Auto improvement "improvement"

[frenzyfol]

Hi,
Long time reader, rare poster.

One of the things that I think is missing from civ4 is a more
programmable auto management system for units, towns and workers.
I was hoping to see the ability to create logic for my different units/cities/workers so that I could send them off on auto management without having to pull my hair out when they do something stupid or contrary to my strategical goal.

I find the micro managment of units and cities really distracts from the broader strategical possibilities provided by this awesome game. Your a leader of a civilisation, not the manager of individual workers.

Lets take workers and terrain tile improvements as an example.
Everyone has has a different strategy for how they like to improve their terrain. That strategy varies depending on their goals for that game, the circumstances that arise during that game, and what the nearest city is trying to achieve.

Instead of giving just the simple order of "Go and improve terrain" I should be able to layout simple AI scripts for my workers, such as.

If Terrain = hill + plains Do Windmill

You could increase the complexity as far as you want

If Terrain = Hill + plains
And city food surplace is > 3
Else
Build windmill

Now I'm no programmer, this stuff isn't beyond the understanding of most gamers.

Thoughts?

[ColdPhoenix]

I'd like it. It would be too much micromanagement to set up the rules each game but if you could create profiles to be used then it would be a one off investment of your time.

I guess it can be done already as the game is quite customisable but I wouldn't have a clue where to start changing these sorts of things and it would be nice to have a userfriendly interface built into the game for changing these things.

[frenzyfol]

Yeah
I'm definitely thinking of savable preferences that you can reload in any game.

It's probably a good idea for a mod.. I wonder if it could be done via editing xml only. Still, its probably beyond my nub programming skills.

[Will9]

No. I prefer to be able to make custom improvements for each city. Depending on the location of the city I would make improvements to suit it. I don't always make the same improvements for the same types of terrain.

[zeace]

Blake is making some improvements to the worker AI in his "Improved AI" thread. Here's already made them a lot smarter and he has ideas for more. You should post your suggestions there and try his latest patch.

[frenzyfol]

Cool, I'll head over there..

Will9, my idea wouldn't prevent you from making custom improvements. It would just allow you customise the automated worker ability, if you chose to use it.

The customised scripts could be attached to each city, so that any worker in the vicinity would use that script.

[Will9]

I thought you meant that it would be the same for all your workers, but if I could do that for every city that would be great.

[rah]

The only problem with using food as a qualifier would be swings in the surplus, Due to health, happiness, or the improvement itself, which could put a worker in a loop changing one square back and forth finishing just in time for it to change it to something else.