[DISCUSSION][PLAYER] Priority for permanent skills vs Shruggers

[namida]

In V10.011.011-D, the priority algorithm for lemming selection will favor a walker who has one or more permanent skills over a shrugger who does not. I thought this seemed a bit strange and PM'd Nepster about this.

This is based off stable version so may already be fixed:

Try to assign a constructive skill (occured with platformer for me) to a shrugger, while a lemming with a permanent skill (floater in my case) is walking past. I'd think the shrugger should have priority over the floater here; NL seems to think differently.

I'd think the shrugger should have priority over the floater here; NL seems to think differently.

This is because I vastly simplified the priority algorithm upon adding highlighting selected lemmings. It is easy to fix the priority algo, but I am not totally sure we should make this change:
Argument contra: After the change it will be more or less impossible to assign the skill to a floater in a gruop of lemmings meeting the shrugger, while currently the "select walkers" hotkey (hopefully) allows selects the shrugger (or an equivalent other lemming) in such a group.
Argument pro: Selecting the shrugger is probably needed more often.

Did you already ask in chat what the others think of this change?

So, would be interested in getting more input to see which way people prefer here.

[Proxima]

Highly counterintuitive that the "select walkers" hotkey should be used to select the shrugger. I would certainly expect normal assignment to select the shrugger and "select walkers" to select the highest-priority walker (in this case the floater) walking past.

[IchoTolot]

Yes, shruggers should have the priority here. Directly followed by permanent skill Lemmings, who should still have more priority than normal walkers, so with a bit of mouse aiming you should still be able to select them.

"Argument contra: After the change it will be more or less impossible to assign the skill to a floater in a gruop of lemmings meeting the shrugger, while currently the "select walkers" hotkey (hopefully) allows selects the shrugger (or an equivalent other lemming) in such a group."

Maybe even add a button for "select permanent skill lems"

[Simon]

Shrugger should have priority over able walker.

Please no extra hotkeys for esoteric corner cases. I'd like to see levels first where you must assign to a middle-priority lem among >= 3 overlapping priorities.

-- Simon

[mobius]

Shrugger should have priority over able walker.

Please no extra hotkeys for esoteric corner cases. I'd like to see levels first where you must assign to a middle-priority lem among >= 3 overlapping priorities.

-- Simon

what a terrible level this would be imo Please none of that.

Less buttons; better design by designers to make levels that don't require such foolishness.

[Nepster]

Sorry, I should have checked the code first before making any guesses: While I thought the "select walkers" hotkey was basically implemented as a priority invert, it in fact does exactly what it says: It ignores all non-walking lemmings, in particular shruggers too.

Currently the priority goes as follows:
  one-time skills (bashers, builder, ...) > permanent skills > shruggers/fallers/... > walkers

Given the feedback, I will (next week) change this into
  shruggers or one-time skills (bashers, builder, ...) > permanent skills > fallers/... > walkers

No new buttons/hotkeys will be added for this.

[Nepster]

Changes are done now.