Does caster of magic 2.4 intentionally change diagonally combat movement to cost 1 point instead of 1.5? IMO you need the 1.5 cost in non-hex games.
It also kind of breaks the game. A unit with 3 movement in caster of magic 2.4 can actually avoid a fairly large army of 2 movement units. In 2.3 they couldn't.
Additionally sometimes when you have 3 movement and the ai has 3 movement the ai bugs out and plays a chess stalement as long as you move identically parallel to them 3 diagonal squares, they'll shadow your movement and you can reverse it infinitely for 25turns.
This didn't happen in caster of magic 2.3 as far as I know. The changed math means that units can't ever try to cut you off.
Also it was never a bug that 2 or 3 movement can move diagonally 2 squares because, as I think I mentioned once before, a normal tile costs 1, a diagonal is 1.5, but anyone can move or attack at any time if they have at least 0.5 movement points left.
(July 3rd, 2016, 12:01)namad Wrote: Does caster of magic 2.4 intentionally change diagonally combat movement to cost 1 point instead of 1.5? IMO you need the 1.5 cost in non-hex games.
Yes. It causes inconsistency and unpredictable behavior in unit movement. It never was fully implemented, you could move for 1 diagonally if you moved the entire path in one click, but couldn't if you moved one at a time.
I tried fixing this the other way (always costs 1.5) but it did not work well due to inherent inconsistency : the last step always costs 0.5 but depending on which direction you go that might be a 1 cost of a 1.5 cost move otherwise, so total cost changes.
Quote:Additionally sometimes when you have 3 movement and the ai has 3 movement the ai bugs out and plays a chess stalement as long as you move identically parallel to them 3 diagonal squares, they'll shadow your movement and you can reverse it infinitely for 25turns.
two units of identical movement would never reach each other anyway (unless one runs into an obstacle). the AI preferring the diagonal instead of the straight line is because they cost the same.
hex grids were most likely invented exactly because this problem with diagonals does not exist in that system. There is no good way to handle it, aside from disabling diagonal movement altogether.
Quote:Also it was never a bug that 2 or 3 movement can move diagonally 2 squares because, as I think I mentioned once before, a normal tile costs 1, a diagonal is 1.5, but anyone can move or attack at any time if they have at least 0.5 movement points left.
It was a bug because 3 movement could move 3 diagonally not 2. Or 7 movement could move 7 diagonally instead of the correct 5.
You're supposed to be able to move 2squares diagonally with either 2or3 movement because 0.5 movement is always enough to move?
I never managed to move further than this, but maybe I just knew I wasn't allowed and so didn't. I think I prefer it the old way though, at least if the player never notices they can cheat.
(July 3rd, 2016, 12:52)namad Wrote: You're supposed to be able to move 2squares diagonally with either 2or3 movement because 0.5 movement is always enough to move?
I never managed to move further than this, but maybe I just knew I wasn't allowed and so didn't. I think I prefer it the old way though, at least if the player never notices they can cheat.
People usually move in one go since it's faster. Even if they don't notice, they use the bug to their advantage.
The AI also considers distance of units assuming it costs 1 for diagonals.
The main reason why people don't notice the bug is most units in vanilla can't move 3 or more.
By the way diagonals aren't even 50% more which would make some sense. They're +0.5 more. A hill tile that cost 2 to enter is 2.5 diagonally, not 3.
I think what I do, is yes, I move in one go, but I know how far I can go and I don't click further? In previous versions of the game if you have 3 movement and click to move twice you run out of movement points right? But the bug is that if you click one tile further you go further?
Odd that in 10000 clicks I probably misclicked a dozen times but never noticed the benefit.
Actually hmm, it seems like caster 2.3 is the same for me? I guess that means you made this change for all versions of the caster mod? I guess I only bothered to care to check to look when I saw a new new release in 2.4.
(July 3rd, 2016, 14:30)namad Wrote: I think what I do, is yes, I move in one go, but I know how far I can go and I don't click further? In previous versions of the game if you have 3 movement and click to move twice you run out of movement points right? But the bug is that if you click one tile further you go further?
Odd that in 10000 clicks I probably misclicked a dozen times but never noticed the benefit.
Actually hmm, it seems like caster 2.3 is the same for me? I guess that means you made this change for all versions of the caster mod? I guess I only bothered to care to check to look when I saw a new new release in 2.4.
This change was added on february 28 plus minus a few days. Which is, like 20 versions ago.
Is there any way to "plightify" in-game help file in CoM?
Only the hard way, editing the help text yourself.
I don't recommended it as every time I change something in the game I also change the help text related to it.
If the mod ever stops getting updates, then it'll be a good time to do that.
-Significant update to Nature spells, especially at common and uncommon
-Stronger overland curses for Death
-Slightly easier to make peace with AI, and war declaration is overall slightly less likely
-Gorgons have new sprites, many thanks to Hadriex for them!
-Fixed major bugs and flaws regarding AI resource management, bonuses and spell trading.
-AI resource advantage was cut back significantly
-Several other AI improvements that can have high impact on game difficulty
-Strategic combat improved (To Hit now matters) and some bugs fixed.
Since many of the changes have a large impact on the AI and game difficulty, please let me know how it worked out overall - is the game harder or easier than before, and most importantly, are the difficulty levels filling their role properly - being what the name suggest, and having an appropriate level for players of all level of skill and custom wizards of all possible power levels?
2.5
-Famine, Pestilence, Warp Node, Evil Presence research cost is halved
-Bless now only grants protection from Chaos/Death spells and ranged/breath/gaze attacks. It no longer grants defense against normal melee attacks from Chaos and Death creatures.
-Fixed bug : names of dead heroes are lost for ressurection.
-Werewolves have 1 more melee and health
-Fixed the sound effect of new units
-The AI has a higher chance to accept peace treaty offers (treaty difficulty reduced by 60)
-Offering a tribute (both spell and gold) has a significantly larger influence on peace interest, making this an effective way to get a peace treaty even if conditions are otherwise unfavorable.
-Fixed bug : treaty propasals done by the human player don't reduce treaty or peace interest.
-Evil Presence now fully works on wizards owning Death books. Evil Presence now increases unrest by 3.
-Fixed BUG : The AI is not receiving the maintenance cost reduction on units and spells for difficulty levels at all!
-Reversed insecticide change : The AI is not receiving the maintenance cost reduction on buildings at all!
-The AI no longer receives any food production advantages (it's unnecessary since maintenance is low for them and this just makes their cities resistant to curses instead)
-Reduced AI difficulty resource advantages in production, gold, power for Normal and above levels significantly.
-AI now sets the tax rate based on unrest, and farmers based on actual food needed, and is able to reduce both if necessary, not only raise them.
-Giant Spiders lose Missile Immunity, Wall Crusher, gain movement 5, resistance 9, armor 5. Cost lowered to 90, research to 200.
-Path Finding costs half as much to research.
-Famine now reduces food production to 1/3 instead of ½.
-Warp Node now drains 15 power instead of 5.
-AI Wizards will prefer to disenchant city curses first, Warp Nodes after instead of the other way around.
-Fixed : AI doesn't receive difficulty modifier on power gained from volcanoes
-When an AI wizard is trying to move towards war (declare war or break treaty), if sum(enemy armies)+war target army>constant*Own army then don't do it to avoid overcommitting and getting involved in more wars than able to handle. This affects war declared through the militarist personality, relation level and diffculty, alliances and generic army strength.
-Basilisk renamed to great lizard, loses stone gaze, gains regeneration.
-Gorgons are now 3 figure per unit, each figure is stronger. Gorgons no longer fly and will gain new sprites.
-AI war declaration for low relation now triggers at -40 instead of -30
-The difficulty modifier in generic war declaration is now -8 instead of -12
-Fixed AI bug : priority of casting invisibility and mass invisibility are swaped with each other
-Unicorns gain +1 armor
-War Bears now move 3, are 3 figures and have 1 lower melee and health per figure.
-Fixed : AI can use Fireball on magicians even if they have fewer than 15 mana remaining.
-AI players are now also not allowed to declare war on other AI players before turn 40 to avoid overly frequent early elimination of them.
-Chimeras gain +1 melee.
-Path Finding spell replaced by Land Link. Grants Path Finding plus if the enchanted creature is fantastic, it gains +2 armor and melee and breath attack.
-Catapults, Centaurs and Paladins summoned in combat count as fantastic units.
-Catapults summoned by Construct Catapult have magical weapons.
-Vertigo now reduces chance To Defend by 1 instead of defense. Vertigo now reduces chance to hit by 3.
-When the AI wants to cast an overland summoning spell but has none (except spirits) it will cast a unit buff instead of nothing at all.
-The AI will no longer buff non-corporeal units with Wraith Form in overland.
-When the AI wants to cast a city buff but cannot (every city already has every available buff) it will cast a summoning spell instead of nothing at all.
-The AI will have a higher preference of casting Fire Elemental, Wraith Form, Invulnerability and Summon Demon if all or near all enemy units have no magical weapons or magical ranged or breath attacks.
-The AI will have a lower preference of casting Fire Elemental, Wraith Form if the enemy army has the above.
-Guardian Wind and Warp Wood are now priority group “B” spells : use when at advantage or neutral, avoid if at heavy disadvantage. This will make the AI actually do something that hurts (like nukes or confusion) instead of GW in unwinnable battles.
-Fixed : Nature's Wrath fails to trigger against AI wizards properly.
-AI players have twice the normal chance to cast disjunction if they have Aether Binding in effect (2x chance of success) or they know Spell Binding (never fails). AI players have 3x the normal chance to cast disjunction of they are a runemaster.
-AI players have twice the normal chance to cast disenchant area if they have Aether Binding or Runemaster.
-Adjusted priority of the AI casting disjunction for various enchantments, and the priority of targeting that enchantment when the disjunction is ready.
-AI wizards will not use the spell charges in items if they deem the spell useless or harmful. (example :magic vortex in own city)
-Counter Magic is now category B+C instead of just C, so it will not be used if at a big disadvantage in military power (enemy probably don't need to cast spells to win, and skipping a turn doing CM instead of actual damage is a bad move), this also means it'll be used more frequently when the AI has the military advantage. Additionally Counter Magic will not be used if the enemy has no realms to cast spells of (0 books or neutral).
-AI will not cast Counter Magic in combat unless they can pump it up to at least 50
-AI now considers Focus Magic and Land Link a worthy target for dispelling, and ignores Eldritch Weapon.
-Cockatrices cost reduced to 175.
-When the AI selects a movement or attack target for a seaworthy nonship stack (sea to land attack or intercontinental movement), now enemy cities are seen as possible targets, not just units, allowing the AI to attack an undefended city directly from water instead of having to reach land first. This also allows the AI to priorize cities and attack the more valuable one if multiples are available.
-Weak lairs have a +50 budget so empty lairs should no longer happen except on easy difficulty.
-Arch Angels lose Purify.
-Gaea's Blessing now grants tripled production bonus to forest tiles (+9% instead of +3%)
-Fixed bug : Movement icon is shown as walking on cavalry, forester, swimming, pathfinding units, and swimming on sailing units on stack right click view and the unit's information window itself.
-Fixed : damage in strategic combat is not spread evenly between units the way it's intended, and defense does not correctly have the effect on it either.
-Strategic combat and AI decisions now consider bonus To Hit in unit offensive rating and To Defense in unit defensive rating.
-Fixed strategic combat bug : AI gains an indetermined amount of “defense boost” from magic instead of the intended amount. This can randomly allow them to win without losses.
-Fixed AI bug : AI considers fantastic units as valid targets for shatter when deciding to cast it or not and generally targets wrong.
-Fixed : the Pathfinding (now land linking) spell does not grant actual pathfinding movement, only its effects. (was not possible to notice the difference prior to movement icons actually showing the real movement type)
-The AI now prefers to target their best city with Flying Fortress first.
-Air Elementals are now Non-Corporeal.
-Fixed bug : Flying Fortress is not displayed during combat in outposts
-Fixed bug : Wall of Fire, Wall of Shadows have no effect if cast on outposts. The wizard's fortress is not displayed in combat in outposts.
-Fixed bug : Flying Fortress does not properly work if not player 1 is casting it.
-Changed AI starting spell preferences.
-Fixed bug : a few building options are still not available if too many are unlocked in a town that allows building everything like orcs due to list overflow.
-When AI players trade spells with each other, only spells of similar trade value can be traded (+/-9).
-Fixed bug : ships do not carry units set to “going”, making them drown.
-Stacks containing ships can now leave towns as normal stacks do instead of being reduced to just a ship, or forcing to carry everything out : only units selected to move leave the city.
-When the AI attacks on the overland map unintentionally, the move will be taken back as though a treaty prevented it from being executed. This ensures no accidental attacks happen and peace treaties are never violated. No more engineers lost in enemy towns either!
-Forming a treaty, breaking a treaty no longer prevents the AI from turning hostile towards others for a period of time.
-The chance of hostility triggering on the AI is 8% lower.
-Focus Magic now enables the +2 magical ranged effect of Orihalcon
-Halflings now produce 2/3 research per population instead of double from buildings.
-Optional default wizard Patchouli now has 5 Chaos, 5 Nature 1 Sorcery book instead of 3/3/3/1/1. Sage Master plays very poorly on a wizard with a low amount of books spread around – not enough rares to research.
