How to automate planting forests?

[dafunktmc]

I posted this in the other forum but didn't get any replies. Please forgive the duplication. I'd like to automate the planting of forests rather than having to keep manual control of the former. Does anyone out there know how to do this? I tried to change the menu file to use cntl+shift+w for this but it just seemed to change what I could see on the map- maybe fog of war? My combination doesn't duplicate any of the shortcuts in the menu file. Thanks for your help!

[AlexanderIII]

I tried that as well. Tried EVERYTHING I could think of... and I've thought of a lot.
Aparently adding a line, including the keyshortcut command, only screws up the menus, because now the menus do not reflect what is done when you select something. Apparently, the only thing the menu.txt file is for is NAMING the menu options -- it does not in any way add menu options or change in any way any of the menu choices. The positions on each of the menus are assigned fixed results, so all adding a line of text does is mess up all the menus.

I've tried using this to add a Monolith terraforming ability attainable with the Secrets of Alpha Centauri, but it was not possible.

In any of the menus, anywhere, all changing the text does is alter what you see -- not what the game does. And that includes adding or changing the Council issues menu items in alpha.txt. What I get is that the menu.txt file was really intended for translations of the game, so that menu wordings could be shown in their translated language.

-----------------------
Joseph Balderson,
creator of the Advanced Hydromechanics tech patch

[compugasm]

CTRL+A will bring up the "Automation" prefs. If planting forrests is all you want, uncheck all the boxes that have to do with sensors, bunkers, etc. Then your former will only plant forests.
--Compugasm
--2215 Defensive

[Tim_Hobbit]

compugasm -
Not sure what I am doing wrong, but with everything off except forests, my formers still make solar, farms & mines. What am I doing wrong?
Tim

[AlexanderIII]

There is only ONE way to have your formers autoterraform only forests.

Because there is no check boxes for forests, farms, mines or solar arrays (FIRAXIS GET THIS FIXED!!), unchecking all the boxes will have your formers produce all that is not mentioned -- namely the above 4 terraforming.

The ONLY way to have your terraformers do only forests is to first uncheck all the automation boxes, as stated earlier. Then you'll have to do some tinkering with alpha.txt. Make Solar Arrays, Mines and Farms dependant on technology to be able to terraform them. In a modpack I'm working on, the Forests and Formers require no tech to produce, but Farm=Centauri Ecology, Mine=Industrial Base, Solar Array=Applied Physics. Now, in the beginning stages of the game before you discover the respective techs, your formers will terraform only forests and roads. It's a lame solution, I know, and not the only reason I've changed the terraforming this way in my modpack, but it's the only solution possible as far as I've been able to figure out, short of modifying the SMAC cose to include a few more menu items, and unless you're a betatester you have no access to the source code.

Maybe some of us who want certain changes made to SMAC that Firaxis and its team do not seem willing and/or able to implement should become beta-testers. Of course, you'd have to know programming, which, unfortunately, I don't, a shame since I've got the time and the inclination to do something about it. Oh well, I'm raving now, so I'll just go. Hope that helps.

[AlexanderIII]

Recently I accidentally stumbled upon an actual solution to this dilemma, though it is specifuc to my modpack SNAX 1.3:

You assign the building of all terraforming improvements except building roads and forests to technologies, and make Formers available at the start of the game without a tech, and also give each faction 2 free formers at the beginning of the game. So that in the first 5 turns or so, at least, all your formers can do is build roads and forests. 3/4 of the time they will build forests.

I know this is a clunky solution, but it's the best I've come up with yet.

[dafunktmc]

I wonder if anyone knows where the formula for determining when and where forests expand into unforested squares is located. If I could alter that formula, it wouldn't be so important to automate the formers to plant forests. Any suggestions?

[AlexanderIII]

Dunno if it's possible; you'd practically have to have access to the code for the game and then recompile it.

[Grigger]

Alex, you mentioned not being able to make monliths, although I don't think you can do a thing with the menu, you can enable a hotkey in the alpha.txt (I think) and specify the tech. The tech is normally disable, which keeps you from building them, but a little tweaking and you can set up your own monoliths.