Figured out they are subject to the same "retirement" that happens to other barbarian units. Tech details - ".../share/freeciv/nation/animals.ruleset" has the line -
groups="Core", "Barbarian"
just like ".../share/freeciv/nation/barbarian.ruleset" and ".../share/freeciv/nation/pirate.ruleset". This behavior must be hard-coded, I can't find any way for ruleset files to configure it. Maybe there should be some way added to allow a ruleset to control barbarian behavior.
Meanwhile I have a work-around, adding code in the "script.lua" file to catch when an animal gets retired, and re-spawn a replacement
Code: Select all
function unit_lost_callback(unit, loser, reason)
nation = loser.nation:name_translation()
if nation == "Animal Kingdom" and reason == "retired" then
edit.create_unit(loser, unit.tile, unit.utype, 0, unit.homecity, -1)
end
-- continue processing
return false
end
signal.connect("unit_lost", "unit_lost_callback")