INI files: "defend"

[Takhisis]

Don´t you work sometime, Spacer? Anyway, it´s not that difficult to do that testing.
btw I´m breathing goo, and coughing like a man after 50 years smoking, so anything at all that can cheer me up is very welcome.

 

[Spacer One]

Um actually since you ask...I am disabled(double heart surgury and a valve replacement)

Here is the test I plan to run...

1 unit with the defend INI...

always stacks of 10 to increase the %

Im going to place the units at regular/conscript/vet/elite

1/1 vs 1/1
1/1 vs 1/2
1/1 vs 1/3
1/2 vs 1/1
1/2 vs 1/2
1/2 vs 1/3
1/3 vs 1/1
1/3 vs 1/2
1/3 vs 1/3

now repeat that pattern from 1/1 to 3/3...placing the test on Grass/Hills/and Mountains...also setting up the test inside city and out

then, if it doesnt happen in the thousands of tests, I will add special abilities and start over...

 

[Kyriakos]

Spacer One, sorry if i sounded negative, but i really am of the view that you cannot possibly find something in this way, unless you just happen to hit on it by pure luck!

The calculation i made was done using basic probability theory (my studies are in philosophy, but prob theory was one part of math that i had paid attention to- i think- ) and the tests needed if you wanted to be thorough would be several million, or even billion (possibly) if more parameters are factored. At any rate even the tests you plan to do would number in the tens of thousants, and would still be inconclusive unless you were "lucky".

 

[Stormrage]

Spacer! You OK, man? Heart surgery? Dude.. Hope you feel better soon!

 

[Spacer One]

you know Varwnos...you may be right there...BUT, if it only happens once out of a million tests(Ive already broken the 10000 mark, and Im getting bored) my conclusion would be that it isnt usable...

In the thousands of tests Ive run so far, I have yet to see it happen...

This is where I am now:

I lined up all variations of Regular through Elite on both sides(16 different possibliities IE: Regular vs Conscript, conscript vs regular, Vet vs Conscript, Vet Vs Regular, Vet Vs Elite ETC...on Both sides)

16 stacks of Barb 1/1 vs payer 1/1
16 stacks of Barb 1/2 vs player 1/1
16 stacks of Barb 1/3 Vs player 1/1
16 stacks of player 1/2 vs Barb 1/1
16 stacks of player 1/3 vs Barb 1/1

So far I havent seen it once...I will continue testing through 3/3 and then run some on terrain types...but I see no end to the possibilities, and if the Defend animation is this difficult to get to play, it isnt practical anyway...

@CFC...thoughts??

@Storm...Im ok now, I been out of the Hospital for 2 years now...still hurts from time to time, but I'll live...thanks for the concern...

 

[Takhisis]

thoughts? A few, like, for example, you could play a bit of Blip'n'Blop: balls of Steel, available at Loaded Studio... it really clears my head sometimes...

 

[Spacer One]

My g/f and I just sat here deciding what tests to do next...here is something I realized...

there are more variations than human nature is capable of calculating...Concider a city of 2 vs a city of 3...just that variation alone is more than 10000 tests to check the possibilities...(16 sets of 10 units attacking, and the same # defending)...if I had some sort of program to generate the results maybe...but unfortunatly, Varwnos is right...and his estimate was conservative to say the least...he didnt take the number of people/buildings in a city...Wonder bonuses(Great Wall)...hundreds of variables...

If whoever saw this happen, could try to remember as many of the parameters as possible, I will continue...but for now Im putting it on hold until I get more information from the person who claims to have seen it happen

 

[Takhisis]

Maybe all the piercings you show at myspace have pierced your brain and you are sensless enough to do all the testing , but thanks anyway.

 

[Spacer One]

nope...havent got my frontal lobe peirced yet...Hmmm you think they would???

As far as testing, Ive decided that there are a finite number of possibilities...The parameters for the animation to work, have to be in some way "common" or there is no reason for unit creators to bother making the animation...

to that end, Ive decided its not the variables that matter, its the percentages...if it doesnt happen in my next several thousand tests, it doesnt matter...

So Im gonna do some tests with a unit defending a city/town/metro(most reasonable place for the animation to occur)...if it doesnt happen (running the 16X10X10 test again) then I will give up (until I get more info)

Varwnos you are right...but I can narrow down to "most proable" and "most useful situation" right??...In other words, limit the tests to situations that a "defend" animation seems reasonable/possible...??

 

[Kyriakos]

It is reasonable, but you should note that it is highly possible that the defend.ini was a dropped idea, and therefore will never trigger

Some logical triggers, in the case that it can happen:

-defending unit in a city of size 1, no culture (so it would be automatically raised if he lost)

-defending unit in a fortress

-last def unit in the capital/metro/size2/size1

-def unit of a flag unit

A good idea would be to email some firaxis programmer and ask about the defend.ini. Since it is not that practical to run so many tests, quite possibly with no gain in the end.
If you are set to run them you could examine which units had the defend ability in their files. This should narrow it down, but only if the idea was not dropped in a very early stage.

 

[Spacer One]

interesting find:

most units from Vanilla have this in their INI...

PauseROAD=
PauseMINE=
PauseIRRIGATE=
JUNGLE=
FOREST=
PauseFOREST=

and Ive looked through all the INIs(and it was ALOT, I have Civ3complete) and non-combat units dont have Defend(settler/worker/colonist) but scout, and all other units did...and I found that there are more unused commands for older units...as if they were removed...and Im thinking that if they deleted some of the INI commands...why not all unused commands???

Im going to go E-mail firaxis now, but I expect no response

 

[Stormrage]

Tell them Stormrage said "hi", and that I know where they live. And that cat of theirs? That was no accident. Axes don`t fall from the sky for no... Just tell them it wasn`t an accident.

 

[WildWeazel]

Spacer, wouldn't it be easier to ask Finn how he got it to work, and then change things and see what makes it not work?

Storm, you're never going to get the source code if you're going around killing off their pets.

 

[Stormrage]

It wasn`t me! You can`t prove anything!

Spacer! E-mail them! After that, you can help me with the cats.

 

[Spacer One]

I did Email them...nothing about cats tho...still "waiting"...I only have 2 email addys...perhaps if someone had others it would go better...IIRC there were email addresses in the book for CIV3complete...does anyone have it to check?...

Storm, you really that pissed off???seriously??

 

[Stormrage]

Seriously. Check the Golden Age thread.

 

[WildWeazel]

You could try PMing Soren Johnson (or one of the other Firaxians)... he probably gets a lot of that tho.

 

[Stormrage]

Does he own a cat?

You think he gets alot of e-mails about the game mechanics? As far as civ3 is concerned?

 

[Takhisis]

Well, since I´m a South American minor with no aspiration in life other than either playing for the Glasgow Rangers or mounting a full-scale Communist revolution, I could go around murdering cats...

 

[Wyrmshadow]

I can't believe I've been ignoring this. Does this work with naval or air units?