go function
- Thread starter Zhu
- Start date
Wasn't the go command always broken?
I don't normally use the go command; I find it too unreliable. When I do, I usually use it on a route that I will want to use a lot and I test it out on a low priority unit first.
My very limited experience suggests that maybe MGE has a go command worse than classic, so if you upgraded in order to put it on Windows 7, that might explain your problem.
The Go To command has been junk for as long as I can remember, though there may be some path of least resistance for overland travel if you find an A.I. breakdown somewhere. I'll use Airports-- either that or disband units and rebuild them closer to the frontlines.
I always found that command useless, as the units would invariably cross spaces where I didn't want them to go, or they'd get stuck after taking some weird route that made no sense.
mackerel
Warlord
It's usually not bad if you're only going about 10 spaces. For unavoidable long routes, I take the trip in stages, and rename the waypoint cities to unique first letters to make the goto command easier.
The problem mostly vanishes once you have rails everywhere.
The problem mostly vanishes once you have rails everywhere.
Except you can't build train bridges. 
i have played many years on classic go command was good unless large water body was in the path. i used it always both go to city or hold click. this makes it nearly unplaying for me not having this since i am very accustomed to it 
i build very long roads just for this to move my armies. too much time to move everything. maybe back to classic might fix i have original window 3.1 cd some where
i build very long roads just for this to move my armies. too much time to move everything. maybe back to classic might fix i have original window 3.1 cd some where
timtofly
One Day
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- Sep 28, 2009
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- 9,445
The reason the Go Command does not work is the "International" dateline. Or in Civ II the line where the world wraps around and meets itself. You can find it by the coordinates ( 2, 3) when you click on a tile. Going across the line does not work properly. Unfortunately, the game tends to put your starting point near that line, and the rest of the game trying to cross that line happens a lot.
^What if you choose the option for the map not wrapping around and meeting itself?
mackerel
Warlord
Go is still imperfect in that case. Sherwood Forest GOTM comes to mind; I had one long string of cities connected by rails, and caravans kept coming off the rails.
Eternal War GOTM (136) was the same way, with meandering rails sparsely connecting clusters of cities. Traveling more than about 10 spaces with Go caused trouble there.
Eternal War GOTM (136) was the same way, with meandering rails sparsely connecting clusters of cities. Traveling more than about 10 spaces with Go caused trouble there.
starlifter
Deity
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- Jun 17, 2001
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- 4,210
Civ2 uses a unique pathfinding mechanism, which was created for the world of 33 MHz PC's with 8 MB of RAM. Even on a flat uniform terrain (or ocean), the path will not be as you would expect, except in limited circumstances (e.g., pure diagonals).
The code does not allow for a wrap-around calculation, hence if you are on the horizontal edge of a map (the 'dateline'), the goto will not take the short path across the date line. If you are playing a game and want to use general 'goto', then know where the dateline is, and don't bother attempting a 'goto' dateline crossing.
Below is a graphic which will show the GOTO route.
You place one of the orange endpoints at the starting location of the unit, and the destination corresponds to the center of the graphic. The unit will follow the given path.
Caveats:
1. A Goto will not cross the "dateline" on a wraparound world.
2. Roads, RRs, rivers, terrain differential, and obstacles will alter the path.
3. The size of the path can be expanded following the pattern of the graphic.
4. When a goto is to one of the 8 adjacent tiles, it will move the unit directly (e.g., it will not follow a river bend and use 2/3 of a movement point, but attempt a direct diagonal).
Civ 2 Pathfinding Pattern
Index: Civ2 Trade Pattern, Civ II Road Pattern, MGE Goto path, Civ 2 optimum path, Civilization 2 critical path, Civilization II road path, 5.04f rr path, 5.0.4f trade route, Patcch 3 connection path, road connection
The code does not allow for a wrap-around calculation, hence if you are on the horizontal edge of a map (the 'dateline'), the goto will not take the short path across the date line. If you are playing a game and want to use general 'goto', then know where the dateline is, and don't bother attempting a 'goto' dateline crossing.
Below is a graphic which will show the GOTO route.
You place one of the orange endpoints at the starting location of the unit, and the destination corresponds to the center of the graphic. The unit will follow the given path.
Caveats:
1. A Goto will not cross the "dateline" on a wraparound world.
2. Roads, RRs, rivers, terrain differential, and obstacles will alter the path.
3. The size of the path can be expanded following the pattern of the graphic.
4. When a goto is to one of the 8 adjacent tiles, it will move the unit directly (e.g., it will not follow a river bend and use 2/3 of a movement point, but attempt a direct diagonal).
Civ 2 Pathfinding Pattern
Index: Civ2 Trade Pattern, Civ II Road Pattern, MGE Goto path, Civ 2 optimum path, Civilization 2 critical path, Civilization II road path, 5.04f rr path, 5.0.4f trade route, Patcch 3 connection path, road connection
Attachments
How come this is not symmetric? For example, from NW, NE, and SE you do not follow a straight path to the center (you make a diagonal move at the start and end) but from SW you do.
starlifter
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2001
- Messages
- 4,210
The real underlying reason for this is how quadrant math was done in Array (matrix) by Reynolds when he programmed it as efficiently as he could at the time. However, this is the path result. He reused the same code in determining the trade route roaded routes for trade bonuses. It saved many CPU cycles to not need pathfinding to see if two locations were connected by road/RR.
If you road the return routes in unobstructed terrain in this manner, you will get a 50% bonus for both Delivery and Route (100% with RR). In this case, the source city (is the center, and the target city of the Freight/Caravan is the endpoint of an orange path. Road the reverse to get the Target's Route bonus. In most cases except pure direct diagonals, the bonus routes are not symmetric.
This is also key to realize why Brian does not check to see if a road connects 2 cities, as the manual and Prima guide falsely claim. Its a necessary comprise for smooth gameplay on single core 33 MHz machines. It checks this path and only this path, and if it is not met, end of CPU cycles: no bonus. The game bogged down too much to check all routes. Imagine running Civ 4 on a machine that is 40 or 100 times slower.
If you road the return routes in unobstructed terrain in this manner, you will get a 50% bonus for both Delivery and Route (100% with RR). In this case, the source city (is the center, and the target city of the Freight/Caravan is the endpoint of an orange path. Road the reverse to get the Target's Route bonus. In most cases except pure direct diagonals, the bonus routes are not symmetric.
This is also key to realize why Brian does not check to see if a road connects 2 cities, as the manual and Prima guide falsely claim. Its a necessary comprise for smooth gameplay on single core 33 MHz machines. It checks this path and only this path, and if it is not met, end of CPU cycles: no bonus. The game bogged down too much to check all routes. Imagine running Civ 4 on a machine that is 40 or 100 times slower.
its possible i was started my game on the dateline. i was not able to get my orignal cd to work in windows 7. i moved old savegame to new computer and go function appears as same condition as old civ2.. i will inspect this more with a new game, because i tried only one time.
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