I can't play SciFi-style games!

[MirkoGP]

When playing SciFi games, I noticed HaGibborim units never appeared. So I checked the events.txt file with the debug option. ToT stops parsing it when it encounters references to nations not challenging... 14 of 21! I do have the patch 1.1!

It came in my mind a solution: reducing that list of references to 7 tribes, and starting a game with just those lucky ones. Of course, I'm far from being satisfied. Has anyone else got the same problem? Could another one suggest the solution? Shall I succeed enjoying a S.F. game?

[DaveP]

First, make sure you've selected a level of barbarians that will allow them to appear spontaneously, instead of waiting for you to find and open a wreckage site.

Second, build every unit you have the technology for (and research every technology available to you, of course), I don't remember if the HaGibborim are triggered by technology or units, but it's one or the other. Note that the units MUST be built, barbarians or wreckage doesn't count. You'll notice that both the Humans and the Aliens have one technology each that only they can research, but that the other can own, both of those technologies are required for the top of the technology tree so be sure you get the one you can't research, whether by trade, theft, conquest, or Acrolectic Solenoid (GL equivalent).

I assure you, the HaGibborim will show up when the appropriate action is taken, and be a pain in the neck forever after .

[MirkoGP]

Dave, thanks for your suggestion, but it doesn't work. I understand what you're suggesting.
The barbarian activity doesn't matter. I set it to normal, but even if I set it to
zero HaGibborim units continued appearing, as their appearance is linked to events
(btw, they're triggered by technology). The problem resides in events.txt. I'll be clearer.

Open the events.txt file.

Find the section "Ensure Player Access to Quantum Gravitics", then
"; if a human civ gets 61, but no alien civ has 76 (flag 4),
; then give all alien civs 76
; (except any renamed player civs)" and its counterpart "if an alien civ..."

Two lists of GiveTechnology statements follow. These lists involve all 21 civs defined
in rules.txt.

The game supports up to 7 tribes, so when the parser encounters one of that 14 civs
not playing, it stops, reporting an error message. Here is the whole event as recognized
by the parser, I copied it directly from report.txt:

*******

@IF found - creating new event structure
New event structure created

@IF RECEIVEDTECHNOLOGY found
looking for technology=,whom=
found receiver=Anybody (king id=-2)
found technology=61 (technology id=61)

@AND found - creating new event structure
New event structure created

@IF CHECKFLAG found
looking for [continuous],who=,flag=,[mask=],[threshold=],[count=],state=,[technology=]
found who=Everybody (king id=-6)
found mask=0b00000000000000000000000000010000 (mask=0x10)
@THEN found

@THEN JUSTONCE found
not looking for anything else here

@THEN GIVETECHNOLOGY found
looking for whom=
found technology=76 (integer 76)
Could not find Ponn Jahr, check spelling
found receiver=Ponn Jahr, but Ponn Jahr is not valid
Illegal GIVETECHNOLOGY statement

*******

while if it involves a challenging civ, the GiveTechnology statement is:

@THEN GIVETECHNOLOGY found
looking for whom=
found technology=76 (integer 76)
found receiver=Iihibati (king id=6)
@ENDIF found

and the parser goes on.

The parser doesn't jump mis-events, it simply stops. So the following section,
"Create and Maintain Giants", can be never reached. This is why I created a "reduced"
events.txt: I cut 14 civs from those lists and started playing with the remaining
ones (option Custom Rules, Choose Civ). Lacking better solutions...

That's all. Hopefully I've been clearer than before.

Macro.txt doesn't specify whether GiveTechnology requires a valid civ name (that is,
a civ effectively challenging) or any name is good, but the action takes place only
when that name matches one of the challenging civs.

For what I can see, it's the first... but, in this case, how is it possible that you
civvers can play?

Greetings. Mirko.

P.S. Ugh... one hour for editing this message... with the dictionary...
I hope it's well worth.

[DaveP]

Mirko
I've played this several times, as both human and alien, and never encountered any difficulty getting the HaGibborim to appear.

After looking through the manual, it appears to me that your current problem is that you have the @DEBUG option on. As stated in the manual "if the parser runs into an invalid statement in your file, the listing in the report file will stop at the line before the problem statement", followed by the warning "Make sure to take this line (@DEBUG) out of your events file when you're done debugging". In other words, during debug mode it will stop when it encounters an invalid statement (such as a civilization which isn't in the current game).

Try removing the @DEBUG line from your events.txt file, and restoring any other changes you've made, and see if it doesn't work as advertised.

Good Luck, DaveP

[MirkoGP]

Dave, it's alright. I can justify myself (I MUST do it, I can't survive such a shame...): the fact is that as I got the English version of ToT, soon I began performing a gigantic work of translation into Italian for making my father able to play. Imagine how much time I spent translating describe.txt... When I began translating events.txt I included the @DEBUG option to get sure everything was alright. That's how I got the first error. Thinking of an "only-God-knows-what" error, I completely forgot what the manual states. The solution was so complex that I didn't realize it was in front of my eyes! Again, thanks.

Mirko, hoping not to have got blind.