[Freeciv-Dev] Re: 100% Civ II Compliance - still a development goal?

[Thanasis Kinias <tkinias@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

scripsit Mark Metson:
 
> No wonder moneyholics (those who fund the mentalists who produce PayCiv, 
> for example) tend to be fundamentalists when it comes to compatability 
> with the pay version. They have been so thoroughly brainwashed into 
> preferring to have to pay that they wont accept a free substitute unless 
> it does what the costly thing does, and then probably will go right out 
> and buy the new pay version even though the next paid version does in fact 
> not do precisely the same thing as the prior one that they tried to get 
> the free one to copy!

I suspect that you are slightly misunderstanding the objective of
``compatibility''.  If I may make a comparison, it is somewhat like
KDE's mimicry of MSWin's appearance and interface.  Is it necessary that
KDE be just like MSWin?  Of course not!  But to people coming from the
Wintel world, a start menu in the lower left, apps minimizing to a
taskbar across the bottom, ^C for copy and ^V for paste, etc., seem
``right''.  If it doesn't look/work like that, they'll say it's
``wrong'' and not give it a try.  When I have to use a Mac and I try to
right-click on something, I immediately think ``this bloody Mac sucks --
it doesn't even have a second mouse button'', because that's _different_
from what I am used to, not because there's something magical about
having two (or three [or six]) mouse buttons.

Now, once someone gets used to Linux, he isn't compelled to keep KDE
configured to look and work just like MSWin.  Keys can be rebound,
window ornamentation can be changed, etc.  He can even switch to GNOME
or xfce or whatever.  What mimicking MSWin achieves is getting the new
user past the initial hurdles.

Returning to FreeCiv, a purpose of Civ I+ ``compatibility'' is to keep
the first-time player from immediately saying ``What?!  No foo?  This
cheap knockoff can't even get that right?  I'm wasting my time.''  Then
the poor sod goes and wastes $50 on some alpha-quality commercial game.
Once we get people weaned from ``anything different is bad'' mode, they
will discover all the configuration options, that they can do it _their_
_way_, and everyone will be happy.  The developers are happy, because
people are getting enjoyment from their work, the old players are happy
because there are more people to play with, and the new players are
happy because they have found a new hobby.

Why is that so bad?

-- 
Thanasis Kinias
Web Developer, Information Technology
Graduate Student, Department of History
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona, U.S.A.

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Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul