City Build Queues

[Jimmyh]

It's been said there needs to be the option of having separate build queues.

My question is, would a build queue for units and one for buildings be enough?
Or would you separate them out even more? For example, have a build queue for wonders.

 

[Takhisis]

Hmmm, no… I'd have a few separate queues (maybe according to the population) and those can be built accordingly… IRL people build silos as well as till fields and manufacture agricultural implementes and all the while the people in the area learn how to do things (i.e. in-game 'training'). The thing is, I propose that you should decide how large a percentage of the city's total production shall be used for each project the city is working on.
Also, in a more advanced setting some production bonuses from resources could be used in only certain occasions (the right unit, with the right tech… at the appropriate time of year?). For example, while mud or clay might be useful in making bricks, it's certainly not useful when building a dock, is it?
Iron's not useful unless you can smelt it, and even then, if you can't refine it into special alloys you can't use it to build a spaceship. I'm not sure I'm making much sense…

 

[Takhisis]

Also a build queue for manufactured items (anything not a unit or building) such as tools, processed resources, etc. might come in handy.

 

[WildWeazel]

I think units vs buildings makes sense, given that things you can build in Civ are always either things that go on the map or things that go in the city. The interesting part will be, how do you determine the productivity of each queue? Does population and/or food go into the unit queue, while shields and/or resources go into the building queue? Can you allocate shields to either queue?

Also a build queue for manufactured items (anything not a unit or building) such as tools, processed resources, etc. might come in handy.

Woah, slow down there buddy. What kind of economic model are you proposing?
On a completely unrelated note, have you played SimIsle?

 

[Takhisis]

I think units vs buildings makes sense, given that things you can build in Civ are always either things that go on the map or things that go in the city. The interesting part will be, how do you determine the productivity of each queue? Does population and/or food go into the unit queue, while shields and/or resources go into the building queue? Can you allocate shields to either queue?

Well, units would need manpower. That should also count as population not working on building population. How far can we take demographics?
The thing is, there's a new category which I want to be 'non-unit stuff that goes on the map but can be used in/on the city'. A bit like items in D&D-style RPGs like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. Can't move by itself but has an effect on its surroundings/carrier/whatever. Or can be traded and cashed in like cotton bales (or paid as tribute to a powerful barbarian overlord). Or food to be sent to starving cities. After all, if it's all in .xml files, then you can specify that later and see what the game lets you get away with. I'll call these 'props' for now.
Shields or whatever other production measuring unit you use (could be renamed for specific scenarios by a simple changing of text files) should be assigned to all types of queues.

Maybe the number queues themselves could be augmented by technological advances and/or 'upgrading' the city. For example, if you have a Shipyard Lv. 1 you can build one water unit at a time, if you have a Shipyard Lv. 2 you can build 2, and so on… if the building is damaged/destroyed, then, well, your construction capabilities are impaired/nullified. As before, the number of units/props buildable at each level could be set in the editor or one of those .xml files. You could have a +3 bonus per level if you wished to, especially with, say, a food processing plant.
I imagine this to be a bit like the construction queues in the X-COM:UFO series (Enemy Unknown was one of the best computer games ever, period). You need workspace, manpower and resources. The more you have, the faster you build.

Also, all units/props should be tradeable, instead of the second unit in the build list like Civ3.

Woah, slow down there buddy. What kind of economic model are you proposing?
On a completely unrelated note, have you played SimIsle?

A totally reformed model. Why copy a model you know is fundamentally flawed when you know you can just do it better from scratch? I'd base a lot of it off Transport Tycoon. The resource management is so much better there. I'd also like to import -and adapt- the concept of manufacturing/processing/redistributing resources.

And no, I haven't played SimIsle. Is it for free? Money is a constraint right now.

 

[Jimmyh]

Next you'll be asking for build queues on buildings. oh wait I think you actually are :s

Until the UI is customizable I think multiple build queues might have to wait. Not unless I spend some time doing that now?

Colonization has a better economy model, but only has 1 build queue.

 

[Takhisis]

Next you'll be asking for build queues on buildings. oh wait I think you actually are :s

On buildings. And on props.

Until the UI is customizable I think multiple build queues might have to wait. Not unless I spend some time doing that now?

I'm not sure what you mean… what do you mean the UI is not customisable?

Colonization has a better economy model, but only has 1 build queue.

Never played it.

 

[Jimmyh]

I'm not sure what you mean… what do you mean the UI is not customisable?

Well if you had a mod which was civ3, the city UI would only need 1 build queue on it.

Where as lets say your mod would need multiple build queues, the UI for the city screen would need to be different.

 

[Takhisis]

Well if you had a mod which was civ3, the city UI would only need 1 build queue on it.

Where as lets say your mod would need multiple build queues, the UI for the city screen would need to be different.

Ah, now I see… the second part (I forgot to post, it was 2 a.m. and wanted to get to bed) was that the queues could be got from a dropbox or, even better (don't know how hard it could be to code) a screen like the advisors from civIII.

 

[Takhisis]

Where as lets say your mod would need multiple build queues, the UI for the city screen would need to be different.

I have had a few ideas… I could GIMP it into a few panels so I could explain myself better.

 

[Jimmyh]

I have had a few ideas… I could GIMP it into a few panels so I could explain myself better.

Sure that would certainly help. I've been a bit busy with work these past 2 weeks and now I've caught a cold, but i'll be back soon.

 

[Takhisis]

I'll do a few panels on how the city would end up looking.