BUFFY Feedback

[AlanH]

Please tell us what you think of BUFFY

SGOTM 10 was the first competition game we have started using BUFFY, and it will become standard for future BOTMs. So I figured this would be an interesting opportunity to gather suggestions, bouquets and brickbats that we can feed back to the developers.

Please don't post anything here that's a spoiler for the progress of your game. It may be difficult to discuss this in the context of our competitions, but I don't know how else to gather your early impressions. If you have a burning issue with BUFFY that cannot be explained without reference to your confidential game status, I suggest you post the details in your team thread, and PM me with a link to your post so that I can find it.

 

[Ronnie1]

LOTS of buttons....

I'm sure once I figure out how to use most of what is offered, my opinion will change, but the interface is getting pretty crowded.

The alerts are great though, no thinking required for certain aspects of the mechanics.

 

[AlanH]

Like all the BUG features, all those buttons along the bottom margin can be hidden if you don't want to use them.

I guess the designers chose to enable everything by default so that you can see what's possible, but it does light the screen up a bit like a Christmas tree.

 

[Harbourboy]

I bet I am only using 1% of the functionality. I love how it tells me the actual benefit of buildings like markets and banks, rather than just the %s.

 

[ruff_hi]

hi guys - going to be watching a few of your games and your flying nukes. Also here to field some BUFFY feedback (and provide a tongue lashing if you ask a question that has already been answered ... only kidding, I think!).

 

[SteelHorse]

I am really enjoying it. Haven't used yet on SGOTM but there are a number of things that stand out that I have been using in individual games.

All the additional information brought to the front. Like the GP Progress meter that shows GP likelihood. As mentioned above the building highlight which shows the actual benefit. Even the little hash marks on Tech bar help to let you know when a small change in research rate will get a tech a turn earlier.

Unit health and movement bars are also very nice when managing a stack. All the additional alerts including whip opportunities and city growth are useful. Saves a lot of time scrolling through each city.

Lots of things still to play with like the dot-map utility. It would be good if this were enhanced to display what the potential of the BFC was in terms of , and for the area. This is a painstaking endeavor in our SGOTMs.

Only found one small anomaly regarding advanced starts and the turn counter which I have posted over on the BUFFY thread.

All and all this is a big win

 

[EmperorFool]

Lots of things still to play with like the dot-map utility. It would be good if this were enhanced to display what the potential of the BFC was in terms of , and for the area. This is a painstaking endeavor in our SGOTMs.

If anyone has any ideas how to actually do this logically, please post them to the Strategy Layer thread.

The main issues are

• Which plots to consider? Riverside ice and Tundra? Ocean?
• Which improvements to assume?
• What is this city's specialization?
• Is this a GP Farm?
• Which city gets the overlapping tiles?
• Count foreign cultural borders you intend to push back or take by force?

Even if we had buttons to select the city spec type (GPF, Commerce, Production, Draft Farm) would that be enough?

 

[SteelHorse]

If anyone has any ideas how to actually do this logically, please post them to the Strategy Layer thread.

Thanks for the redirect! And yes many different options.
Initial thoughts would be to show one total for unimproved and 3 for fully improved. Always taking leader traits into account. Ignore Civics, Buildings, culture push to simplify.
Give option on overlap to user, default to the initial BFC.
On fully improved it would show a 3 possibilities:
1. Max for commerce (mine gold and gems, cottage rest, max pop etc.)
2. Max for hammers ( mines, workshops, max pop, etc,)
3. Max for food (max pop, farms, wbs, etc.)

I will take my thoughts over on the Strategy Layer Thread.

 

[beestar]

As mentioned above the building highlight which shows the actual benefit.

I'd been using an older version of BUG, and this is the new improvement I've appreciated the most. Who knew Custom Houses were so useless in most cases?

Thanks guys!

 

[ShannonCT]

I'd been using an older version of BUG, and this is the new improvement I've appreciated the most. Who knew Custom Houses were so useless in most cases?

Thanks guys!

This new BUFFY mod definitely takes away an advantage from players who in the past took the time to look into all of the game mechanics and make careful calculations before making decisions. That's the main thing I don't like about BUFFY. It makes the game too easy.

 

[kcd_swede]

This new BUFFY mod definitely takes away an advantage from players who in the past took the time to look into all of the game mechanics and make careful calculations before making decisions. That's the main thing I don't like about BUFFY. It makes the game too easy.

What I think you really mean is that it acts as somewhat of an equalizer for lazy and/or ignorant people (such as myself).

 

[kcd_swede]

In individual games, I notice a new option when I conquer a city. "Let me examine the city first" before deciding to keep or raze. I like the option, but I think it allows you to get information that would not be possible in a strictly-speaking unaltered gameplay application. Or maybe I just don't know how I would otherwise get that information (like whether there is a settled GP, or if the granary got destroyed, etc).

First time I used it I felt like I was cheating.

 

[ruff_hi]

In individual games, I notice a new option when I conquer a city. "Let me examine the city first" before deciding to keep or raze. I like the option, but I think it allows you to get information that would not be possible in a strictly-speaking unaltered gameplay application. Or maybe I just don't know how I would otherwise get that information (like whether there is a settled GP, or if the granary got destroyed, etc).

First time I used it I felt like I was cheating.

kcd - this option was added via the latest official patch (3.19) so it is now in the standard game.

 

[kcd_swede]

kcd - this option was added via the latest official patch (3.19) so it is now in the standard game.

I guess that shows my dedication in using the current HoF (errr.... BUFFY) mod in every game!

However, I must admit, that it will likely be months before I learn what to do with it all. Question: do I need to reset the BUFFY options before every game or are the settings from the previous game (supposed to be) held? I ask because I set workers to pre-build (i.e. stop and promt for action 1 turn short of completing any infrastructure) in one of my first test games, but they didn't do it in the next game. Forgot to check if the option was still ticked.

 

[Norvin_Green]

I'm new to SGOTM's but I have been using BUG in my SP games and love it. BUFFY is even better. Thanks.

 

[darreljnz]

I haven't used it for a xOTM yet but I really like it:
1. Install process is really easy
2. Dot map utility is very useful
3. The enhanced score display that shows your power ratio is great - this has upped my game considerably
4. I still have to get my head around all of the detailed city info screens but I'm sure they'll help my game. I did have one scenario yesterday where the extra detail made me realise a few things about my game (e.g religious buildings) I wouldn't have picked up easily without it
5. I like the sit-rep report in the military advisor screen. I was wondering how it does this for tiles that you have explored but can't see. For example, if my opponent has iron does it assume it is mined and has a route?

 

[ruff_hi]

5. I like the sit-rep report in the military advisor screen. I was wondering how it does this for tiles that you have explored but can't see. For example, if my opponent has iron does it assume it is mined and has a route?

The resource information is extracted from the trade screen. If the tab shows iron, it means that the iron is hooked up (roaded and mined) and available at the capital.

 

[EmperorFool]

Do I need to reset the BUFFY options before every game or are the settings from the previous game (supposed to be) held?

Your settings are saved in INI files in the UserSettings folder.

I ask because I set workers to pre-build (i.e. stop and promt for action 1 turn short of completing any infrastructure) in one of my first test games, but they didn't do it in the next game.

They didn't do it in your first game, either, because we ran out of time to add that feature to BUFFY. I had the options in BUG already and the code written in BULL, but I had only done a small amount of testing and it's a major aspect of the game that would have ruined it if it didn't work right. This feature will be in the next version.

 

[DaveShack]

On workers stopping before completing a chop:

They didn't do it in your first game, either, because we ran out of time to add that feature to BUFFY. I had the options in BUG already and the code written in BULL, but I had only done a small amount of testing and it's a major aspect of the game that would have ruined it if it didn't work right. This feature will be in the next version.

OOPS - I told my team this feature worked. Hope we haven't had anyone rely on it yet.

 

[EmperorFool]

Yeah, sorry about that. That's what happens when two different projects depend on each other, but one has a code-freeze before the other.