[Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#12266) patch: supporting variable numbers of trade routes

["Jason Short" <jdorje@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=12266 >

Brian Dunstan wrote:
> <URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=12266 >
> 
> Could the addition of 'auto-caravan' automation
> (similar to auto-settler) reduce this micromanagement?

Bringing in an AI to automate micromanagement is the wrong idea.  See 
http://www.freeciv.org/index.php/Per_on_rules.  This applies to 
auto-settlers and CM as well.

However it's hard to see where to draw the line between these agents and 
  the client goto feature, which "automatically" calculates the path 
from place to place.  The latter is so low-level it does not qualify as 
micromanagement (compare to games like starcraft where such a feature 
must be present but you don't even notice it).

In the case of caravans and trade routes, I think:

* Caravans should be obsoleted at some point in the game (perhaps 
removed from default entirely, and allowed to stay in civ2 only).

* At this point trade routes are formed automatically, much like in civ 3.

* The presence of a building may be needed to create or to extend the 
range of trade routes (like in Medieval: Total War).  The building 
provides a certain range and any city within this range of the city can 
trade with the city.

* It should also be possible to divert the entire production of a city 
to another city, or even to merge them into one functional unit.  This 
should solve late-game micromanagement that comes from having many cities.

-jason