One utility that I would find really useful would be some sort of analysis of a saved game with report options.
What I'm think of here is that you'd give the utility the name of a saved game and it woud create a text file (with rudementary formatting) containing all of some of the data listed below. This would be invaluable for anyone wanting to stop and take stock of a game position - and maybe even plan some strategies offline.
The sorts of info I'd be intersted in, would be:
City Listing
List each city (alphabetical sequence?). Show all attributes normally visible fro F1 screen. Show current buildings, units and current build queue. Show calcualted distance from nearest Palace or Forbidden Palace.
Unit Summary
List each unit type and count of each.
Civ Relationships List
Show list of know Civs and relationships. Maybe some sort of grid with Civs down left and across top and indicate all relationships know (e.g. Peace, War, ROP, MPP, Alliances).
Resource List
List of all known resources and whether they are linked (via roads) or not.
Trade List (maybe combined with Resource List?)
Show current imports/exports and who with.
Show all current trade agreements and when they will expire.
Map List
Show simplified map with symbol or key to show who occupies territiry. Show City Names (at least) and road/rail/irrigation/mines.
I realise this is asking a lot, but I suspect some of this would be simple to achieve (since there are already some saved game editors out there).
For me the key difference is that by generating text files (or even more sopihisticated graphics) and allowing them to be printed, it will add that extra dimension missing from the game. It's so easy to forget what your strategy was and to overlook wasted efforts in cities (for instance) - it would be so great to be able to run a report off and be able to study it between turns (great bedtime reading!).
A couple of last thoughts - I wouldn't advocate showing more information than is currently available in the game. I would hate this to be used as a 'cheat' - e.g. should only show info from the player's point of view - only visible map etc. Secondly, this utility could start small - with just a couple of the simpler options. If it's built in a modular way (with selectable options) it would be more powerful than a single (dump all data) type of approach.
If someone is interested in developing this, I would be delighted to assist (in terms of design, testing etc. - I'm just not up to developing this myself).
So what do you think - am I asking for the impossible? Anyone up to the challenge?
What I'm think of here is that you'd give the utility the name of a saved game and it woud create a text file (with rudementary formatting) containing all of some of the data listed below. This would be invaluable for anyone wanting to stop and take stock of a game position - and maybe even plan some strategies offline.
The sorts of info I'd be intersted in, would be:
City Listing
List each city (alphabetical sequence?). Show all attributes normally visible fro F1 screen. Show current buildings, units and current build queue. Show calcualted distance from nearest Palace or Forbidden Palace.
Unit Summary
List each unit type and count of each.
Civ Relationships List
Show list of know Civs and relationships. Maybe some sort of grid with Civs down left and across top and indicate all relationships know (e.g. Peace, War, ROP, MPP, Alliances).
Resource List
List of all known resources and whether they are linked (via roads) or not.
Trade List (maybe combined with Resource List?)
Show current imports/exports and who with.
Show all current trade agreements and when they will expire.
Map List
Show simplified map with symbol or key to show who occupies territiry. Show City Names (at least) and road/rail/irrigation/mines.
I realise this is asking a lot, but I suspect some of this would be simple to achieve (since there are already some saved game editors out there).
For me the key difference is that by generating text files (or even more sopihisticated graphics) and allowing them to be printed, it will add that extra dimension missing from the game. It's so easy to forget what your strategy was and to overlook wasted efforts in cities (for instance) - it would be so great to be able to run a report off and be able to study it between turns (great bedtime reading!).
A couple of last thoughts - I wouldn't advocate showing more information than is currently available in the game. I would hate this to be used as a 'cheat' - e.g. should only show info from the player's point of view - only visible map etc. Secondly, this utility could start small - with just a couple of the simpler options. If it's built in a modular way (with selectable options) it would be more powerful than a single (dump all data) type of approach.
If someone is interested in developing this, I would be delighted to assist (in terms of design, testing etc. - I'm just not up to developing this myself).
So what do you think - am I asking for the impossible? Anyone up to the challenge?
