Thread Tools
Old October 3, 2003, 19:18   #1
Jerh9e1k5
Warlord
 
Local Time: 09:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 180
Managing Obsolete Units?
Hi guys (and girls ). I recently started playing SMAC again and I've always had my production lists so cluttered! When I go into the unit editing thingy (forgot the name) I have to say that each unit is obsolete one at a time, is there any way to speed this up? How do you manage the long list? Thanks!
Jerh9e1k5 is offline  
Old October 3, 2003, 22:24   #2
Mongoose
ACDG The Free Drones
King
 
Local Time: 04:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Harrisburg,PA USA
Posts: 2,244
No. The Design Workshop is only marginally user friendly. There is no way to rearrange grouping, nor to perform an operation on multiple design slots simultaneously. The best advice I can offer is not to let it get too far ahead of you...keep at it every couple of turns.

The worst is when you get a new reactor. I always try to obsolete almost all my designs before acquiring a new reactor, then go back into the Workshop after doing so and design the 'new' units I want, upgrading or retiring the old ones I don't want and/or can afford to upgrade.
Mongoose is offline  
Old October 4, 2003, 00:08   #3
Jerh9e1k5
Warlord
 
Local Time: 09:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 180
lol, well that's too bad, thanks for the reply!
Jerh9e1k5 is offline  
Old October 4, 2003, 01:18   #4
Sarxis
Rise of Nations MultiplayerAlpha Centauri PBEMCivilization III MultiplayerCivilization III PBEMCTP2 Source Code ProjectCall to Power II MultiplayerCall to Power MultiplayerCivilization IV: MultiplayerCivilization IV CreatorsGalCiv Apolyton Empire
Emperor
 
Sarxis's Avatar
 
Local Time: 05:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 1999
Posts: 3,361
That's a good idea Mongoose. Never thought to obsolete them aforehand.

Sarxis is offline  
Old October 4, 2003, 05:48   #5
Lazerus
Alpha Centauri PBEMNationStates
King
 
Lazerus's Avatar
 
Local Time: 10:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Empires were built by dictators, not democracies.
Posts: 2,869
The list of units that are actually useful in most games is rather short, its just that damn AI unit generator that gets your list cluttered so make sure to turn that off.

Former, Crawler, Chopper, Needlejet, AAA garrison, Trance garrison if you're raping planet and either a rover or drop unit. Not much else is needed except in special occasions, and when those arise just build the unit and obsolete it straight away.
__________________
Learn to overcome the crass demands of flesh and bone, for they warp the matrix through which we perceive the world. Extend your awareness outward, beyond the self of body, to embrace the self of group and the self of humanity. The goals of the group and the greater race are transcendant, and to embrace them is to acheive enlightenment.
Lazerus is offline  
Old October 4, 2003, 12:15   #6
Adalbertus
Prince
 
Adalbertus's Avatar
 
Local Time: 10:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Augusta Vindelicorum
Posts: 655
Lazerus,

Usually you'll need both rover and drop unit (protecting your home and attacking). Then you'll need shells for nearly each of them and the beloved elite-drop-1-1-1-soon-to-be-a-13-6-1-unit. So, the list is not that short.
Plus, I start to like marine detachment even more, which provides me with some free useless AI designs.
__________________
Why doing it the easy way if it is possible to do it complicated?
Adalbertus is offline  
Old October 4, 2003, 13:54   #7
Datajack Franit
NationStates
King
 
Datajack Franit's Avatar
 
Local Time: 10:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Italia
Posts: 2,036
SMAC workshop was really bad implemented but I've seen worse in lots of games around- don't complain too much
__________________
I will never understand why some people on Apolyton find you so clever. You're predictable, mundane, and a google-whore and the most observant of us all know this. Your battles of "wits" rely on obscurity and whenever you fail to find something sufficiently obscure, like this, you just act like a 5 year old. Congratulations, molly.

Asher on molly bloom
Datajack Franit is offline  
Old October 5, 2003, 16:09   #8
Flubber
Alpha Centauri PBEMACDG PeaceAlpha Centauri Democracy GameACDG The Human HiveACDG Planet University of TechnologyACDG The Cybernetic Consciousness
Deity
 
Local Time: 03:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: With a view of the Rockies
Posts: 12,242
I just turn off the auto-design feature -- The only units listed are ones that I design ( except for certain basic ones)
Flubber is offline  
Old October 5, 2003, 17:21   #9
CEO Aaron
ACDG3 Morgan
King
 
CEO Aaron's Avatar
 
Local Time: 09:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: A right bastard.
Posts: 1,058
Agreed, the only way to play is to have auto-design off and auto-prune on. That way there's only a design when you make one.
CEO Aaron is offline  
Old October 5, 2003, 19:50   #10
Mongoose
ACDG The Free Drones
King
 
Local Time: 04:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Harrisburg,PA USA
Posts: 2,244
Well, no. That isn't the ONLY way to play. Personally, I loathe auto-prune almost as much as auto design. Maintaining and employing obsolete designs is part of MY design, thank you. You can't upgrade to an obsolete design, you know.
Mongoose is offline  
Old October 6, 2003, 11:58   #11
Flubber
Alpha Centauri PBEMACDG PeaceAlpha Centauri Democracy GameACDG The Human HiveACDG Planet University of TechnologyACDG The Cybernetic Consciousness
Deity
 
Local Time: 03:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: With a view of the Rockies
Posts: 12,242
Quote:
Originally posted by Mongoose
Well, no. That isn't the ONLY way to play. Personally, I loathe auto-prune almost as much as auto design. Maintaining and employing obsolete designs is part of MY design, thank you. You can't upgrade to an obsolete design, you know.
I agree. . . auto prune and autodesign are BOTH off. Most of my older designs get upgraded over time but some do not. I end up with relatively few designs compared to the long list of CRAP the computer would fill my workshop with . ..

Also wouldn't autoprune get rid of designs like fission crawlers?


Another reason I like to design my own units is that I will give them more distinctive names . . .. It makes upgrading simpler when you know you plan to upgrade to your own custom-named unit.
Flubber is offline  
Old October 8, 2003, 22:22   #12
Jerh9e1k5
Warlord
 
Local Time: 09:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 180
Thanks for the advice, I found the auto-prune feature and the turn off auto design. I like auto prune and I keep off auto designs so it keeps my list nice and tidy, I really couldn't stand that long list of cluttered units everywhere before you showed me these features. Thanks again!
Jerh9e1k5 is offline  
Old October 11, 2003, 05:34   #13
johndmuller
Alpha Centauri PBEMACDG Peace
King
 
johndmuller's Avatar
 
Local Time: 04:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Capitol Hill, Colony of DC
Posts: 2,108
I don't think auto-prune is a big deal one way or the other, I believe all that it does is 'obsolete' designs it thinks are superceeded by something you have just designed. If you don't like it, you can unobsolete it whenever you want to and it will stay active unless you design another potential replacement. Sometimes it's too eager to obsolete things, but most of the time I agree, say, that I'd rather not see the impact rover (and possibly build one by mistake) after I design a chaos one. Either way you have to get involved, either by doing all the work yourself, or by keeping an eye on what the autopruner does and undoing it sometimes.

In any case, it doesn't do anything as bad as all the extraneous designs that the autodesigner will generate, or even the excessive upgrade designs that pop up when you get a reactor upgrade.

As I said in the other thread about the DW, I also think it is important to clear the slots, and not just to 'obsolete'; I think one should zap them all together by 'upgrading' obsolete designs that no longer have any units to some other design, thus totally freeing up the slot.
johndmuller is offline  
Old October 14, 2003, 16:56   #14
Commander Jace
Settler
 
Commander Jace's Avatar
 
Local Time: 09:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 10
Yes even though you can have the comp make your units I always make my own because alot of time the Computer makes retarded underpowered EXPENSIVE units that are not needed. This is why the best strategy is custom units.
Commander Jace is offline  
Old October 18, 2003, 01:37   #15
gwillybj
Prince
 
gwillybj's Avatar
 
Local Time: 05:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Eurytion Mining Camp: 100°C dayside, 100°F nightside.
Posts: 875
Regarding Auto-Prune: The Preferences menu text is "Auto-prune obsolete units (recommended)."
This is what I have experienced: Auto-Prune retires already-obsoleted designs if you have none of that unit type remaining. It happens (behind-the-scenes) the next time you acquire any tech, whether that tech unlocks a unit component or not. It does not touch any active (non-obsolete) designs.
__________________
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving isn't your thing.
gwillybj is offline  
Old October 18, 2003, 04:54   #16
johndmuller
Alpha Centauri PBEMACDG Peace
King
 
johndmuller's Avatar
 
Local Time: 04:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Capitol Hill, Colony of DC
Posts: 2,108
Quote:
Originally posted by gwillybj
Regarding Auto-Prune: ... Auto-Prune retires already-obsoleted designs if you have none of that unit type remaining. ...
Is that for real? I can't say that I've ever noticed obsolete designs (with no units) disappearing of their own accord and I do try to keep an eye on the units in the DW (especially when I get close to a new reactor). I do try to get rid of them myself (by upgrading the upopulated design), and by no means am I compulsively keeping track of them, so it could be happening, but still I think I would have noticed, especially as there are some designs you can't or don't want to bother upgrading like when you stop using foils or perhaps NJ's. Also, I understand that there are problems with retiring the intrinsic designs in PBEMs, and I have occasionally obsoleted some of the basic ones, like regular formers or probes so that I wouldn't build them by mistake - wouldn't the game then retire them by this theory and thereby create some havoc among the other players? I know if half my probes disappeared all of a sudden I would not keep it to myself .
johndmuller is offline  
Old October 20, 2003, 03:27   #17
gwillybj
Prince
 
gwillybj's Avatar
 
Local Time: 05:50
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Eurytion Mining Camp: 100°C dayside, 100°F nightside.
Posts: 875
The pre-defined units (as listed in alpha.txt) are always a special case, thus they are not retired by the auto-pruning. But I have experienced the retirement of other unit definitions as I described.
__________________
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving isn't your thing.
gwillybj is offline  
 

Bookmarks

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:50.


Design by Vjacheslav Trushkin, color scheme by ColorizeIt!.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Apolyton Civilization Site | Copyright © The Apolyton Team