Settler pathing and buildings that are high up

[CainStar]

Few notes first:

1. I have a mod which increases the settlement height map, meaning I can build things higher than normally allowed.

2. I have two Settler pathing mods: Multiplle Floors Sandboxing and Settler Sandbox overhaul

3. I also have buildings above ground in sanctuary, and even thou there are problems, at least settlers find their way to their jobs.

 

So I have a sort of "my own home" at hangmans alley, which I build WAY HIGH UP, maybe 5-6 "floors" above roofs of buildings on the street.

I have placed shops, beds and exercise equipment etc. at the second floor of my building, where the settlers are suppose to do their jobs(stores etc.) and to mingle, but they absolutely refuse to

walk/move to these floors. I have even used the console command "moveto player" to teleport them to the said floor, but soon as the settlers are there they just start walking back to the street level

using the stairs which I build(I build these ugly ass stair afterwars from top to bottom just for the settlers). The only thing the settlers do is gather at the same damn spot and do nothing.

 

Now I have done pretty much the same thing in sanctuary, but the buildings are only maybe 4-5 floors up FROM THE GROUND, so nowhere as high as in hangmans alley. Even in sanctuary

my settlers can often be found "gathering" in large group, behind the building which housed sanctuarys workshop, especially nighttime, but during day they do find their way to their jobs.

 

So is there anyway to fix this "stupid" behavior, and make settlers actually move "better" around settlements?

[m0ds1984]

No solution but a couple of ideas for you:

 

1. The area where they are "pooling" on the ground, try and build a floor there with a stairs connected. As long as they start on flooring (and can get onto that flooring), they can generally then walk to other places connected to that floor (ie stairs and 2nd, 3rd levels etc).

 

2. Place a bell and call the settlers. Then move the bell and call them. Get an idea of where they are pathing and maybe you'll find a sweeter spot to start a floor/staircase.

 

3. Give them width. Make sure there's enough space between any shops and the walls for them to stand behind, no doubt you have, but it's best to give them MORE room than seems necessary.

 

4. Are they jumping to their shop/jobs when you sleep? If not, it could be an issue with the cell. Clearing debris and stuff manually can sometimes funk up the pathing, cos sometimes the debris and stuff acts as a bridge for them to cross between one cell and another. When that bridge is gone, they cannot cross into another cell (or will struggle to).

 

5. Use the concrete stairs or metal stairs and not the wooden ones (except for the small one that helps them get up onto a piece of flooring or into a doorway). I don't personally trust the wood stairs, not that they don't work necessarily, but the "fail rate" with the other stairs seems lower.

 

6. In addition to the bell (number 2) try it also with a Siren, as they will try to get as close to it as possible. If you put it on the roof of a 6 story building they will try to get as close to it as they can (at least, they used to do this). They might not climb the stairs for the siren, but it can be used as a way to investigate their pathing.

 

I think there are other factors, though not sure what. Hangman's has always been a bit of a s#*!-show if I remember rightly. And as another example, at Croup, they were all walking around fine until I added a few things and now they will only ever walk behind the statue (not in front of it) for reasons unknown.

Edited October 24, 2018 by m0ds1984

[Urtho]

I'm not sure what build high mod you're using but an issue I've found is that some mods that do this extend the buildable area when it comes to placing objects but don't increase the sandbox area for settlers as well so they can use them. These are two separate trigger boxes and if you'd don't adjust both you'll get behavior like you're seeing.

 

Do they do anything if you place jobs on the ground? Like place a scavenging station on the ground, assign someone to it and watch them for a bit. Let them do the welding animation and then - what happens? Normally, they'll start to wander around the area walking from place to place. If they just stand at the station and do nothing, but then kneel down and do the welding thing again, you might be experiencing this issue. Try other objects - beds, stores, arty, guard posts and so on. Find out what the limits of what they will and won't use and move to and around. It could be a pathing issue if they won't go to anything but it may be the problem I mention if you see similar behavior.

[CainStar]

OK thanks for the ideas, I'll try them......as soons as my F4 stops crashing......made the mistake of updating my mods.......