Stack Bombard...

[BomberEscort]

I for one would really like to see a stack auto-bombard option, similar to the auto-bombard feature...

I am guessing that the code rework would be minimal, though I am no programmer

Tavis, if you are listening... and taking requests...

[nalves]

Originally posted by BomberEscort
I for one would really like to see a stack auto-bombard option, similar to the auto-bombard feature...

I am guessing that the code rework would be minimal, though I am no programmer

Tavis, if you are listening... and taking requests...

I am a programmer and I think that the code rework would not be minimal. There are some issues in that option. For example if someone select stack bombard with 100 cannons, and after the 50 canon all the units being bombard would be in red line(only one hp) ... Wath to do ? stop or continue bombarding and doing no efect ? .... that could be hard to program. And imagine that all units were in red line but there werea mine under them ... Would you like to continue bombarding ????? And if the mine were in your territory ??? ....there are so many more issues to that...

So ... it would't be easy to programe that.

[ssvensson]

@BomberEscort

Don't listen to programmers!! - for them nothing is possible the first time you ask them to do something ;-)

I think stack auto bombardment would be cool as well as auto stack clean-up-pollution!!

[LordKestrel]

The easiest way to implement it would be with the j-key stack move. If you try and move a stack of artillery onto an enemy, it should try and bombard them from your current square.

[AIL]

I am programmer too and I disagree with nalves!
Why aks so many questions as a programmer? Think what the player would apreciate: Bomb until a) out of cannons or b) all is redlined... When Player Stack bombards after all is redlined bomb until out of cannons.

Could be something like this:
<code>
if (true==allunitsontileredlined(tiletobombard)
while (for int i=0;i<numberofcannonsontile(selected_unit->tile());++i)
{
if (true==cannon[i]->canbombard) cannon[i]->bombard(tiletobombard);
cannon[i]->canbobard=false;
} else while (for int i=0;i<numberofcannonsontile(selected_unit->tile());++i)
{
if (true==cannon[i]->canbombard) cannon[i]->bombard(tiletobombard);
cannon[i]->canbobard=false;
if (true==allunitsontileredlined(tiletobombard)) break;
}
</code>

[xxyyzz]

Originally posted by nalves


I am a programmer and I think that the code rework would not be minimal. There are some issues in that option. For example if someone select stack bombard with 100 cannons, and after the 50 canon all the units being bombard would be in red line(only one hp) ... Wath to do ? stop or continue bombarding and doing no efect ? .... that could be hard to program. And imagine that all units were in red line but there werea mine under them ... Would you like to continue bombarding ????? And if the mine were in your territory ??? ....there are so many more issues to that...

So ... it would't be easy to programe that.

I don't think it would be that hard at all, in fact it is basically in the game. I do it all the time, especially with Radar arty and other times with bombers. I usually already have a stack on auto bombard, and before the lethal barbmardment was brough into the game, it would start hitting the population or just "fail" Now with lethal bombardment and collateral damage (which I love BTW), after the toops are killed, the arty goes after imporvements. And it keeps going too, untill you cancel the orders and the city is taken. Actually if ya really lucky, with collateral damage, you'll destroy improvments and troops in the same round

Being able to have a stack control would be a wonderful idea, so much easier than cycling through the units one by one, a bombard all is nice, there already is a wake all and fortify all, its probably just a bombard sum check.

[warpstorm]

It should be easy (and I'm a programmer).

[zurichuk]

ok since all the programmers are speaking up, i'll speak up as a mathematical programmer.

i don't know whether it is easy or not because i have no idea how well organised / designed the current code is, i don't know whether there are memory issues, hard coding issues, oo issues, possibility of side effects etc etc etc

[AIL]

I think all the functions I used in my example already exist in a similar way...
You can already cycle through all units with movepoints in one stack as shown in the stack-move command.
You can already determine if all units on a tile are readlined as shown when you bombard it and destroy a building or pop.
It can not possibly be hard to code!
The guy who already wrote the stack-move command can program it in a matter of minutes! It's 90% copy/paste of the code already used for that!

We can bomb a tile(x,y) and we can stackmove all units of a type to a tile(x,y)... No reason for having any problem to stackbomb a tile(x,y) with all units of a type that is Artillery!

The hardest thing would really be to create a new icon, place it on the GUI and connect the new command with it...

[zurichuk]

i think it is naive / over-confident to instantly say it is easy without seeing the existing code and how is has been designed / implemented, i'm not saying it isn't easy, i just don't know the facts and the professionalism of the existing code so i (and i believe anybody) cannot accurately comment on its difficulty from internet fora information

[AIL]

Hey, we are talking about a commercial product, it can't possibly be written without an extremely high degree of professionalism!

I'd really like to see a comment from Tavis on this issue...

[nalves]

Forcing several units to go to some tile and bombard it isn't dificult ... ok I agree

But the question that I made was, when to stop bombarding.

a) All units reach red line
b) There are nothing more to bombard
c) There are nothing more to bombard that doesn't belong to us
d) some popup to decide
e) others that I can not remember this time ....


And of course that zurichuk point is very , very, true...

And for know hold shift and "B", and click like crazy in the target, thats the closest to stack bombard that we have.

[watorrey]

From a player point of view, i have never figured out why i would want to auto bombard much less stack auto bombard.

[BomberEscort]

Now we just need to hear from the programmer that can put this in the game... On the surface though, as I said earlier, it doesn't seem like too much work. It's not truly a new feature since most/some of the code could be reused.

For example in my Combat Calculator the Normal, Defensive Bombard, and Retreat all use the same basic routine, with minor subroutines to handle their differences. I figure it would be the same with Stack Auto-Bombard...

But I wouldn't mind it bombarding until all the stack bombards even if this means that some units would have nothing to hit because all targets have been destroyed. Call it the payment for my laziness, that is not wanting to sit through and click each unit and bombard individually...

[microbe]

But the question that I made was, when to stop bombarding.

What's the difference between this and "Ctrl-D" but no more pollution to clean?

I am a programmer too, and a much better one than I am a CIV player.

[nalves]

Originally posted by microbe

What's the difference between this and "Ctrl-D" but no more pollution to clean?

The difference is the limit...

Are you saying that the stack bombard should only stop to bombard when there are anything more to hit ?
I don't agree.
For exemple when I want to capture a enemy city I bombard that city until all their defenders are in red line. After that I don't bombard any more since I want to preserve as much buildings in the city as I can.

So I would like a stack bombard option that bombard only until the enemy units are in red line. In fact I would love that option.

[BomberEscort]

Like I said earlier, it is the penalty for our laziness... when I auto bombard with bombers they will still target a city long after eveything has been destroyed. Stack Bombard & Stack Auto Bombard could work the same way.

IIRC, bombers will stop when all tile improvements are destroyed and troops are killed, so the code to stop is already there...

[Jazz_Newton]

I think one of the problems is this.... i'm guessing that the way the code is done, a stack bombard command would still have to go through and show the animation for every single artillery anyway - my guess is that if all 50 cannons were to be fired 'at once' the program would launch them all at the same target. So assuming that every cannon must be fired individually, really you're only saving yourself a fraction of a second on every cannon anyway. Give your fingers the excercise.

[DrJambo]

A big YES to stack bombard!!

bombarding with stacks is easily the most time-consuming and boring aspect of the latter half of the game.

[BomberEscort]

Originally posted by =DOCTOR=
A big YES to stack bombard!!

bombarding with stacks is easily the most time-consuming and boring aspect of the latter half of the game.

I agree, this was my main reason for wanting this... near the end game I have about 100 radar artillery running around on rails, bombarding anything in sight...