Things to Remember when modding

[GIDustin]

I am not entirely sure where to post this, but I am sure the mods will put it where it belongs.I have made a list of things that I have found while modding that arent actually written anywhere in the help file.

• Workers that do not have the "terraform" tag will NOT be used by the AI. The only way to give a worker the "terraform" tag is if the unit has every worker ability
  
  
• The AI will NOT use a ship with 1 transport capacity to settle new lands. The reason for this is that the AI ALWAYS defend their settlers, and if they cannot get a settle AND a defensive unit on the same ship, they arent going to settle with that ship.
  
  
• Techs that "cannot be traded" also cannot be stolen with spies. Very useful for giving things to just one civ
  
  
• Hidden nationality units cannot attack cities in MP mode, even if the city is empty
  
  
• Non-cruise missile Land Units tagged immobile will cause game to hang when/if AI tries to load onto ship

I plan to update this list as I find more things to add, or if anyone else posts something below.

 

[sourboy]

Great info, very useful! Anyone else have any others?

 

[Kenta'arka]

• Workers that do not have the "terraform" tag will NOT be used by the AI. The only way to give a worker the "terraform" tag is if the unit has every worker ability

• 
  
  Thats not 100% correct (in C3C). Some of the worker abilities (basics I think, road, mine, irrigate) don't count in there. You can give them to any unit, and the AI will use it, IF the unit got ANY AI role. For example, you give a soldier the ability to build roads, and AI role "offense", the AI will use the soldier as offensive unit, but the road building too.

 

[gorn]

Is this confirmed? Anyone seen a non-terraform flagged unit build anything? I'm not disputing Kenta'arka (as I have no personal experience with this ... yet), it's just that I've heard a lot of conflicting stories on this.

 

[Supa]

Legionnary does road in Conquest.

 

[embryodead]

Correction to this: AI will use worker actions even if Terraform isnt checked but it won't build such workers at all. In other words, you can a worker action to a offensive/defensive unit, but you can't have a worker without Terraform tag checked.

 

[The Last Conformist]

An immobile unit with the load flag checked will crash the game if then AI tries to load it into a ship, which it will try if given half a chance.

 

[gorn]

Sure about that? I've got my tact nukes flagged as immobile, and I load 'em on subs all the time. never noticed any problem. Is this only a problem when the AI tries it?

 

[Mr. Do]

[*]Techs that "cannot be traded" also cannot be stolen with spies. Very useful for giving one things to just one civ

Conversely, this can cause problems as it is possible to steal a technology from another civ but be unable to pick it, leaving you stuck in the "choose a technology to steal" screen...

 

[GIDustin]

Conversely, this can cause problems as it is possible to steal a technology from another civ but be unable to pick it, leaving you stuck in the "choose a technology to steal" screen...

Actually, when I ran a test scenerio, I made a "Secret Tech" I made my oponent and I completely technologically equal, except I gave them that tech as well. On the third attempt to steal the tech from them, I recieved the "There are no techs to steal" message. It didnt hang or anything.

Thats not 100% correct (in C3C). Some of the worker abilities (basics I think, road, mine, irrigate) don't count in there. You can give them to any unit, and the AI will use it, IF the unit got ANY AI role. For example, you give a soldier the ability to build roads, and AI role "offense", the AI will use the soldier as offensive unit, but the road building too.

I do recall conquests containing units that had some worker abilities, but they had other tags as well (offense, defense, or whatever). If they dont have any tag at all, they simply arent used, and they cant have terraform without all the worker actions.

Edit: It would be entirely possible to give a worker every action except specific ones as long as you tag them offense or defense. The only problem with this is that the AI will send your workers out on attack runs and road/irrigate/etc on the way (offense), or stay in the cities and accompany settler missions (defense). Either way, the worker isnt really a worker.

Sure about that? I've got my tact nukes flagged as immobile, and I load 'em on subs all the time. never noticed any problem.

Maybe it doesnt crash if the immobile AND missile tag are checked. I think I will try to prove/disprove this.

- GIDustin

 

[Mr. Do]

Oh, it must have been that the base-tech was untradeable, but the unique technology developed from that didn't have "untradeable" ticked, so the game thought it possible to steal it. Or something... either way, it is somehow possible to get into the situation I described through untradeable starting techs if they allow other techs to be developed.

 

[GIDustin]

So if there are techs with un-tradable starting techs as prerequisites? I may have to test this as I was going to do something very similar in the MTG Mod

- GIDustin

 

[Mr. Do]

Actually this is all theoretical, now that I looked back on the thread where I reported the bug in ED's mod. He said it happened to him in the regular game too, so it may or may not have anything to do with untradeable techs. Ack!

 

[GIDustin]

I just tested the immobile unit crash. I made warriors and spearman immobile, gave the AI a 1 square continent, size 8 city, 10 galleons, 10 settlers, 10 warriors, 10 spearman. One ship moved out successfully. Once that ship expended it's movement points, the game froze. 10 mins later, I CTRL-ALT-DEL to get out.

I added this to the list

- GIDustin