5.1.17 Bugs/Features

[megapolis]

Hi David,

I am doing a long run of 5.1.17 now with all three DLCs active. Here are my findings:

1. Product customization cannot be turned off when starting using script. I had to set it's level to low and simply not use it. However old-style technology disruption is working.
2. Resource premium for some resources is a number common for all cities. It looks weird and AI has certain problems with this. Is it a bug or a feature? In case of a feature it is kinda weird and unbalanced.
3. You can buy soft/internet technologies from parent company with unlimited premium. For regular techs it is limited by 5x normal price which is also not good.
4. Bug: game crashes when you try to buy obsolete camera phone technology from anyone.
5. Bug: AI friendly merge leads to 30 tech in all fields for buying company.
6. Cannot setup radical R&D in subsidiary. Aggressiveness dialog is empty.
7. What Progect Manager and Programmer skills are for? Will adding a second programmer help?
8. Internet companies can advertize in media of own city only. However AI can add media from other cities.
9. Stock focused companies price drops to zero (old bug, I remember it a couple of years ago. "It never happened before and now again" )
10. e-commerce idea is kinda buggy as a whole.
10.1. e-commerce. In a setup where all goods are produced by parent and sold by subsidiary, setting up e-commerce leads to following effects. a) all the prices in subsidiary retailers are set to price agreement. b)the price of this price agreement is set to the same value in all the cities. c)all sales are heading towards zero despite positive rating
10.2. e-commerce. software products without retail sales cannot be advertized. (don't know if it is applied to manufactured goods)

Enough for now. I will continue my run and will report back if I will find something new.

Cheers,
megapolis

[David]

We have been testing and fixing the issues you mentioned one by one.

5. Bug: AI friendly merge leads to 30 tech in all fields for buying company.

For this one, we were not able to replicate the issue in our testing. Please see the attached screenshots. The company has executed a friendly merger and it still got technologies which are above 30.

For our debugging, could you please provide a save game prior to the friendly merger that will result in the issue you described?

9. Stock focused companies price drops to zero (old bug, I remember it a couple of years ago. "It never happened before and now again" )

Please also provide a save game with the above issue as well.

[David]

4. Bug: game crashes when you try to buy obsolete camera phone technology from anyone.

I have tested this one also and it worked properly without any crashes. Could you please send me your save game file for debugging?

1. Product customization cannot be turned off when starting using script. I had to set it's level to low and simply not use it. However old-style technology
6. Cannot setup radical R&D in subsidiary. Aggressiveness dialog is empty.

These two bugs have been fixed in the latest version v5.1.21.

[megapolis]

Hi David,

Thanks for your answers. I have PMd you a couple of save files that describes the problems I have mentioned.
First save explains Stock Focused companies price drop. at the time of a save there are three stock focused companies and they already are at around 10-20% of their value. As I remember, one of them will have a stock merge within a year.
Second save explains "all tech 30" bug that I mentioned. Unfortunately I was not clear enough on a nature of a bug. It does not affect techs that are above 30. It affects techs that are already dropped to 9. As a result of a merge of two companies with technology level 9, resulting company will receive technology level 30 in all fields below 30. Also it will receive tech30 in all software/internet fields.
Unfortunately I also cannot find a save that reproduces the crash when buying obsolete tech. Probably it is a combination of several events.

[David]

We have got these 2 bugs fixed. Please download the latest patch v5.2.02 from viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4768

Could you please explain below in more detail?

2. Resource premium for some resources is a number common for all cities. It looks weird and AI has certain problems with this. Is it a bug or a feature? In case of a feature it is kinda weird and unbalanced.

Could you please provide a save game with the following issue?

10.1. e-commerce. In a setup where all goods are produced by parent and sold by subsidiary, setting up e-commerce leads to following effects. a) all the prices in subsidiary retailers are set to price agreement. b)the price of this price agreement is set to the same value in all the cities. c)all sales are heading towards zero despite positive rating

[megapolis]

David,

I have sent you PM with save file that explains ecommerce issue.

As for resource premium, looks like the problem is that now the limit for mines that can be setup without premium is common for all cities. Previously the limit was counted independently for each city and second (third, fourth) mine in each particular city was bought at a premium. Now in my setup with 14 cities, first 14 Chemical Minerals mines were bought at original price while next were bought at a premium. It led to all mining concentrated in the same city.
You can find it in save files that I sent previously (in my last save half of expensive mines were already demolished)

By the way talking about mining. Looks like AI cannot develop mines. they all are lvl1 despite the fact that in my setup resources are unlimited.

[David]

As for resource premium, looks like the problem is that now the limit for mines that can be setup without premium is common for all cities. Previously the limit was counted independently for each city and second (third, fourth) mine in each particular city was bought at a premium. Now in my setup with 14 cities, first 14 Chemical Minerals mines were bought at original price while next were bought at a premium. It led to all mining concentrated in the same city.
You can find it in save files that I sent previously (in my last save half of expensive mines were already demolished)

I've loaded your save game and noticed that the chemical minerals mines are distributed various cities. In one city, there are 4 chemical minerals mines and that's the largest number of such mines in a single city.

Also I asked the dev team and I was told that they haven't changed the code of resource premium for a long time.

[David]

10.2. e-commerce. software products without retail sales cannot be advertized. (don't know if it is applied to manufactured goods)

In the latest version 5.2.03, you will be able to set up Advertising Unit in a software dev firm and link it to a Project Management unit to advertise the software being developed. Please give it a try.

[megapolis]

As for resource premium, looks like the problem is that now the limit for mines that can be setup without premium is common for all cities. Previously the limit was counted independently for each city and second (third, fourth) mine in each particular city was bought at a premium. Now in my setup with 14 cities, first 14 Chemical Minerals mines were bought at original price while next were bought at a premium. It led to all mining concentrated in the same city.
You can find it in save files that I sent previously (in my last save half of expensive mines were already demolished)

I've loaded your save game and noticed that the chemical minerals mines are distributed various cities. In one city, there are 4 chemical minerals mines and that's the largest number of such mines in a single city.

Also I asked the dev team and I was told that they haven't changed the code of resource premium for a long time.

check older saves that I sent you. in one of them there are 26 chemical minerals mines. maximum 6 in one of the cities and one of the cities without chemical minerals mines. and the main story is that there is a flat 2000% premium to the price regardless of the city. whether you want to setup the first mine or seventh, you have to pay 2000% premium.

[megapolis]

10.2. e-commerce. software products without retail sales cannot be advertized. (don't know if it is applied to manufactured goods)

In the latest version 5.2.03, you will be able to set up Advertising Unit in a software dev firm and link it to a Project Management unit to advertise the software being developed. Please give it a try.

oh, I'd love to but I cannot start a new run. too much effort was invested in the current run.