posted 03-12-99 08:50 PM ET        

Alpha Centauri, US Version 2.0

Severities are on a scale of one to five where a one indicates a major
flaw and five represents a nuisance.

Defects are given a descriptive title. Those followed by (MP)
indicates that the problem was noticed in a multiplayer game. Unless
otherwise specified, all games are considered to be TCP/IP with no
users communicating through a firewall.

DEFECT: Left-Menu Bug SEVERITY: 3

The left-menu button is a source of problems. You can cause the menu
system to not only display the dialog you wanted, but display some
unwanted dialog (or perform an unwanted action).

To repeat the "Menu Bug", repeaet the following steps:
1. Select the MENU button.
2. Select the GAME button.
3. Move the cursor to any of the options (the option should
reverse hilighted).
4. Move the cursor to the HQ button on the main MENU. Notice
how the GAME menu still has one of the menu items hilighted.
5. Select the HQ button.
6. Choose one of the menu options (Social Engineering for example).
7. Close the social engineering window.
8. Notice how it performs the action highlighted from step #3.

This is repeatable for any of the options. It only happens when
you pick the menu button the first time. For example, if instead
you had left-clicked the GAME button for step #6, the lingering
hilighted menu would be present. To restart the process, you must
close down the MENU menu and then reopen it and follow the
step listed above.

This bug happens frequently. Often I click on the incorrect
dialog either because a) I forget where something is or more
often b) I am in the gamers haze and not really thinking about
where what I want is located.

DEFECT: Goto Line by Dragging SEVERITY: 5

There are three problems related to dragging a unit to a
destination. All deal with the path line that is displayed.

The first problem is when you attempt to drag a unit to
a location that will have to pass through squares which are
at the very bottom of the map (I assume this will work for
the top of the map as well). The line drawn is a crow's flight
path to the destination and not through the squares that the
unit will traverse. The distance is highly inaccurate too.

The second problem is when you attempt to drag a unit to
a location that it is not allowed. For example, if you
drag a scout patrol unit into the sea, it is allowed with
no indication that this is not possible.

The last problem involves a rubberband type effect. [NOTE:
ATTEMPT TO REPRODUCE CONSISTENTLY.] While attempting
to drag a unit the goto line shoots off in some arbitrary
direction not remotely associated with the unit. The "drop"
portion of the drag-and-drop causes the unit to report an
error [NOTE: ATTEMPT TO DEFINE ERROR].

DEFECT: Determining the Location of Bases SEVERITY: 5

Players are able to determine the location of enemy bases
without actual stumbling upon them.

To repeat the "Determining the Location of Bases" bug, repeat the
following steps:
1. Select the MENU button.
2. Select the GAME button.
3. Select the MAP DISPLAY PREFERENCES button.
4. Select the "Show Base Grid" option.
5. Explore with a unit. You will stumble across a red line.
It indicates that a base is nearby.

DEFECT: Social Engineering Econ/Research Scale (MP) SEVERITY: 1

I am playing the Hive. My econ/research started out 50%/50%.
It was to take me 28 turns to get my next tech (turn 8). I locked
the psych slider and moved the econ slider lower. As it moved
lower, inefficiency was displayed:

40/60 -8% Labs, -16% Econ Net Inc: 0 Breakthroughs: 28
30/70 -16% Labs, -32% Econ Net Inc: 0 Breakthroughs: 28
20/80 -24% Labs, -48% Econ Net Inc: -1 Breakthroughs: 14
10/90 -32% Labs, -64% Econ Net Inc: -1 Breakthroughs: 28

What is up with that? How can my inefficiency get worse and
yet have a dip in the number of turns to achieve a breakthrough?

DEFECT: Inaccurate Research Display on Main Scan (MP) SEVERITY: 5

I just checked the Laboratory Summary. It reports 23 turns to
research Centauri Ecology with 21 turns to go. The Main Scan
reports "Labs: 50% (23 turns)". The 23 turns is fairly useless
data. The number of turns until the next available technology
would be much more useful.

DEFECT: Infinite Movement with Drop Troops SEVERITY: 1

Drop troops can move about the map in a single turn. Simply
start a drop from a city and use the right-click menu to target
the drop location. After the drop has been made, use the
right-click menu to drop again. Your unit will take damage
but will never fall below 95% wounded. Continue to drop around
the map until you tire or have explored everything.

DEFECT: Unit Capturing City Appears Repaired (MP) SEVERITY: 3

Simply put, a unit that captures an enemy city has the illusion
that it has been repaired 100%. The next turn the unit's original
health is returned. To reproduce, have a damaged unit take over
an unoccupied enemy city.

DEFECT: Weird Fission Plant (MP) SEVERITY: 4

I enter the Design Workshop via the 'U' hotkey and it shows me
a speeder with a Heavy Fission Tank (this large Fission unit with
dual tanks). Once I choose a different chassis, the Fission
Unit returns to the normal one. The models of the vehicle reverts
to the simple model without the tanks. I can not get the
Heavy Fission Tank to come back without exiting and re-entering
the design workshop.

DEFECT: Destroyed Enemy City and I Lost a Plane SEVERITY: 1

Transcend level. The Spartans had a sea base with that I attacked
with a Chaos NeedleJet. I destroyed the last unit in the city
and the city was left with one population point.

The city was adjacent to to land. I attacked the city (the same
turn) with my amphibuous chaos infantry. The city was destroyed.
I lost my infantry unit (presumably because the city was in the
water and it was destroyed).

Immediately after the city disappeared, there was an explosion
on my Chaos NeedleJet (the one that eliminated the last population
point). It died with the message that the plane ran out of fuel.

The other interesting data point was that the infantry unit
launched its attack from the same square that the plane was
in.

DEFECT: Upgrading Air Units to Fusion SEVERITY: 1

I had many air units that I had given the "wait" (W) order.
I went into the design workshop and upgraded all of my existing
Trained Chaos Needlejet to fusion engines. When I went to move
the now fusion needlejets (8-1-12*2, Trained) each unit had only
2/24 moves remaining. As you can well imagine, I lost any unit that
had partially moved or was waiting to return to base.

DEFECT: Hurrying Production Wastes Resources SEVERITY: 5

Currently when an item is hurried, a good player will do the math
to determine how much money he/she/it will spend. Since the base
will still produce the normal mineral amount, the player should
not spend to fill up all available mineral slots. This will allow
the player to use the money wisely that turn (yes I am aware that
when you buy the entire unit, the resources spill over for the
next unit).

What we have to do now is take the amount that the hurry dialog
says it will cost and divide that by the number of turns. Multiply
that number be the number of turns minus one and round up. Now
the unit will finish completion quickly and effeciently.

DEFECT: Space Probe Inconsitencies SEVERITY: 2

Each base can build multiple space satellites. However, you can
not queue more than one type. It is (unfortunately) intuitively
obvious to me that if a base can build the item more than once,
then you should be able to queue it more than once.

DEFECT: Terrain in Danger Highlighting SEVERITY: 5

This is more of a suggestion. Whenever land is in danger, it
would be nice if there was a terrain option that shaded the
squares that would be flooded when the ocean levels rise.

Currently it is unmanageable to go to each square looking
for ENDANGERED.

DEFECT: Monolith Ends Unit Turn SEVERITY: 2

When moving a unit manually (ie. not with GOTO), a monolith
should not end a units turn. If the unit ends it turn on
a monolith (either by expending all movement points or by
forceably ending the unit's turn), the monolith benefit should
be applied.

DEFECT: Multiple Actions with Shift-Left Click SEVERITY: 5

This is more of a suggestion. It would be *extremely* useful
if formers could perform an action on multiple land squares.
If there was a way to Shift-Left Click each square that you
wanted, say a sea former to build mines on, it would speed
gameplay greatly.

Imagine the scenario where there is a good amount of sea kelp
around a base. You want to eventually build mining platforms
in 2/3 of the squares. Well, you use this method to select
the squares to build the improvement in.

Of course this applies to regular formers and *any* terraform
operation.

DETECT: Design Workshop/City Production View SEVERITY: 2

I am unable to distinguish between Super Formers and Super Drop
Formers in the city production screen. Both are 1/1/1 Supers.
The graphic is the same.

Also, my AAA Trance Neutronium Garrison (1/8t/1 (*3)) are displayed
as "AAA Netronium Garrison Defense 1/8/1 (*3)". It is can not
be distinguished between my "Netronium Garrison Defense 1/8/1 (*3)"
(the same AAA unit sans the trance ability).

DEFECT: City Graphic Reverts to Player Faction SEVERITY: 5

When a conquered city grows to a point where the city graphic
changes, it reverts to the player's own building type. This
is disappointing, but not a show-stopper

DEFECT: Odds are NOT Against Me SEVERITY: 5

16-<1>-3*4 vs. ?-?-1
Psi: 3 Psi: 2
Elite: +50% Great Boil: +37%
Planet: +40% Strength: 2.75
Strength: 6.29 Power: 10
Power: 22

Eh? I proceeded with the attack and won easily...

DEFECT: Queue Unit Right-Click to Workshop SEVERITY: 2

When in the queue production menu, you can Right-Click on a unit
to go to the Design Workshop. Create a new design in the workshop.
Upon exit, you will be returned to the production queue menu.
Unfortunately, your new design(s) will not be there.

Cheers,
cjr

posted 03-13-99 12:32 AM ET            

Planes that must return to base for refueling need to have a warning dialog if they "accidentally" bump into an enemy unit. As it stands, if you are moving back to your base and keystrokes are buffered, there is a chance that you bump into an enemy, initiate combat and lose your plane due to fuel problems.

A warning dialog is a reasonable behavior seeing that losing odds and < 1 movement point attacks throw up warning dialogs.

posted 03-13-99 01:24 AM ET            

The research display was added when I thought it was a bug. I noticed that the number fluctuated but not with respect to my current research. I have now have no opinion on that particular display.

I should have gone back through and proofed some of the "DEFECTS". I saw the post earlier that v3.0 went to verification so I figured I better post my list.

I kept some of the obvious ones of, such as the supply crawler (MP) hang, diplomacy hang (MP), the race condition with dialogs and users connecting in MP, etc.

Thanks for the loud message.