[SUGGESTIONS] General Tweaks

[gsharp75]

Hi guys, let me first say, I love the game. Have spent many hours trying to perfect my prison(s) and get the right balance and size. Keep up the great work!

That being said, while playing all those hours, I have come up with a few ideas that could help the game run a little smoother / easier for the "architect".

(In no specific order, more of a 'as they come to me' basis...)



INFIRMARY / HEALING THE INJURED

- When a guard or prisoner gets injured, I often noticed they wouldn't go to the infirmary and my doctors wouldn't venture out to help unless in the direct vicinity. I would then have to go grab a doctor and tell them to go to that area / or grab the guard and scroll to my infirmary and do the same. For a quicker option, would be nice to just have a "visit infirmary" option next to "sack" on the tool tip that pops up, which would send them directly to the infirmary for you. That way making cleanup after fights and riots much quicker and less time consuming.



GUARDS / PATROLS

- The ability to create your own patrol routes, especially with armed guards and patrol dogs. Instead of being able to assign them only to a section / room / block or to a specific post, it would be nice to be able to lay out a track you know to be high traffic / dangerous specific to your prison / prisoners. That would ultimately help save some money on salary because then I wouldn't need to post extra guards / dogs in somewhat close proximity.

- The ability to manage shift changes for your guards. So I can hire a set number of guards per shift and they would then come in and replace the guards on post throughout my prison. Seeing as guards get tired, instead of them just abandoning their post, it would make sense if they were relieved of their post and it would be nice to be able to manage that.



WORKERS / BUILDING

- There's been a couple times where my workers have piled up and it was a battle to tell them to stop their current task / job because it was glitched out. Maybe having a 'cancel job' option would be helpful for during those glitch times. Something that also would pop up on the same menu as "sack" that just overrides whatever they are doing completely. I think the main issue at hand was that when I tried to tell them to stop the task or tried to delete the task, another worked would be assigned, creating a never ending battle of canceling. haha

- At times I've had the issue of completing a building and outfitting it completely with doors / beds / toilets / etc. only to go to select something later and find that it's under a light and the only way to select it is to dismantle the light. In this scenario it would be nice to get a list of what's on that tile so you can select what it is that you're trying to grab.

- The option of assigning workers to specific roles within your prison. Such as assigning them only to run for your workshops, therefore taking away completed goods to the exports 'dock' and bringing in / replenishing raw materials. Or assigning them to loading / unloading duties, etc.



"OBJECTS" / BUREAUCRACY

- I saw someone post something about automated doors somewhere and I would just like to second that motion. Maybe make it a researchable option / upgrade. Maybe tie it into the same guys who sit and watch the cctv monitors and you just create upgrade door iteams. Therefore once you've unlocked the automated doors under bureaucracy, the objects of "Automated Large Jail Door", "Automated Jail Door" and "Automated Solitary Door" come up that you can then build in. Therefore also allowing you to restrict how many automated doors you can use, which would then cause for more strategy on your part, but would also allow you to save money in the long run on salary because you won't need to position guards at a post to open them.



Well, that's all I can remember for now but it's a start. I will come back and edit this post as I come up with things / remember others.

Otherwise, like I said, great job! Keep it up! Love it!

-- Greg

[xander]

Please read the stickied thread How to post a suggestion or question. In particular, note the request that you *not* post single topics that cover a large number of ideas---such posts are tiresome to read, generally contain a lot of redundancy with what has been suggested before, and do little to create conversation. Most such laundry lists end up focusing on a single idea (where a dedicated thread would have been better), or turn in to schizophrenic nightmares where it is difficult to follow the train of thought. They also have the disadvantage of being more difficult to find via searching, which means that the next newbie after you who has the same idea won't be able to find your version, and on it goes. It would be better to have one clearly titled thread for each of your ideas.

That said:

- When a guard or prisoner gets injured, I often noticed they wouldn't go to the infirmary and my doctors wouldn't venture out to help unless in the direct vicinity. I would then have to go grab a doctor and tell them to go to that area / or grab the guard and scroll to my infirmary and do the same. For a quicker option, would be nice to just have a "visit infirmary" option next to "sack" on the tool tip that pops up, which would send them directly to the infirmary for you. That way making cleanup after fights and riots much quicker and less time consuming.

Yup. This has been mentioned several times before. My recollection is that there was a good argument in favor of the current behaviour, with some minor tweaks to get staff and prisoners to go to the infirmary on their own. Searching the forum will likely find the relevant topics.

- The ability to create your own patrol routes, especially with armed guards and patrol dogs. Instead of being able to assign them only to a section / room / block or to a specific post, it would be nice to be able to lay out a track you know to be high traffic / dangerous specific to your prison / prisoners. That would ultimately help save some money on salary because then I wouldn't need to post extra guards / dogs in somewhat close proximity.

You can create your own patrol routes. It is in the deployment tab. There is not currently a way to make overlapping but separate routes for guards, dogs, and armed guards, but the ability to make patrols already exists.

- The ability to manage shift changes for your guards. So I can hire a set number of guards per shift and they would then come in and replace the guards on post throughout my prison. Seeing as guards get tired, instead of them just abandoning their post, it would make sense if they were relieved of their post and it would be nice to be able to manage that.

Chris has stated that he wants the guards to be as autonomous as possible. In that model, I think that a better solution would be for guards to have a "Needs relief" status (which would be hidden from the player, but which would kick in when the guard is down to some energy threshold). When a guard needs relief, another guard would be assigned the task of taking over whatever assignment the tired guard needs. When the relief guard gets to the appropriate place (the start of a patrol, the assigned room, whatever), the tired guard would be relieved and make his/her way to the staffroom.

- There's been a couple times where my workers have piled up and it was a battle to tell them to stop their current task / job because it was glitched out. Maybe having a 'cancel job' option would be helpful for during those glitch times. Something that also would pop up on the same menu as "sack" that just overrides whatever they are doing completely. I think the main issue at hand was that when I tried to tell them to stop the task or tried to delete the task, another worked would be assigned, creating a never ending battle of canceling. haha

Generally speaking, right-clicking on a cell in which a task has been assigned will cancel the task. You may have to have the correct menu active. Can you be more specific about the circumstances in which this happens?

- At times I've had the issue of completing a building and outfitting it completely with doors / beds / toilets / etc. only to go to select something later and find that it's under a light and the only way to select it is to dismantle the light. In this scenario it would be nice to get a list of what's on that tile so you can select what it is that you're trying to grab.

We know. This has been discussed over and over and over again since the first alpha. There are at least a few reports in the tracker noting the issue. You are not the first to notice that there is a problem.

- The option of assigning workers to specific roles within your prison. Such as assigning them only to run for your workshops, therefore taking away completed goods to the exports 'dock' and bringing in / replenishing raw materials. Or assigning them to loading / unloading duties, etc.

I have no comment, but am quoting for completeness.

- I saw someone post something about automated doors somewhere and I would just like to second that motion. Maybe make it a researchable option / upgrade. Maybe tie it into the same guys who sit and watch the cctv monitors and you just create upgrade door iteams. Therefore once you've unlocked the automated doors under bureaucracy, the objects of "Automated Large Jail Door", "Automated Jail Door" and "Automated Solitary Door" come up that you can then build in. Therefore also allowing you to restrict how many automated doors you can use, which would then cause for more strategy on your part, but would also allow you to save money in the long run on salary because you won't need to position guards at a post to open them.

This has been suggested before. Searching the forum, or even reading over the first page or two of recently active topics will likely turn something up.

xander

[gsharp75]

Hey Xander,

Thanks for the reply and the heads up. I'm brand new to the forum and the game so I apologize for the redundancy of posts as you mentioned. I tried to do some searching before posting but my searches weren't really turning up anything specific, just individual words, which is like trying to find a needle in a haystack when you're looking for something specific. Needless to say, the tips are much appreciated.

As for the worker issue I mentioned previously where they stacked up and wouldn't allow me to cancel them, I'm not entirely sure what happened, all I can tell you is that I told them to go build some electrical wiring in a new solitary cell block in order to power it up and left them to it thinking it would all be fine. When I went to check the completion of it, there was about 20 of them all stacked on top of each other in one big cluster with a stack of randomly placed electrical wiring to be laid out (as if I had just laid some new wire track for them to go complete) but it was all overlapping and randomly placed, not in straight lines or how I laid it out at all. It's difficult to explain as I'm sure it is to picture based on the way I'm explaining it. If it happens again I'll be sure to screen capture it and post a picture, although I will also try your suggestion of being on the right menu at the time. I tried a lot of different things to get them unstacked and in the fury of attempts, something eventually worked after about 4 or 5 minutes of trying different approaches. Next time I'll be more methodical and pay more attention to the solution.

Cheers!

[Laila]

I am a strong supporter of the guards needing relief suggestion.

Went to suggest it myself but found it here first. I am fed up of dogs and/or guards not being where I need them at crucial times. If the patrol is to continue they should stay until another comes to relieve them and NOT before. Wouldn't be tolerated in a real prison and not in mine either.