ToolPrototype::order_for_unit

[thesixthroc]

The order field on science packs affects two distinct UI:

• The order in which the science packs are displayed in the 'unit' of a technology.
• The order in which technologies appear on the technology list.

Before Space Age, there was little reason to make these behave differently (and in fact a strong reason against, namely consistent UI for the player).

This is no longer the case, as Space Age mods commonly introduce a new science pack which can only be crafted in a mid or late-game world. For example, on Cerys, the Reverse-Engineered science pack is unlocked on the planet, and is the first science pack the player will craft there. Cerys technologies require that pack along with logistic and space packs that the player will craft later. In order to make the 'unit' of technologies on the Cerys tech tree comprehensible, matching the order the player will craft them, Cerys makes Reverse-Engineered pack appear first in the unit by making its 'order' place it before logistic science. However, this has the unpleasant side-effect that the Cerys technologies appear high in the technology list, even though they are not researched near the start of the overall game.

This creates a mild annoyance where players must scroll past Cerys tech in order to see early Nauvis technologies like Battery. An API order_for_unit (or order_for_technology_list) would solve this issue by allowing technologies to be placed later in the technology list without affecting the unit.

[curiosity]

Have you tried giving those technologies an order string?

[thesixthroc]

Yes, that affects their positioning within rows in the tree views, but not their grouping in the list view nor their positioning within those groups.