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[DarkTreader]

For all of the micromanagers out there, I'm sure you've burned more time than I have digging through each of the X number of dwarves running around, making sure they do exactly what you want... and you're probably just as tired of it as I am.

I was wondering if there was a way to set up a screen (I know, please don't kill me oh Toady one...  I LOVE your game!!!) to handle mass alterations and displays of jobs, maybe even something as simple as this?

code:

 Dwarf Name:  Bob
                      |Mine|Cut|Carp|Mas|Det|AnT|AnC|[Hlt]|FC|But|Lthr|Tan|FrmF|Fish|
                      |Dye|Alc|FrnO|Ash|Mtl|Jwl|Crft|Gls|SieE|SieO|Mech|XBw|[Wve]|[Cth]|
                      |Mil|Hnt|Brw|Plnt|FrmW|Cook|Trap|Stne|Wood|Item|Bur|Food|Ref|
                      |Furn|AnH|Cln|Arch|
   Current Task:  Collect Webs
Dwarf Name:  Jimbo
                      |Mine|Cut|Carp|[Mas]|Det|AnT|AnC|Hlt|FC|But|Lthr|Tan|FrmF|Fish|
                      |Dye|Alc|FrnO|Ash|Mtl|Jwl|Crft|Gls|SieE|SieO|Mech|XBw|Wve|Cth|
                      |Mil|Hnt|Brw|Plnt|FrmW|Cook|Trap|Stne|Wood|[Item]|Bur|Food|Ref|
                      |[Furn]|AnH|Cln|Arch|
   Current Task:  Construct Building: rock Door 

Something set up similarly to how the Weapons menu is under the Military menu.  You could only have, 4 or 5 dwarves per screen, but it'd make it incredibly handy.  You could even add in the General information to it, so you'd be able to make sure the dwarf you're assigning the task is -really- the right one... so you wouldn't have to rename each and every one of the buggers like I do.  

[Maximus]

Yep, a dwarf task control panel would be great.

[Baneslave]

Something like this screen would be cool too:

"You have 4 miner(s)
1 Legendary miner
1 Professional miner
2 Miner"

[Capntastic]

I think when burrows are put in, it is my understanding that you will be able to assign work-crews with job templates.

So, in the deep-mines you'll be able to have a group of miners and haulers assigned to that particular area- or being able to assign a band of farmers to stick around such and such areas.

[Fieari]

Yet another reason to beg for the burrows arc to be implemented next.

[Soulwynd]

I personally don't like assigning dwarves jobs or rather I don't like denying jobs to dwarves. Since I know everyone will probably not agree with me on this, I'd like the option to make every dwarf actually do everything/anything that is needed in the fortress... Without you having to assign them jobs... But the catch is, the dwarves would -give preference- to the jobs they have the highest skill in, while if a low skilled dwarf is doing a job and then a higher skilled one becomes available to the job they would give the job over to the highest skilled one...

For an example, a legendary mason is busy brewing because there's no skilled brewer yet. As soon as you assign some mason job, it would leave the brewery to do what it does best even tho the brew list isn't complete and another dwarf would take over the brew job...

With that idea, it would be helpful to assign forced jobs to dwarves, so you could focus their skill without hindering their ability to do anything else...

I know nobody would like this, so it would be nice as an option... just for me...   :p

[ January 06, 2007: Message edited by: Soulwynd ]

[segmose]

You can set the brewing to only be done by dwarfs with skill xxx, solves half the problem with incompetents.

[Soulwynd]

It was just an example ^^;

[Retro42]

I've found custom professions solve alot of problems.

I change NameXXXXX, Farmer to NameXXXXX, Brewer
for my dwarf who only brews and follow that trend with all my dwarves.

After you hit ~20 dwarves it's fairly easy to designate a dwarf for every major task and keep a few reserved for random jobs.

[Soulwynd]

Well, I don't really want to micromanage that. I just want them to do everything and anything when not busy and stick to what they do best when there's some job requiring... well... what they do best...

For an example I have two craft stations in this fortress and 4 craftdwarves, plus another few capable of crafting. It bugs me when one of the good ones is busy with hauling for example and I assign a crafting job then the low skilled ones go do the job, but when the good one is done hauling, he doesn't take over and stays there until there's something else he can do... I know, you can set the skill on the workstation and I do have legendary only workstations... And I know you can disable all their other jobs to keep them free... But that kind of goes against my point which is, I want them to be smart about it and not have to micromanage it all... As an option, since I know people like to micromanage stuff.

[Seshat]

I started a thread about job selection, but was referred to this thread. My base idea was described in: http://www.bay12games.com/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=000646

Rather than having to individually designate the tasks for each dwarf (even on a more convenient list-style screen as DarkTreader suggests), I'd like to be able to design 'professions'. You can then designate professions, which are a set of labour preferences which get applied to the dwarf.

On the other hand, I like Soulwynd's idea. I'd LOVE to be able to say that, for instance, a dwarf with the custom 'brewer' profession will brew by preference, but is willing to do anything.

Or even to scale that further. The brewer most wants to brew, is willing to cook or do workshop farming, but if none of those is available he'll do anything.

Maybe even have 'forbiddens'. So the brewer has his preference list, but absolutely positively will not cut or haul wood....

Okaaaay, this is starting to get needlessly complex. All I really WANT is the custom professions, or Darktreader's easier-to-manage-labour-preferences list-style interface. The rest is low-priority wistful wishing.

Thanks again!
(Editted to clarify: in my version of this idea, the preferences are set by the player, not by the skill level)

[ January 09, 2007: Message edited by: Seshat ]

[The_Hawk]

I could see problems with having every dwarf do every job, but favoring the ones they're good at.  (IIRC, they do this anyway.)  Notably, who's ever going to do hauling jobs?  Anyone who's ever picked a plump helmet is going to be a dabbling grower, and then favor farming three out of the four months.  But, as long as it was all optional, I guess there wouldn't be a problem, though I would be disinclined to use it.

I like the idea of sets of jobs, and a shorthand means by which to mass-set them.  Another thing which has probably been discussed and that I'd really like to see is the ability to set an execution preference for individual dwarfs or groups of all dwarves, particularly for the jobs for which there are no skills (i.e. hauling.)  For instance, my dwarves are awful at cleaning traded-for meat out the trade depot; I'd like to set meat much higher than all the other hauling jobs, so those that are doing hauling haul meat before stone or bodies.  Or, for another example, I'd like to have my metalsmiths favor smithing jobs (usually fulfilling urgent mandates) over smelting jobs.

I know there are some kludges around this, but an ordering system seems like it would allow for greater customizability and ease of play.  Also, it would cut down on the need to do things like take all hauling jobs away from your legendary miners so they actually dig, and then have them doing nothing when there are no dig orders pending.

[Soulwynd]

The most important part of my idea is that a dwarf would leave the work station if another 'willing' dwarf with higher skill was free and wanted to take over the job, which they prolly wound, unless they had an even higher skill and that other job was needed. This way, jobs would always be performed by the most skilled dwarf available.

So the point would be that instead of allowing jobs in the list, you could simply state a preference and if no preference is set, the dwarf would stick to his best skills.

[Seshat]

My only problem with that is: what if you're trying to train up a lesser dwarf in the skill?
I suppose if you retained the ability to restrict workshops, that would solve that problem for workshop jobs.

Otherwise I like the idea.

[Soulwynd]

Yes well, I wouldn't want any of the other features to be removed. Just an option to set jobs the way I said like 3 times before.