New abilities to increase flexibility

[theCAS]

I think that some abilities, even if overpowered for general use, can be extremely useful in special cases.

Autodidact: unit gains 1 XP per level if it does nothing (0 level units gain 1 XP per turn).

Possible uses:
1) increase build time.
Right now every unit is built in just one turn, but if we do something like:

Dragon Egg, Level 0
Autodidact
Attacks: 0-0
HP: 10
MP: 0
Levels into Dragon with 3 XP

We can have a unit that takes 3 turns to become something usefull, the egg must be protected and uses a slot in the castle so you must plan carefully your moves.

Another example:
Gargoyle
Level 2
Powerful unit
Levels into Statue with 30 XP

Statue
Level 3
Autodidact
HP: 30
MP: 0
levels into Gargoyle with 9XP

You use Gargoyles to fight, but after some battles they must spend 3 turns in their vulnerable statue form.

Another one:
Siege units, like the catapult in imperial era.

Builders
Level 0
autodidact
Weak or No Attack
MP: 6
levels into Catapult with 2XP

Catapult:
level 1
MP: 2
Powerful attack

You use the builders to move quickly to the enemy castle than in two turns they transform into a slow but powerful catapult.

Inanimate: unit does not regenerate itself in villages and by resting, magic healing works. The units regains full health levelling or after being recalled.

This can be used to make Undead a real unique faction, or to create units that must fight and level to stay alive.
An Inanimate unit with drain would be perfect.

It would be useful for the Statue form of Gargoyles.

Mercenary: unit can't be recalled.

You can have a mercenary unit level into a standard unit (the best among the mercenaries were hired as regular/elite troops).

Campaign designers can use this ability to get rid of one-scenario units without messing with WML.

[scott]

I these ideas are awesome. Seriously.

The second one I don't like as much. I think it will be abused and introduced into normal gameplay. I do not support undeads not being healed by villages.

The first and third, especially with the examples you gave, are neat. The third one you may as well leave in WML though since it is a campaign-only scope and the campaign writer must will it to happen. In other words, it's so easy to code in WML it's not worth the trouble to code into the game. I suppose the first ability would probably be abused as well in someone's campaign.

The first and second ideas really open up new tools for campaign writers, but I don't know how you could get them implemented. Does a writer demonstrate its use to enable him to bug a coder enough for the feature? Or do the coders add the abilities and hope campaign writers will use them? Chicken and egg.

[nonobots]

I like the idea of having some units "occupied" for a set number of turns producing something else.

I would not though, use the XP to represent this. I'm not sure how you could di it otherwise though - as units don't have specific commands you can give them.

[scott]

That's the whole point. Using XP provides an elegant and convenient solution.

[theCAS]

I these ideas are awesome. Seriously.

Thanks

The second one I don't like as much. I think it will be abused and introduced into normal gameplay. I do not support undeads not being healed by villages.

Well the point of my thread is that sometimes abilities does not get implemented because they can be abused.
I don't think this is the right thing to do, since developers can easily block an unbalanced but unit creators usually don't have the knowledge to code a new ability.

BTW I personally like the idea of Undead being unable to heal themselves, it would make their units more use-and-throw-away. The entire faction would need to be rebalanced, with 1st level units made cheaper and weaker and higher level ones made more powerful, but it would give them a really unique feeling.

The first and third, especially with the examples you gave, are neat. The third one you may as well leave in WML though since it is a campaign-only scope and the campaign writer must will it to happen. In other words, it's so easy to code in WML it's not worth the trouble to code into the game.

Yeah, but the problem with WML-coded abilities is that AI doesn't recognize them and are not portable.

The first and second ideas really open up new tools for campaign writers, but I don't know how you could get them implemented.

Nor do I. I just hope the examples I gave will attract the interest of a Wesnoth hacker.

[scott]

The AI never thinks about its recall list anyway. It will recruit a mercenary if its stats are what it wants.

I actually have an idea to allow units to carry snippets of event WML around with them in the unit cfg file, which in the long run would be better than hard coding tons of abilities... but portability is a good reason for the mercenary ability.

[Kestenvarn]

The first one is terrific, and the second once sounds like it might be fairly interesting as well.

The third sounds okay... it might be better if there was an option to have certain Keeps in the game recruit different kinds of units, so you could pick up Mercenaries at a tavern, etc.

[SyKnEt]

First ability is good , but , i don't see why the third is useful , a mercenary , if the pay is good , will always join an army , but i think than upkeep X2 would be better .

(sorry for pour english )

[Disto]

First ability is good , but , i don't see why the third is useful , a mercenary , if the pay is good , will always join an army , but i think than upkeep X2 would be better .

(sorry for pour english )

Your english was fine untill you tried to say sorry for your english and wrote poor wrong Don't worry many people on the forums are international so any forumers understand unless they are joking.

[unsung]

First ability is good , but , i don't see why the third is useful , a mercenary , if the pay is good , will always join an army , but i think than upkeep X2 would be better .

(sorry for pour english )

your r english is good, but there is way to many commas. (,) plus, commas do not have a space between them and the last word( this goes for all punctuation). and you need a period after that smiley, thye are sperate sentences.

just ignore me.
If someone says something about good or bad english, I will come and correct them and be a hyopcrite while i'm at it.

[Elvish_Pillager]

The third is WML-implementable, and the first would be if my "advance" WML tag is implemented, which I think would be much more generally useful than this ability in particular.

[theCAS]

I actually have an idea to allow units to carry snippets of event WML around with them in the unit cfg file, which in the long run would be better than hard coding tons of abilities... but portability is a good reason for the mercenary ability.

That can be an excellent improvement.

Maybe it would be better to have a wml library for abilities and simply assign them in the unit cfg file.

I don't know if this is possible, maybe implementing a 'self' reference is needed.

@kesternvarn
Having a different place to recruit mercenaries is a good idea, but I'm afraid it would require large changes in the code.

In my view mercenries should be quite powerful and expensive units recruitable by most factions (as a mercenary I wouldn't work for undead )

[appleide]

I would, if the necromancer is still human and he pays me well.

[Cuyo Quiz]

Oh, he pays you well. Zombifying tends to hamper the abilities of a living body, although the fitness does affect the ritual. So its better to use you alive if you have the skills.

*releases Wraith watchman*

Don't worry, he only attacks if you betray me or scape before the contract is over. After all, you aren't exacty a paramount of righteousness, you wouldn't be a mercenary working for a secret guild if you were.