Planetary Datalinks bug

karu-san · January 16, 2001, 09:37

I started a SMACX game as the Caretakers and started grabbing projects. I got the Planetary Datalinks and didn't research B2: Industrial Economics on purpose because two separate factions were building the Plan. Energy Grid and a third was building the Plan. Trans. Syst., projects which both require B2. However, I haven't gotten B2 yet and its been about 10 turns.

What the hell?
Is there something I'm missing? Does it matter that one of the other factions is the Angels?

Karu-San

JOMTS sufferer

karu-san · January 16, 2001, 09:52

Let me just add:

Just to make sure, I ran the scenario editor to check that at least three other factions had B2 and that it wasn't that one faction had stolen a higher tech for the projects. Sure enough, no less than FOUR other factions had B2 and yet I still didn't have it. Again: what the hell?

Factions having it were:
angels
usurpers
drones
pirates

JAMiAM · January 16, 2001, 10:51

If you don't already have the prerequisite techs for the tech at the time the third faction gains the tech, then you will not get the benefit of the PDL.

Ogie Oglethorpe · January 16, 2001, 11:35

IIRC the PDL grants techs if 3 other factions have the tech in question normally. However, at the point you get PDL the calculation is not done until another faction discovers it ,in this case Industrial Econ. SO what this means is if 3 factions have Industrial Econ you will not get IE until another faction discovers, trades, or steals IE. At that point the calculation is done and now the rule is satisfied that at least 3 other factions have tech in question.

What this means is if all the other factions have a specific tech except for you at the point of you building PDL, PDL can't give you the tech in question. It requires a new faction to discover/steal/or trade to enable the PDL to aquire the tech.

Going forward it works correctly in that if 3 factions aquire a techs you are granted that tech. I believe the game uses some check algorythm that gets run every time a faction discovers/aquires a tech for the first time. Then if the criteria of more than 3 factions have the tech is satisfied you are granted the tech as well.

Og

karu-san · January 17, 2001, 02:03

Og and JAMiaM,

Thanks for your help! I guess that leaves me a bit frustrated that this kind of thing wasn't covered in the datalinks or anywhere else that I looked. I even ran a scenario editor scene where I tested a couple guesses, but that takes a while.

Thanks again.