Implementing cxp-on-completion?

Implementing cxp-on-completion?

[Lincoln Peters]

Has there been any thought to making it possible for a unit to have a
certain number of cXP when it is built?  I'm trying to write a game
module that uses cXP and change-type quite extensively, but the
inability to make newly-created units have a certain number of cXP has
been a bit of a nuisance.

Specifically, I would use this for a city (or military-industrial
complex) that is large enough and powerful enough to train armies to
levels higher than 1st level (I have military units ranging across 20
levels in this game).  For example, a Level 1 knight needs 300 cXP to
change-type into a Level 2 knight (and it does not lose those cXP when
it does the change-type), but a newly-created Level 2 knight has 0 cXP!

-- 
Lincoln Peters <sampln@sbcglobal.net>

Re: Implementing cxp-on-completion?

[Eric McDonald]

Hi Lincoln, others,

On Sat, 13 Mar 2004, Lincoln Peters wrote:

> Has there been any thought to making it possible for a unit to have a
> certain number of cXP when it is built?

I had thought about having an initial-size or size-on-change-type 
unit property (I might have mentioned the latter on the list 
before, perhaps as a reset-size-on-change-type property).

>  I'm trying to write a game
> module that uses cXP and change-type quite extensively, but the
> inability to make newly-created units have a certain number of cXP has
> been a bit of a nuisance.

I quickly ran into the same nuisance in Bellum after implementing 
change-type. The problem there is that Cities at the beginning of 
the game start out as size 1, but newly upgraded ones are size 
60+.

There are two solutions that I see to the problem:
(1) Reset the size to 1 after a change-type.
(2) Start all new Cities at size 60.

I think the way to proceed is an 'initial-size' (or 'initial-cxp') 
property, because this could be checked/applied during initial 
unit replacement, unit creation, unit change type, arrival of 
reinforcments, etc..., whereas a 'size-on-change-type' (or 
'cxp-on-change-type') is semantically limited to one action. 

There is still the question of inherited values as opposed to 
reset values. One would be tempted to use -1 on the proposed new 
properties for this, but in the case of size, the value of 0 has 
no legitimate meaning. So perhaps a separate property, say 
'inherit-size-on-change-type', is needed. For cXP, I think that -1 
could be used and still leave the property with a contiguous set 
of legitimate values....

Depending on what we decide, I will probably implement the 
'initial-size' property in conjunction with my ongoing Bellum 
improvement efforts; it should be trivial to implement an 
equivalent for cXP (and others?) alongside this when I do so.

Thoughts anyone?

Eric

Re: Implementing cxp-on-completion?

[Eric McDonald]

> property, because this could be checked/applied during initial 
> unit replacement, unit creation, unit change type, arrival of 

Er, that should read "placement", not "replacement". I was 
thinking of REinforcements when I was attempting to write 
"placement".

I guess I should see if Cisco, Nortel, et al. have any available 
upgrades for my neurological switching gear....

> reinforcments, etc..., whereas a 'size-on-change-type' (or 

Eric