10-11-2001 20:13									#1
	Draft Message I Am Planning To Send To Firaxis Full PM-box? Change here!

Here is the draft of a message I am planning on sending to Firaxis sometime later today. It is about stack movement, tell me what you think. Comments, Suggestions. Just make it quick, I am sending this at 9:30 - 10:00PM est.

"Dear Firaxis,

Before I write my suggestion I just want to take this opportunity to thank you *very* much for a very fun and enjoyable game. No matter how hard I try, I just can't stop playing Civ 3 . You and the people who have spent many hours on this computer program have definitely earned your pay, and have also renewed my belief that there are still *some* companies out there that do care for the most important people to their business, the gamers.

Well, now on to the good stuff . . .

Stacked Movement of units, - (not stacked combat, that's already in the game via armies) - is something that many casual and hard core gamers alike have cried out for, due to the painfully long time it can take to move hundreds of units around the map during war time. I hope you realize the importance of Stacked Movement and understand how GREATLY it will improve gameplay.

Here is a really simple, Age-of-Empires type way, of handling stacked movement:

After right-clicking on a big ole' stack of units, there is a list of units in that stack that pops up. So make the ability to Alt-Select *multiple* units in that list.

NOTE: I would use shift-select, but holding down shift and selecting units already has a different function in this menu.

Once you have highlighted/selected the units you want grouped, you hit Ctrl/1-9 to form the group and its number.

Following me so far?

Now when you hit 1-9, the group of that number is selected. The map automatically centers on that group. When you give that group an order, they move together (at the speed of the slowest unit), but do not attack together!

If you order them to attack, then the strongest attack unit goes first, and if it wins, the WHOLE stack moves into the square together.

If it dies, the next most powerful attack unit is selected BUT DOES NOT ATTACK, it waits for you to tell it to attack again.

You can always right-click the group and manually select the unit you want, but if you don't, the unit with the strongest attack value always goes in first.

Removing Units From Group:

Well if we are going to have groups, we need a way to ungroup, right?

No problemo:

Pressing Shift-O ungroups *only the selected* unit from it's group, and Ctrl-Shift-O will ungroup all units in it's group.

Adding Units to Group:

Want to add a unit to a group without remaking the entire thing? Select the unit(s) you want to add and press Alt-Ctrl 1-9 to add a unit to a pre-existing group.


Thanks for your time, and if the teams has any questions or comments, PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO SEND THEM TO ME!!


Best of intentions,

- Perry Williams
E-mail Here"

Last edited by Timeline on 11-11-2001 at 07:02

	10-11-2001 20:21									#2
	Remove this text

good idea but is the ctrl 0-9 nessessary ?I suppose thogh the ctrl 0-9 would be good for quick find, but if you had 11 stacks you would get annoyed by having to re stack the ones which were left over from the ctrl numbers thing
maybe firaxis will listen and add something like that in a patch, or an add on

	10-11-2001 20:40									#3
	Increase the size of your Attachments

Another sound idea to reduce units micromanagement. Let's hope Firaxis has recruted enough staff to process all the complains.

I am still looking for people for the Fixarus project btw
http://apolyton.net/forums/showthre...&threadid=33104

Latest version is 0.11. Available there


TLG
Fixareus promotion tour 2001

	10-11-2001 22:47									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Just a *bump* before I go to work.

	10-11-2001 23:06									#5
	Inflate your Upload Space

Brilliant. Send it.

	11-11-2001 05:19									#6
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

Message Sent!

*Crosses Fingers*

	11-11-2001 05:45									#7
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

I very much agree -- very good letter!

Hopefully, since about twenty different people have said that (and in the log for Siren Johnson's recent AI chat, i think he said a simpler version of this sounded like a good idea, but I'm not sure), this might get approved... I'd really like a starcraft-type way of grouping units (minus the 12 unit restriction, that made life harder) (which is pretty much what you described) -- not that this game is anything like starcraft, but it would make this game much easier to play. Also, one thing I might point out -- if Faraxis does choose to do this, it'd be great if they'd add in support for more then nine groups -- no matter how clumsy it gets as the numbers get larger, the only people who will have to deal with the clumsy-ness are the people who want to group that many units. One possible (and easy) way to do this would be, if ctrl-1 activated group one and etc, then ctrl-0 brings up a box asking you what group you wanted to select. As far as I can tell, this shouldn't be too hard, and no one who doesn't want it has to use it.

Just my personal comments...

-- adaMada

	11-11-2001 06:38									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

just started a poll about the whole stacked-units thing and what people think, mainly based on the ideas posted here (I give timeline credit and link to this thread). The address is:
http://www.apolyton.net/forums/show...&threadid=33383

Just FYI.
-- adaMada

	11-11-2001 07:08									#9
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

Thanks adaMada.

Good idea about the poll. I am curious to see what people will think. There will probably be quite a few who think my idea is too confusing/complex, and if so, then they could be right.

Well at least Firaxis knows that we want *some* form of stacked combat, and they have a few ideas to play with . . .

Better than nothing!

	11-11-2001 07:22									#10
	Got spare money?

yea, i was expecting to get some people who thought it was all too confusing, but so far, out of the six people who have replied, four have gone for the most complicated option up there, and none have said don't put it in, so...

I'll do my best to bump it when it goes off the first page -- I remember when things on the Civ 3 forum would stay on the first page for a week or two .

-- adaMada