Enhanced military advisor

[SupremeOverlord]

NOTE: For latest version, please see this thread: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=150477

This mod is a complete redesign of the Military advisor. This is just a test release, so any feedback is appreciated.

INSTALLATION
Extract the contents of the zip file to 'My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\MODS' to install as a MOD. If you want to use it in all your games you should copy all files and folders in 'My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\MODS\Enhanced Interface\Assets' to 'My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\CustomAssets'. You might need to empty your cache a few times before this MOD takes effect. (Hold down the shift key while the game is starting up)

FEATURES
1. All units are displayed in a scrollable list. The following info is displayed for each unit: icon, name, strength, moves, experience and promotions.
2. The units can be grouped by different criteria:
a) By stack (group units for all city plots and all other plots with more then one unit, all other units are shown as one group)
b) By combat type (melee, gunpowder, ...)
c) By location (city garisson, home territory, friendly territory (open borders), neutral territory, enemy territory)
3. Changing the groups doesn't alter the selection.

PLANNED FEATURES
1. Add more grouping criteria:
a) By nearest city
b) By owner
2. Add filter criteria:
a) By unit type
b) By combat type
c) By promotion
d) By location
e) By owner
3. Make it possible to upgrade and disband selected units (also show cost and number of units)
4. Add a plot view of the last selected unit (toggle between map view and plot view)
5. Maybe use color coding for the map view


TODO
----
- translate interface

View attachment Enhanced Interface_MIL_20051228.zip

 

[IamSid]

Its.................. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you in a non-homosexual way man!

 

[Cammagno]

This mod is a complete redesign of the Military advisor. This is just a test release, so any feedback is appreciated.

Very good idea and good first release. If you'll have success in adding some of your planed features, it'll be the "definitive" mod for military advisor.

I've tested it a bit, and the only problem is that all the useful info about other civs' units (the visible ones, as in the standard military advisor) are gone. Maybe you may add in the inferior part of the window a series of icons of the other leaders, so that clicking on one of them, I can get his units displayed instad of mine. Just an idea, of course

 

[Shamier]

Judging from the screenshot, this looks like a promising addition to the advisor updates.
I agree with Cammagno though that it would be good if you could be able to see some details from enemy units as well...

Once the unit upgrading is implemented to this mod, I'm downloading it asap

 

[Colonel Kraken]

Oh my. My wife is going to kiss you for making this mod!

EDIT: We'll have to hold off on the kiss --not going to happen until you make the City buttons clickable to zoom to that city screen and able to upgrade units in the military advisor screen. Sorry.

 

[SupremeOverlord]

Oh my. My wife is going to kiss you for making this mod!

EDIT: We'll have to hold off on the kiss --not going to happen until you make the City buttons clickable to zoom to that city screen and able to upgrade units in the military advisor screen. Sorry.

I was thinking that clicking on the city name (or any other group label) should select all the units in that group. Maybe I should add a button to the group labels to add the functionallity that you describe. Are there any other group labels where you want some special action when clicking this button? For example, what should this button do when the units are grouped by combat type?

 

[mgdpublic]

This is awesome. Do you know if it will conflict with either the Exotic FA mod or the Enhanced DA?

 

[SupremeOverlord]

This is awesome. Do you know if it will conflict with either the Exotic FA mod or the Enhanced DA?

I haven't tested it but normally there shouldn't be any conflicts with other mods.

 

[Elhoim]

Great Mod!!!

Are you going to continue your foreing advisor mod? I would love to see a 1.52 improved version...

 

[SupremeOverlord]

Great Mod!!!

Are you going to continue your foreing advisor mod? I would love to see a 1.52 improved version...

I've already updated the enhanced foreign advisor. Now it also shows the gold amounts. I wasn't planning on making any other changes to it.

 

[Elhoim]

Great! I didn´t notice... Downloading it now!

 

[Rshu]

Great, a military advisor that is actually useful. Nice job!

 

[Colonel Kraken]

I was thinking that clicking on the city name (or any other group label) should select all the units in that group. Maybe I should add a button to the group labels to add the functionallity that you describe.

Well, usually, units in a city you don't necessarily want to select as a group because you're going to have your city defenders and then your other units.

Usually, (from Civ III) we would use the military advisor to (1) upgrade units (2) find what units are already in that city and possibly change the city production or (3) find particular units we wished to use.

So, I would say clicking on the city button takes you to the city (on map would be perfectly fine, I'm sure) or to the group of units on the map. Clicking on an individual unit will actually select that unit.

Are there any other group labels where you want some special action when clicking this button? For example, what should this button do when the units are grouped by combat type?

Grouped by combat type? I'm not sure what you meant here.


Thank you for such a great mod!

 

[SupremeOverlord]

Grouped by combat type? I'm not sure what you meant here.

At the top left of the advisor screen there is a pull down box that lets you select different ways of grouping the units. In the screenshot the units are grouped by stack. This means the units are grouped together for all city plots and all other plots with more then one unit, all other units are shown as one group. It is also possible to group the units by combat type. This means that all the gunpowder units form one group, and all the archer units form another, etc ... If I add a button to the labels for the cities, do I also need to add it for the other labels and what should the button do for those labels?

 

[Colonel Kraken]

... If I add a button to the labels for the cities, do I also need to add it for the other labels and what should the button do for those labels?

I understand now what you meant for group by combat type, but I'm not exactly sure what you're saying here. I'm trying to think of the usefullness of grouping by combat type. I would imagine the greatest benefit would be to upgrade all units of a certain type. I can also think that it would be truly splendid to be able to find, say, all Catapults in this advisor screen and tell them all to go to x city or map plot. Now, THAT would be cool!

 

[Cammagno]

TODO
----
- translate interface

If you are interested (for future releases), here there is the "CIV4EnhancedTextInfos_MIL.xml" file with the Italian translation (I'm an Italian guy).

In my personal version I've translated also the "Group by..." strings directly in the CvMilitaryAdvisor.py, but maybe (if this is possible) it's better to put also these string in some xml file (maybe CIV4EnhancedTextInfos_MIL.xml itself?) to allow multiple language.

Anyway, here there is the Italian translation of those strings:

"Don't group units" = "Non raggruppare le unità"
"Group by stack" = "Raggruppa per gruppo"
"Group by combat type" = "Raggruppa per tipo"
"Group by location" = "Raggruppa per posizione"

If you need some other Italian translation, just let me know

###

Another idea for future releases: it will be very useful if the default grouping criterium could be selected (or saved, or at least set in the file). The best option (but also the more difficult to realize, I think) will obviously be that the last used criterium is automaticaly "saved" and shown the next time the Advisor is displayed.

 

[Merum]

Nice... I don't see the leaderheads anymore... can you still filter on a given leader, so you can see only their units and locations?

 

[SupremeOverlord]

Nice... I don't see the leaderheads anymore... can you still filter on a given leader, so you can see only their units and locations?

For the moment the advisor only shows your own units.

 

[Merum]

For the moment the advisor only shows your own units.

Good enough then... I see you plan to add this in the future. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

[Chuck Berry]

hi - longtime forum lurker, first time poster...

I was wondering - I seem to recall on Civ II (or maybe III) that the military advisor also showed you how many units you had lost in combat and how many enemy units you had eliminated - it may have even shown casualties by unit type. Maybe my memory's fuzzy, but I thought it did. Or is it still there and I'm overlooking something?

Also, it would be really helpful if you could see what years you were at war with whom - for example, you could click on "Isabella (Spain)" and see a graph or table that said "War - 950BC - 700BC, 1200AD - 1345AD, 1621AD - currently at war) or something to that effect. And than maybe that civilization's cities you've captured, and your cities they've captured, and then casualties - like how many casualties of yours they've inflicted and how many of their's you've inflicted. I just think it would be really helpful to see who you've been at war with, when, and how successful you've been fighting them.

Anyway, I did a little modding with Civ II, so I'm pretty ignorant on how to do something like this on IV. I would love some suggestions or tips - or even better, if one of you skilled modders could try something like this yourselves?
Thanks in advance!