[Freeciv-Dev] (PR#6159) Colonization: Professions

["John Wheeler" <jdwheeler42@xxxxxxxxx>]

[rwetmore@xxxxxxxxxxxx - Wed Sep 17 16:07:08 2003]:

> 
> The "docks" model of Colonization is a separate aspect that is
> very much particular to that game's conceptual model. Whether
> or not you wanted some sort of worker creation option like this in
> Freeciv is debatable, since worker creation is handled differently
> in the two games.
> 
> In Civ, new workers are created by overflowing the city granary.
> These are standard undifferentiated workers

I'm pretty sure this is still the model used for Colonization for
colonists generated in the colonies.  So, the "docks" is just an
abstraction to relieve you of managing the workers in the mother
country.  Setting up ferries (PR#6175) would help with carrying units
from the mother country to the colony.

The ability to buy a specialist is a bit harder to generalize.  Part of
the problem is that Colonization has a fixed technology level, whereas
Civ does not.

> and as such are
> pretty much treated as collective counts in cities. You can still
> ship workers around to join other cities, i.e. transfer pop by
> creating the appropriate mobile unit.

This is where the models really differ.  Colonists can simply be
transferred by popping them out of the city, whereas Civ workers have to
be built.  I imagine a relatively simple way to address this is to have
a 0-shield unit for transferring workers.  (In colonization pioneers are
used to improve terrain, instead of settlers/workers, and they're made
simply by equipping a colonist with tools, which get used up as the
terrain is transformed.)

On a side note, once worker nationality is included, I think it will be
difficult to keep track of workers in cities as collective counts.

-- 

++JohnWheeler