Questions about Defining Resource Routes

[BrianJH]

I'm curious. While starting a new game, and in setting up the resource routes for the United Kingdom, I've noticed for some time, that manually adjusting the sea areas that a particular resource traverses to it's destination does not change. For example, a Canadian resource in Rouyn by default is sent to Southampton for production. I'd like the resource to traverse via the Faeroes Gap, but system is always overriding my manual settings and insists on traversing the Bay of Biscay instead. So, to my surprise, when I changed this resource to be produced in Glasgow instead, if by magic, it now traverses the Faeros Gap as I want it to.

Now, this seems to me very much like a shortest path algoritm is in play here. Which is fine for the automatically generated computed defined paths, but I don't think such an algorithm, if it exists, should play any part in User defined routes. It shouldn't matter how inefficient such a player defined path is, as it may be the case the player is deliberately defining a longer path to avoid Axis interdiction, for example. So, resources need to travel further, but for a reason, something that a computer AI is never necessarily going to fully comprehend. The only thing the computer should check is, if the route the user wants is legal, especially when you consider lent resources to other Major Powers, as these take precedence, in that they must be delivered if at all possible even at the expense of non-delivery of other resources. This is probably one exception when the computer might need to enforce a shorted path to ensure such delivery, there may be other examples, but it shouldn't always occur if a user defines a less efficient path that achieves the desired result legally.

In the mid-game, the United Kingdom will usually want to route resources to Russia via the Persian Gulf. When placing convoy points in the West Indian sea area, real weird things start to happen, in particular with the resource that's normally sent from Australia to the United Kingdom. It now tries to traverse the convoy point placed in the West Indian sea area, and no attempt in changing this route is possible, similar in the case mentioned above between Canada and the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, I see no workaround for this issue, other than not placing convoy points there.

So it looks like some sort of shortest path algorithm is in play here. Steve can you confirm?

If this is the case, can I humbly request that this feature *sic* be turned off for user defined (default, override)route paths and leave the algorithm in place just for the computed paths? (with possibly the exceptions noted above). As I suspect, it's this feature which is leading to allot of frustration with this aspect of the game.


Brian.

[Centuur]

Good question. I don't like this automatic calculation which ignores players setting at all, especially when a player wants to do something which is allowed according to the rules...

[paulderynck]

A good deal of the complexity is due to the player possibly trying to do something that is against the rules.

[warspite1]

I think you are right, and that given the complexity of the game, players trying things that are not allowed is occasionally (often?) the issue rather than the program.

However, when you get players of the calibre of AllenK and Orm not being able to get simple things to work then there is a very real problem with the program.

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

A good deal of the complexity is due to the player possibly trying to do something that is against the rules.

I think it would be better if the game allowed all changes and then made a check against the rules. If no rules where broken then the game can proceed. If not, then it is halted until fixed by the player.

I do understand the reason for why it isn't that way. But then you have to make a system that is almost flawless in its resource routing. And the current system is anything but. Some 'bugs' in it has been for far to long and has a negative impact on the game.

[Centuur]

A bug has nothing to do with doing things which are against the rules. MWIF should enforce the rules and should do so, regardless of what it calculates. That't the problem here.

And I'm sorry to say, but the convoy routing system:

- Doesn't enforce the rules at all times, especially when build point have to be delivered.
- Repeatedly makes mistakes when recomputing convoy routes which are perfectly allright and according to the rules, which messes up the result the player wants.