[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Worklist, take III

[John Paul Rodman <jp@xxxxxxxx>]

Disclaimer:
(I haven't played FreeCiv much, or used the worklists at all, so I am
making assumptions based on what I've read on this list.  Please forgive
(and correct) any misconceptions...)


1) New flags in the worklist
There are a few flags that would be nice to add for worklist items.  It
doesn't really matter how they are implemented; different background
colors, additional columns, whatever.
1a) Currently being worked on.
1b) Obsolete.
        (Collussus after Flight)
1c) No longer available.
        (Phalanxes after Gunpowder)
        (?Granary with Pyramids?)
        (Wonders or improvements already built)
1d) Missing prerequisites.
        (Bank without Marketplace)
        (Bank without Banking)
For the last three, it might be nice to have a way to find out why they
fall in that category.  
The last three would also be useful in the "Available targets" list, 
especially if you could sort by them.  In fact, other sorting options
would be nice as well, both in the worklist editing dialog, and the main
city dialog.  


2) Skipping items which can't be built
IMHO, You should always leave the list in the order the user put it in.
If you can't work on the first items in the list, move down the list until
you find one you can work on.  This is what the "working" flag in 1a is
for.  Whenever an item that is above the "working" item in the list
becomes available, then if you can switch to that item without a penalty,
do so.  Perhaps there should be an option of whether it is switched to,
and whether it is done silently. Personally, I think it should be done
silently.  
If there is nothing on the list that can be worked on, pick something
else.  I see two ways to handle this case:
-- Treat this new item  as though it is on the end of the list and is the
"working" item.  In this way, if an item that is actually in the list
becomes available, it will automatically be switched to.  If an item that
is not "actually" in the list is switched away from  in this way, remove
it from the list.  Perhaps have an additional flag to indicate items that
were added by the computer.
-- Choose a new item to work on, but do not add it to the worklist.
Provide some indication in the city view that nothing in the worklist can
be worked on.  Make sure that if anything in the worklist that can be
switched to without a penalty becomes available, it is switched to.


3) Obsolescence
Hmm...  
It turns out that obsolescence is a lot more complicated than I thought.
I'll try to give a basic idea of what I'm thinking about here.

Basically, I see several reasonable options for how to handle a no longer
available item:
3a) Remove the item from the list.  If it's the working item, stop working
on it and switch to something that does not incur a penalty.
3b) Upgrade to a "better" item.  Again, in the case of the working item,
we should try to avoid any penalties.
3c) Mark as no longer available.  Finish working on it if it's the working
item, but do not allow any more to be started.  
3d) Mark as no longer available.  Switch to something else if it's the
working item.

Wonders might need more complex options:
3e) If there are no other currently available wonders in the worklist,
continue working on that wonder.  If there are currently available wonders
in the worklist, switch to the first one.
3f) If the *first* wonder in the list other than the "working" item is
available switch to it, otherwise, continue working on the current one.

Options 3c, 3e, and 3f, all allow you to maintain your sheild stock in
wonders until a wonder you actually want is available.  
If an item is merely obsolete, but still buildable, I think that it should
be left alone, not purged or upgraded, but I can see why some people might
want one of the latter.  Is there anything other than wonders which can
become obsolete, and still be buildable?


4) Rebuilding
There are two reasons I added 1c (no longer available) to my list of
flags: 
4a) Rebuilding of structures which are destroyed or sold.
4b) Building Granaries or Research Labs automatically when Pyramids or
SETI is lost.  IMHO, these wonders should make their respective
improvements obsolete, and not unbuildable.  I know that they are
unbuildable in CivII; is this the case in FreeCiv as well?  


5) What constitutes a "penalty" for switching the working item?
5a) The 50% loss of sheilds for switching between units / wonders /
improvements.
5b) Loss of a prerequisite for the working item.  
If you're building a University, and lose the Library, or building Hoover
Dam, and lose your last mountain, then if you switch away from it, you
would not be able to switch back.  Of course, some may say you should be
forcefully switched away as soon as you lose the pre-req.  It would
probably not be too big a deal if this was not checked when deciding
whether or not to switch away from the working item.  
5c) If you have more sheilds than it takes to finish the item being
swiched to, you would lose those sheilds in CivI/II.  As I understand it,
you would not lose them in FreeCiv, so this isn't really a penalty.  


JP Rodman