[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Suggestion for freeciv.

[Martin Olveyra <bj0v@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 16 Dec 2000, Martin_Sawitzki@xxxxxx wrote:

> 2.) Satellites
> Not as a wounder, but as a selfmoving unit.
> Many Nations have satellites to take a look at their Neighbours.
> The Appoloprogramm shows all cities, but with sattelites you could see
> either all enemy units or those units which where under the satelite.
> My proposion is to build them with a view range of about 5 squares and a
> movementrate of one quarter of the map.
> You could see them crossing the world and if you had enough you will now
> more about your enemies.
> 

The problem with satellites (the same I see for planes) is that, in the actual
code status, you cant pass over units or cities, and trying to occupate the
same tile of a ground unit is interpreted as an attack. Some time before I
tried to evaluate the solution for something like that (including satellites).
One idea which came then to my mind was to build more than one layer of space,
and some types of units could move through more than a layer. Also would be
units that can see other layers, and units that can see only in one layer.
Soon my idea evolved even to underground and undersea layers. Then, generalizing
I thought in altitude and depth coordinates.
Well, this ideas come from a mad, I agree, but the point is that solving the
problem I mentioned, needed for a good satelite working (and planes), is not as
trivial as appears.