[Freeciv] Re: Unit within the radius of their home city don't

[saywhat@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Eddie Anderson)]

Per Inge Mathisen <per@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>On Fri, 2 Jul 2004, Eddie Anderson wrote:
>> >Seems like it should be based on the nation's borders.
>>
>>   Yes!  That would be even better. Although that could get
>> complicated when a border runs through part of a city.
>
>I don't see why that should be complicated. Just use the border and forget
>the city.
>
>Anyway, this would make fortresses almost completely useless, since they
>are robbed of one of their major uses (keeping units happy in the field).
>Not that anyone build fortresses...

    I know what you mean.  I do build a fortress occasionally - but
only when I have a spare unit to keep in that fortress.  Usually
most of my units are busy doing other things.  However, with your
patch, I should have more units available to man a fortress - so
maybe I'll build more of them.

    E.g. at the point that I research Gunpowder, I usually have one
or two Archers or Phalanxes in each of my cities.  At that point,
without your patch, most of those units are nearly useless.  They're
no match for the AI's Musketeers either attacking or defending.  Nor
can they be relied on to defend most cities (except for cities with
some kind of defensive advantage - e.g. cities on hills or
mountains or cities with City Walls and Coastal Fortresses).

    Consequently, I generally disband the Phalanxes and Archers as I
build new Musketeers.  However, with your patch, both Phalanxes and
Archers can serve a useful purpose as sentries near the borders of
my territory.

    E.g. when a Phalanx (or Archer) is stationed in a fortress on a
hill or mountain its defense is a match for many mid-game land (and
sea) units.  More importantly, that Phalanx will detect passing
enemy units well before they get near my cities.  In addition, the
ZOC obstacle that that Phalanx provides may help slow down the
enemy's approach.

    Those approaching enemy units may even attack and kill that
Phalanx that is on sentry duty.  But those attackers will likely
deplete their strength in doing so.  That will, in turn, either
diminish the strength of their subsequent attack on my cities or
delay their attack while those enemy units repair their damage.

    Another benefit of your patch is that those units (that are
headed for sentry posts) won't cause unhappiness while they are on
their way to the border.


>>   Nevertheless, IMO almost anything that frees units from being
>> stuck in the city centers would improve Freeciv.
>
>Well, you can try it out. Here is a patch:
>
>diff -u -r1.211 unit.c
>--- common/unit.c       25 Jun 2004 23:29:59 -0000      1.211
>+++ common/unit.c       3 Jul 2004 14:53:05 -0000
>@@ -1639,6 +1639,10 @@
>     return FALSE;
>   if (map_get_city(punit->x,punit->y))
>     return FALSE;
>+  if (game.borders > 0
>+      && map_get_owner(punit->x, punit->y) == unit_owner(punit)) {
>+    return FALSE;
>+  }
>   if (is_ground_unit(punit) &&
>       map_has_special(punit->x, punit->y, S_FORTRESS))
>     return !is_unit_near_a_friendly_city (punit);

     Thanks!  I haven't tried compiling my own copy of FreeCiv yet.
But when I do, I will try this patch.  I downloaded a copy of the
CVS snapshot (source) yesterday.

Eddie