I have two general suggestions, and here is the first:
The first I know has been hashed about for eons, but I wanted to give my input to it. The slider bars are nothing but a micro-managment nightmare. The DD attempt at automation was terrible. I turned that on the first time, and it simply did not do anything close to what I wanted.
How irritating is it to have to adjust the sliders 4383 times in a 12 year game? If you spend 10 seconds doing this that equates to 12 hours of time! That is half a day of my life lost to something that could easily be automated to adjust to my specific needs.
I propose a simple set of buttons, check boxes, or lock mechanisms to facilitate some automated handling of the boxes. I think this can be simplified into a few catagories of a desired method of handling. Note that ALL of these must be overriden when conditions are such that values reach zero, or must come from somewhere (more on this below).
1. Keep this slider at this value exactly: If I want it to be 50, it will stay at 50 until there is no other place to borrow from. For example if I only want to allocate 50 IC to supplies indefinitely, it allows for this.
2. Keep slider at or above this setting: Allow value to go higher than this value, and any excess is split between this slider and any others allowed to go higher.
3. Keep slider at or below this setting: excess only goes to this slider up to this value. Is allowed to borrow from this slider.
4. Match Demand/need exactly: slider fluxuates with demand in this catagory. Can't borrow from, or add to.
5. Match Demand, or allow to go higher: Not allowed to go less than demand, but can borrow from until that is reached, surplus is split between bars allowed to go higher.
6. Match Demand, or allow to go lower: Not allowed to exceed demand, but system can borrow from this slider if needed.
7. Unlocked and floating: surplus goes to, or borrrowing is retrieved from this slider, and before others.
8. Set X.XX above demand.
9. Set X.XX above demand OR MORE.
Next, each slider has a unique priority from 1 to the number of sliders, none being equal. Borrowing is done from the lowest priority first when the above conditions have nothing left to borrow from based on your settings. Once that reaches zero, the next lowest priority is retrieve, etc on until everything is on one slider.
Balancing occurs once per day after the daily slider adjustments are made.
When I am playing, most of the time I do this:
1. Goods: priority 1: set to always meet demand exactly, or be X.XX above demand exactly.
2. Production: priority 2: Regardless, production is always met unless it would effect goods.
3. Supplies: priority 4: This is either fixed at X.XX, or if I had the option to set it X.XX above demand or more. Surplus goes here when upgrade demand is met.
4. Reinforcments: priority 3: Always set to meet demand unless nothing available in lower priorities.
5. Upgrade: priority 5: Meet demand or lower
Using one of the settings I suggested would allow for the computer to pretty much keep the sliders set exactly as I want them to be per my settings above.
One last item on this: I see that demand fluxates every other day. For example, on the first, metal may be +16, on the second -73, then the third +16 again, etc. This is VERY irritating and could easily be fixed to be averaged so it does not do this. This should definitely be fixed. Likewise, I have also noticed that the supply slider does this same needless fluxuation every other day. At some points, the upgrade slider does as well, but not always. Those should be averaged out to avoid the fluxuation. The upgrade bar demand should never fluxuate at all unless something is added to the list, or removed from it.
I will post the second idea separately.
The first I know has been hashed about for eons, but I wanted to give my input to it. The slider bars are nothing but a micro-managment nightmare. The DD attempt at automation was terrible. I turned that on the first time, and it simply did not do anything close to what I wanted.
How irritating is it to have to adjust the sliders 4383 times in a 12 year game? If you spend 10 seconds doing this that equates to 12 hours of time! That is half a day of my life lost to something that could easily be automated to adjust to my specific needs.
I propose a simple set of buttons, check boxes, or lock mechanisms to facilitate some automated handling of the boxes. I think this can be simplified into a few catagories of a desired method of handling. Note that ALL of these must be overriden when conditions are such that values reach zero, or must come from somewhere (more on this below).
1. Keep this slider at this value exactly: If I want it to be 50, it will stay at 50 until there is no other place to borrow from. For example if I only want to allocate 50 IC to supplies indefinitely, it allows for this.
2. Keep slider at or above this setting: Allow value to go higher than this value, and any excess is split between this slider and any others allowed to go higher.
3. Keep slider at or below this setting: excess only goes to this slider up to this value. Is allowed to borrow from this slider.
4. Match Demand/need exactly: slider fluxuates with demand in this catagory. Can't borrow from, or add to.
5. Match Demand, or allow to go higher: Not allowed to go less than demand, but can borrow from until that is reached, surplus is split between bars allowed to go higher.
6. Match Demand, or allow to go lower: Not allowed to exceed demand, but system can borrow from this slider if needed.
7. Unlocked and floating: surplus goes to, or borrrowing is retrieved from this slider, and before others.
8. Set X.XX above demand.
9. Set X.XX above demand OR MORE.
Next, each slider has a unique priority from 1 to the number of sliders, none being equal. Borrowing is done from the lowest priority first when the above conditions have nothing left to borrow from based on your settings. Once that reaches zero, the next lowest priority is retrieve, etc on until everything is on one slider.
Balancing occurs once per day after the daily slider adjustments are made.
When I am playing, most of the time I do this:
1. Goods: priority 1: set to always meet demand exactly, or be X.XX above demand exactly.
2. Production: priority 2: Regardless, production is always met unless it would effect goods.
3. Supplies: priority 4: This is either fixed at X.XX, or if I had the option to set it X.XX above demand or more. Surplus goes here when upgrade demand is met.
4. Reinforcments: priority 3: Always set to meet demand unless nothing available in lower priorities.
5. Upgrade: priority 5: Meet demand or lower
Using one of the settings I suggested would allow for the computer to pretty much keep the sliders set exactly as I want them to be per my settings above.
One last item on this: I see that demand fluxates every other day. For example, on the first, metal may be +16, on the second -73, then the third +16 again, etc. This is VERY irritating and could easily be fixed to be averaged so it does not do this. This should definitely be fixed. Likewise, I have also noticed that the supply slider does this same needless fluxuation every other day. At some points, the upgrade slider does as well, but not always. Those should be averaged out to avoid the fluxuation. The upgrade bar demand should never fluxuate at all unless something is added to the list, or removed from it.
I will post the second idea separately.
