Pathing Prioritization / Mark as Maintenance

[WanderingKid]

Okay, Catalina... I have a beautiful corridor for you to run up and down.  It's oxygenated, the CO2 leaves quickly, there's light and pictures and statues and just everything your little heart desires.

NOW STAY OUT OF THE MAINTENANCE TUBE WITH THE HEAVI-WATT, CO2, AND EVERYTHING ELSE!

*ahem*  errr... 'scuse me, sorry. 

It would be a lovely feature if I could set paths to be considered high difficulty or whatnot.  A simple doubling of the pathfinding cost would work wonderfully towards the idea of "Only go here if it's REALLY that much shorter".  I haven't been able to figure out exactly when/where they choose to pathfind one way or the other, but gods they just LOVE running through maintenance tunnels.  The problem is I don't want to completely lock them off, as they're the only path to newer areas sometimes while I'm building up the nice routes, and sometimes really is less than half the distance to a certain activity, so I want them to head through there. 

I just would like to deter them when it's the exact same distance up and left and they cut left early into the maintenance tunnel instead of going all the way up the ladder, then left, through the nice corridor.

[Mjello]

Use a door on the maintenance tunnel. Allow only entrance when you are building something in the maintenance tunnel... That is about the only way I can think of, that you can do this as the game is.

[WanderingKid]

4 minutes ago, Mjello said:

Use a door on the maintenance tunnel. Allow only entrance when you are building something in the maintenance tunnel... That is about the only way I can think of, that you can do this as the game is.

Thus why I'm making a feature request?   

[Mjello]

1 hour ago, WanderingKid said:

Thus why I'm making a feature request?   

Just trying to think of some way to do what you need without a new feature. Because the door effect is sort of what you are looking for just without using a door... It would be a nice to have in the circumstances you describe.

 

You could design the maintenance tunnel, so that the tunnel are so much longer than the preferred pretty path, that they will take the pretty path with existing pathfinding.

I know it does not help you with your current design, but one could design a future one without the problem now that we are aware of it.

Also blocking one end of the tunnel so they only can go through it one way would work.

[WanderingKid]

Just now, Mjello said:

Also blocking one end of the tunnel so they only can go through it one way would work.

This is what I've been doing now that I can run the HeavyWatt Tile and block off the visibility on crossovers into the maintenance tunnels without having to do the wire first - door second glitch.  At least I assume that's a glitch.

Appreciate the ideas though.  What ends up happening in my bases however is the maintenance corridor(s) end up as backbones for above and below (or left and right), so they make just the most awesome shortcuts!