[Freeciv-Dev] Re: FreeCiv - arcade game?

[Jed Davis <jldavis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

--On Sunday, 23 July 2000 3:32 +0200 Tobias Brox 
<tobiasb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > > Disagree.  Besides, it's too easy to set up some script "kill diplomat
> > > when approaching city".
> >
> > What would be wrong with it?
> It's wrong because it's unfair when successfullness depends on lag times
> and abilities to script.  It's wrong because freeciv should be about
> strategics and tactics, not about how fast people can click on
> "revolt".  The diplomats are useful for taking cities when the defendor is
> military stronger.  If you have the possibility to build a fort close to
> the city, and put a lot of defences there before moving in the diplomat,
> you could probably just as well have taken the city using military forces.
>
> > If you play chess you also loose your figures if you move them onto
> > unprotected fields....
> The chess example is very good.  Maybe you have misunderstood me.  To get
> the diplomat thing work, the diplomat first have to be moved close (i.e.
> two squares away from it) to the city in one move, then in the next move
> he can attack the city.  I think that the defendor of the city should not
> allow the diplomat to come that close to the city in the first place.  If
> he has allowed it, then he should risk loosing the city.  That's
> completely analogue to the good old civ, you move your diplomat close
> to the city in one move.  Then the AI plays.  Then, if you're either
> a little bit smart or quite lucky, the diplomat will not be killed.  Then
> you play - and unless the diplomat was killed, you have a 100% chance of
> getting your business done at the city.  With scripting or really fast
> reflexes, there is in this case a 0% chance that the diplomat will
> succeed.  So, yes, I absolutely think that a "go to and revolt"-command
> makes sense.  At least in the name of civ compatibility! :)
For diplomats/spies (and any other units with special powers against 
cities), once the unit has "entered the city", and the dialog box has 
popped up, I think it should no longer be shown as an attackable unit on an 
adjacent tile, since it's already sort of in the city.  Same for bribing a 
unit.  If you attempt to entice a rebellion or give a bribe and the price 
is too high, instead of leaving the displomat with one move outside the 
city (or unit?), the dialog box should pop back up, letting the user select 
another option; there might also be a provision for the diplomat/spy to 
somehow flee, as under the current rules. (Is this right?  I haven't tried 
to use diplomats for a while, so I'm not sure on some of the current 
details.)  Or you could just destroy the diplomat or teleport the spy, or 
even teleport a diplomat.
I'm also wondering if it would be possible to intercept a unit on goto by 
use of scripting or even an auto-attack unit in a city.  I'm not sure if 
this is possible, and if it is, whether it should be.

> - It should be possible to issue goto moves that are handled at the end of
> the turn - that way it's possible to hide a move for the other
> players until the very end.  I might remember some silly games where all
> players have waited for the timeout before moving some of the units during
> the last few seconds.
Or schedule other actions for the end of the turn, for the same reasons...

> The units have to be moved in a "pseudo-fair" order at the end of the
> turn.  I don't know how to achieve this.
Pseudorandom?  If the actions are registered with the server, it can 
shuffle them so as not to discriminate on the basis of connection latencies 
or scripting abilities or anything else.  Maybe it's not truly fair, but at 
least it wouldn't be consistently biased...
--Jed