[freeciv-data] Re: [Freeciv-Dev] Re: Alternative nation dialog

["Per I. Mathisen" <Per.Inge.Mathisen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

[thread moved to freeciv-data, where it belongs]

On Thu, 28 Feb 2002, Mark Metson wrote:
> I would like to see the possibility in the engine to permit roads,
> irrigation (agriculture?) and establishment of permanent settlements be
> separated. I did find that by removing the Cities flag from a settler unit
> I could make an irrigator that could not found cities, but I could not
> find any way of removing roadbuilding capability.

No, roadbuilding and irrigating is part of the same flag. Separating the
two should be fairly easy, if you want to hack a bit at the code. See
common/unittype.[ch] and grep through the code for F_SETTLERS.

> I have been trying to work on some variants that I hoped would be merely
> mod-packs rather than require code changes, but it is not always clear how
> far the generalisation of the code has progressed.

For buildings, this is difficult. Unfortunately. The rest should be as
documented. If not, file bug reports.

> From various comments I
> have seen it looks like a lot of stuff destined to be possible in
> mod-packs is presently hardcoded in the code?

Yes. But comments in rulesets, other than buildings, should be correct.

> I have put up some pages at
> http://www.knotwork.com/activity/games/freeciv/
> about the variations I am looking to do and the problems I have
> encountered in implementing them.

I think you got the thing about units not requiring shield upkeep being
bribeable for zero gold incorrect. The way I read that part of the code,
the gold cost will be ridiculously low (perhaps zero) if the building cost
for the unit is very low and you as player has little money, and the unit
is far from your capital (or you have lost your palace). But shield upkeep
should have nothing to do with it.

I hope to start hacking away at some of the limitations that modpack
writers bang their heads against (since I want to write my own modpack
eventually), but right now I've got my hands full with other patches.

Yours,
Per

"What we anticipate seldom occurs: but what we least expect generally
happens." -- Benjamin Disraeli