Optimizing Collection Routes, Container Stands, and Waste Management
Hello and welcome back—I’m Bbo Jo. In this guide, I’ll explain how to improve the efficiency of your garbage trucks in Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic. This tutorial was inspired by viewer feedback on my previous video, and today we’re diving deep into why garbage trucks sometimes seem to do less than expected and what you can do to make them work better for your city.
1. How Garbage Trucks Work (and Where They Fall Short)
In the game, garbage trucks are designed to collect trash from various buildings around your city. Ideally, they should pick up waste from multiple stops in a single route before heading to their drop-off point. However, the reality is different:
- Limited Pickup Behavior:
- Garbage trucks tend to pick up only a small amount of waste from a building—even when more garbage is waiting—and then leave.
- They repeatedly travel back and forth between stops, often not filling up to capacity before returning to their depot.
- Route Reevaluation:
- The game recalculates routes at road nodes. If your city relies heavily on footpaths rather than proper road connections, trucks might only consider the nearest road node, ignoring other potential pickups.
2. Identifying the Problem: Footpaths vs. Road Nodes
One key issue is how buildings are connected within your city:
- Footpath Limitations:
- Garbage collection is less effective for buildings that are only accessible via footpaths.
- A truck might ignore a building’s garbage if it’s not directly connected to a road node, leaving trash to overflow.
- Prioritization by Road Nodes:
- Trucks use the nearest road nodes to decide their routes. This can result in them repeatedly servicing a single area while neglecting other buildings.
- Impact on City Cleanliness:
- When a truck repeatedly visits one node, some buildings (such as schools, hospitals, or shopping centers) may consistently be left with uncollected trash, ultimately leading to overflow and increased pollution.
3. Strategies for Improving Garbage Truck Performance
To counter these issues, consider the following approaches:
A. Adjust City Infrastructure
- Enhance Road Connectivity:
- Ensure that all key buildings have proper road access. Adding dedicated road connections can guide trucks to areas that might otherwise be missed by footpath-only links.
- Increase the Number of Garbage Trucks:
- One truck is rarely enough for a moderately sized city. Experiment with adding additional trucks so that different routes are covered and more buildings are reached.
- Note that even with two trucks, some areas may remain underserved. A third truck might start to distribute the load more evenly.
B. Utilize Garbage Container Stands
- Deploy Container Stands Strategically:
- Instead of relying on trucks to pick up waste directly from every building, install garbage container stands in high-density areas.
- These stands act as centralized collection points. Trucks will fill up by servicing the container stands, which can help prevent individual buildings from overflowing.
- Choose the Right Container Type:
- The game offers both small and large container stands. Large stands (using 6.5-ton containers) can handle more waste in a single trip.
- For hazardous waste, be cautious. Trucks tend to stick to one type of container stand and will not mix different waste types on a single run.
4. Handling Hazardous Waste Collection
Hazardous waste presents its own challenges:
- Specialized Routing:
- Garbage trucks often default to picking up hazardous waste from specific buildings like hospitals. If these buildings lack proper container stands or road connections, trucks may end up repeatedly servicing the same location.
- Overflow and Pollution:
- Hazardous waste containers have strict capacity limits. Once they overflow, pollution becomes a serious issue.
- By installing dedicated container stands for hazardous waste and ensuring they’re placed in areas with good road access, you can mitigate overflow and reduce local pollution levels.
5. Final Recommendations and Best Practices
To ensure efficient garbage collection across your city, keep these tips in mind:
- Optimize Road Infrastructure:
- Prioritize building road connections over relying on footpaths. This not only aids garbage collection but also benefits other vehicle-dependent services (like fire and emergency response).
- Use Multiple Garbage Trucks:
- Don’t rely on a single truck to cover all waste collection. Depending on your city’s size and layout, consider gradually increasing the fleet size to ensure all buildings are serviced.
- Install Garbage Container Stands:
- Place container stands strategically throughout your city to funnel waste into manageable points.
- Make sure that each container stand is dedicated to a specific waste type (e.g., mixed waste, hazardous waste) to avoid cross-contamination and route confusion.
- Monitor and Adjust:
- Keep an eye on the garbage levels reported at your container stands and buildings. If you notice persistent overflow or neglected areas, reassign trucks or add additional container stands.
- Understand the Limitations:
- Recognize that the game’s AI for garbage trucks has built-in quirks—sometimes trucks will act “randomly” based on road node prioritization. Adjusting your city’s layout can help mitigate these quirks.
Conclusion
Garbage collection in Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic can be a complex challenge due to the game’s pathfinding logic and infrastructure requirements. By enhancing road connectivity, increasing the number of garbage trucks, and strategically placing container stands, you can dramatically improve the efficiency of your waste management system. Although the system isn’t perfect and may require ongoing adjustments, these strategies will help keep your city clean and reduce pollution caused by overflowing garbage.
Thank you for reading this guide. If you found it helpful, please like and subscribe. Feel free to share your own tips or ask questions in the comments. Happy building, and may your city always stay clean!
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