Getting Started

Just want to say thanks Thal, for putting in the work to make this game better for all. To all you other guys in this thread, Q, Kad, MasterD, I'm glad there are ppl like you around to put your educated ideas out there. You guys have some great ideas and I love reading the debates. (btw, what a long ass thread to read through).

I'm about to play through w/ the newest versions of the balance mods. Played through almost 4 games since the last versions. No complaints. Seems everything I noticed has already been pointed out. So, I will just give you some more feedback after a few runs w/ the newest ones.

Thanks again guys! I'm looking forward to getting into some of these discussions w/ you all.
 
Thal,

I've fallen WAY behind on some of the mod Versions. How often should I check for updates. Also, which ones are updated regularly (I know unofficial patch is) and which ones are basically finalized (like gradual research). I checked from one day to the next last week and I'd missed six versions!
 
@Cire
Glad you're having fun, thank you!

@Feyd Rautha
To be honest it just depends on what my schedule is like with work/family, and what ideas come to mind or what suggestions are posted. It's too hard to really predict.
 
Hey thal, it seems that a lot of s are having trouble keeping up with different versions of your mods. Maybe you should create a new thread that people can subscribe to but only you can post in. Every time you make an update you can just makea post in the thread saying which mod has been created/updated.
 
Thal, I don't know if you were aware of this but I'll point it out anyways

Spoiler :


Also, the changes look promising, this will be my next playthrough mod :)

Edit: I'll clarify, Lord Wu Zetain is in the screenshot, which isn't the correct term. This is currently in effect in the Vanilla game, and I was wondering if, as well as the 'Lord Elizabeth' bug, you'd spotted that it applies to Catherine and Wu Zetain as well

Just to state again, this screenshot is from the Vanilla game paired with another mod. Sorry for the confusion lads :)
 
Lord Wu Zetain :)

I added a fix for "Lord Elizabeth" in the unofficial patch and thought it fixed Zetain's too, will look into it further. Thanks for pointing it out.
 
Alright, here's the run down of my first complete game w/ the newest versions of your balance mods. (also using afforess-adv. city def mod. Like it).

Alex, Lrg map, Continents, Prince(strictly for balance test), Epic
The rest of the settings, I left default.
Oh yea, nixed the time victory also.

I got the Diplomatic Victory on turn 772. I ended with 6 cities and three puppets. Not really going to get into the details of my pretty much diplomatic game (kinda boring, except when some1 wanted to mess w/ 1 of my city states). The only real reason I won the game is because the AI needs a lot of work.

I'm just going to give you my perception of the balance of the game. I think you have pretty much got the balance on the wonders and the buildings worked out. I was actually thinking of what to build instead of following the same old script with every city. Good job. I also have no complaints about the tile balance. Seems right on point now. It seems to give cities a nice flow when they are expanding and growing. Also gives you a lot more options if you want to micromgt your worked tiles. I also noticed the AI actually built other improvements, mainly noticed they were building lumber mills and mines now. Loved the GP bldg.s.

I have to say, the one thing that I think you got pretty much nailed, is the policies. I actually found myself scratching myself on the head, wondering witch one to pick at times. It worked out well, I was able to open up T/1, H/2, Pi/2, Pat/3, C/1, F/2
3 Civs had more policies than me. Matter of fact, If the AI wasn't so bad, one of them should have went for Utopia.

I noticed, and this may have a lot to do with the city def mod i used, but at end game there were still 5 super powers. Also in part that India and I were playing world peace makers. But, none the less, it was a lot more 'balanced' at end game.

One Civ seriously out teched me too, but never went for Space Victory either. I really liked the tech progression speed now too. Only thing I would say, is maybe run Afforess- tech diffusion mod. IMO it would bring just that little bit more balance for the civs that tend to fall behind.

From my experience with your mods, I've noticed that you have brought more balance to the overall outcome of the game also. With my Culture games, I've noticed I don't have to stay only 3 cities big anymore, gave me some more options. I think the balance of the victories is almost there. Can't really see one victory being drastically easier than any other now.

And, now for the best news, no crashes, no major bugs (in my game anyway). I might have missed a misspelled word or that it says Lord Thalassicus in my tool tip or something, but, hey. Great job and thanks again.

Hope my input helps.
 
Lord Wu Zetain :)

I added a fix for "Lord Elizabeth" in the unofficial patch and thought it fixed Zetain's too, will look into it further. Thanks for pointing it out.

You should look at Catherine too while you're at it. :mischief:

Loving your mod, keep up the good work!
 
I've created a site at civmodding.wordpress.com to make it easier to keep track of updates and future work. I'll be sending update notices through @thalmodding whenever I upload a new version (a list of 5 most recent updates is displayed on the website).


@Cire
Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you feel the mods are making things more fun. Having 5 superpowers remaining is likely due to any city defense or combat AI mods you have installed. I'll take a look at the tech diffusion mod, sounds like a good idea.

@felix86
Will do. :)
 
Forgive my ignorance, but I always liked your zip package very much...
easy way to get all the mods in one go :)

What happened to that method?
Did you change it, or did I miss something perhaps?
 
Have no fear, I simply moved the zip file to the new webpage here, and changed the original post to indicate this.

At this new location you can glance at the list of recent updates right above the download, and know what's updated since your last visit. :)
 
It's odd, I was just checking up on the "Lord Wu Zeitan" thing and that clearly should not be appearing if you have the unofficial patch installed. The developers chose to remove the capability to distinguish a leader's gender that existed in Civ IV, for some bizzare reason, so I tried to find a neutral title:

Code:
        <Update>
            <Where Tag="TXT_KEY_TRADITION_TITLE"/>
            <Set Text="Sovereign {1_PlayerName:textkey} of {2_CivName:textkey}"/>
        </Update>

If you have the unofficial patch installed, it should display either no title (if you have an older version) or Sovereign (v.19 and newer).
 
Hi Thal,

in the 'Embarkation' mod, you appear to have some sort of undocumented stealth AI enhancement:

<Technology_Flavors>
<Update>
<Where TechType="TECH_COMPASS" FlavorType="FLAVOR_NAVAL" />
<Set Flavor="5" />
</Update>
</Technology_Flavors>

I just figured this should be explained / documented somewhere... I don't really know what Flavor 5 does or why this is a good thing to add? Is it well tested?
 
@Perkus
That lets the AI know Compass is slightly more valuable because of the +1 Embarkation bonus moved from Astronomy. The previous flavor value for Compass is 4. It's generally assumed anyone making a gameplay mod should tell the AI about changes, so it's not usually documented.

@Ahriman
I'll take a look, thank you for the link.

Update: posted my thoughts here. About half has been implemented, I'll do what I can to get the other half implemented. Thank you for the list! :)
 
That lets the AI know Compass is slightly more valuable because of the +1 Embarkation bonus moved from Astronomy. The previous flavor value for Compass is 4. It's generally assumed anyone making a gameplay mod should tell the AI about changes, so it's not usually documented.

Oh I see, so the Flavor # setting is just a tech desirability scale, then? I was assuming it was some sort of code for changing the AI behaviour, hence my concern. If it's just upping the value a little, I'm cool with that. Although you could then argue that you should be lowering the value of Astronomy an equal amount, because you removed its embarkation speed benefit.
 
Yep, it's just used to let the AI weigh the value of techs. The AI doesn't actually analyze what the tech gives, only flavor settings and current priorities.

I considered changing Astronomy. Its default value is 2 though, and since it does still provide the across-oceans embarkation benefit it seemed reasonable to leave that one as-is instead of dropping 50%. Sadly I've never seen an AI do intercontinental warfare, so I don't think it'll make much difference anyway.
 
Suggestion for the Balance - Embarkation: Start embarkation with Sailing instead of optics. As otherwise archipeligo is mighty boring =)
 
Top Bottom