After discussion on IRC with Epic| I've got idea for possible solution of research queuing.
The idea is to have some predefined patches, like templates for designs and / or UI (similar to load / save game, but with tech icons) to select technologies to research (goals) for which would be resolved dependencies after selecting which goal we want to achieve.
This way we don't need to find hard to do solution to visualize our complex dependencies (research graph in guide is nightmare).
It would make playing lot easier, especially for new users, but I'm not sure if predefined templates should be allowed too (to do not make it to easy), however these would be smaller gain than for example already available design templates.
In case of manual editor queue editing (typing in technology names / IDs, with possible auto completion) queue resolver would skip invalid tech IDs and generate (maybe also visualize) linear patch to get designed research goal.
Those patches could be set to all labs (default) or to each one separately (algorithm should avoid duplicating work).
Extension: it would be nice also to set design template as research goal.
Solution for research queue
Solution for research queue
Nadszedł już czas, najwyższy czas, nienawiść zniszczyć w sobie.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
Re: Solution for research queue
I've been thinking about this myself. I can't decide if it is good or bad thing.
As I have memory problems, I can never remember the path to a given research goal. But this causes me to research all sorts of things I would not normally research. And then I try some of them out = it's making me see more of the game than I would if I just researched same things every time.
Most AIs will have a fixed set of research goals, and there are now functions persueResearch() that, given a specific goal, will tell you what the next item towards that goal is that's not currently being researched by you or ally. This is what's allowing the new breed of JS AI's to perform their research without lots of pain for developers.
I think that is one of the strengths of AI - it can do some stuff like this that humans can't. It can keep it's buildings busy at all times, whereas human is often delayed in their response thus losing efficiency with their buildings (but making up for it with much better adaptability of the human brain).
What I would like to try, if made possible by the game APIs, is something where humans could research "assistant" AIs. Once they research an assistant, such as a "research assistant", they can send it instructions like "I need VTOLs!" then the assistant goes off and makes that happen for them. In this way, human players could augment their capabilities with "assistant" AIs.
As I have memory problems, I can never remember the path to a given research goal. But this causes me to research all sorts of things I would not normally research. And then I try some of them out = it's making me see more of the game than I would if I just researched same things every time.
Most AIs will have a fixed set of research goals, and there are now functions persueResearch() that, given a specific goal, will tell you what the next item towards that goal is that's not currently being researched by you or ally. This is what's allowing the new breed of JS AI's to perform their research without lots of pain for developers.
I think that is one of the strengths of AI - it can do some stuff like this that humans can't. It can keep it's buildings busy at all times, whereas human is often delayed in their response thus losing efficiency with their buildings (but making up for it with much better adaptability of the human brain).
What I would like to try, if made possible by the game APIs, is something where humans could research "assistant" AIs. Once they research an assistant, such as a "research assistant", they can send it instructions like "I need VTOLs!" then the assistant goes off and makes that happen for them. In this way, human players could augment their capabilities with "assistant" AIs.
"Dedicated to discovering Warzone artefacts, and sharing them freely for the benefit of the community."
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
Re: Solution for research queue
Also, for me, trying to find my way through the huge warzone research tree is part of what makes warzone.. warzone! If that all got simplified away, I'm not sure I would like the game as much. Trying to work out what to research next, and often being given so many choices as to boggle the mind, is part of what makes the game fun.
"Dedicated to discovering Warzone artefacts, and sharing them freely for the benefit of the community."
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
Re: Solution for research queue
Well, AI based helper is also good idea, maybe it should need new structure or reuse exiting one (HQ module again 
).
But in both cases this should have some disadvantages, to make people still think.
Like listing only some goals, for example T1 ones until we have all of them researched, etc.
).But in both cases this should have some disadvantages, to make people still think.
Like listing only some goals, for example T1 ones until we have all of them researched, etc.
Nadszedł już czas, najwyższy czas, nienawiść zniszczyć w sobie.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
Re: Solution for research queue
One more approach, to not make it to easy to use, instead of follow automatically selected patch, only filter out (maybe gray out and put on the end) technologies not required to get to goal.
And as there is already pursueResearch() for AIs then it's logic could be reused to get dependencies list.
And as there is already pursueResearch() for AIs then it's logic could be reused to get dependencies list.
Nadszedł już czas, najwyższy czas, nienawiść zniszczyć w sobie.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
Re: Solution for research queue
It would be better to remove those useless "+" icons on techs and replace them with a * (asterisk) or something like that, indicating which items you need to research to get to your chosen target.
"Dedicated to discovering Warzone artefacts, and sharing them freely for the benefit of the community."
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
Re: Solution for research queue
I would like more filtering (input technology name) or icons for main research goals.
Selecting them would hide or gray out other technologies.
Selecting them would hide or gray out other technologies.
Nadszedł już czas, najwyższy czas, nienawiść zniszczyć w sobie.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
Re: Solution for research queue
I'm not sure I'd want the other tech greyed out or hidden. I'd want to see all avail research, but have the techs that get me to my goal marked in some way so I can spot where I _should_ be researching, but not forced to research only that path.
"Dedicated to discovering Warzone artefacts, and sharing them freely for the benefit of the community."
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
Re: Solution for research queue
aubergine, I want the same, but I think that one of those would be best way to make them distinct - put first and with different background, or temporary hide others.
Nadszedł już czas, najwyższy czas, nienawiść zniszczyć w sobie.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
Re: Solution for research queue
I think for the user to specify their goal, they should type in the ID of the research and we should tell them that to get the ID they have to find it in the guide - that way they learn to look at the guide for more in-depth info about research...
"Dedicated to discovering Warzone artefacts, and sharing them freely for the benefit of the community."
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
Re: Solution for research queue
I'm not sure if forcing them to switch to browser while playing is good, even if we would have guide built in or available through game window (as someone proposed in the past).
More like some kind of visualization, simplified, like in Earth 2150 (but there branches didn't intersect).
More like some kind of visualization, simplified, like in Earth 2150 (but there branches didn't intersect).
Nadszedł już czas, najwyższy czas, nienawiść zniszczyć w sobie.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
Re: Solution for research queue
Or "children" (as new technologies available after researching given item) browser, like long press on item showing what it will unlock, graying out those which have other unsatisfied dependencies (and show them somehow, tooltip like list with icons could be enough) and buttons to go back to "normal" view.
Nadszedł już czas, najwyższy czas, nienawiść zniszczyć w sobie.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
The time has come, the high time, to destroy hatred in oneself.
Beware! Mad Qt Evangelist.
Re: Solution for research queue
Well, there are some distinct research categories that I've identified:
* AA guns
* Artillery
* Assimilate (nexus link)
* Cyborgs
* Buildings (base structure materials)
* Cannons
* Commanders
* Droids (armour, bodies, propulsions)
* EMP
* Flamers
* Lasers
* Machineguns
* Missiles
* Mortars
* Perimeter (base defences & walls)
* Power (generators)
* Railguns
* Repair (incl. VTOL Rearming)
* Research (synaptic link, etc)
* Rockets
* Sensors
* VTOLs
Condense that down a bit and you could provide a succinct menu, maybe with checkboxes against items so user could tick the things they want to get to and then have relevant tech highlighted for them when looking at their labs.
* AA guns
* Artillery
* Assimilate (nexus link)
* Cyborgs
* Buildings (base structure materials)
* Cannons
* Commanders
* Droids (armour, bodies, propulsions)
* EMP
* Flamers
* Lasers
* Machineguns
* Missiles
* Mortars
* Perimeter (base defences & walls)
* Power (generators)
* Railguns
* Repair (incl. VTOL Rearming)
* Research (synaptic link, etc)
* Rockets
* Sensors
* VTOLs
Condense that down a bit and you could provide a succinct menu, maybe with checkboxes against items so user could tick the things they want to get to and then have relevant tech highlighted for them when looking at their labs.
"Dedicated to discovering Warzone artefacts, and sharing them freely for the benefit of the community."
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
Re: Solution for research queue
Hrm, yes, showing what a tech will enable if researched sounds like a good plan... However, most things require two parent techs to enable them, and then there's a bunch of really weird "redundant requirement" links that I found when I dug through the tech tree...
"Dedicated to discovering Warzone artefacts, and sharing them freely for the benefit of the community."
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
-- https://warzone.atlassian.net/wiki/display/GO
Re: Solution for research queue
you got any screen shots on what this would look like?