Re: Thoughts on the standard game

[Keir Novik <ken21@cam.ac.uk>]

> I've not considered this to be a problem that needed solving, but I
> suppose if some clever person used subs as a sort of chain of secret
> supply points for aircrafts, the victim of this strategy would be mad
> that the game allowed this... I don't think it can be solved using the
> current tables.
> 
> This and other situations really call for three-dimensional tables,
> which would be a big pain to add and space-hungry besides.  Alas,
> two-dimensional tables will never have the same degree of
> adjustability, so it will have to be done somehow.

What about keeping the current two-dimensional tables, but adding
special rules for occupants?  E.g.

 - UnitTypeProperty: `occupant-resupply' T/F
     When true, supplies can always be transferred from a transport to
     its occupants, regardless of in-length and out-length.  Default:
     false.

However, I think the best solution is to use altitude.  Aircraft should be
required to have positive altitude, and supply should only be allowed
between units at the same altitude.

(table altitude-min
  (aircraft t* 1)
  )
(table altitude-max
  (aircraft t* 1000)
  )

I gather this is not yet implemented, as hitting the + and - keys doesn't
do anything for me (X11). 


>    Your 2nd armor misses the Siamese town Upper Stepney.
>      (and destroys occupant the Siamese 1st fighter!)
>      (and destroys occupant the Siamese 4th infantry!)
>      (and destroys occupant the Siamese 5th infantry!)
>    The Siamese town Upper Stepney throws back your 2nd armor!
> 
>    It's obvious to me that it's a mistake to leave anything in a place
>    that might be attacked.  This problem appears to be that misses on the
>    town attack *all* the units inside.  How can we get around this?
> 
> Hmmm.  There is an element of realism here - a real-life attack could
> very well clobber the airport or a barracks while leaving the city
> center relatively untouched.

Yes, but a single bomb won't strike *all* the airports and barracks
simultaneously.  That is my main objection.  I also don't like that it
matters where you click on the city icon (X11 anyways) -- if you click
where the occupants would be displayed (if you could see them) then you
attack the occupants, otherwise you attack the city itself.


 - Keir