I have also noticed that the priority options do absolutely nothing
Yes, we agree this was the case so we've been working a lot on this, and in the coming version 0.0.0.10 you will see a big improvement in this area.
at some point we will be able to select the worker assigned option and then pick who we want to do it
We've made a design decision not to give the player this level of control. We realize it's a matter of taste, but we think that assigning specific characters to do specific tasks would take the game in the direction of a micro-management RTS game instead of a colony sim. We want to explore other ways the player can manage a colony, without the player feeling like a commander. Some of the ideas we have is more "policy" options so that you can set rationing level, ammo usage, night shifts and the way your colony deals with dilemmas about research and disease treatment. As we introduce more of such systems, you will get more stuff to do, despite not having direct control.
Our ambition is that you see life unfolding on the screen, that's why we take some control away from you and put it in the hands of the colonists. To reinforce this idea, we would like to introduce a "voting" mechanic where the character's different personalities will come into play, making you feel even more like you're the "group majority" (instead of a leader)
It takes time to get all this in place because the AI needs to be super sharp, that's why set a high priority on getting rid of behavior bugs and also polishing the interface so that you will always be aware of what's going on.
Messages get easily missed about members fighting something
Hmmm, you get notified in the way that the event log at the bottom of the screen will start spamming "emergency " messages on top of the regular event window. Also the comm feed window to the left will say messages like "AAAAAAAAH" etc. And people will also start running to each others aid when one of them is in trouble. Is there any specific suggestion you could make so we can improve this feedback?
you can't stop them from fighting regardless, they just attack until they die. Sorta mindless.
We keep polishing the way they avoid threats, handle weapons and flee from danger, so that it hopefully, at some point, will look rational to you.
over encumbered UI
The general layout of the UI windows, yes, it's cluttered, especially on small laptop screens, and we have plans to have the inventory and task windows appear at the right side of the screen to free up space in the middle.
Hope you'll find that the game improves over time, as we address these things.