If I've *never* played this game, should I start with vanilla?

I've seen unanimous opinions across the internet that this game is much better when modded, whether that is TAC or Religion and Revolution or Age of Discovery, whichever. For someone who has never played this game -- original or remake -- are the mods advised? For any new concepts added, is the Civilopedia updated to reflect that so I won't be too confused?

I would advise starting with the patched vanilla version. There is a strategy forum which contains many articles relating to vanilla that will help you to get started.

Also once you have played the game you will have a better idea of what changes you would like to see and this may help in choosing which mod to try.

Which patch, exactly? The last official one or the unofficial one from Snoopy/Dale?

Don't waste your time with Vanilla.

For a begginer:
Try TAC.
(very stable, focussed on improvments, adding only a few new concepts, very well explained)

For a more experienced player:
Try Religion and Revolution
(also very stable, based on last TAC release but much bigger, adding many new concepts, well explained)

Edit:
Both mods require the last official patch 1.01f.

deephouse7 said:

Which patch, exactly? The last official one or the unofficial one from Snoopy/Dale?

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The official patch v1.01f. It fixes a lot of bugs and balance issues.

I'd say go for Vanilla with final official patch.

I would never mod a game before trying it out vanilla, how else you can say what changes you like?

I still prefer vanilla over any mods so I'm biased, but then again I don't know what you usually like.

Hmm, so it's 2 to 1 at the moment. Sorry guy, but I'm gonna try vanilla for starters.

deephouse7 said:

Hmm, so it's 2 to 1 at the moment. Sorry guy, but I'm gonna try vanilla for starters.

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You may do so, but keep in mind that the mods available have changed (in most cases, for the better) the game.

Chances are high that you might be a bit disappointed with the vanilla game. In that case you should give the mods at least a try.

Commander Bello said:

You may do so, but keep in mind that the mods available have changed (in most cases, for the better) the game.

Chances are high that you might be a bit disappointed with the vanilla game. In that case you should give the mods at least a try.

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Oh, yes. Definitely going to try the mods, whether the vanilla disappoints or pleases me is beside the point. Civ is one of those series where I am addicted to mods, just seeing what ways the community can bend the code. RFC and FFH alone are worth the price of Civ 4. The two in support of vanilla have a point, though, how would I know which mods I'd prefer if I don't know which parts of vanilla appear to be lacking?

Personally, I've never played a vanilla game.

Started with R&R but it quickly felt "too modded", way too much stuff.

So I tried TAC and loved every minute of it.

If I were new to Colonization I'd start with Vanilla just because it's simpler. You get to the end game faster and see bigger strategic issues. For example, does the consumer economy matter when in the end it all comes down to ore, tools and guns?

In TAC, add cloth for sails to that list of essential military supplies, not to mention rum for the sailors if you build a Great Shipyard. There's more finesse among the unit types, more to keep track of, and that's a lot of the fun.

I'm just starting R&R and two things jump out. First, the materials bar is very busy: lots to find, lots to learn. Secondly I can't buy a Seasoned Scout and, since none happens to be waiting at the dock, my cavalry will have to talk to the chiefs at all the Indian villages til I find one that trains Seasoned Scouts. In Vanilla and TAC I kept the military out of villages as much as possible to avoid upsetting my lethal neighbours.

I guess it comes down to how much you enjoy the game and how hard you want it to be.

Vanilla is rather poor. Many players were rightfully disappointed when it was released. This mean mods are the way to go for this game. Still starting simple with vanilla might not be a bad idea to get into what it is about. Just remember if you don't like it, the problem is vanilla, not the game itself. TAC is likely a good candidate for a first mod.

havent tried COL mods yet but i recommend using Vanilla (Civ4 Col vanilla i mean) DOS Colonization and Old Colonization for Windows is okay also, because unmodded game is best for learning base mechanics

And after winning few games you will learn base mechanics, you new players can try mods

Personally I have never and probably never would try a modded game until I have tried it un-modded. Civ4Col is not an exception. My strong recommendation would be to give it a go with the TAC mod after a vanilla game before you abandon it. TAC really provides a better and more balanced experience. Then, if you are a true enthusiast and want more complexity, go with RAR after TAC. Please note that I have not tried any other mods than TAC and RAR, and I really don't want to discredit any other mods out there (I know how much hard work goes into this kind of stuff). Based on my understanding though, TAC and RAR are the mods that try to stay truest to Sid Meier's original game in spirit, and that's what I was looking for after my fond memories of the 90s version.

CyTroll said:

Based on my understanding though, TAC and RAR are the mods that try to stay truest to Sid Meier's original game in spirit, and that's what I was looking for after my fond memories of the 90s version.

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I have the same impression.
TAC: what vanilla should have been
RAR: TAC with added features, the most noteworthy (and controversial) is the two plot colony catchment radius
RARE: RAR with bugfixes, improved automated transport management and optional colony catchment size
AoE: something on the road to become TAC like, but stopped halfway
DoaNE: an attempt to increase realism at the cost of the original colonization feel

Last but not least is Medieval Conquest, which ditched the colonization approach entirely and aims towards being a civilization/colonization hybrid and push the engine to the limits in order to add features totally unrelated to Colonization (like a tech tree). Colonization 2071 use some (soon all) M:C code and falls into the same category.

TAC, RAR, RARE and DoaNE should work in network games. The rest will (to my knowledge) desync more or less each turn.

There is alot of great mods(according info on forums) but imo none of them should replace Vanilla, expect maybe few ones that are similar to original Colonization game from 1994.

Because they will be harder to learn and understand for average Joe players who have never played Civ series or Colonization before.

Another problem with mods is that they are aviable only in 1-2 languages usually. And there is alot ppl who dont speak English and understanding mod mechanics without Civilopedia/Manual/Tutorial on their native language will be hard for them.

The other thing is maybe some mods should have been included with game just like it was with Civ4 Bts and Warlords expansions.

Nightinggale, many thanks for the summary descriptions of the various Civ4Col mods. Very useful to get a high level idea of what to expect.

Fully agree with alex15: in general, the biggest weakness of any mod for any game is typically the lack of documentation. That said TAC comes with at least a short PDF manual. RAR is a different story, and I myself read through probably 50+ pages of forum threads to get a good understanding of what I was getting into. At the end of the day, it's a matter of how badly you want an improved/more complex gaming experience after playing vanilla.

Language can be an issue too of course, I guess.

CyTroll said:

RAR is a different story, and I myself read through probably 50+ pages of forum threads to get a good understanding of what I was getting into.

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Did you check Colopedia of RaR?

We had put lots of effort into explaining all our game concepts there.
Although it seems that effort was wasted because almost nobody reads it.

Some words about the mods from myself:

Overhauls:

AoDII: The first bigger Civ4Col Overhaul. Never really finished.
TAC: Focussed on improving and fixing issues of Vanilla. Probably the best mod, if you want to stay very close to the original game concepts.
RaR: Based on TAC but heavily expanding it with new features and game concepts. Still the biggest overhaul out there.
RaRE: ModMod of RaR. Still in work.

So basically you could draw those as a timeline:
(All of these mods used work and experiences of the mods before.)

AoDII --> TAC --> RaR --> RaRE

TAC and RaR were the only 2 projects that achieved to assemble really big Modding-Teams with more than 10 modders in their "Golden Ages".
(I was part of both projects in those days. First member of TAC and after TAC ended I became founding member of RaR.)

TAC and RaR were both developed over several years and are probably the most stable Civ4:Col mods out there.
(They also have the biggest player communities considering Civ4:Col mods.)

I don't really know RaRE, so I can't say how stable it is.

Conversions:

DoaNE: Although it stays in colonial scenario it completely changes many game concents and creates a very different gaming experience.
Medieval Colonization: Medieval Total Conversion. Lots of new features and concepts. Still in work.
Colonization 2071: SciFi Total Conversion. Never finished.
Werewolves: Total Conversion based on TAC that lets you defend your colonies against mythical werewolves. Quite solid and stable from what I have heard.

raystuttgart said:

I don't really know RaRE, so I can't say how stable it is.

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It should be the same as RaR. If anything, it should be even more stable as most of the changelog is bugfixes for RaR issues, though most of those fixes minor issues. Network stability is the same as RaR and performance is even better than RaR (traderoutes slows down late game less than in RaR). There are no known issues in RaRE, which didn't exist in RaR.

raystuttgart said:

Did you check Colopedia of RaR?

We had put lots of effort into explaining all our game concepts there.
Although it seems that effort was wasted because almost nobody reads it.

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Oh yes I use it extensively, so definitely not lost on me

There is a difference though between in-game help (Colopedia) and a separate manual, and I would argue that the latter is key to help determine whether a player wants to invest playtime in a new mod. To some extent, the version histories (list of features) with each release can replace the manual if you are already familiar with the vanilla game. And I think you did a rather good job there too Raystuttgart with RAR. Although I still haven't figured out if railroads made it into the final release or not (I'm still in 1600s in my first RAR marathon speed game).

Nightinggale, I'll definitely give RARE a go after this game btw. I was just hoping to see a final version come out before.

I'm a veteran player, probably older than most of you here and since I have become a father, I have taken a completely different approach to PC games. Instead of rushing on every new version of my favorite game franchises as soon as they hit the shelves, I now tend to wait a couple of years before buying them so that:
a) I can get all the extensions in one buy (and typically at a good price too)
b) I get the final official patches from the beginning
c) I get other players' opinions on the game along with their FAQs/walkthroughs
d) I also have immediate access to final versions of the best mods out there
e) incidentally, I can also get by with hardware that is slightly outdated by latest standards.