Big Major Long-Term Project - Fix Alliances

Zwo_Dvoongar · Space Emperor Joined: Feb 02, 2011

Now that I know which is which, it seems to me that most of the Alliance issues were script-related, rather than hard code problems. It just might be possible to make alliances functional, with enough smart scripting.

My first idea for an overall plan: Two FUNCTIONS, one to cover negotiations in which the source is an alliance member, and the other to cover when the target is an alliance member.

There probably were a couple of hard code issues which would need work-arounds, but I'd say there's an 80% chance a smart, determined team could pull it off.

I still have my own mod to finish, so I won't be available any time soon, myself. It certainly is intriguing, but I wouldn't want to even begin without someone with a little experience in the diplomacy scripts. Much of the code in there baffles me.

Zwo_Dvoongar · Space Emperor Joined: Feb 02, 2011

Okay, for those who may not know, the major issues with alliances were:

The AI does not "see" them.
The AI does not know an individual empire is in an alliance, and will still declare war on members rather than the alliance.

Alliance members do not know they are members, and will still try to negotiate as individuals. They will generally not make or respond to alliance proposals properly. The hard code blocks most, perhaps all individual-level proposals from alliance members.

If a member is at war upon forming or joining the alliance, there is no way to make peace. No proposal of that type can get in or out, and the war is hard code "registered" as being between two empires - not involving the alliance.

As I recall, declarations of war could, at least sometimes, penetrate the hard code barrier from the outside. Thus members were vulnerable, but unable to respond. Might have been treaty cancellations. It's been a long, long time. I do know new hostilities could arise, and there was no choice but violence. I just don't recall the specifics.

This is almost all script stuff. I know there was a little more, because even in games without any AI players, it was reported that alliances mucked everything up. I don't recall all the issues there. I think one of the patches fixed a hard code bug with the voting.