CLear or Move command LINES on Squadroon screen

[waresky (OP)]

hi Steve,another independet suggestion.

Sometimes r very USEFUL not "DELETE ALL" command lines,on Squadroon windows,but MOVE up or DOWN some command orders.
Hope u understand what am mean.And in general we r more happy if u re-think whole "Command selection" or "Orders Selection" on Squadroon windows,multi capability,selection from a mini-windows, planets,list,or Bases lists..and so on.

Ty for ur awesome work.

Giorgio

[IanD]

I have to agree, would like to remove or change one line in task force screen ,but have to re-enter whole set of commands, so a delete single line and move up/down button would be very welcome.
Regards

[welchbloke]

I'd like to join the crowd and add my name to the list of people that would like the ability to move orders up and down.

[Beersatron]

Oh, this would be great!

Although, from a coding point of view I can hazard a guess as to why it was never implemented.

Do you create a new row in a table for each command and then chain them using the primary key in row 'n' as the parent_id in row 'n+1'? And then delete the row when the action has been completed so all you have to do is select top 1 from table order by primary key and TG_key? Actually, if you use that kind of query you wouldn't even need the parent_id stuff.

Hmm, I guess it is like trying to resort an array. You can add and remove from the end of an array but it is hard to insert or reorder one because you have to literally destroy the old array and just remake it.

I suppose what my ramblings are boiling down to here is that I would be interested in how you implement the TG orders.

[SteveAlt]

Simply moving orders up and down within the list would be physically easy from a coding point of view but the potential dangers are massive in terms of unexpected bugs. The orders are recorded in a list in the database with a simple MoveOrder field that controls the order in which they are executed. If you change the numbers in this field, it changes the order in which the orders are carried out. However, there is a lot more to the orders system. When you add an order, such as Jump into Sol, the program then looks at where your ship is and lists all the possible orders on the Fleet window that can take place based on where you will be once that order is carried out. If you add a second order the program re-evaluates everything and presents another set of potential orders based on where you will be after the second order is carried out.

As a simple example imagine you had the order list: Load colonists on Earth, Transit into Proxima, Unload Colonists on Proxima Prime. If you move any of those orders further up or down the list, then it will no longer work. You can imagine the potential for unexpected screw-ups and ships wandering in circles with more complex orders.

Besides, I have already implemented a new feature for v4.1 that will facilitate much quicker ordering. You can bring up a list of all colonies and if you are within four jumps (maybe further in the future) you can give an order for that colony and Aurora will fill in all the intervening orders automatically. For example, in my own game if I load a freighter with mines in Mars orbit and want to send it to Xiamen-Kan, four jumps away, I can show the list of colonies and just give the unload order to Xiamen-Kan. Aurora will fill in Transit into Sparta, Transit into Chicago, Transit into Denver and Transit into Xia before the unload order.

Steve

[welchbloke]

Simply moving orders up and down within the list would be physically easy from a coding point of view but the potential dangers are massive in terms of unexpected bugs. The orders are recorded in a list in the database with a simple MoveOrder field that controls the order in which they are executed. If you change the numbers in this field, it changes the order in which the orders are carried out. However, there is a lot more to the orders system. When you add an order, such as Jump into Sol, the program then looks at where your ship is and lists all the possible orders on the Fleet window that can take place based on where you will be once that order is carried out. If you add a second order the program re-evaluates everything and presents another set of potential orders based on where you will be after the second order is carried out.

As a simple example imagine you had the order list: Load colonists on Earth, Transit into Proxima, Unload Colonists on Proxima Prime. If you move any of those orders further up or down the list, then it will no longer work. You can imagine the potential for unexpected screw-ups and ships wandering in circles with more complex orders.

Besides, I have already implemented a new feature for v4.1 that will facilitate much quicker ordering. You can bring up a list of all colonies and if you are within four jumps (maybe further in the future) you can give an order for that colony and Aurora will fill in all the intervening orders automatically. For example, in my own game if I load a freighter with mines in Mars orbit and want to send it to Xiamen-Kan, four jumps away, I can show the list of colonies and just give the unload order to Xiamen-Kan. Aurora will fill in Transit into Sparta, Transit into Chicago, Transit into Denver and Transit into Xia before the unload order.

Steve

This sounds like enough of a change for the better for me.  I have to admit that I hadn't considered the coding implications (It's been a very long time since I cut any code).  Besides, I'd rather see 4.1 out there with all the new juicy functionality

[sloanjh]

Besides, I have already implemented a new feature for v4.1 that will facilitate much quicker ordering. You can bring up a list of all colonies and if you are within four jumps (maybe further in the future) you can give an order for that colony and Aurora will fill in all the intervening orders automatically. For example, in my own game if I load a freighter with mines in Mars orbit and want to send it to Xiamen-Kan, four jumps away, I can show the list of colonies and just give the unload order to Xiamen-Kan. Aurora will fill in Transit into Sparta, Transit into Chicago, Transit into Denver and Transit into Xia before the unload order.

A request: have the ability to ignore whether there are jump gates along the route.  At present, I'm colonizing Epsilon Eridani, which is two jumps away.  Since I've not researched jump gates yet, I've got jump ships sitting on the intervening WP.  If the route-finder uses the same one as for civilian trade, then I'm not going to be able to select EE as a destination to take advantage of this (really useful ) feature.

Thanks,
John

[waresky (OP)]

Great! and ty for take precious time to explain us some unknow behind scene:)

And ty for give us a "Piece of Dream" ive dreamed from 1980 when play on Traveller "Ahhhh...IF we have some pc aid for manage millions stars..."


Giorgio

[SteveAlt]

Besides, I have already implemented a new feature for v4.1 that will facilitate much quicker ordering. You can bring up a list of all colonies and if you are within four jumps (maybe further in the future) you can give an order for that colony and Aurora will fill in all the intervening orders automatically. For example, in my own game if I load a freighter with mines in Mars orbit and want to send it to Xiamen-Kan, four jumps away, I can show the list of colonies and just give the unload order to Xiamen-Kan. Aurora will fill in Transit into Sparta, Transit into Chicago, Transit into Denver and Transit into Xia before the unload order.

A request: have the ability to ignore whether there are jump gates along the route.  At present, I'm colonizing Epsilon Eridani, which is two jumps away.  Since I've not researched jump gates yet, I've got jump ships sitting on the intervening WP.  If the route-finder uses the same one as for civilian trade, then I'm not going to be able to select EE as a destination to take advantage of this (really useful ) feature.

I've added a checkbox called 'No Auto-route Jump Check'. If this is selected then the auto-route planning assumes the fleet is jump-capable. Of course, if there is no jump ship when you arrive at the jump point, you will still get the unable to transit message and the fleet will wait until a jump ship turns up or you change its orders.

Steve

[sloanjh]

A request: have the ability to ignore whether there are jump gates along the route.  At present, I'm colonizing Epsilon Eridani, which is two jumps away.  Since I've not researched jump gates yet, I've got jump ships sitting on the intervening WP.  If the route-finder uses the same one as for civilian trade, then I'm not going to be able to select EE as a destination to take advantage of this (really useful ) feature.

I've added a checkbox called 'No Auto-route Jump Check'. If this is selected then the auto-route planning assumes the fleet is jump-capable. Of course, if there is no jump ship when you arrive at the jump point, you will still get the unable to transit message and the fleet will wait until a jump ship turns up or you change its orders.

Thx - that's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.

John