Why does advisor ask if you want to upgrade all of a unit type only sometimes?

[fluxcapacitor]

This is something that has bugged me for a long time. I don't know if its a bug in the game or just something I'm missing. Sometimes, when a better unit type is available, your 'advisor' [that is, a windows pops up] asks you if you'd like to upgrade all units in your possesion of a particular type. That is wonderful, it's extremely helpful. Yet other times, when more powerful units are available, they never ask. Which means you have to go to your Security Nexus screen, cancel the orders for whatever unit your looking to upgrade, and then one by one you can upgrade them. That's just a pain in the ass compared to the "advisor-pop-up-window-I-can-get-this-done-all-at-once-screen". The game I'm currently experiencing this in is SMAX v2.0, but I've seen it in every version since SMAC came out. Any ideas anyone?

[SerapisIV]

You can avoid the whole upgrade pop-up box altogether by using the design workshop. Select the unit you want to upgrade from the bottom slider and click upgrade to the unit you want.

I prefer this method as the auto-designer is a real pain to me, always redesigning units I already set as obsolete. Also, it gives more control versus the new unit choice as you get the full list of new units to upgrade to, not just one type

[Lefty Scaevola]

I find these messages are usually triggered by the completion of a protyped armor or weapon, which you would only notice at that point if yopu had the warning preference "Stop for prototype completion" on.

[johndmuller]

It seems to me that it occurs a few years later rather than just right after the prototype is finished, but yes, it may well be related to that.

The one that I like is when it lets you switch ongoingproduction to a new design without the big loss of accumulated mins. That seems to occur in situations like when you have 2 or 3 bases producing say Synthmetal Whatevers and you get Plasma prototyped. Then create a new design using Plasma, by going to the DW via the Synthmetal Whatever design and modding that design into the Plasma Whatever - often in that scenario, it will then not only let you make that switch for free, but also ask if you want to switch all the others for free as well.