Nomination thread: New features/bugfixes for Yitzi's patch

[ete]

No, then you have to skip over it every turn. In lategame you don't want the hassle, but scrambling is still useful.

[Yitzi]

No, then you have to skip over it every turn. In lategame you don't want the hassle, but scrambling is still useful.

That's why the "sleep" order would not prevent scrambling; it still means not having to skip over it every turn, but is different than "hold".

The harder-to-implement alternative is to have a "stand down" position that acts like hold position but also prevents air interception, artillery interception, and makes the unit act as last choice for defending.

[Dio]

My first nomination for a bugfix is to get COMMFREQ working.

[Geo]

For instance, changing it so that say the Monsoon landmark gives nutrient+energy instead of just nutrients.
Or even changing the output to zero.

That sort of information needs to be stored somewhere, though, and that means reworking something to make room.

I would've thought the landmark yield info is already stored somewhere? Or is its 'storage' space to small to add info?

I think its storage space only holds the names; the effects are hardcoded.

Okay, I reckon its a 'no, for the time being' then.

[Yitzi]

For instance, changing it so that say the Monsoon landmark gives nutrient+energy instead of just nutrients.
Or even changing the output to zero.

That sort of information needs to be stored somewhere, though, and that means reworking something to make room.

I would've thought the landmark yield info is already stored somewhere? Or is its 'storage' space to small to add info?

I think its storage space only holds the names; the effects are hardcoded.

Okay, I reckon its a 'no, for the time being' then.

Not quite; it's a "it's not an option itself, but the thing needed before it can be done is an option."

[DarthNihilus]

1. Make a moddable number of MAX spotting worms (air\water\land). Cause they doesn't stop appearing after building the VoP @ me
2. A scrollable F4 window (like the building window)
3. Stop factions contacting me EVER. only I can speak to them
4. Formers DOESN'T move when in auto mode, ONLY when there IS smth to do
5. (My dream) when I have 100 formers in auto and a former-able square, I noticed that ALL unemployed formers are going to that square. Than when one reaches it and starts to work, ALL the remaining are gone to another square, etc. Make them STOP behaiving like that.

[Yitzi]

1. Make a moddable number of MAX spotting worms (air\water\land). Cause they doesn't stop appearing after building the VoP @ me

What do you mean "spotting worms"?  I think the VoP affects only ecodamage-caused worms.

2. A scrollable F4 window (like the building window)

I'm not sure what you mean here.  The building window scrolls only with arrow keys (not by moving your mouse somewhere), and the f4 window also scrolls with arrow keys.

3. Stop factions contacting me EVER. only I can speak to them

This option could be added; it has a vote multiplier of 1.

4. Formers DOESN'T move when in auto mode, ONLY when there IS smth to do

So automated formers should not move except when going somewhere?  Should be doable, if a bit tricky; I'll give it a vote multiplier of 2/3.

5. (My dream) when I have 100 formers in auto and a former-able square, I noticed that ALL unemployed formers are going to that square. Than when one reaches it and starts to work, ALL the remaining are gone to another square, etc. Make them STOP behaiving like that.

This is actually probably not all that difficult; it has a vote multiplier of 1.

Note, however, that you can only nominate two features for each vote.

[DarthNihilus]

What do you mean "spotting worms"?  I think the VoP affects only ecodamage-caused worms.

Yes, I mean when they are appearing on ecodamage-caused-appearing fungus squares. There are always at least 64 worms but suddenly when I attack them with the corresponding unit they all are "destroyed" at once, but sometimes I forgwt to dealwith them and onnext turn all the 100500 worms are there in flesh.

2. A scrollable F4 window (like the building window)

I'm not sure what you mean here.  The building window scrolls only with arrow keys (not by moving your mouse somewhere), and the f4 window also scrolls with arrow keys.

I mean that when I'm only hovering my mouse over the build window I can scroll it, using the mouse scroller. The F4 window I can only scroll by pressing the downscroll button on the F4 window with my mouse. So I'd like to scroll it as the build window - when I'm only hovering my mouse over it.

Oh, sorry - I forgot one more - the air units, when put in On Alert state are NOT attacking any unit, only making a rendevuz with them, flying uselessly around (lurkers also). Ex.: I made a needlejet with psi weapon. In manual mode I can attack a land unit as a Mind Worm, but in On Alert state the needlejet is only flying around. The same for water units.

[Yitzi]

What do you mean "spotting worms"?  I think the VoP affects only ecodamage-caused worms.

Yes, I mean when they are appearing on ecodamage-caused-appearing fungus squares. There are always at least 64 worms but suddenly when I attack them with the corresponding unit they all are "destroyed" at once, but sometimes I forgwt to dealwith them and onnext turn all the 100500 worms are there in flesh.

And this happens after the VoP is built?  I thought that stopped it, but maybe not...

In any case, that sounds like it's from the ecodamage itself, and "moddable rules for how many worms appear" is definitely a possible nomination.

I mean that when I'm only hovering my mouse over the build window I can scroll it, using the mouse scroller. The F4 window I can only scroll by pressing the downscroll button on the F4 window with my mouse. So I'd like to scroll it as the build window - when I'm only hovering my mouse over it.

Ok...that'll have multiplier 1/2, but with the build window as a sample should be doable.

Oh, sorry - I forgot one more - the air units, when put in On Alert state are NOT attacking any unit, only making a rendevuz with them, flying uselessly around (lurkers also). Ex.: I made a needlejet with psi weapon. In manual mode I can attack a land unit as a Mind Worm, but in On Alert state the needlejet is only flying around. The same for water units.

Strange, as it works for me.  It doesn't show the battle, but it does attack.

In any case, that's a lot of potential nominations; each person is only entitled to 2, so you'll have to pick which 2 you want.

[DarthNihilus]

Well as for me I'm all about the F4 window and the diplomacy annoyance stopper in the first place.

[Yitzi]

Ok, nominations are now closed.  The voting thread should be up later tonight.

[BFG]

Well, looks like I was too late for this round, but hopefully you won't mind me posting a few ideas anyway.  I HAVE been gone from the board for nearly 2 years, after all!
If any of these have already been discussed+rejected, or if they aren't feasible, then feel free to ignore.  In the meantime I have a lot of reading to do to catch up, it seems!

Requested features:
1. (removed - Yitzi addressed in another thread)
2. Automated Gravship formers are capable of making changes to sea squares as well as land squares.  (Currently they can only automatically affect land, but can manually affect sea.)
3.  AI is capable of using Sea Supply and Aerial Supply units effectively.
4.  AI is capable of using Aerial Colony units effectively.  (This could provide certain AIs a HUGE boost in power...it could make them considerably more competitive.)
5.  AI is capable of using Gravship Formers.  (Yeah, yeah...but there are some games I've played where this actually could've made a difference.)
6.  Fix the "255 unit rollover bug".  If a faction has >255 units of the same design, the game will calculate military strength, upgrade cost, etc. all incorrectly, leading to a huge advantage for that faction and poor AI choices.  For example, 280 units are treated as 25 units in these calculations.
7.  Add back in the "Inertial Damping" and "Global Energy Theory" techs to balance and expand the tech tree.  I already play with these in my own game.
8.  Include the sound file fixes for SMAC v2.0 in subsequent patches.

[Yitzi]

2. Automated Gravship formers are capable of making changes to sea squares as well as land squares.  (Currently they can only automatically affect land, but can manually affect sea.)
3.  AI is capable of using Sea Supply and Aerial Supply units effectively.
4.  AI is capable of using Aerial Colony units effectively.  (This could provide certain AIs a HUGE boost in power...it could make them considerably more competitive.)
5.  AI is capable of using Gravship Formers.  (Yeah, yeah...but there are some games I've played where this actually could've made a difference.)

Note that any AI changes will require substantial analysis, and so have a low multiplier if they don't outright require a prerequisite of "analyze the AI".

7.  Add back in the "Inertial Damping" and "Global Energy Theory" techs to balance and expand the tech tree.  I already play with these in my own game.

This can be done using just alphax.txt, and gameplay changes are intentionally not included in my patch (just the ability to mod to add them) unless they are bugfixes.

8.  Include the sound file fixes for SMAC v2.0 in subsequent patches.

What are these fixes again?

[BFG]

Yeah, I had a feeling that the AI changes might be rather time-consuming and difficult.  Simply causing the AI to produce such units isn't enough - I've tried that and it doesn't know what to do with them.  Ah well.

On #8, there are five sound files that are incompatible with the final SMAC patch.  I remember that the level 5 weapon is one of them; I don't recall the others.  Anyway, for some reason, Firaxis encoded those sound files as stereo, while all other files used by the game are mono.  Stereo files are incompatible with the final patch.  So, just re-encoding those files to mono gets them working again.  I already posted the re-encoded files as a small patch in the Downloads section.

Let me know if you need any more info on the #6 bug.  It is potentially game-breaking because, if someone has EXACTLY 256 units, it's treated as zero units and (theoretically) could cause crashes.  I haven't actually observed this yet though.

[Yitzi]

Yeah, I had a feeling that the AI changes might be rather time-consuming and difficult.

On the flip side, fixing the AI is an eventual goal, since my try with the group AAR taught me that the AI is really fairly stupid, and I'm sure I can improve on it.

On #8, there are five sound files that are incompatible with the final SMAC patch.  I remember that the level 5 weapon is one of them; I don't recall the others.  Anyway, for some reason, Firaxis encoded those sound files as stereo, while all other files used by the game are mono.  Stereo files are incompatible with the final patch.  So, just re-encoding those files to mono gets them working again.  I already posted the re-encoded files as a small patch in the Downloads section.

And you want them included in my patches?

Might as well.  That's easy enough that I'll put it in 3.4.

Let me know if you need any more info on the #6 bug.  It is potentially game-breaking because, if someone has EXACTLY 256 units, it's treated as zero units and (theoretically) could cause crashes.  I haven't actually observed this yet though.

While I suppose it's possible that the script for a unit might look at the number of its unit type, that probably doesn't happen.  (And of course if it's not for the unit then it has to take care of the issue anyway because you might just not have any of that unit.)

In any case, feel free to post the bugfixes as a write-in in the vote thread (and get other people to vote for them as well; no write-in is going to get in with only one person's support), and you can nominate others next time.