Currently, there are several jobs that produce a no-quality product or seem superfluous. The Farming menu is the biggest example. We have...
Butcher, tanner, farming, dying, soap making, wood burning, potash making, lye making, milling, brewing, plant gathering, plant processing, cheese making, milking, shearing, spinning, cooking pressing, and beekeeping.
Now the problem is that many of these reactions produce a no quality item. Meaning a dabbling cheese maker is the same as a high master. What's worse is that it takes away from the possibility of getting something useful. Assuming that every job has the same chance of showing up on a migrant, you are more likely to get a useless cannon fodder farmer then a useful competent mason.
Additionally it is a hassle to handle. I don't care which of my farmers milk the cow, it's just milk. So I propose that the job labors are looked over again, not only in farming, but elsewhere. Then they can be simplified down. Especially jobs that may only have one or two uses.
My ideas for the new simplified list is.
-Butchery
-Tanning
-Planting
-Soap Making
-Wood Burning - Includes Wood burning, potash making, and lye making
-Dyeing
-Plant Gathering
-Plant Processing - milling, plant processing, pressing
-Animal Processing - Milking, cheese making, shearing, spinning, -beekeeping.
-Cooking - Cooking and Brewing.
Presto, 19 jobs is cut down to to just ten jobs.
Yes, there is a difference between milling and pressing, or cheese making and milking. In all likely hood, farmers would know how to do both jobs, especially before 1400's. Cooking is separate because it actually produces a quality item.
Additionally,
-The fish dissector is only used on one vermin, moghoppers, and most of the time you do not have it. surely you can use the fish cleaning job for this.
- Siege Engineering, and operating, two different things on paper, but in practice, how can you build a siege engine if you don't know how it was fired? Likewise, you've spent so much time around siege weapons observing their primitive mechanics and structure, how hard can it be to build one? These two can be combined.
- Pump operating can be down in the 'Other' section. There is no need to have Urist McPump operator wandering around.
- Small animal dissection? Cut open an animal, study it's insides, sounds close enough butchery.
This idea will provide several advantages.
1 Useful migrants have a better chance of showing up.
2 Easier interface. 19 to 10, seems simpler.
3 More skilled migrants. Because of the simplified jobs, a skilled Animal Processor can produce more jobs quicker.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Further simplifying?