class 6 weird stuff

[sbpc1]

did you know class 6 units (structures) can have a movement value (and a movement type) AND have transports attached, such as a truck, irrespective of movement value.
they can be soft or hard targets, i think.
one possible use is for no retreat/ no surrender infantry (fgiannet suggested to me maybe useful for the soviets or japanese units)
a unit could switch between class 0 and class 6, maybe?
i'm going to try and design a unit that switches from class 2 to class 6 but only on a hill/hilltop hex (trying to simulate a "field hq"). needs a movement type creating, i think.
might try switching a bride engineer on a river to and actual bridge structure (its odd how bridges retreat, isn't it?)

has anyone had any success with "remove traits" in the equip file or is it not functional?

still pushing the game's limits 10 years on. i'd like the games author to come back and finish some stuff such as class effects/bonuses/maluses.

[cw58]

"remove traits" does work but keep in mind that not all traits are actually working; some traits ended up hard-coded. Examples: "alpine" doesn't work and is tied to alpine movement mode; "fixt" & "rott" do not work as they are hard-coded to the AT & Tank classes, respectively.

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27044
https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewto ... 47&t=36381

One other thing to note is the "nopurchase" trait for multi-purpose units. If you have a unit with more than 2 switches, using "nopurchase" on the 2nd and 3rd switch will cause the game to crash. I don't use "nopurchase" at all, preferring to use availability dates (ex. 01.01.1950) to keep the switches from showing up in the purchase screen.

[sbpc1]

i wanted to use "noreplace" as a remove trait on class 6. didn't seem to work although noreplace works as a trait/add trait for other units.
class 6 comes with "noreplace" built in to it as a class inheritance/bonus which is good for actual structues like a fort but not so good for no retreat/no surrender infantry.

anyone care to test this crazy stuff?

good information, cw58, re: "nopurchase" for 3-way switching units. could you post and example (screenshot from part of the .pzdat file or spreadsheet will do). seen it used for the german 88mm as aa/at/art i think. but can the ai use it?

[cw58]

As I no longer use the "nopurchase" trait in my eq file, I borrowed a screenshot from the PAK-mod's file.

triple-switch.jpg (122.8 KiB) Viewed 662 times

This is the German 88mm Flak with 3-way switch. Note the "nopurchase" trait on the 2nd entry and the availability date on the 3rd entry. If they had used "nopurchase" on the 3rd, the game would crash. If I remember right, the crash happens as you try to cycle thru that 3rd switch but it's been a long time since I've worked with that issue. As far as the AI using it, I know it will use 2-way switches but it seems totally random when it switches. So it would probably cycle thru the switches but I would expect it to be in a random manner.

I'd have to do some testing to confirm the issue with the "noreplace" trait on class 6 units. I don't know if "Remove Traits" actually works; usually you can remove a hard-coded trait by entering that trait into the "Add Traits" column. Ex: adding "reconmove" to the "Add Traits" of a class 2 unit removes its reconmove ability. I think I tried doing that with class 6 units to allow replacements but, again, it's been a long time and my memory is not what it once was.

One thing I have noticed is that the AI will sometimes replace strength points on forts. I'm not sure how it's doing that because, so far, I have not been able to replicate that.

[cw58]

I did a few tests:

I tried "noreplace" (for class 6 units) in "Add Traits" and then in "Remove Traits". There was no change; I could not add replacements in either case.

To test "Remove Traits" I tried to remove "reconmove" from a class 2 unit. First, I tried entering "reconmove" in the "Add Traits" and this removed the reconmove ability from that unit, as expected. After reverting back to the original entries, I tried removing it by entering "reconmove" in the "Remove Traits". This had no effect; the unit still had reconmove ability. This leads me to believe that the "Remove Traits" is non-functional.

Looking at the original equipment file, it seems to me that the developer had started out in one direction and then changed course in the middle of his project. But still a great game!

[cw58]

"remove traits" does work but keep in mind that not all traits are actually working; some traits ended up hard-coded. Examples: "alpine" doesn't work and is tied to alpine movement mode; "fixt" & "rott" do not work as they are hard-coded to the AT & Tank classes, respectively.

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27044
https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewto ... 47&t=36381

One other thing to note is the "nopurchase" trait for multi-purpose units. If you have a unit with more than 2 switches, using "nopurchase" on the 2nd and 3rd switch will cause the game to crash. I don't use "nopurchase" at all, preferring to use availability dates (ex. 01.01.1950) to keep the switches from showing up in the purchase screen.

Edit: after further testing, "Remove Traits" does not appear to function. You can remove a hard-coded trait (like class 2 reconmove) by entering the trait in "Add Traits". Ex: entering "reconmove" in "Add Traits" for a class 2 unit removes that trait from that unit. This post is to correct the info I posted earlier that was incorrect.

[sbpc1]

tried adding "noreplace" in "Add Traits" for a class 6 unit but it didn't add back in the ability to give replacements that class 6 lacks by default. maybe it can ONLY remove a trait - like "reconmove" for class 2 - not toggle back on like an on/off switch.

you can write scenario scripts to set/increase/decrease the strength of a unit irrespective of class type or max strength.

weird stuff. possibly all due to the game being a bit unfinished - not buggy, though.