Technical question on running turns

[Grandpa Kim]

I have a question that, possibly, no one but Aaron can answer.

When you run a turn, you generate new .gam, .trn, and .cmb files. If you take the same files (not the newly generated ones!) and run the turn again, will you get exactly the same result?

Now, some things won't change. If you build a mineral miner, the result will be the same in both iterations. One variable, though, is travel routing around damaging storms etc. This could change, minor though it would be. Combat could result in major differences. A few lucky or unlucky shots early in a combat could change the result considerably.

It seems to me that re-running the turn over and over would give slightly different results each time, but I just don't know if that is true.

[Baron Munchausen]

It seems to me that re-running the turn over and over would give slightly different results each time, but I just don't know if that is true.

Absolutely. There are many 'pseudo random' factors in the workings of the game. These probably run off the system clock but there are other ways of generating random numbers. So yes, re-running the same turn will always produce slightly different results, and sometimes produce drastically different results.

[PvK]

Yep.

[geoschmo]

Not only are Pvk and Baron 100% correct, you can even verify it for yourself GrandPa. Set up a test game and copy the turn to a different folder. Run it, check the results, copy the original files back to the savegame folder run it again and compare.

[Grandpa Kim]

You have me so thoroughly convinced, I wonder how I ever doubted it!