05-11-2003 03:26									#1
	Miscellaneous questions Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

1) It seems that units can have TWO (or more) obsolete enablers. Is the same true for improvements and government?

2) On the flip side, is it possible to have TWO (or more) enablers (advances needed to build something)?

3) Is it possible to make EXCLUSIONARY tech trees? That is, that once you start down one path of a fork, you can never research the other path at all (although you may trade/steal for it of course).

4) What does the size flag (for units) effect? The ability to be transported and/or launched into space? How exactly (there are three size - small medium and large)?

5) I note there are mutliple unit entries for UNIT_CITY. One of them seems to be a city that can move around and attack like a unit. I also not that the cheat index is 6. Is this a unit that is automatically enabled by some kind of cheat - replacing the other kind of city?

6) Which brings up another question. Could it be possible to make tech-specific or civ-specific UNIT_CITY? Like an Egyptian city as opposed to a Chinese city and so on. They couldn't all be called UNIT_CITY - is there an alteration mechanism to allow the build city command to access UNIT_EGYPT_CITY (for example) instead of UNIT_CITY - or can there only be one effective stat set for all cities?

7) I note that the FIREPOWER unit variable is set to 2 for all units EXCEPT the three standard city types. I know POWER-POINTS is an obsolete variable - is FIREPOWER also obsolete (I did notice its mention yet)?

8) Is it possible to use the FOOD_HUNGER unit variable, or is it completely obsolete (no units in the standard CivCTP use FOOD_HUNGER, but it's an interesting possibility)?

That's all for now.

(I'm especially interested in the EXCLUSIONARY tech trees possibility.)

Cheers,
Xmucane

	05-11-2003 03:36									#2
	Inflate your Upload Space

More questions

9) Is there any way to make finding a ruin give the player MORE than one effect? Such as gold AND tech, or tech AND hostiles, or mercenaries AND hostiles, (or three or four or whatever). If I change the chances to add up to more than 1, will it simply crash or ignore it?

10) How exactly does the MAX_HUT_ADVANCE_PREREQUISITES variable (in risks.txt) work? If it is, say, 2, does that mean that it will go from 1-2 rungs up YOUR existing tech tree for your bonus tech? How about parallel branches? If I'm in the Diamond Age and haven't researched Theocracy, will it sometimes give me that? If I put 0 into this variable, does this mean it will only give me technologies 'farther back' on the tree (often in dead ends and parallels)? Or will it just crash or ignore it or something?

11) what exactly do the BATTLEFIELD_RANGE and BATTLEFIELD_RADIUS unit variable mean? All I can say is that BATTLEFIELD_RANGE and VISION_RANGE do not always match; that I haven't seen a B_RADIUS of more than 1, or a B_RANGE more than 3. Checked out a number of units but couldn't figure out a checkable difference. Are these value obsolete?

Cheers,
Xmucane

Cheers,
Xmucane

Last edited by Xmucane on 05-11-2003 at 03:46

	05-11-2003 04:39									#3
	Re: Miscellaneous questions Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by Xmucane 1) It seems that units can have TWO (or more) obsolete enablers. Is the same true for improvements and government?

Presumably, but AFAIK noone has tried it.

quote: 2) On the flip side, is it possible to have TWO (or more) enablers (advances needed to build something)?

Nope.

quote: 3) Is it possible to make EXCLUSIONARY tech trees? That is, that once you start down one path of a fork, you can never research the other path at all (although you may trade/steal for it of course).

Nope.

quote: 4) What does the size flag (for units) effect? The ability to be transported and/or launched into space? How exactly (there are three size - small medium and large)?

It affect transportation - look at the entry for any of the transport units.

quote: 5) I note there are mutliple unit entries for UNIT_CITY. One of them seems to be a city that can move around and attack like a unit. I also not that the cheat index is 6. Is this a unit that is automatically enabled by some kind of cheat - replacing the other kind of city?

The cheat index affects what tab the unit appears in when you create units through the cheat menu. I've never been sure what all the different types of city are there for, but they might be something to do with advancing through the ages.

quote: 6) Which brings up another question. Could it be possible to make tech-specific or civ-specific UNIT_CITY? Like an Egyptian city as opposed to a Chinese city and so on. They couldn't all be called UNIT_CITY - is there an alteration mechanism to allow the build city command to access UNIT_EGYPT_CITY (for example) instead of UNIT_CITY - or can there only be one effective stat set for all cities?

I don't think this has ever been investigated - you'd have to experiment with the various city units yourself.

quote: 7) I note that the FIREPOWER unit variable is set to 2 for all units EXCEPT the three standard city types. I know POWER-POINTS is an obsolete variable - is FIREPOWER also obsolete (I did notice its mention yet)?

I think that firepower does matter, but not for cities because they never fight. It determines how much damage they do for each hit during combat. Like many of the options in CTP the designers simply didn't want to bother varying it. I don't know that it does anything for sure, but a little experimentation should reveal the truth fairly quickly.

quote: 8) Is it possible to use the FOOD_HUNGER unit variable, or is it completely obsolete (no units in the standard CivCTP use FOOD_HUNGER, but it's an interesting possibility)?

I thought settlers had FOOD_HUNGER... Perhaps I was imagining it. Again, you'll probably have to try this out for yourself.

Where I have said something is impossible an ugly SLIC solution might be found, but it probably wouldn't work well. Most of these things can be done more easily under CTP2 (since SLIC is much more powerful in CTP2).

	05-11-2003 05:19									#4
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

Thanks a bunch. I'm waiting for a 'new' copy of CTP to arrive in the mail, and thus cannot test any ideas myself for another 2 days or so. sigh.

Any thoughts on the risk.txt question (MAX_HUT_ADVANCE_PREREQUISITES)?

Also, a few more things.

Is it possible to embed SLIC functions within any of the .txt files?

For example, could I use the Random function (which generates and returns a random number) in the Unit.txt file to create a unit which has a random attack/defense. And if it worked, would the random number be generated once at the beginning of the game, or would it be generated everyt time the attack/defense had to be used?


Cheers,
Xmucane

	05-11-2003 05:33									#5
	Got spare money?

quote: Originally posted by Xmucane 9) Is there any way to make finding a ruin give the player MORE than one effect? Such as gold AND tech, or tech AND hostiles, or mercenaries AND hostiles, (or three or four or whatever). If I change the chances to add up to more than 1, will it simply crash or ignore it?

I'm failry sure if the probabillities add up to more than 1 then the excess will be ignored. I can't think of any way to script multiple effects offhand, unless SLIC can catch the event of opening the hut.

quote: 10) How exactly does the MAX_HUT_ADVANCE_PREREQUISITES variable (in risks.txt) work? If it is, say, 2, does that mean that it will go from 1-2 rungs up YOUR existing tech tree for your bonus tech? How about parallel branches? If I'm in the Diamond Age and haven't researched Theocracy, will it sometimes give me that? If I put 0 into this variable, does this mean it will only give me technologies 'farther back' on the tree (often in dead ends and parallels)? Or will it just crash or ignore it or something?

I suspect it is to do with some combination of all civs research, but the details are a mystery. IIRC people have played with the value in the past, but I can't remember what the results were. If it is unable to find an advance to give you I believe that you find the hut empty.

quote: 11) what exactly do the BATTLEFIELD_RANGE and BATTLEFIELD_RADIUS unit variable mean? All I can say is that BATTLEFIELD_RANGE and VISION_RANGE do not always match; that I haven't seen a B_RADIUS of more than 1, or a B_RANGE more than 3. Checked out a number of units but couldn't figure out a checkable difference. Are these value obsolete?

I believe they affect on what row the unit stands during battle (e.g. ranged units should stand behind front line units). I once tried to determine exactly what effect they had, but I didn't get very far.

	05-11-2003 05:35									#6
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

quote: Originally posted by Xmucane Is it possible to embed SLIC functions within any of the .txt files?

No, SLIC functions can only be tied to in-game events. To achieve your example you could have several units allowed by different advances and attribute one advance at random, but that is a rather unsatisfactory solution.

	07-11-2003 05:06									#7
	Support Apolyton

quote: I thought settlers had FOOD_HUNGER... Perhaps I was imagining it. Again, you'll probably have to try this out for yourself.

FOOD_HUNGER has no effect in either CtP or CtP2