Change: Remove land generator setting from World Generation GUI

[2TallTyler]

Motivation / Problem

In a Discord discussion about #10092, @JGRennison and @LordAro suggested removing the original map generator code entirely. I'm not willing to die on that hill, but there's no reason the setting needs to be in the already-cluttered World Generation GUI.

Description

Removes the dropdown selector from the World Generation GUI.

Players who wish to select the original land generator can do so in Settings.

Limitations

• "We should not be simplifying the game to appeal to new players," etc...

Checklist for review

Some things are not automated, and forgotten often. This list is a reminder for the reviewers.

• The bug fix is important enough to be backported? (label: 'backport requested')
• This PR touches english.txt or translations? Check the guidelines
• This PR affects the save game format? (label 'savegame upgrade')
• This PR affects the GS/AI API? (label 'needs review: Script API')
  • ai_changelog.hpp, gs_changelog.hpp need updating.
  • The compatibility wrappers (compat_*.nut) need updating.
• This PR affects the NewGRF API? (label 'needs review: NewGRF')
  • newgrf_debug_data.h may need updating.
  • PR must be added to API tracker

[LC-Zorg]

If this option will be still available in the settings window, from my point of view it doesn't make much sense to keep that in a new game window as well. It seems to be used very rarely. Personally, I only used it once and only to see what it changed. Well, the old style maps aren't very interesting and playable.
Instead, it would be nice to be able to see the setting for the trees again, preferably one that could tell you how many trees will be on the map. :)

[Arastais]

I personally think this is a great change overall, and don't think it simplifies the game for new players - rather it just simplifies the world generation UI. Plus, all it really does it removes some UI anyway; The setting is already there so this makes the most sense to just remove the redundant UI. I also agree that the old land generation should be kept around just as a feature, but it's used infrequently enough that it doesn't need to be a main part of the UI.

Assumin you're referring to the SF_NEWGAME_ONLY in world_settings.ini, i think it makes the most sense to keep that flag. It's already had that flag and all this PR is doing is removing the GUI, so it makes sense to keep it. Also, an even better argument is that it doesn't really make sense to change the land-generation mid-game (or on an existing save). Even though it probably won't have any effect, it's probably best to keep that flag just for the sake of it's only meant to affect new games. Not to mention it will probably confuse people if hey can change the setting in the settings UI in the middle of a game.

[2TallTyler]

Updated for #10058 (including screenshot in PR description).

[LordAro]

Currently this has an issue that LC alluded too - the setting is now only in the config file - if you upgrade with it set to TTD-mapgen, there's no obvious way of changing it to TGP.

Obvious solution would be to add it somewhere in the settings window

[2TallTyler]

Turns out it was already in the Settings window, but the original PR commit broke strings and the dropdown. Try now. 🙂

[rubidium42]

Not caused by this change... but maybe more noticable due to this.
When you change the generator setting in the Settings window, the UI of World Generation does not get updated. So the UI will still show the TGP fields, but when clicking on Generate you get a map made with the original logic.

[2TallTyler]

I'm unable to reproduce that behavior either on current master or in the Preview build of this PR. When I change the land generator setting, it is automatically changed in the world gen UI — in master the generator dropdown is updated and in both the TGP fields are disabled.

Can you go into more detail about how to reproduce this?

[rubidium42]

Can you go into more detail about how to reproduce this?

In the preview build I opened the World Generation window, then the Settings window and I changed the Land Generator setting in the Setting window. Then the World Generation window does not get updated, i.e. the disabled buttons are not enabled.

In master the buttons do not change either, although... the drop down slowly changes as vehicles are moving behind it. Similarly, changing the Landscape from the Settings window does not (immediately?) update the World Generation window or Intro window, however changing the landscape in either the World Generation or Intro window does update the other and the setting immediately.

Changing the Land generator setting does not update the disabled status of the TGP-only input fields in master for me.

[2TallTyler]

Oh, I see now. I only had one window at a time open, going back to the main menu each time.

The same behavior is also true for any of the other buttons that are duplicated in both Settings and the World Generation GUI (why are they in Settings? Probably another discussion...).

Can we consider having both Settings and World Generation GUIs open at once to be an edge case? 🙂