Emptiness
[]
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,922
[1.0.0.110 (253607)] - although this problem has existed in some form in every version since release
The Problem In General:
When planning a unit's move with the mouse, the game will show the player the path that the unit will take to reach its destination, as well as where it will end its move on each turn until it reaches its destination (and consequently also inform the player of the number of turns the unit will take to reach that destination). For moves that will take only one turn to complete, this information is accurate and reliable. The problem is that the information the computer supplies to the player for moves that will take more than one turn to complete is sometimes inaccurate, and thus always unreliable.
Why This Is A Problem:
The ability to issue move orders to a unit which will take more than one turn to complete has the potential to save the player a considerable amount of time and to reduce the amount of micromanagement in which the player must engage. In order for the player to comfortably use this system, however, they must be able to rely upon the information that it provides with regards to the path that will be taken and the number of turns that it will take to arrive at the destination - because that information is used by the player to make decisions such as whether to issue the multi-turn move order and what destination to select for the unit. When this information cannot be relied upon, the player is forced to choose between either moving all of their units in one-turn increments (thus losing the benefit of being able to issue multi-turn move orders) or suffering the constant risk of an unexpected result with a negative outcome (which will presumably worsen the player's enjoyment of the game).
A Demonstration Of The Problem:
Any unit is potentially affected, but in this example I demonstrate with the great person Gustave Eiffel (Great Engineer). The unit is currently located in Ur, and needs to get to Adab to assist in the construction of the Forbidden Palace.
The game is telling me that it will take me four turns to reach Adab, which could factor into my decision of whether to send the engineer there or to send it elsewhere. It also shows me the path the unit will take, which might cause me to choose not to move the unit or to move it elsewhere - for example, if the path shown were not safe. I don't take into consideration whether other possible-but-not-shown routes are safe, because I expect the unit to take this one path.
Not only did my unit end its first turn of movement in a different position than the initial forecast indicated - one that potentially might not have been safe for it to occupy at the end of the turn - but now it is giving a completely different forecast for how the rest of its movement to the destination will proceed. Furthermore, it is now forecasting that the arrival at the destination will be one turn later than originally indicated. This could cause a variety of problem behaviors in the player, including reloading the game to select a different destination or altering game strategy based on the new predicted outcome.
Note that the unit has not actually moved yet; all that has changed is that the turn ended. So, the unit went from some fraction (probably 1/2) of a movement point remaining to having all of its movement points, and this has resulted in a completely different path being selected for the unit. If the movement forecast system was working correctly, then this would have been accounted for during the previous turn (the refreshment of movement points on new turns is both expected and reliable, and accurately forecasting how those movement points will be spent on future turns is exactly the purpose of the subsystem of the game that calculates and provides movement forecasts). Also note that the number of turns to reach the destination is again reported as four (1 done and 3 more forecast), which means that if I had reacted to the unexpected change of the forecast from four turns to five my (adjusted) plans might have been negatively impacted by this subsequent change.
This time the unit actually moved to the indicated interim destination by the indicated path and is providing a forecast for the remainder of its move that matches the previous forecast. On to the next turn.
Now that the unit has a full complement of movement points again, the game seems to recognize that it will be able to reach the destination from this position in one turn, rather than two. And, in fact, it does so, and with enough movement left over to be able to expend itself contributing to the wonder construction on that turn.
In Summary:
I wanted to move a unit and the game indicated to me that the unit would take four turns to reach the selected destination, and displayed for my approval a particular path that the unit would travel. In actuality, the unit took a different path to that destination than the one that was indicated, and arrived there in only three turns.
This particular example does not demonstrate the problems that can arise from this sort of inaccurate feedback from the game, but I imagine that most players have their own such examples from their own experiences, or else can imagine some of those problems based on my explanation here. Attached is the saved game from which my example was drawn, in case that will be of use to anyone.
The Problem In General:
When planning a unit's move with the mouse, the game will show the player the path that the unit will take to reach its destination, as well as where it will end its move on each turn until it reaches its destination (and consequently also inform the player of the number of turns the unit will take to reach that destination). For moves that will take only one turn to complete, this information is accurate and reliable. The problem is that the information the computer supplies to the player for moves that will take more than one turn to complete is sometimes inaccurate, and thus always unreliable.
Why This Is A Problem:
The ability to issue move orders to a unit which will take more than one turn to complete has the potential to save the player a considerable amount of time and to reduce the amount of micromanagement in which the player must engage. In order for the player to comfortably use this system, however, they must be able to rely upon the information that it provides with regards to the path that will be taken and the number of turns that it will take to arrive at the destination - because that information is used by the player to make decisions such as whether to issue the multi-turn move order and what destination to select for the unit. When this information cannot be relied upon, the player is forced to choose between either moving all of their units in one-turn increments (thus losing the benefit of being able to issue multi-turn move orders) or suffering the constant risk of an unexpected result with a negative outcome (which will presumably worsen the player's enjoyment of the game).
A Demonstration Of The Problem:
Any unit is potentially affected, but in this example I demonstrate with the great person Gustave Eiffel (Great Engineer). The unit is currently located in Ur, and needs to get to Adab to assist in the construction of the Forbidden Palace.
Spoiler Here is the pathing forecast for this move as provided by the game :
The game is telling me that it will take me four turns to reach Adab, which could factor into my decision of whether to send the engineer there or to send it elsewhere. It also shows me the path the unit will take, which might cause me to choose not to move the unit or to move it elsewhere - for example, if the path shown were not safe. I don't take into consideration whether other possible-but-not-shown routes are safe, because I expect the unit to take this one path.
Spoiler This is the actual movement that the unit makes and the new pathing forecast from that position :
Not only did my unit end its first turn of movement in a different position than the initial forecast indicated - one that potentially might not have been safe for it to occupy at the end of the turn - but now it is giving a completely different forecast for how the rest of its movement to the destination will proceed. Furthermore, it is now forecasting that the arrival at the destination will be one turn later than originally indicated. This could cause a variety of problem behaviors in the player, including reloading the game to select a different destination or altering game strategy based on the new predicted outcome.
Spoiler After ending the turn, this is the forecast the game provides :
Note that the unit has not actually moved yet; all that has changed is that the turn ended. So, the unit went from some fraction (probably 1/2) of a movement point remaining to having all of its movement points, and this has resulted in a completely different path being selected for the unit. If the movement forecast system was working correctly, then this would have been accounted for during the previous turn (the refreshment of movement points on new turns is both expected and reliable, and accurately forecasting how those movement points will be spent on future turns is exactly the purpose of the subsystem of the game that calculates and provides movement forecasts). Also note that the number of turns to reach the destination is again reported as four (1 done and 3 more forecast), which means that if I had reacted to the unexpected change of the forecast from four turns to five my (adjusted) plans might have been negatively impacted by this subsequent change.
Spoiler Here is the actual second turn of movement and the forecast from the new position :
This time the unit actually moved to the indicated interim destination by the indicated path and is providing a forecast for the remainder of its move that matches the previous forecast. On to the next turn.
Spoiler Here is the forecast for the third turn of movement :
Now that the unit has a full complement of movement points again, the game seems to recognize that it will be able to reach the destination from this position in one turn, rather than two. And, in fact, it does so, and with enough movement left over to be able to expend itself contributing to the wonder construction on that turn.
In Summary:
I wanted to move a unit and the game indicated to me that the unit would take four turns to reach the selected destination, and displayed for my approval a particular path that the unit would travel. In actuality, the unit took a different path to that destination than the one that was indicated, and arrived there in only three turns.
This particular example does not demonstrate the problems that can arise from this sort of inaccurate feedback from the game, but I imagine that most players have their own such examples from their own experiences, or else can imagine some of those problems based on my explanation here. Attached is the saved game from which my example was drawn, in case that will be of use to anyone.
