Need help in SLIC

[Jules]

I'm trying to write a program that will warn the player whenever they discover an advance the makes a building obsolete. The popup message will tell the player the advance, the building made obsolete, and the replacement building. Here's a sample of my code:

messagebox 'BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1_MSG' {
  Text(ID_BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1);
  Show();
}

HandleEvent(GrantAdvance) 'BuildingExpires' post {
  int_t advanceType;
  advanceType = value[0];
  advance[0] = advanceType;
  if (advanceType == AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_ECONOMICS)) {
    building[0] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BAZAAR);
    building[1] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BROKERAGE);
    Message(player[0], 'BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1_MSG');
  }
}

Then in "info_str.txt" I have the following string:

BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1 "Our knowledge of {advance[0].name} has made the improvement {building[0].name} obsolete. However we can now build the {building[1].name} improvement instead."

Now everything works except when I get the popup message in-game, where it should say "Bazaar" it says "{building[0].name}" and where it should say "Brokerage" it says "{building[1].name}". I don't get it.

Please help!

[Immortal Wombat]

I think this is caused when you have DebugSlic set to No. Its one of those annoying things that Activision didn't think much about.
Try it, I'm fairly sure that will help.

[Peter Triggs]

Jules,

For your specific example, you could use:

    HandleEvent(GrantAdvance) 'BuildingExpires' post { 

         advance[0]=value[0];
         if (value[0] == AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_ECONOMICS)) {
 
              Message(player[0], 'BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1_MSG');
         }
    }

with:

BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1 "Our knowledge of {advance[0].name} has made the improvement {BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BAZAAR)} obsolete. However we can now build the {BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BROKERAGE)} improvement instead."

But you'll then have to do this over again for each advance that makes a building obsolete. As there's quite a few of them you might want to set up a mapping from advances to buildings via a system of arrays. This is what I did in my UnitUpdater. In your case it would look something like this:

obsadv[0]=AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_ECONOMICS) ;
OBS_BUILDING_TYPE[0]= BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BAZAAR);
NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[0]= BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BROKERAGE);

obsadv[1]=AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_whatever) ;
OBS_BUILDING_TYPE[1]= BuildingDB(IMPROVE_whatever);
NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[1]= BuildingDB(IMPROVE_whatever);

obsadv[2]=AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_and so on) ;
OBS_BUILDING_TYPE[2]= BuildingDB(IMPROVE_and so on);
NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[2]= BuildingDB(IMPROVE_and so on);

Your handler would then look like:

// Globals:
int_t BUILDING_INDEX;
int_t OBS_BUILDING_TYPE[];
int_t NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[];

    HandleEvent(GrantAdvance) 'BuildingExpires' post {

    int_t i;
    int_t obsadv[];

    // the above data arrays can go here

     for(i=0; i

with:

BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1 "Our knowledge of {advance[0].name} has made the improvement {BuildingDB(OBS_BUILDING_TYPE[BUILDING_INDEX])} obsolete. However we can now build the {BuildingDB(NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[BUILDING_INDEX])} improvement instead."


This is assuming that no advance obsoletes more than one type of building. It's a bit more complicated if you allow that to happen. No guarentees the above code will work as it stands; I might have forgotten something.

[Jules]

Thanks Peter! Your suggestion worked.

Immortal: Don't you have to have DebugSLIC set to "no" in order to run the Med Mod? But that's a moot point now since I got it to work.

For anyone with the Med Mod interested in implementing this little bit of SLIC, here's the full code:

messagebox 'BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1_MSG' {
  Text(ID_BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1);
  Show();
}

messagebox 'BUILDING_OBSOLETE_2_MSG' {
  Text(ID_BUILDING_OBSOLETE_2);
  Show();
}



int_t BUILDING_INDEX;
int_t OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[];
int_t OBS_BUILDING_2_TYPE[];
int_t NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[];



HandleEvent(GrantAdvance) 'BuildingExpires' post {
  int_t i;
  int_t obsadv[];
  int_t advanceType;
  advanceType = value[0];
  advance[0] = advanceType;

  obsadv[0] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_ECONOMICS);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[0] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BAZAAR);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[0] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BROKERAGE);

  obsadv[1] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_DIGITAL_ENCRYPTION);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[1] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BANK);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[1] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_E_BANK);

  obsadv[2] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_MASS_MEDIA);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[2] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_CITY_CLOCK);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[2] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_TELEVISION);

  obsadv[3] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_PUBLIC_EDUCATION);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[3] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_ACADEMY);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[3] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_ORBITAL_LABORATORY);

  obsadv[4] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_COMPUTER);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[4] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_PUBLISHING_HOUSE);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[4] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_COMPUTER_CENTER);

  obsadv[5] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_OIL_REFINING);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[5] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_MILL);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[5] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_OIL_REFINERY);

  obsadv[6] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_ROBOTICS);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[6] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_FACTORY);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[6] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_ROBOTIC_PLANT);

  obsadv[7] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_NANO_ASSEMBLY);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[7] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_OIL_REFINERY);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[7] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_NANITE_FACTORY);

  obsadv[8] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_FUSION);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[8] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_NUCLEAR_PLANT);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[8] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_FUSION_PLANT);

  obsadv[9] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_FUEL_CELLS);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[9] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_PUBLIC_TRANSPORTATION);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[9] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_ECO_TRANSIT);

  obsadv[10] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_MOLECULAR_SYNTHESIS);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[10] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_RECYCLING_PLANT);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[10] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_MATTER_DECOMPILER);

  obsadv[11] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_NEURAL_REPROGRAMMING);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[11] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_COURTHOUSE);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[11] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BEHAVIORAL_MOD_CENTER);

  obsadv[12] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_AI_SURVEILLANCE);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[12] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_CORRECTIONAL_FACILITY);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[12] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_SECURITY_MONITOR);

  obsadv[13] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_MILITARY_ENGINEERING);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[13] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_CITY_WALLS);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[13] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BASTION);

  obsadv[14] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_ELECTRICITY);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[14] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_THEATER);
  OBS_BUILDING_2_TYPE[14] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_ARENA);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[14] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_CIVIC_CENTER);

  obsadv[15] = AdvanceDB(ADVANCE_UNIFIED_PHYSICS);
  OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[15] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BALLISTA_TOWERS);
  OBS_BUILDING_2_TYPE[15] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_BASTION);
  NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[15] = BuildingDB(IMPROVE_FORCEFIELD);

  for (i = 0; i < 16; i = i + 1) {
     BUILDING_INDEX = i;
     if (i == 14 || i == 15) {
       if (advanceType == obsadv[i]) {
         message(player[0], 'BUILDING_OBSOLETE_2_MSG');
       }
     } elseif (advanceType == obsadv[i]) {
           message(player[0], 'BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1_MSG');
     }
  }
}

And in your "info_str.txt":
BUILDING_OBSOLETE_1 "Our knowledge of {advance[0].name} has made the improvement {BuildingDB(OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[BUILDING_INDEX])} obsolete. However we can now build the {BuildingDB(NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[BUILDING_INDEX])} improvement instead."
BUILDING_OBSOLETE_2 "Our knowledge of {advance[0].name} has made the improvements {BuildingDB(OBS_BUILDING_1_TYPE[BUILDING_INDEX])} and {BuildingDB(OBS_BUILDING_2_TYPE[BUILDING_INDEX])} obsolete. However we can now build the {BuildingDB(NEW_BUILDING_TYPE[BUILDING_INDEX])} improvement instead."

You'll have to change this a little bit since I use a Civic Center building to replace Theaters and Arenas after the discovery of Electrification.

[Peter Triggs]

Glad it worked. Mind you, I don't know what happened to the code I posted earlier.

Ben's right about DebugSlic. If you don't have DebugSlic=Yes you won't get proper Error messages.

[Immortal Wombat]

Yeah, I don't run MedMod...

[Jules]

Here's a different question:
Has anybody tried to implement the AddHappyTimer event? It has a city argument, and three other integer arguments. I'm guessing two of those are for amount of (un)happiness and duration, but I'm clueless as to what the third one is for. It'd be kind of neat to use this with Immortal's natural disasters code, like say random political unrest strikes a city. Like what's happening in Italy right now with the protests against the G8 summit.