Thunderbrd
C2C War Dog
DH established an awesome way for us all to gell as a team and push us to manifest our own efforts based on a plan when he started a similar thread for v37. Whether these plans are loose or hard, just collections of stated stuff we'd like to get done, or solid goals we're establishing for ourselves, we should at least list our individual modding objectives. It helps a lot for us to see what each other wants to accomplish and prepares us to act more cohesively as a team.
So I'd ask all the team modders to step up to the plate here and list off some of your objectives for v38. This is for ALL of us. Then I suggest we keep these lists updated and checked off as you go so as to leave yourself a list of the things you've not just WANTED to do, but have ACHIEVED. That process can have a profound effect on your productivity because you get to see how much you can really accomplish when you put your mind to your plans, and it helps you to break your plans down into bite-sized pieces that can give you a sense of accomplishment with each completed goal.
We also don't have any obligation to do anything just because we put it down on the list. This is a wishlist of accomplishments.
Here's my list as it comes together. Much of it picks up from what was left undone from v37's list for myself.
So I'd ask all the team modders to step up to the plate here and list off some of your objectives for v38. This is for ALL of us. Then I suggest we keep these lists updated and checked off as you go so as to leave yourself a list of the things you've not just WANTED to do, but have ACHIEVED. That process can have a profound effect on your productivity because you get to see how much you can really accomplish when you put your mind to your plans, and it helps you to break your plans down into bite-sized pieces that can give you a sense of accomplishment with each completed goal.
We also don't have any obligation to do anything just because we put it down on the list. This is a wishlist of accomplishments.
Here's my list as it comes together. Much of it picks up from what was left undone from v37's list for myself.
- Project - trap mechanism. - designed but needs a thread to explain exactly how it works and how to further develop the xml for it. Not high priority for pre-release.
- Adjust the Advanced Disease system so it becomes an Advanced Properties system that can run properly without having all additional xml work defined. Make it a Combat Mod option - Outbreaks and Afflictions. Then begin to explain how we can make the system work to its fullest. Begin the process of implementation.
- Add columns for new Gateway techs in the later stage of the tech tree.
- Recalibrate the building and tech base costs by Xgrid.
- Use building categories and unit categories to establish % adjustments to the base and update every single building and unit base cost to the % adjustment against the base chart once redefined.
- Adjust Dates to Tech Prereqs (if any civilization has the tech) for spawns, or at least give the alternative mechanism for barb spawns.
- Finish some Building designs for the torture set and update the Guard unit to prereq off the guardhouse and design a building between Guardhouse and Police Station (probably Guard Station) for the City Guard to use as a prereq and to include in the building upgrade chain.
- Seaworthiness for ships
- Promotion tags for converting the unit to a different type, and to an NPC owner when the promotion is assigned. There's probably going to have to be some interesting staging of timing for this to work, like it doesn't happen until the next round or something. Also tag that when the promotion is possessed states that the unit will experience a conversion rather than death when the unit dies. And another that then causes change of player on death as well.
- Do a review of Merchants and Workers along with implementation of an inventory system that further gives Criminals and Ruffians the ability to pickpocket. Make it another Combat Mod option entirely.
- Use inventory system to determine growth and starvation for animal populations by unit, along with mechanism to spawn new smaller groups of animals for growth past a limit (or splitting).
- Hunting, as opposed to warfare to destroy, should allow the hunter to force splits of large groups and carve off portions rather than destroying whole herds. Force split mechanics for Size Matters.
- Check against a save to audit the bonus being delivered by the new Win For Losing option. It's probably correct but there may be some other factors showing up as WFL being to blame when it's not and that needs to be extruded out. This is likely a dll/python inter-active solution more than anything most likely so could be rather challenging.
- Project: Land Blockades
- New Ais Needed
UNITAI_INVESTIGATOR When it becomes apparent there are local criminal units infiltrating, the Investigator is ordered to help uproot them.UNITAI_INFILTRATOR Most Criminals would be most useful as Infiltrators, going out to enhance crime as much as possible in enemy cities. They get good at sneaking around and staying hidden in cities while enhancing the amount of crime they create.- UNITAI_THIEF Goes along with the concept that Criminals can steal from units that can't see them. Some criminals would thus be sent out into the wild to intercept units that can't see them and steal all they can, transporting the goods back to the cities of the empire.
- UNITAI_STRIKE_TEAM Review the pillage AI and rebuild for the AI to use strike teams with lethal cunning. Surround and destroy tactics, withdrawal, strengthen and kill kill kill all they can get away with. Go hassle one or more target enemy players. Build 2 to 4 to face each player they want to harrass.
- UNITAI_COUNTER_STRIKE Something needs to be done to help the AI build forces that can counter strike team harrassment. Strike teams would themselves be able to play a good role in this along with canines and other counter units such as axes and mounted. They are also there to help intercept incoming visible criminals when possible.
- UNITAI_INFORMANT We don't build Informants but when a criminal is captured there's the option to turn him into an informant which gives him a free promo for informant and changes his AI. He won't try to leave the city but will rather assist in being there to reveal other criminals at the cost of increasing crime himself still. This setting will enable the AI to benefit from turning one criminal to an informant in each city. No more than one should be necessary.
UNITAI_SEE_INVISIBLE Need to make a generalized See Invisible type but the trick will be to make the city/stack request the right type of see invisible without having to make a new AI for each type.- UNITAI_PURSUE An AI for finishing off surviving stragglers after a fight that probably survived due to withdraw. Only used in fight or flight. Focuses on speed, terrain movement, attack strength and pursuit. Darts out to take out weak and easily killed units as far as it can then return back from.
- UNITAI_RECOVER Develop for the purpose of the advanced property system. Don't stress on it until then. You'd think that law enforcement units would develop this but I'm thinking that a line of Psychology promos on Healers would better be suited to crime recovery. Perhaps correctional officers may be good with this role though.
Note that when advanced property systems are in place, I'll have to consider how the AI may use diseased units to spread the disease to the enemy and would also need to consider how to have a unit react to being diseased on a variety of AI settings.
- Review these AIs:
- UNIT_AI_SPY Some criminals may be built so as to go infiltrate, uncover as much info as they can on the enemy and return with it, then go back out and do it again. The spy AI has been given to support this so I'll need to figure out if it helps. Additionally, Criminals with this purpose should select their promos with care.
- UNIT_AI_ATTACK Some ruffians may gain this AI. I want to understand what it's really intended to mean. If it means they can attack any targets they can survive attacking then it would be a good fit. They should attempt to group somewhat… perhaps join other groups. I took Attack City out of their specific AI types because city attack armies shouldn't be ammassing huge amounts of crime while they build and await attack. These units are very good at spreading crime to the plot so better at going after everything they can massed as much as possible. However, if Attack unit groups would keep them potentially from entering enemy lands due to others in the group then we need a new Ruffian AI - which we may benefit from anyhow. Though Pillage may cover it it may also suffer the same issue.
- UNITAI_PILLAGE_COUNTER Dogs have this setting… perhaps it is the counterstrike I'm looking for. To an extent. May need to go on Law Enforcement as well.
- UNITAI_PILLAGE : Ensure it works well for all units that retain this setting
- UNITAI_HEAL : There's a problem with overtraining and perhaps underutilization here that needs to be corrected.
- UNIT_AI_SPY Some criminals may be built so as to go infiltrate, uncover as much info as they can on the enemy and return with it, then go back out and do it again. The spy AI has been given to support this so I'll need to figure out if it helps. Additionally, Criminals with this purpose should select their promos with care.
- Project: Arrest Trial Segment.
- Continue to code out the Ideas project, more aggressively now - I have some solid plans forming and need to get them put into action with limited tests.
- Complete and Implement new Traits structure, as an option at first.
- Building review - connect names to type tags and arrange all buildings under the tech tree X grids and according to rows that represent their building categories to the narrowest definitions to show exactly where they are opening up on the tech tree to get a visual display of progress stages for each type of building, showing us where there may be many gaps and irrational progressions to repair. This should also give us an improved ability to correct their build costs.
- Land Military Unit Review - MIGHT be a bit aggressive to plan for this to be done by v38's design cycle but the importance of this as a priority is pressing hard.
- Enforce a global turn offset before spawns. Add more guidance factors than just dating, such as tech levels of the player getting the spawn (Barbs and Neanders for example)
- Work out the Z elevation movement and interaction rules. Maybe too much to include in v38 but it's on the list of important stuff because the Naval review cannot be completed until this is done (there are other steps still to come there but they are much easier than this one and v37 worked out a lot of the stuff needed for this. The main thing here is the AI. ugh...)
- Update Modularized Animals with the group names that were used on all the ones in the core.
- Make sure that the XP granted by great military people are showing up correctly on the XP projection list on the city build unit help hover.
- Split up Air Combatants and land Combatants. Create Air Combatant class and assign it to the air units that currently have Air Combatant combat class. We'll need the Great Aviator during this step.
- Some general land warfare AI reviews. I have a lot of intricate plans for some of this stuff but I'm thinking that for this version, I should hold off on trying to address too much of it at once. Some things are working better now than they were anyhow thanks to Joe's global tweaks. That seems to have bought enough time to make it so that when I focus on AI, I can do it right... from the top of the top (the leaders) down so that I can infuse every AI decision with some personality factors as I have always wanted to do. Setting up the traits mechanism leads to some very interesting steps for v39's design cycle assuming I'm not behind the curve too much for v38's plans at the end of it. These will help to setup for an eventual hardcore design audit of every aspect of the AI, including massive improvements to war strategies, both large scale and map tactical scale.
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