[done] Lack of food alert

[silnarm]

...i'd give people 30 seconds or so to save their troops. 30 seconds is plenty of time to build a quantum reactor.

My calculations indicate it will take a single IPV approximately 45 seconds to build a Quantum Reactor, not including the time to issue the command, or the time for the IPV to get in position. 

But we're getting off topic...

if it's the modder's choice

This is all I was getting at, the original suggestion was with hard-coded numbers, and was not configurable by the modder...

[Zoythrus]

if it's the modder's choice

This is all I was getting at, the original suggestion was with hard-coded numbers, and was not configurable by the modder...

i was going for the modder's choice idea, sorry that i didnt specify.

(and why use only 1 IPV to build a QR?)

[ElimiNator]

No, don't make this game play its self! You will eliminate strategy!

My quoted reply:

Of course, if ever implimented, the entire feature should have an INI setting to choose whether the player wants it or not.

But then I would be the only guy with it off and every one else would have a advantage.

Or if you will reach 0 ressources within the next 3(or better5?) resource calculation cycles?

This sounds fine to me.

[Ishmaru]

No, don't make this game play its self! You will eliminate strategy!

My quoted reply:

Of course, if ever implimented, the entire feature should have an INI setting to choose whether the player wants it or not.

But then I would be the only guy with it off and every one else would have a advantage.

Would make more sense as a modder specific choice than a player specific choice.

[ultifd]

Bump! I lost ~50 units yesterday because I forgot to produce chickens... Can this be implemented before the release? Is it possible...

[titi_son]

just LOOK 

[ultifd]

I was LOOKING if there was any of those Roman Anti-Air Buildings, then I heard the sound, and titi said there was one but I missed it...

[uncle]

Players should be somehow notified about a lack of food (for example when the food starts to disappear due to too few amount of cows/chickens/pigs).
It is really annoying when my troops die only because i forget to create more animals

[tomreyn]

Note: I merged Uncles' post to this existing thread on the same topic. Uncle: please try to search for existing feature requests before you post one (this one was easily identified by searching the feature requests forums for 'food'). Thank you.

[uncle]

tomreyn: OK, I will try to search it next time.

[softcoder]

initial attempt in svn for discussion shows the resource flashing between red and the normal white color (each second) when consumable reaches to 25% of max storage and balance is ticking down.

[Omega]

initial attempt in svn for discussion shows the resource flashing between red and the normal white color (each second) when consumable reaches to 25% of max storage and balance is ticking down.

Perhaps it should also turn yellow if it's ticking down but over 25%? After all, that still means insufficient food in the long run.

[titi]

Now I changed it to the following behaviour:

If you run out of food within the next 3 food cycles the warning starts.

If running out of food is within 1 food cycle warning color is red
If running out of food is within 2 food cycle warning color is orange
If running out of food is within 3 food cycle warning color is yellow

[tomreyn]

Hmm 3 food cycles can be pretty short... I guess it wouldn't be enough for me when I have -20 food per cycle and forgot to build a food production unit.

My suggestion:
Make it yellow as soon as you have negative production, make it orange when running out in 6 food cycles, flash red when 0 food cycles. This way it can still be missed but when you realise you missed it you still have a ways to recover.

[titi]

Well I don't think a negative value is already a reason to warn!
 
Maybe just stretch it a bit like this?:
yellow: within 9 food cycles
orange: within 6 food cycles
red : within 3 food cycles

I personally would prefer this.

( or 7,5,3 ? )

[Ishmaru]

I agree with tomreyn:

My suggestion:
Make it yellow as soon as you have negative production, make it orange when running out in 6 food cycles, flash red when 0 food cycles. This way it can still be missed but when you realise you missed it you still have a ways to recover.

[Coldfusionstorm]

Just...make a toogle for it please.

[will]

Ideally, can be specified in the techtree or faction xml?

[Mr War]

Will has a good point, should be in the resource XML as different tech trees may have different relevant warning levels.

[tomreyn]

Can you explain how this is techtree / faction specific? I can't think of a reason why different tech trees would need different warning levels.

[Omega]

I gotta agree with Tom here. The amount of cycles remaining is a relative term, so it should be consistent with any type of resource. It's not in any way an obtrusive warning, it simply changes the color of some already existent text, and I'd say having a negative value is reason enough to turn the white text yellow.

[will]

I was thinking of having it in the xml so that the modder can customise the colours to ensure contrast with hud and to be able to disable it or otherwise change it - imagine the future where the faction has lua hooks that fire in the human player's context - they might want to do these things themselves.

[Coldfusionstorm]

Will has a good point, should be in the resource XML as different tech trees may have different relevant warning levels.

Why not make it techtree specific, let us have alot of options when modding thats what makes great games.

[tomreyn]

I was thinking of having it in the xml so that the modder can customise the colours to ensure contrast with hud and to be able to disable it or otherwise change it - imagine the future where the faction has lua hooks that fire in the human player's context - they might want to do these things themselves.
 

So it may one day be necessary to make it configurable if some scenario has Lua functions applied to it which do strange things to food. But this seems not very probable to me, or my imagination is limited. So I'd say lets wait for until it happens. This is similar for HUD colors, while this is more likely to be an issue for someone who decides to have a mod with a red HUD, so far I'm not aware of it, and I think more changes will be necessary to support fully customizing the HUD color. But this is a different topic and a different feature. I'm marking this thread as done since Ishmaru's original feature request was implemented, but you're welcome to open a new one to have it moddable on a per-faction or per-techtree level.