Alpha Centauri 2

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri & Alien Crossfire => Modding => Bug/Patch Discussion => Topic started by: Yitzi on December 03, 2014, 03:20:50 AM

Title: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Yitzi on December 03, 2014, 03:20:50 AM
I am making decent progress on version 3.4, and am therefore taking votes on version 3.5.

The voting works as follows: Post, and assign to each option a number from 0 to 100, where 100 means you really want it, 50 means you want it half as much (given a choice between two 50-rating features and one 100-rating feature, you don't really care), etc.  There is no limit to how many things you can vote for.

The options are as follows:

Features:
1. Create a new faction ability CANBUILDUNIT that allows the faction to build that (predesigned) unit even without the required technology.
2. Search for faction files not only in the main directory but also in the factions subfolder if it exists.  While I've revised my initial consideration and think it will be substantially easier than I'd first thought, it's still fairly uncertain, so the vote total for this option is halved, and if it proves unfeasible I may back out and go for the next-highest option instead.
3. Add an option causing needlejets on hold (but not on sentry) to not scramble; this allows you to save damaged needlejets while still being able to use sentry to keep them ready to intercept without having to press spacebar every turn.
4. Redoing the storage of resource information.  This will (while I'm at the area) allow solar arrays/mirrors to be given a flat energy bonus in addition to the altitude-based bonus; probably more importantly, it will allow future patches to enable changes to resource outputs of things that currently are hardcoded (such as tree farm/hybrid forest, manifold nexus, landmarks, etc.)
5. Add confirmation dialogue when destroying terrain improvements, in order to avoid accidentally destroying your own improvements or those of a base you're hoping to capture.  This will not be an option, but rather automatic, and will not apply to using artillery to destroy improvements by firing at them.
6. Allow targeted tech stealing to be enabled (and it can be enabled even with random tech stealing disabled).
7. Give a (moddable) bonus when using projectile weapons against energy armor or vice versa.  Due to the relative ease of this change, the vote total for it will be doubled.
8. Create an option preventing the AI from contacting human players.
9. Allow the mouse scroll wheel to scroll the f4 screen.  Due to the expected difficulty, the vote total for this option is halved, and I reserve the right to back out and pick the next highest scorer if it proves too difficult.

Bugfixes:
1. Get the "bonus comm frequency" faction bonus working.
2. Cause the f3 screen to correctly display energy interest.
3. Due to the low number of nominations for bugfixes, write-ins are allowed for bugfixes in this case.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Dio on December 03, 2014, 03:35:46 AM
Features:
1. 25
2. 0
3. 0
4. Does this mean the bonuses from facilities like energy banks, network nodes, etc. could potentially be modified? 50-90
5. 25
6. 100
7. 100
8. 50
9. 0

Bugfixes:
1. 100
2. 100
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: ete on December 03, 2014, 03:53:29 AM
Going by things I'm likely to use..

Features:
1. 100 (esp. if the unit can be specified in the faction file rather than alphax, but either would be pretty awesome)
2. 70
3. 25
4. 30
5. 30
6. 45 (if it includes lower probability of success than standard techsteal, 20 otherwise)
7. 10
8. 0
9. 35 (but maybe PlotinusRedux would be more likely to have explored the relevant functions?)

Bugfixes:
1. 60
2. 40


Some ideas for possible bugs to nominate for others are linked to from the wiki bug list page (http://alphacentauri2.info/wiki/Bug_list). Remember to check them in game though, since many may have been fixed since those lists were created.


I'd also say that if we can get hold of scient's latest patch which he almost released before vanishing merging that would be a pretty high priority, since it had a bunch of improvements I'd love to see (like being able to make custom units with different reactor strengths). Someone'd need to either find a test copy he handed out (I had one, but that comp died) or track him down and get a new one for merging. I'll put that on my to-do list.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: PlotinusRedux on December 03, 2014, 04:00:08 AM
We'd have to coordinate on 9 since I've already co-opted the scroll wheel for zooming.  But there's no reason it couldn't both zoom on the map and scroll text boxes when they're up.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Dio on December 03, 2014, 04:11:12 AM
Features:

6. 20 (low mostly because techstealing is already super-powerful, it'd be interesting but that does not need a boost)

Note: I would also like to add that the way the feature currently would have worked is that the sucess and survival rate for a targeted techsteal would be half that of a random techsteal. This halving is on top of the penalty that occurs if you try to steal tech from the same base twice.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: ete on December 03, 2014, 04:13:33 AM
Ah, okay. If that's included I'd say maybe 40.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Yitzi on December 03, 2014, 04:14:53 AM
4. Does this mean the bonuses from facilities like energy banks, network nodes, etc. could potentially be modified? 50-90


No it does not; that would be doable even without it, unless you want huge modding changes in which case that wouldn't help.  This would be relevant for per-tile bonuses only, such as tree farm/hybrid forest on forests, not per-base percentage boosts.

I take it that that means that you vote 50, rather than 90?

1. 100 (esp. if the unit can be specified in the faction file rather than alphax, but either would be pretty awesome)


No, the unit itself would have to be specified in alphax, and would count as one of the maximum of 64 predesigned units.

Quote
9. 35 (but maybe PlotinusRedux would be more likely to have explored the relevant functions?)


That could help a lot.

Quote
Bugfixes:
1. 60
2. 40


Just so you know, features and bugfixes are tallied separately.

Quote
Some ideas for possible bugs to nominate for others are linked to from the wiki bug list page (http://alphacentauri2.info/wiki/Bug_list). Remember to check them in game though, since many may have been fixed since those lists were created.


Quote
I'd also say that if we can get hold of scient's latest patch which he almost released before vanishing merging that would be a pretty high priority, since it had a bunch of improvements I'd love to see (like being able to make custom units with different reactor strengths). Someone'd need to either find a test copy he handed out (I had one, but that comp died) or track him down and get a new one for merging. I'll put that on my to-do list.


That'd be great; if not, I can probably copy them (custom units with different reactor strengths should not be that difficult.)

We'd have to coordinate on 9 since I've already co-opted the scroll wheel for zooming.  But there's no reason it couldn't both zoom on the map and scroll text boxes when they're up.


Better to have it zoom only when there are no other zoomable windows up.  In any case, if you know how to have it use the scroll wheel I'll probably want to copy that if that option wins out.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Dio on December 03, 2014, 04:18:13 AM
4. Does this mean the bonuses from facilities like energy banks, network nodes, etc. could potentially be modified? 50-90

No it does not; that would be doable even without it, unless you want huge modding changes in which case that wouldn't help.  This would be relevant for per-tile bonuses only, such as tree farm/hybrid forest on forests, not per-base percentage boosts.

I take it that that means that you vote 50, rather than 90?

Correct, I am voting with a 50% based upon your answer to my question.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: ete on December 03, 2014, 04:31:10 AM
1. 100 (esp. if the unit can be specified in the faction file rather than alphax, but either would be pretty awesome)

No, the unit itself would have to be specified in alphax, and would count as one of the maximum of 64 predesigned units.
Okay, that would work fine. We'll have to standardize #UNITS and have an allocation system for factions, but it's unlikely we'd run up against a limit of 64 for a long time.

Quote
Bugfixes:
1. 60
2. 40

Just so you know, features and bugfixes are tallied separately.
Okay, I was trying for an average of ~50, and the two seemed fairly close. Both would be good improvements, but neither stands out to me. If you'd like to adjust so my highest is 100 for each category I can do that.

Quote
I'd also say that if we can get hold of scient's latest patch which he almost released before vanishing merging that would be a pretty high priority, since it had a bunch of improvements I'd love to see (like being able to make custom units with different reactor strengths). Someone'd need to either find a test copy he handed out (I had one, but that comp died) or track him down and get a new one for merging. I'll put that on my to-do list.

That'd be great; if not, I can probably copy them (custom units with different reactor strengths should not be that difficult.)
Cool, I've tracked down his e-mail and contacted him asking for the patch and permission to use it. If that does not work in the next week or two, I'll try again to find a profile of his somewhere he's active.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Buster's Uncle on December 03, 2014, 04:34:27 AM
That would be SHF forums, IIRC, if he's active anywhere.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: ete on December 03, 2014, 04:44:51 AM
That would be SHF forums, IIRC, if he's active anywhere.

Unfortunately Last Active May 05 2013 03:06 PM (http://www.shsforums.net/user/10815-scient/) that's a dead end. My last resorts are facebook and linkedin, both of which have dozens of others with the same name and may not even have him.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Yitzi on December 03, 2014, 05:38:50 AM
Okay, that would work fine. We'll have to standardize #UNITS and have an allocation system for factions, but it's unlikely we'd run up against a limit of 64 for a long time.


Alternatively, it could just be added for the game in question.

Quote
Okay, I was trying for an average of ~50, and the two seemed fairly close. Both would be good improvements, but neither stands out to me. If you'd like to adjust so my highest is 100 for each category I can do that.


Up to you.  If you feel that you don't care that much about either as compared to other posters, you can leave it lower to give them more say.

That would be SHF forums, IIRC, if he's active anywhere.

Unfortunately Last Active May 05 2013 03:06 PM (http://www.shsforums.net/user/10815-scient/) that's a dead end. My last resorts are facebook and linkedin, both of which have dozens of others with the same name and may not even have him.


Scient does seem to be hard to get a hold of; on the flip side, if he were easy to get a hold of, I might never have taken over the patching business...
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Sigma on December 03, 2014, 01:18:16 PM
Features:

1. 100 (God so many possibilities with this)
2. 30 (Seems handy though not a game changer)
3. 10
4. 75 (Voting for future potential)
5. 10
6. 50 (This seems pretty dang cool)
7. 75
8. 10
9. 10

Bug fixes
1. 100
2. 10
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: ete on December 03, 2014, 02:02:27 PM
Okay, that would work fine. We'll have to standardize #UNITS and have an allocation system for factions, but it's unlikely we'd run up against a limit of 64 for a long time.


Alternatively, it could just be added for the game in question.

True, but I think having a standardized set would be easier from a user's perspective, less messing about with setup pre-game, and not too hard to maintain with github/ACU.

Quote
Okay, I was trying for an average of ~50, and the two seemed fairly close. Both would be good improvements, but neither stands out to me. If you'd like to adjust so my highest is 100 for each category I can do that.


Up to you.  If you feel that you don't care that much about either as compared to other posters, you can leave it lower to give them more say.

I'll leave it, I don't have particularly strong feelings on those two. More features for custom factions is always fun, but I also like displays showing things correctly.

That would be SHF forums, IIRC, if he's active anywhere.

Unfortunately Last Active May 05 2013 03:06 PM (http://www.shsforums.net/user/10815-scient/) that's a dead end. My last resorts are facebook and linkedin, both of which have dozens of others with the same name and may not even have him.


Scient does seem to be hard to get a hold of; on the flip side, if he were easy to get a hold of, I might never have taken over the patching business...

Indeed.

I just hope I don't have to contact the 50+ Brendan Caseys on facebook...
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: gwillybj on December 03, 2014, 02:13:53 PM
1 ) 50
2 ) 50
3 ) 75
4 ) 60
5 ) 80
6 ) 100
7 ) 75
8 ) 80
9 ) 25

B1 ) 100
B2 ) 100
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: PlotinusRedux on December 03, 2014, 05:13:07 PM
...
Better to have it zoom only when there are no other zoomable windows up.  In any case, if you know how to have it use the scroll wheel I'll probably want to copy that if that option wins out.

You can cross 9 off, I went ahead and changed it so the mouse wheel zooms the main map but scrolls everywhere else.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: ete on December 03, 2014, 05:14:51 PM
 ;b;
That was quick :)
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Yitzi on December 03, 2014, 07:25:49 PM
...
Better to have it zoom only when there are no other zoomable windows up.  In any case, if you know how to have it use the scroll wheel I'll probably want to copy that if that option wins out.

You can cross 9 off, I went ahead and changed it so the mouse wheel zooms the main map but scrolls everywhere else.

Ok, thanks.  So when you give me the information to add your patch, we can include that.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: BFG on December 04, 2014, 01:22:53 AM
New bugfix suggestion:

3) Fix 255 Unit rollover bug.  The effective maximum units of any one type is capped at 255 in several locations: the Military Nexus (list of units), a faction's Military Power calculation, the calculation used to determine cost of upgrading all units of a given type, etc.  A 256th unit will be counted as 0, a 257th unit as 1, etc.  This makes Military Power appear artificially low to AIs which will then make stupid decisions like unwise Vendettas, and also will allow Upgrades to be much cheaper than they should be.

I'm hopeful that fixing this is as simple as changing the data type used to store the count of each unit.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Yitzi on December 04, 2014, 01:37:45 AM
I'm hopeful that fixing this is as simple as changing the data type used to store the count of each unit.

Changing the data type used would be quite difficult, unless the whole section is moved to dynamic memory.  It'd be simpler to just have it stop incrementing past 255, and when at 255 it'd count the actual units.  (That probably wouldn't slow the game down noticeably, due to computers now being so much faster than when the game first came out.)
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: TarMinyatur on December 04, 2014, 03:36:25 AM
Features:
1. 100
2. 0
3. 100
4. 50
5. 50
6. 25
7. 25
8. 25
9. 0

Bugfixes:
1. 50
2. 100
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: BFG on December 05, 2014, 03:46:57 AM
I'm hopeful that fixing this is as simple as changing the data type used to store the count of each unit.

Changing the data type used would be quite difficult, unless the whole section is moved to dynamic memory.  It'd be simpler to just have it stop incrementing past 255, and when at 255 it'd count the actual units.  (That probably wouldn't slow the game down noticeably, due to computers now being so much faster than when the game first came out.)

Well, you'd have a much better idea than I would of how to fix it :)
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: ete on December 11, 2014, 02:48:25 AM
Here's a bunch of current bugs you can people can consider nominating: https://github.com/OpenSMACX/OpenSMACX/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Abug
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: PvtHudson on January 22, 2015, 01:27:58 PM
1) 100. Maybe, 2 levels of permission: with and without required technology.
3) 100
7) 50
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Yitzi on January 23, 2015, 01:02:46 PM
1) 100. Maybe, 2 levels of permission: with and without required technology.

With required tech would be allowed by anyone; anyone with Centauri Empathy can build mind worms, for example.  (To allow predesigned units that are faction-specific and require a particular tech would be another feature, and a trickier one.)
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Yitzi on February 26, 2015, 02:13:36 AM
Ok...now that 3.4 is finally out, the voting for 3.5 is closed.  So to tally up:

Features:

1:25+100+100+50+100+100=475
2:70+30+50=150, 150/2=75
3:25+10+75+100+100=310
4:50+30+75+60+50=265
5:25+30+10+80+50=195
6:100+45+50+100+25=320
7:100+10+75+75+25+50=335, 335X2=670
8:50+10+80+25=165

Bugfixes:

1: 100+60+100+100+50=410
2: 100+40+10+100+100=350

So 3.5 will include:

-The CANBUILDUNIT faction ability.
-A bonus for using energy weapons vs. projectile armor or vice versa
-Getting the "bonus comm frequency" ability working

As well as my own submission:

-Make the number of worms produced during a fungal pop more moddable
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Nexii on February 27, 2015, 05:42:02 PM
Thanks ete, I added a minor bug to the list.  I'll try to add more as things come to mind
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: vonbach on March 15, 2015, 12:15:30 AM
An auto  "build forest" command. I tried that patch. It seems to work just fine.
A lot of nice little features added into the game. Thanks.
Title: Re: Voting for new features and bugfixes for Yitzi's patch version 3.5
Post by: Yitzi on March 15, 2015, 12:19:30 PM
An auto  "build forest" command.

Voting for 3.5 is closed, but at some point I plan to open nominations for 3.6, and improved automation options are definitely a possibility there.

Quote
A lot of nice little features added into the game. Thanks.

You're welcome.
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