1.0D Command: send to stockpile

Basically, the order "Place this item in the stockpile" is placed on an item to help organise and squish a certain bug I'm suffering which has scuttled my game. Items which are left around the map can be given a standing order to be placed in the stockpile.

Right now, my idiot smith is collecting iron ore my colonists had mined from nodes all over the map but dumps it unceremoniously in a random spot in the map before he can smelt it into ingots because he hits his break time before he bring it to the smelter. Then he starts the process over from the top. This is a failed playthrough since I kind of need iron ingots to progress in the game.

 

Of course Murphy's law dictates he'll finally smelt it after days of watching him dump iron ore across the map when break time hits. Right after that he'll get into the same funk though. If it's not obvious in that save, perhaps in this one the issue is more obvious.

Edit: To clarify, take note of how many iron ingots have been smelted in this save. Same playthrough, day 33 in the earlier save attached here. 2 days later in the save I attached in the earlier post, the iron ingot hasn't been smelted yet. Also take note of all the coal, hematite ore and malachite scattered around the map. These were mined from the various surface nodes but for some reason my colonists deemed it was okay to leave the goods on the floor rather than take it back to the stockpile/

 

I wonder, does combining items into a stack count as a job itself or is it part of a greater job.

Because if its the first, that might be what he's doing. Collecting ore to get a 3 stack.

 

Maybe. But if you check the saves, the other colonists are leaving items all over the map after mining or chopping or foraging.

 

Your stockpile is full. Well, full enough that its messing with 'drop item' and 'return to stockpile' jobs.

I added a second one and suddenly half the colony started collecting things from all over the map.
I still have no idea what your smith is doing though. Half the time he did stop the 'smelt iron ore' job while going to get some ore. The other half he just walked around with the job active (such as to the edge of the map and back) and kept putting coal in the furnace every-so-often.

 

Hmm, I gave him a labourer and specialised a few stockpiles.
Two things happened. One, when colonists organise a stockpile they take incorrect stuff out and drop it somewhere. This 'somewhere' can sometimes be halfway across the map in the middle of a forest.
Two, it seems jobs can get interrupted but not sure what the trigger is. Might be hunger or tiredness? Pluto Smith, while carrying 3 ore to the smelter suddenly switched to 'drop item' (after walking all through his tea time), put it in the stockpile then went to tidy the shop while the labourer smelted the ore.
EDIT: I'm guessing the job is being reset after a while of being 'active' so they won't starve to death.

But the main problem was lack of stockpile space, so when a colonist had to drop an item, they just did it wherever. Hence the stuff all over the map.

 

Stockpiles can run out of space. Learn something new... You know, in the first place the stockpiles are incredibly important to starting the game but it isn't so much as mentioned in the tutorial. I also just learned from you that stockpiles can be specialised. Thank you for that.

 

Specialized stokpile - can we get a little more info about that ?

 

Is that why the trader carriers sometimes stand around holding commodities? They seem to get stuck in the door.

As for specialised stockpiles, they use the same categories and UI as the commodity overview. The buttons along the top of the stockpile UI (Raw goods, processed goods, metalworking resources, finished goods and Other Things). Click them on or off to limit which category a stockpile can have.

 

Well, Now that I know about specialised stockpiles and that stockpiles can be too full, that problem seems to be much less since my colonists are willing to put iron ore in the stockpile for me now. HOWEVER, in current playthrough, the smith refuses to make smelt gold ingots even though the gold ore is in the stockpile right next door. He'll smelt every other ingot though. Odd. In the save game I'm attaching he's currently set to smelting copper, but try to ask him to smelt the 3 gold ores into an ingot and he'll go about returning random goods to the stockpile instead.

Edit: I think you really need a tutorial for the stockpile in your game. As in the very first thing you teach players.

 

What the... Day 22: 320 food. Day 23: 20 food. How did all my food disappear?
Compare save 54 and 58

 

The food thing seems like it got exploded or a Selenian worm (glowing slug) ate it. Can't check since there's memories missing in alot of your colonists.

The gold ore one is odd though. She really does refuse to smelt it.

 

Now try this: demolish the mine in this save game. The mine is not demolished; and clicking on it again shows the training room menu instead. And it cannot be demolished either. (I had wanted to remodel it since I by looking at other folk's games I realised I should build more than 1 mineshaft).

My game almost came to a halt during the invasion earlier. Not sure if that had anything to do with it.

 

I Hate when that happens

But game wise it is fine, should not be to easy

 

Neither seems likely. No explosions, no selenian worms even close.

 

I dunno then. The stockpile had a 'ghost' entry of 320+ fungus stew, that was removed by deleting and replacing the stockpile (essentially resetting the stockpile)
AFAIK, that only happens from the game glitching up deleting items due to external events (explosions/worms).

EDIT: Also, can't replicate the mine bug. Verify your game files through Steam?

 

You can't replicate it?

... Ah ha. On the job que, the building IS set to be demolished. I think I have to wait for someone to walk over to it and do the deed. HOWEVER, clicking on a building that is set to be demolished doesn't give an indication that it is waiting to be demolished, instead shows a bugged out training room screen.