Better ship pathfinding and movement.

[Wedgebert]

I just finished a game where I was threatened with invasion by the US.  The make their threat clear they sent a gunboat off my shores.

Well, for a few months I was worried.  Then the gunboat decided it wanted to patrol my whole island and not just my docks.

So the captain slammed it into reverse, and spun the boat around the way action stars do in the movies.  Then he gunned it forward, only to hit my fisherman's wharf.

Well to make a long story short, the gunboat spent the next 2 years inside of my wharf unable to leave.  Oh it tried.  The captain would back up, turn and go back forward but to no avial.  Finally after 2 years he got loose somehow, only to trap himself between the wharf and the shore nearby.  I guess a gap 4 boat lengths wide is kinda hard to hit.

I have the same problem at docks.  When there is more than one boat there, traffic jams occur.  The first boat docks fine, the second boat takes a position straight out from the docks.

Well when the first boat leaves, it tries to ram the second boat.  It takes a few months before the first boat gets sick of sitting there and just drives over the second boat, thus freeing both of them.


So how about boats that don't act like weird cars?  Maybe have them not stop on a dime?   And improved pathfinding/dock usage.  Have ships that leave dock circle around, and not turn straight out, right into the next waiting ship.

[Toby]

This issue deserves a reply.
In my current game, I have twice had to demolish a dock, in order to free the 4-5 ships trapped between the dock and the nearby fishing wharf.
The current ship path-finding does need improving.
Mind you, so do the workers. I have often done a 'where are all my teamsters at X office', only to find one of them on the wrong side of the island to both home, work and all facilities he needs.
I looked at the last ones thoughts, which were along the lines of;
'I need a walk'
'I think I'll go out and stretch my legs'
'Ah, time for some fresh air'
'What a lovely day for a walk'
Substitute the above for all the correct ones, but all his thoughts were along these lines.
After watching this guy for about 4 months, and amazed that he hadn't died of fatigue, let alone starvation, I left him wandering around his tobacco field, that clearly he held in such awe
Toby

[Peron]

 I thought it was just my problem.  I don't mean to imply that I am glad others are having the problem, but I am glad it isn't corrupted gamefiles.

  Here's what happened to me:

 The US sends the gunboat.  That's bad.

 This time they dont invade, and that's good.

  They give me the message about ordering the gunboat out of the area.  

 But the gunboat stays.

 Not a month goes by and the US is riled again and sends a gunboat.

 There is already a gunboat in the harbor.

 Nevertheless ANOTHER gunboat appears, and only then fo I notice that the first gunboat is hopelessly hung on the dock and can't leave.

 When the US tmercifully orders the gunboat away, the second one leaves with no problem.  The first one was still stuck.

 Only by destroying the dock (which isn't always economically a good idea in your game where you need every dock you have for your tight money supply!) was I able to  get the 1st ship to finally leave.

 I am using the 1.02 patch which supposedly fixed other shipping issues, but apparently overlooked them in the case of the gunboat.

[Coconut Kid]

Although these things are not specifically mentioned in the Changelog history, version 1.03 patch was quite extensive and probably corrected these problems. At least one would think so since there are not a lot of posts about such problems.

Players should, however, be aware that the three buildings which involve sea going units must not be placed too close together. A lot of room between them is needed to keep the various ships' paths from getting tangled.

One Port per side (4 ea) of the island is generally a great plenty.