New Discovery? Costless Units!

[Goingonit]

I just tried some experiments with "costless" units. They're negative cost. I tried to buy one (cost: 143; rush buy: 0 gold) and I did that about five times. suddnely every unit was many times more expensive.

So then, buy cheat-building and disbanding many other units, I was finally able to get positive shields; then I disbanded a costless unit and all the shields vanished.

143 = 10001111 binary = -113? Thus when I rush-bought a unit I got -1130 shields and when I disbanded one I got -565.

[ravagon]

Originally posted by Goingonit
I just tried some experiments with "costless" units. They're negative cost. I tried to buy one (cost: 143; rush buy: 0 gold) and I did that about five times. suddnely every unit was many times more expensive.

So then, buy cheat-building and disbanding many other units, I was finally able to get positive shields; then I disbanded a costless unit and all the shields vanished.

143 = 10001111 binary = -113? Thus when I rush-bought a unit I got -1130 shields and when I disbanded one I got -565.

Rush-buying a negative cost (what has been termed "costless") unit (actual cost 128 to 200 IIRC) basically seems to give you a shield deficit. Disbanding positive cost units, paying off the deficit with normal production, or purchasing a "costless" unit removes the deficit.
If you have shields in the production box, rush-buying a costless unit (for zero cash) just purchases the negative shields - hence they seem to disapear and the unit appears the next turn.

If you try and rush-buy a normal unit while you have an invisible shield deficit you are effectively buying off all of the negative shields as well - hence the much greater cash costs.