Make workers drop any wares they may be carrying if they become fugitive

[Chuck Wilder]

Currently every worker sprite in the game who has a potential to handle a ware(s) has walking with a load, "walkload", animations rendered for each of the six walking directions in the game engine, i.e. E, SE, SW, W, NW, and NE.

Naturally the carrier workers need walkload animation for all directions. Gathering workers like the farmers, fishers, forester and hunters who range away from their production sites and then return with wares would need walkload animation in all directions, as well.

However, for workers tied to a production site like a mine, smithy, weaving mill, etc., the only direction in which they would carry a ware is currently SE, the direction in which all buildings and building approaches in the game are oriented. This would imply that there are currently a great number of walkload animation files that would never be displayed except for one condition.

Currently those graphics are needed: for example if the building burns down while the worker carries out his produce, he becomes fugitive and runs around randomly with the ware.

I propose a change that will make a worker drop his wares if he becomes a fugitive. This change would allow the deletion of all but the SE walkload animation frames and subsequently reduce the physical size of the game.

[Chuck Wilder (chuckw20)]

When I wrote "This change would allow the deletion of all but the SE walkload animation frames and subsequently reduce the physical size of the game.", I meant to say, "This change would allow the deletion of all but the SE walkload animation frames for those workers tied to a production site as stated above and subsequently reduce the physical size of the game." Some of our workers will continue to require animation in all directions. :)

[Jens Beyer (qcumber-some)]

Please be aware that there might be walkload animations even in 'daily business': Farmers, lumberjacks, Hunters...

[Nasenbaer (nasenbaer)]

I don't think that they should drop their carried ware. Although your reason of file size is of course valid, I don't think it is that dramatically. ;)