Mind Control Bug

[Petek]

I found a bug in a current game. I have a dim memory of this bug being previously reported, but brief searches on CGN and 'poly didn't turn up anything.

Description of bug: The attached zip file contains two saves. Pre-Mind Control, 2190.sav and Post-Mind Control, 2190.sav. In the Pre-Mind Control save game, note that the Uni base Relativity School does not have a Perimeter Defense. Now use the Probe Team near the Hive's Social Engineering Den to mind control that base. Afterwards, Relativity School may now have a Perimeter Defense. The case in which it acquires a PD is illustrated in the Post-Mind Control save file. The PD is created about half the time. At first I thought it might depend on whether or not the Probe Team survives the Mind Control action, but that turned out not to be the case.

The bug occurs both in SMAX 2.0 and in SMAX with scient's patch and kyrub's patch.

[Buster's Uncle]

Is it possible that one of the Hive bases lost its PD in the process?  ISTR something like that happening on occasion anytime a base is conquered, although the base usually just randomly loses a facility...

[Yitzi]

Have you checked if it happens with non-Hive bases?

What about with Network Nodes in University bases?

[Petek]

Is it possible that one of the Hive bases lost its PD in the process?  ISTR something like that happening on occasion anytime a base is conquered, although the base usually just randomly loses a facility...

I opened the Post-Mind Control save in the Scenario Editor. All of the remaining Hive bases still have PDs. Also, the mind-controlled base still has a PD.

Have you checked if it happens with non-Hive bases?

What about with Network Nodes in University bases?

Haven't checked any of these possibilities.

[Maniac]

ISTR something like that happening on occasion anytime a base is conquered, although the base usually just randomly loses a facility...

It can happen whenever a base iq acquired of a faction with a free facility.

[Yitzi]

Does that include free facilities from projects?

And if so, what if you acquire a project; does the free facility have a chance of disappearing in the former faction's other bases?

[Lord Avalon]

Sounds like the "add free facilities" should come after the "check for loss of facility due to conquest/control."

Do you still suffer facility loss with Total Thought Control?

[Petek]

I'm afraid that a misunderstanding has arisen. Sorry if my original description of this bug wasn't as clear as it might have been. I mind-controlled a Hive base. That base had a Perimeter Defense (PD) both before and after I took it over. The bug is that another one of my bases acquired a PD after the mind control of the Hive base was complete. The base that acquired the PD always belonged to me and never to the Hive. A PD simply appeared in the base for no apparent reason. This is not the situation where you conquer a base and it loses one or more of its facilities. That situation is not a bug.

[Buster's Uncle]

I'm relying on fuzzy memory here, but I'm pretty sure I've seen that happen with a simple conquest.

[Yitzi]

I tried downloading the games and loading them, and it said they were a multiplayer game so I can't load it.  If that was MP, can you provide a SP example of the bug?

[Petek]

I'm relying on fuzzy memory here, but I'm pretty sure I've seen that happen with a simple conquest.

Yep, I think I might have seen something like this before, just couldn't find it after a brief search.

I tried downloading the games and loading them, and it said they were a multiplayer game so I can't load it.  If that was MP, can you provide a SP example of the bug?

You get that message if you try to load a SMAX game in SMAC. My saves are SMAX.

[Lord Avalon]

Er - Boom! FeatureNotABug'd!

This is an interesting occurrence.  Happened both times when I tried Mind Control and then Total Thought Control.

[Yitzi]

Well, I tried it in SMAX, and found some interesting facts:
1. If you conquer SED instead of mind controlling it, the same thing happens, even if the perimeter defense in SED is destroyed.
2. If you (using the scenario editor) remove the perimeter defense from SED, then Relativity School doesn't get the free Perimeter defense...but SED does.
3. If you add more facilities to SED, so that it loses a different one (not the perimeter defense), then Relativity School doesn't get the free Perimeter defense.
4. Destroying the Perimeter defense via sabotage does not cause any bugs.
5. It appears to occur purely with "faction power" facilities, not "free from secret project" facilities.

[Buster's Uncle]

I just found and moved this one; bumped for scient.

[gwillybj]

A late-night thought: Is Relativity School the home of the Probe that mind-controlled Social Engineering Den?