Attn. Sir Ralph

[punkbass2000]

One of the bugs you thought was created in C3C has been fixed. Just add NoAIPatrol=0 to your .ini file. The bug was there in PTW jst the same, but the patrol setting default was changed.
See this thread (particularly the last few posts by Justus II) for more details.

EDIT: This is a barb fix!

[Krill]

You know, the normal way to get some ones attention is to send them an email or a PM.


Not to start a thread.



Even if it does bump this dead forum

[Arrian]

But others who didn't know about this may see it. Like me. Not that I have much trouble with the AI patrolling.

-Arrian

edit: oh, this fixes barbs?? Wow. Must do.

[Krill]

Fair point, but then the thread title could be slightly better.


On Topic: Finally, I've been looking for that for ages. Thanks for bringing it back out into the public

[punkbass2000]

Sorry

I should have specifically mentioned this fixes the barb bug. I intended to, but accidentally forgot to spell it out.

[gunkulator]

Hmm. I tried reading the thread but got confused on the whole NW/SE axis thing. Does NoAIPatrol=0 fix this or do barbs just roam around more now?

[Modo44]

I doesn't fix the axis thing. It makes the barbs patrol, hit the axis some more, and thus pursue targets more aggressively. Basically it reverts to PTW barb behaviour, at least that's my uderstanding.

At the same time it makes the AI patrol again, so better turn those animations off.

[Theseus]

Good catch, pb2000!!

(And I think the thread title is certainly an attention-getter )

[punkbass2000]

I think so too

To Sir Ralph, the most influential, convincing and coherent C3C curmudgeon!

[Harovan]

So I have already been declared the chief rebel? Good. I like this role.

As for the fix, thanks for the heads up. I will try it out, when I next time fire up a game of Civ3. Which will be, however, not too soon. May be when more of the issues will be fixed.

But it is certainly good news for PBEM games without AI, for which C3C 1.22 is a good option.

[MrWhereItsAt]

Waitasec. By 'fixes barbs', do you mean makes it so they don't just mindlessly attack in the NW-SE direction, and leave everything else alone?

[punkbass2000]

Originally posted by MrWhereItsAt
Waitasec. By 'fixes barbs', do you mean makes it so they don't just mindlessly attack in the NW-SE direction, and leave everything else alone?

Yes and no. The bug was always there, it just went unnoticed in PTW. This somewhat fixes it, though they are still highly influenced by units on the NW-SE axis. I think Justus II's posts in the linked thread will probably be able to better answer your question .

[MrWhereItsAt]

WTF? Always there? But in PtW if you had a unit next to a barb, it would quite often attack, rather than ONLY if that unit was on the correct axis...

[punkbass2000]

Originally posted by Sir Pleb
Barbarian behaviour as we now understand it in the final PTW patch and in C3C is roughly as follows:
List below edited to add points from watorrey and Justus II further down this thread.
1. If a barbarian is the last one in a camp he stays there to protect it.
2. If there's a defenceless unit or unprotected city within immediate reach of the barbarian that's where it goes.
3. If there's a unit on the NW/SE axis of the barbarian, within a fairly large distance, it will move toward that unit. But it won't necessarily move directly, it may go off the axis on its way to that target. If one move toward the target has better defensive terrain than another it will choose that move. It can even move away from the unit if necessary to reach it by land, e.g. travelling around a lake.
4. If NoAIPatrol is set to zero (the default in PTW, requires explicit setting in C3C) the barbarian will wander at random.
5. The above rules are applied from scratch each turn. Barbarians don't remember what they were previously doing and continue doing it.
6. There are a number of other factors which would need to be studied to determine exactly where they fit in the decision process. Sometimes barbarians will pillage, fortify to heal, and go for colonies.

With what we know now barbarians will be a bit manipulable even with the NoAIPatrol=0 setting. Have you noticed how exploring units can sometimes get away from barbarians? In the earliest Civ3 I don't think they could. If I had a unit caught beyond a barbarian on a peninsula, I think he was doomed. Nowadays (and I think since the later PTW patches) I can sometimes evade the barbarian. I think the rules now are:
a. If you want to lead barbarians mindlessly somewhere you must stay on their NW/SE axis while leading.
b. If you want to avoid confronting a barbarian, leave his NW/SE axis. He'll move at random (relative to that unit - he may move deliberately toward something else.) If he follows or attacks it is just by chance - continue moving off his NW/SE axis and eventually he'll wander off somewhere else.

[lockstep]

Thanks for the info! Can't wait to see PTW's barb attacks in C3C!