[Freeciv-Dev] (PR#6174) Loading transports

["Jason Short" <jdorje@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=6174 >

> [i-freeciv-lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - Mon Feb 02 13:06:49 2004]:

> We first should come to an agreement on the convenience rules and
> other problem which need attention.

0.  Definitions:

"transporter" means a unit that may carry other units.

"cargo" means a unit that is inside a transporter.

an "impermanent" position is one the unit cannot maintain.  The classic
example is an airplane with limited fuel that is in the air.  The
opposite is a "permanent" position, I suppose.

1.  Loading rules:

1a. Generally one unit will board at a time.  If more than one unit
needs to board it is the player's responsibility to optimize/prioritize
the loading.

1b. If a unit tries to move onto a tile where it normally can't go, but
there's a transporter there that can hold it, it will load and move (one
operation).

1c. If a unit moves onto a tile which is impermanent (like an airplane
over water), and a transporter there can hold it, it will load (this may
be a separate operation from the movement).

1d. A load command may be provided to load units.  If no such command
exists, sentrying a unit will load it if possible.

1e. A unit may not be loaded into a transporter that is itself cargo. 
See 2d.


2.  Unloading rules:

2a. Activating a unit does not unload it.

2b. If a unit on a transporter makes a valid move off of the
transporter, it is automatically unloaded.

2c. An unload command may be provided to unload a unit.  If no such
command is provided, activating a unit will unload it if possible and if
the unit's position is permanent (not impermanent).  Note that
"activation" is not necessarily well-defined because of fast-focusing rules.

2d. A unit whose transporter is itself cargo may not be unloaded.  This
rule may be relaxed in future with more complicated rules.  Until then
you have to unload the transporter first.  Otherwise a unit may be
unloaded with or without a move so long as this doesn't place it on an
invalid location.  See 1e.


3.  Containment rules:

3a. It is legal to transport a unit that is transporting a unit.  In
this case the transported unit fills as many extra spaces as the units
that it is transporting.


I suspect it will be possible to get sane behavior even without
load/unload commands.  However these will probably be desired eventually
to give the user fine control over transported units.

jason