Mod Approval Process: BUG Mod v2.1

[Ruff_Hi]

What is your proposal? Do you want to create a stripped-down RB-specific version of BUG?

Exactly. Everything in BUG can be turned off and I was thinking that we decide what is in and what is out ... turn off what is out and disable the 'change option' ability.

Sullla's comments above still stand and I still agree with them.

There are parts of Sullla's comments that I have never agreed with - the use of the logger for one ...

The problem is that there's no way to ensure that players won't look at the logger until after the game is finished. If the player is actively using the autologger as an aid while playing, it can provide an enormous quanitity of information

The same is true of world builder and no one has brought up turning that off for RB events. I think the answer to WB is 'we trust you will not use WB'. I would think that the same answer can be applied to the logger (eg 'we trust you will not use the logger info while playing the game').

One of the biggest reasons I play RB events with BUG enabled and suffer the 'shadow report' status is that it gives me access to the logger. With that info, I can illicit macro informational items that I can then use in my reports. I've constructed game spanning battle results and plotted my actual results by the predicted results in some of my reports.

That said - BUG has moved on from the version I discuss in the opening post (v2.1) ... it is currently in v4.0. I was planning on putting together a long list of BUG features and then ruling out some based on my knowledge of what will fly, what won't fly and what may fly (ie alerts is OFF).

[sunrise089]

Ruff, there's one huge difference between Worldbuilder and your logger - one is included in the base game and one is being added to it.

The ability to access Worldbuilder, as I understand it, is a necessary evil trumped by the desire to use an un-modded game. I'm not sure I understand how it's a feature not a bug (ha! believe it or not that wasn't an intentional pun) to voluntarily add in another possible exploit.

[v8mark]

Not to reignite a five-year-old discussion, but having played with BUG for a while there's one thing I was surprised not to see in Sulla's precis, and that's the 'we have enough on our hands right now' (WHEOOHRN) indicator on the scoreboard. When an AI is in WHEOOHRN, it has activated its 'war preparation' mode, and is preparing to declare on somebody (not necessarily you).

For me, this *fundamentally* changes the gameplay (along with the power rating, which Sulla did mention). I know this information is available in the diplo screen, but it pops up very visibly and conspicuously on the scoreboard, and drastically changes how you approach the game from one turn to the next.

Added to this is that checking whether an AI is in WHEOOHRN manually is a fairly severe pain, as you have to go through a couple of screens and wait for a mouseover for *every* civ.

[Sullla]

T-Hawk and I are happy to look over anything you design Ruff, but keep in mind any changes have to be purely cosmetic in nature to be approved. I can state right now that adding a logger or a WHEOOHRN indicator will not be approved; these things simply do not exist in the unmodded game. Six years after the start of the Epics/Adventures, we are not going to be making major changes.

[Ruff_Hi]

For me, WHEOOHRN *fundamentally* changes the gameplay.

The version of BUG discussed in detail in the opening post was v2.0 (or there abouts). I don't think that WHEOOHRN was in that version (I could be wrong). I agree that it should be excluded for RB events.

[Ruff_Hi]

T-Hawk and I are happy to look over anything you design Ruff, but keep in mind any changes have to be purely cosmetic in nature to be approved.

Ok. Here is what I am going to do ... post a breakdown of the features in BUG and indicate the ones that I will be seeking approval for. It should be noted that some features have already been approved as stand alone mods (eg field of view slider). As such, I will be splitting the features into three buckets:

1. Already approved (no further discussion)
   
2. Not seeking Approval (no further discussion)
   
3. Seeking Approval for (will post more info)
   

I can state right now that adding a logger or a WHEOOHRN indicator will not be approved

Re logger - I believe that I can put together a proposal that you will approve.
Re WHEOORN - it will be in the 2nd bucket (not seeking approval).

[Ruff_Hi]

So - here we go with a massive list of BUG features. Luckily for me, all of this stuff is already available at our BUG wiki. I will be noting each feature with the following:

• yes (meaning seeking approval)
  
• no (meaning not seeking approval)
  
• already approved
  
• currently seeking approval as stand alone mod
  

Main Interface

1. Advanced Scoreboard - yes but only some features
   
2. Cycle City Arrows - yes
   
3. Event Signs - No
   
4. Field of View - already approved
   
5. Gold Rate Warning - no
   
6. Great Person Progress Bar (GPPB) - no
   
7. Great General Progress Bar (GGPB) - no
   
8. I Love Asphalt! - no
   
9. Min/Max Commerce Buttons - yes
   
10. Movement Points - no
    
11. Not Just Another Game Clock (NJAGC) - no
    
12. Plot List Enhancement (PLE) including PLE Hover and PLE unit move highlighter - no but see below
    
13. Unit Plot additions - yes (but I thought this was already approved ... cannot find it using search)
    
14. Strategy Layer (dot mapping) - currently seeking approval as stand alone mod (will not be covered here) - @Sullla or T-Hawk ... results of the approval process are still pending
    
15. Tech Pop-up - yes
    
16. Tick Marks on Progress Bars - no
    
17. Wide City Bars - already approved?
    

City Screen

1. Raw Yields - no
   
2. improved commerce - no
   
3. Cultural and Great Person Turns (CGPT) - isn't this already in the vanilla BtS?
   
4. Whip Assistant - no
   
5. progress bar tick marks - no
   
6. specialist stacker - no
   
7. Whip Anger counter - yes
   

Other Screens

1. F1 Customizable Domestic Advisor (CDA) and Cammagno's CDA Pages- no
   
2. F2 Finances - no
   
3. F4 - Improved Foreign Advisor Info Screen (IFAIS) featuring the Improved Glance Tab - yes
   
4. F5 - BUG Military Advisor - no
   
5. F6 - Tech screen featuring Great Person Tech Preferences - yes but only some features
   
6. F7 - enhanced religious screen - yes
   
7. F8 - Enhanced Victory Screen (EVS) & the BUG Diplomatic tab - yes but only some features
   
8. F9 - Better Info Screen (BIS) featuring BUG Charts - yes
   
9. Ctrl-E - Better Espionage Screen (BES) - yes but only some features
   

Other

1. Autolog - yes
   
2. Civ4lerts & MoreCiv4lerts - no
   
3. Reminders - yes
   
4. Unit Naming - yes
   
5. Hints and Tips on loading - yes
   
6. Sevopedia - yes
   

So - that is my proposed road map for seeking approval. Does anyone else have any views on elements that I am not seeking approval for (ie you would like it to be approved?).

[Tyrmith]

Heh I remember all those SGs where Sullla got so frustrated with people only using the autologger for their turn reports.

Stupid question, but why can't you just mod it so that the output from the autologger is only given in the victory screen, and not during the actual game?

[nabaxo]

[*]I Love Asphalt! - no

Why not?

[Ruff_Hi]

Scoreboard

Info on this component can be found at http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ci...Scoreboard

The following discussion only covers items in the scoreboard that BUG adds or modifies. I am assuming that the standard scoreboard elements are auto-approved.

1. W - displays a crossed swords icon if you are at war with the civ, or a peace symbol icon if you have signed a Peace Treaty with the civ
   
2. Z - displays the civ's score variation towards previous turn (if the Score Delta checkbox is selected and according to what is selected in the Include Current Turn checkbox)
   
3. V - displays a silver star if the civ has at least one vassal
   
4. C - displays the civ's/leader's name (according to what is selected in the Display Name and Use Player Name checkboxes, and aligned according to what is selected in the Left-Align checkbox)
   
5. T - displays the tech the civ is researching, if it is known to you (as icon or name according to what is selected in the Research Icons checkbox)
   
6. D - displays a parchment icon (different from the previous one) if you have a Defensive Pact with the civ
   
7. A - displays an icon showing the civ's attitude toward you (if the Attitude Icons checkbox is selected)
   

Notes:

• The normal scoreboard only displays if you are at war, it doesn't display if you have an active peace deal
  
• I am seeking approval to display the tech icon
  
• re defensive pact ... I am unsure if the normal scoreboard displays this icon ... does it?
  

City Arrows

This link says it all ... http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ci...ity_Arrows

I Love Asphalt!

See http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ci...ve_Asphalt!

Apparently nabaxo has some other arguments that he might want to pitch in with re this portion's approval

Min / Max Buttons

http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ci...ce_Buttons

Plot List Enhancement (PLE)

No additional approval being requested. This part of BUG (the only part of PLE that I care about) has already been approved.


Tech Pop-up

Wide tech pop-up screen - http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ci...ech_Window

BTW - I am ambivalent to some of the items that I am requesting approval for. For others - I am very keen to see them approved and will keep discussing them until I am blue in the face. Do you want to know which?