Jobs and Production: Diagnose the Bottleneck

When production stops, the visible idle worker is often the last link in the failure—not the first. Diagnose the chain in this order:

input → delivery → storage → worker → process → output space

Adding workers before checking the earlier links can make the colony slower by creating more travel and consumption without moving more material.

The current work attributes

The current assignment view separates nine work attributes:

Attribute	Use it to evaluate	Common mistake
Mining	Ore and mining work	Ignoring hauling from the site
Logging	Wood extraction	Building processors before supply is stable
Gathering	Wild or field collection	Treating it as the same job as planting
Production	Conversion and workshop work	Blaming production when inputs are absent
Construction	Completing placed structures	Assigning everyone away after placement
Research	Generating research output	Queuing nodes without a capability goal
Cooking	Food processing	Letting output or ingredient storage fill
Planting	Crop work	Forgetting the rest of the food chain
Breeding	Animal work	Expanding before food and staffing are ready

Carry load is also visible and deserves its own operational check. A high-output workstation can still starve when material cannot reach it or its products cannot leave.

The six-check bottleneck flow

1. Input exists

Confirm the source is producing the right material. A resource icon at the destination does not prove fresh input is arriving.

2. Delivery can happen

Check distance, route access, available carriers, carry capacity, and any transport building involved. Resource Transport Station behavior and hauling are especially important in longer chains.

3. Storage has room

Inspect both input and output storage. A full output store can stop a building that looks fully supplied.

4. A suitable worker is assigned

Match aptitude to the actual job, not the building’s visual theme. Also check whether the worker has been redirected, aged, or otherwise changed.

5. The production rule requests work

The late pre-unlock production model documented three modes after the warehouse capability:

Order: request a fixed amount.
Stock: maintain a target reserve.
Auto: continue according to the automatic rule.

Read the current mode and target before declaring the line broken; exact unlock and behavior remain patch-sensitive.

6. Output can leave

Confirm the product has destination capacity and someone can move it. The largest number of producers is useless if the line is blocked at its end.

Match buildings to the full chain

The current job screen visibly includes a wide range of work sites: Deep Drill Tower, Titanite Mine, Tendril Tree, Bitter Herb, Command Center, Weapon Research Center, Armor Workshop, Vehicle Works, Space Shipyard, Greenhouse, Animal Farm, Victory Square, Kitchen, Wood Harvest Plant, Ore Refinery, and a transport entry whose full name is cut off in the current image.

That list is a readable sample, not a complete building database. It is enough to show why the colony needs extraction, conversion, research, food, government, transport, and specialist work at the same time.

Current job assignment view showing work attributes and building jobs

Production modes by player intent

Choose the mode from the decision you need:

Intent	Better starting mode	Watch for
Craft a known one-time quantity	Order	Inputs reserved by another line
Keep a safety buffer	Stock	Target larger than storage or consumption needs
Run a mature, balanced line	Auto	Silent overproduction or transport congestion

Do not set every line to automatic immediately. Automatic production is easiest to read after you know normal input rate, consumption, storage, and hauling.

A safe expansion rule

Add the next building only when the present line can answer all five:

What input limits it?
Which worker attribute operates it?
Who or what moves input and output?
Where is each side stored?
Which downstream task consumes the output?

If any answer is missing, improve observation or layout before adding capacity. For named production relationships and the readable weapon crafting example, use Resources and Recipes.