this won't be addressed in this release.  There's a standard workaround which is acceptably simple and there are too many items of higher priority on Toady's list.  I do think that this feature rework should be done before 1.0, but for now I'm fine with the workaround.

[timotheos]

I noticed in the d_init files there was a set of options related to hauling and using containers. They looked really complicated so i ignored them as I don't ever notice this problem but if you want to do some !Science! you could try seeing if they help fix things.

[Dzedajus]

quantum stockpiling.
I dont ever use anything else.

[therahedwig]

I noticed in the d_init files there was a set of options related to hauling and using containers. They looked really complicated so i ignored them as I don't ever notice this problem but if you want to do some !Science! you could try seeing if they help fix things.

I don't think those are for hauling with a bag rather than storing things within a bag.

That said, the description says that before the item setting was seed_combine:2 instead of 1000, so someone could try to see what that does?

[Bki]

I noticed in the d_init files there was a set of options related to hauling and using containers. They looked really complicated so i ignored them as I don't ever notice this problem but if you want to do some !Science! you could try seeing if they help fix things.

I don't think those are for hauling with a bag rather than storing things within a bag.

That said, the description says that before the item setting was seed_combine:2 instead of 1000, so someone could try to see what that does?

If I understand correctly, it define the maximum distance at which the dorfs will take the bin/barrel with them to the item they want to store. After that, they will go to the item, take it, and then go put it in the bin/barrel. I think changing those settings could solve OP's problem.

Because a dorf taking a bin with him to store items can actually be great, as long as he fill it with many items at once, rather than taking a lead bin, putting a lead bar on it, returning to the stockpile, and starting again, and again. I'm not sure what exactly is the requirement for a dwarf to put several items inside a container at once, though, but I know I've seen it happen.