Changes for v1.07

Whats the benefit/penalty, for accepting/refusing the kings request for gold.. i have always wondered..

At the moment in AoD2 if you pay the King, the REF increase threshold is raised 1 point per 10 gold. This effectively puts more time between REF increases. Or, pay off the King, and you can ring more bells before a REF increase. :)
 
- European wars (King forces you into wars with other nations)
- King's fleets (request MoW's presence to protect you)

Dale,

I was wishing this was in the game to begin with. It would create uncertainty and force the human player to be ready to fight at any time instead of just when you’re ready to DoI. I think it’s interesting that you are the one to suggest this because I wasn’t sure if it was possible, especially the request King’s forces.

The Great Apple makes a good point that it might not be fun if you are forced into war. Realistically though, colonies at the time were forced into wars. Even if you are forced into a war it doesn’t mean you have to fight, but you might still be subject to attack by the nation you are at war with, so instead you can just sit and defend until the war is over.

I had this idea; perhaps once your king has declared war on another nation and you are forced into it the king could then specifically request that you attack one specific settlement or unit. You could then accept or decline the request. The penalty or reward could be related to the REF or something else perhaps. The penalty/reward could also be related to the Kings Forces request. Perhaps you can request help from the king in return for gold per turn over a certain number of turns depending on what you request. If you decline to accept the request to attack a settlement/unit then that gold per turn will increase and vice/versa.

This will add to the warfare element that should appeal to the conquerors that play.

The Great Apple also had some great ideas for schools and immigration.

Jimbrock and Jabie had some really good ideas too that I liked. Random events would add to the flavor. Dale if you plan on implementing something like this I can help with ideas at least (I’m not great with code although I understand it as a software tech).

I definitely would be into more resources if it doesn’t hurt game play.

Additional improvements would be interesting as well. I really liked the work boat idea (I think it would be neat if you could keep the workboat or maybe after 3 improvements it is consumed (wear and tear)). More stuff for pirates to plunder the better right.
 
- European wars (King forces you into wars with other nations)

...

Perhaps you can request help from the king in return for gold per turn over a certain number of turns depending on what you request.

Not sure if i'm imagining this or not, but i seem to remember in the original the king would request/order you to go to war with someone and supply you with a handful or veteran soldiers to do so. Can anyone confirm this? Either way i think that would be good. Go to war with some one and get some free military power, or decline and have to make your own.
 
So like a tax cut/ future tax cut withheld, if you manage to take the AIs largest colony (Jamestown for instance) If the King makes you goto war, otherwise most people will sit back and do nothing.

I also thought it would be interesting to have an option to sell your goods to the black market (pirates?) with a flat tax rate of 25%, and the 25% tax goes directly to the Pirates coffers, so although you would be making money, pirates would become stronger.
 
- Mouseover information for cargo in the colony view
It would be nice if hovering over a ships cargo in a colony port brought up information on the colonists on board (as per Europe screen). Is it possible to show the units profession and specialisation without having to disembark in the colony first? i.e. I arrive in a city and have 3 pioneers, one is a criminal, one is a free colonist and one is a carpenter, but I only want the carpenter to leave the ship and work in the city. In the city screen I presently have to get them all off the ship to see who is who!

- Display effects for indian land discount
When buying indian land is it possible to somehow see both the pre-discount and post-discount price? Text at present is "Your growing tribe is a threat to our way of life, but if you give us [NON-DISCOUNTED PRICE][ICON_GOLD], we will be tolerant. You are a shrewd negotiator [PLAYERNAME], we will accept %d1[ICON_GOLD]" I'm not 100% sure on what I want to see, but if it could reference to or mention a Founding Father or trait name, and what weight the discount was, I think that would add play value.

- Option to purchase a Free Colonist in Europe
Its been suggested a few times on the forums, and I guess it has some use late game if you haven't got enough soldiers. To prevent players who just want a colonist having to buy an ore miner and clear his speciality (I don't particularly see any need for adding servants or criminals). I guess a fair price would be around 750 gold

- Wild Indians roaming the land (Barbarian player)
I still want some savage indians somewhere in the game, if not from random raids and demands from your neighbours, can a barbarian nation be added (no leader, non playable)? A couple of indians wandering the map from the start of the game (call them Algonquins or any other native tribe which did not appear in the game), they have no villages, and are just a small number of braves wandering the map and attack European scouting parties and treasure trains. Adds a combat element to early scouting, and encourages the protection of treasure trains. If they could be scaled up for larger maps it would work nicely.

- Trade elsewhere in Europe/Pay to relieve a boycott
I miss the option to trade a good after it has been boycotted. If I cannot sail to a different European port (sail to another country and sell at a set import tax rate of 50%), I would like to be able to pay the king to remove a boycott of a certain trade good. As per col 1 - I would like the option to pay the king back a pre-set rate for him to allow a good to be re-traded (even if he wants to charge me a ridiculous amount).
 
In reading complaints on the main board, it's mentioned that, IRL there wasn't much of an army outside of militia and of that the use of mercenaries.

Would it be possible to include a Mercenary type, which could attack/defend, but either could not be put to work, or if they were put to work in a city, they would not lose their guns (no free guns!) and would suffer a penalty like the IS or PC.

It could be purchased relatively cheaply and the price wouldn't increase. It wouldn't be as good a Veteran Soldier and if possible would cost you some limited amount of gold per turn. If you can't pay, they'd disband.

I think this would enrich the middle and late games, as you could go to war, or defend yourself, without taking the hit from Veteran troops against your RS.
 
Dale: I've popped you a PM with a list of FF tweaks, below are some more suggestions for other in game features

===================
Gameplay / Promotion tweaks:

Canister Shot is a seriously pathetic promotion set (by far the worst value, as spending your XP specialising in this promotion tree actually gives less benefit than getting the generalised Veteran I/II/III promotions at present! ....
- Increase the Canister Shot I (+5% vs Gunpowder units), II (+10% vs Gunpowder units), & III (+15% vs Gunpowder units, requires General) promotions to add 5% more benefit to each of the first levels, with another +5% bonus with a general, giving new values of Canister Shot I (+10% vs Gunpowder units), II (+15% vs Gunpowder units), & III (+25% vs Gunpowder units, requires General)

Minuteman III gives a nonsensical +10% bonus vs. Melee units ....
- Change this from vs. Melee to vs. Gunpowder units, as per Grenadier III (I actually believe this was a data inputting error/typo at Firaxis when coding their design - why else would you need a bonus vs. melee units who can't attack, or vs. unarmed indians when your unit is already armed, combat hardened, in a colony, with at least 2 Minuteman defense promotions already earned!?!)

Looting improvements has very little value as a strategy when attacking an enemy, hence the looter promotion has very little value ....
- Firstly, add a small +10% vs. settlement attack to the promotion itself, adding an aggressive 'conquistador' element to potential 'Looters'.
- Secondly, double the base gold recouped from pillaging the farm/lodge/mine improvements (so they yield 10 gold on average, up from 5, so that on average Looting with the Looter promotion will actually recoup the cost of building the improvement itself). This will mean including XML/Terrain/CIV4ImprovementInfos.xml

===================
Buildings tweaks:

The city defense buildings are now underpriced IMO ....
- Cities can now be held and fortified effectively, Cannons can now fire at passing ships from a Fortress, the structures seem more valueable buildings. I'd start by upping the base hammer costs by a third, from Stockade 30 hammers to 40 hammers, Fort from 90 hammers +50 tools, to 120 hammers +50 tools, and Fortress from 270 hammers +100 tools, to 360 hammers +100 tools. I can also see as the AI and natives become tougher there being a greater need to look at these structures.

Horse 'mass production' is still inefficient ....
- Even with the added 'natural reproduction', this is still not cost effective and works out easier to buy horses in Europe. Whilst stables and Ranches now have value in that they can help to 'pay for themselves', I still find breeding to a large extent is not an option, mainly due to the inherent high strategic cost in breeding (-ve food).
So, on top of the 'natural breeding' now in game, I'd consider adding a +25% horses yield with a Stables, and a +50% horses yield with a Ranch. This would allow a colony (must still have a LOT OF food to use 3 Ranchers!) to specialise and produce horses at a higher rate, with the maximum possible production per turn increased from 39/turn (costing 30 food) to 52/turn (costing 30 food). CALCULATIONS - (from 3 Masters in a Ranch at present producing (8 horses * 3 ranchers + 2 natural breeding) = 26, with +50% sentiment = 39 per turn, total food cost being (24 horses + 3 Ranchers) 30). (With +50% horses from Ranch, from 3 Masters in a Ranch producing (8 horses * 3 ranchers + 2 natural breeding) = 26, with +50% from ranch and +50% sentiment = 52 per turn, total food cost being (24 horses + 3 Ranchers) 30)
 
At the moment in AoD2 if you pay the King, the REF increase threshold is raised 1 point per 10 gold. This effectively puts more time between REF increases. Or, pay off the King, and you can ring more bells before a REF increase. :)

Good to know how that works. So does that equate as you can produce 1 extra bell per 10 gold paid before the REF gets increased?

Am I right in thinking then that the strategy of spending al your money, so the kings demands are for less cash results in a lower effect of delaying REF increases?
 
Good to know how that works. So does that equate as you can produce 1 extra bell per 10 gold paid before the REF gets increased?

Am I right in thinking then that the strategy of spending al your money, so the kings demands are for less cash results in a lower effect of delaying REF increases?

Correct on all accounts. You can ring a bell per 10 gold paid to the King. And the strategy of running near zero reduces the effectiveness of paying off the King.

So it's sort of like an incentive to run big and pay off the King to keep him happy. Just one of the tiny things which add up with many others to make a large empire better than a tiny one. :)
 
One minor change that should be made is that converted natives, indentured servants and petty criminals, shoudn't be able to fund a new settlement, I don't see too much logic on that.
 
Horse 'mass production' is still inefficient ....

Were there horses in North America prior to the arrival of the Europeans? I know in the South they thought that the conquistadors and their mounts were one animal, but did the American Indians have horses at all. If so, this could always be made a resource on the map. The artwork for horses and pastures could be stolen from Civ IV. This might alleviate some of the horse breeding issues.
 
Were there horses in North America prior to the arrival of the Europeans?

No, of course there weren't, not in historic times. But very quickly after the arrival of the Spanish, wild horse herds developed in the great plains of North America. So the answer to the question really depends on *which* Europeans you're talking about the arrival of.

IMHO, horses are far too cheap for purchase in Europe. At the start of the game, you *need* fairly cheap horses in order to get your explorers out there. But I would like to see the price quickly rise after around turn 50 or so, or else, as others have noted, there is no incentive to grow your own.

Cheers, --- Wheldrake
 
No, of course there weren't, not in historic times. But very quickly after the arrival of the Spanish, wild horse herds developed in the great plains of North America. So the answer to the question really depends on *which* Europeans you're talking about the arrival of.

IMHO, horses are far too cheap for purchase in Europe. At the start of the game, you *need* fairly cheap horses in order to get your explorers out there. But I would like to see the price quickly rise after around turn 50 or so, or else, as others have noted, there is no incentive to grow your own.

Cheers, --- Wheldrake

Difficult to make the economy work like that without horses quickly taking off and becoming extortionate... Though I guess you could set a cap at say 8 / 10, and make them very vulnerable to fluctuations.

Is it possibe to make everybody start the game with at least one scout on the docks? That would help to alleviate some of this horse lack early game - also gives people the option to not scout, and use the scout horses to build a stables.

Dale:
I have a thought. The portuguese trait which reduces Horse requirement for scouts. I think it should also reduce (this sounds strange!) the horse requirement for buildings (stables/ranch) by -50%. Basically, as above, to allow the player to park a scout in a colony and use his horses to establish a stables.

I have a bad experience, I played a game before where I mistakenly had all my horses in one colony early game, and I had one scout out on patrol. The king wanted to hike my taxes 5%, and not realising this was ALL my horses and that I wouldn't be able to get any more from Europe, I threw all my horses in the sea! :( In this instance, I was able to bring back my scout and work hard at getting horse breeding working, but if I had only got 25 horses (i.e. Portugal) I wouldn't have been able to found a stable
 
I've been having an issue lately with 2 aspects of game play, and I'm not sure if it's core gameplay, or just my playstyle.

First - it's nearly impossible to have any kind of early military action. By early, I mean before about turn 75. The reason - I can't afford to buy many guns or troops, and I haven't been able to get my stable/armory up and running effectively that early.

Possible consideration - make the prices for guns and horses much lower to start, but escalate quickly.

Second - It seems as though a single war with the Indians will put me completely out of the running for DOI against the other Europeans very quickly, no matter what stage in the game it happens. This is particularly annoying in the later game, and it pushes me towards avoiding war at all costs else the other European nations will declare, which at a very minimum puts a 100 turn cap on the game ending.
 
While I might not add wonders, I will add specializations to cities in my More Buildings Mod in next version.
 
I've been having an issue lately with 2 aspects of game play, and I'm not sure if it's core gameplay, or just my playstyle.

First - it's nearly impossible to have any kind of early military action. By early, I mean before about turn 75. The reason - I can't afford to buy many guns or troops, and I haven't been able to get my stable/armory up and running effectively that early.

Yes, given the high cost of guns, it's very difficult to get an early military force in place. Which is a good thing, IMHO, or else it would be too easy to overrun the other colonial powers.

In fact, I find it very difficult to get enough defenders in place quickly enough to dissuade the natives from declaring war, or to defend my colonies if they do - even if I always buy land from the natives instead of stelaing it, and even if I'm playing the French, who supposedly have an advantage in this regard. I have found I need to get busy building tools and guns very very quickly, it has to take priority over all other forms of production.

Again, I think this is good. It makes the game more challenging. I would advise against reducing the costs of guns purchased in Europe at all. And although you need relatively cheap horses in the beginning to be able to make scouts, perhaps their cost should be raised a bit, say to around 1000, instead of the current 600-700 range.

Cheers, --- Wheldrake
 
One thing I would like to see is a better system for declaring independence. Once the large colony becomes the best way to defeat REF then I think it would be fun if the requirements for DoI were that at least half of your cities having between 50 and 75 percent rebel sentiment. Once you DoI then the cities that don’t have the 50 percent automatically fall under REF control, then of course you could take back your cities.

I envision getting to the late part of the game having 13 or 14 colonies and you are to the point were you need to declare independence but only 7 or 8 of your colonies have more then 50 RS. You then have to make preparations to lose 5 or 6 of your cities and plan to take them back. The REF then could use the loyal colonies as stage points to attack the rebels.

Perhaps if the REF had cities to start with then they wouldn’t need to be so powerful.

An additional idea might be to create some kind of supply system. Meaning your troops need food and supplies when they are not in cities and after a number of turns without supplies their strength decreases. This could simulate an affect similar to Washington and his troops struggle for survival at Valley Forge. This would also force the REF to seek a base city to have; if the rebels could force the REF out of the cities then victory would be much easier.

The supply system opens up a new possible unit promotion as well, ie Ability to last longer without supplies and live off the land. Of course the REF should not be able to gain this ability.

I think Native American nations should be more easily offended and harder to gain as allies. This would allow important benefits of having Native American allies be more meaningful, ie their assistance in wars, the ability to resupply in their villages, better trade relations and trainable promotions such as the ability to live off the land and medical 1.
 
I think the native sellprices for ressources need some adjustment. It is pretty always a no-brainer to buy Furs for from them (as they always sell it for around 1,5 Gold per unit), but why should I buy Tobacco or Cotton from them? They charge between 4-6 p.U., so growing those ressoruces yourself seems to be better. Sugar has a similar price, but since marshes are more rarely, those additional sugar is sometimes needed.
 
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