[Freeciv-Dev] (PR#7249) Auto settlers don't irrigate or mine

["James Canete" <use_less@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=7249 >

> [per - Sun Feb 01 21:09:33 2004]:
> 
> On Sun, 1 Feb 2004, Jason Short wrote:
> > If the value is judged to be less than the value of maintaining the
> > settlers, then the settlers are released from autosettler mode.
> > Presumably the autosettler code is recommending that we disband them or
> > use them to build a city.
> 
> They are released so that the human can take over control. The AI does not
> have a separate autosettler mode that it can 'release' them from, it just
> calculates what is best from turn to turn.
> 

I don't really like this behavior.  I feel that when I, a human player,
put a settler/engineer on auto mode, it will remain on autosettler mode
until I reach out and click on it.  If there's no more accessable
terrain to improve, it should fall asleep and wait for something to
happen, such as fallout or pollution.

Just personal preference, though.  This would require splitting up the
consideration of terrain improvements code into human-player and
ai-player sections, where the only difference is that the human-player
version doesn't take into account upkeep costs, and possibly
discounting, since those are the player's problem :)

My other reason for patching the code (besides the obvious) was that a
friend of mine was complaining that the ai doesn't improve its land at
all and it was making it a pushover.  With my version 2 patch, I found
that if the AI wasn't at war, it would eventually build a huge band of
settlers/engineers and engage in a mass land improvement campaign.  I'm
not quite sure if this is what my friend wanted.  :)

-James Canete