[PATCH] mace_champion_infantry unlocked in barracks without unlocking it

[fatherbushido]

Due to promote stuff, when upgrade_mace_silvershields is searched, mace_champion_infantry are unlocked in barracks (no need to search unlock_champion_units)

[Itms]

Could you please submit the patch as a diff and not as an archive? If it is too big to do so, it is probably not a good idea to fix it now (and the problem you describe doesn't sound like a release blocker anyway)

[elexis]

This is a bugfix with the aim to improve the balancing.

Bug: If macedonian researches the silver shield upgrade they can produce champs from barracks without being required to research that tech at the barracks.

Priority: Release blocker no, nice to have yes.

Reasoning (sparta vs mace):

• Macedonian is overpowered, sparta is underpowered (so only fetishists would take sparta)

• Sparta civ disadvantages:
  • 10% less population (big one)
  • Need special buildings to produce champs (big one)
    • champ production starts much later
    • champ production much slower
  • No walls
  • No cavalry champs
  • Champ attack damage mediocre, no comparison to mace
• Macedonian civ advantages:
  • Produce champs from barracks and fortresses
  • Strongest champs in the game
  • no pop limit, cavalry champs, walls available

Discussions:

• Sparta having many disadvantages but only one advantage is often mentioned in the lobby
• Sparta buffs have been proposed often and been discussed without further ado in #0ad-sparta yesterday (including fatherbushido, scythetwirler and sanderd17 and me)

• Conclusion:
  • I couldn't convince others to buff sparta attack damage
  • fatherbushido prefers proper fixes and sticking to the design doc ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • Apparently the doc somewhere says that all spartan champs could be spawned as promoted veterans (like the age 2 swordsmen already do) (but would be a too big change for alpha 20)
  • This bugfix is small and would remove one of the unintended macedonian advantages.

[fatherbushido]

It seems that actual templates for those champs use some workaround (promoting instead of the tech) to modify Health/Max (the tech can do this), VisualActor (the tech can do this) and Identity/SpecificName (the tech can't do this).

[sanderd17]

In 17954:

Fix promotion of barrack champions for the Macedonians. Fixes #3853. Patch by fatherbushido.