Schedule 1 - Smarter Employees Mod

Note, this mod is currently a preview and only handles Packager employees. v0.3.6 of the game (currently beta) is required. In multiplayer, only the host needs to install this mod.

The Smarter Employees mod makes your employees handle most logistics without you having to configure them by automatically matching viable sources of items to destinations that want them.

The Short Overview

Put whitelist filters on item slots where you want stuff moved to, they will be matched to completely unfiltered item slots and employees will automatically deliver whatever matches the filter.

The Longer Overview

The mod relies on the new filtering feature added to item slots in the game. Depending on the type of object (e.g. shelf, mixer, packaging station etc.) the mod will send employees to move items around based on item slot filters that you have set.

Currently, only the Packager employees receive this automation. They are only sent to do an automated task if they are not busy doing any of the built-in game tasks that you manually assign.

This means that you will need little to no routes for your packagers. Configure whitelist filters instead and they will take care of moving items where they need to go

Installation

The mod requires MelonLoader - You should install it and run the game once so that a Mods folder gets created in the game directory.

The download file contains variants for both the main and alternate versions of the game. You can extract both DLLs if you wish - each DLL detects if it's running under the appropriate edition of the game and deactivates itself if it doesn't match.

This mod has no configuration or in-game UI. Once it's running, it just works - it does log automated tasks to the MelonLoader console window should you wish to see what it's doing.

Sources

The following entities are examined as a potential source (items can be taken out of these)

• Loading Docks
• Storage Shelves (only small/medium/large, NOT lockers or wall-mounted storage)

Destinations

The following entities are examined as a potential destination (items will be inserted into these)

• Storage Shelves (again only small/medium/large)
• Mixing Stations
• Cauldrons
• Lab Ovens
• Packaging Stations
• Chemistry Stations
• Drying Racks
• Loading Docks (currently, the game does not support moving items INTO loading docks, so this will be non-functional until base-game support is added, or I decide to patch it in.)

Rules for moving items

This section outlines the logic that determines whether an employee will be sent to move items. Employees will never move items between the same slots of a single object. When you want to use something as a destination, ensure that all of the slots that can receive an item have an active filter - otherwise, it is possible you will accidentally create a loop.

Whenever an employee is doing an automated task, no further tasks for either the source or destination will occur until the current job has completed. Other sources and destinations will remain viable candidates for a task.

The mod automatically matches all possible sources to all possible destinations, prioritising whichever destination has the least amount.

Source Requirements

1. The source entity must be one of the types listed above in the Sources section.
2. The item slot must have its filter completely unconfigured in default state (this means no items should be in the filter list AND the filter mode is set to none)

Destination Requirements

1. The destination entity must be one of the types listed above in the Destinations section.
2. The item slot must have its filter set to whitelist and at least one item must be whitelisted.
3. If there is already an item in the slot, it must match the whitelist and the slot must not be full.

Excluding Item Slots from Automation

Per the rules above, the easiest way to exclude an item slot from this mod is to set a blacklist filter - even if nothing is blacklisted. It will never be considered as a source or destination.

Source Availability

Source will be uploaded to GitHub when I've completed a CI for it. In the meantime, debug symbols are provided and the DLL is not obfuscated so you are free to use your preferred decompiler to examine it. You are not permitted to redistribute the work or create a derivative. You can externally link to it from your own mod code providing it requires users to download this work from locations that we control.