Chronicles of Adea - fantasy mod development thread

[PawelS]

By the way, does anyone have an idea what abilities should the Sharpshooter have? Should it be just an archery unit with a strong ranged attack (and, like other elite units, a promotion that gives +50% XP), or there should be something special about it?

 

[MrL567]

By the way, does anyone have an idea what abilities should the Sharpshooter have? Should it be just an archery unit with a strong ranged attack (and, like other elite units, a promotion that gives +50% XP), or there should be something special about it?

Howbout extra damage if it did not move before it attack? Like a 20-30% damage boost if it just attacked and did not move?

 

[PawelS]

Good idea, but hard to implement. It would probably require DLL changes...

 

[MrL567]

Good idea, but hard to implement. It would probably require DLL changes...

That is a shame imo. Howbout fear to units that are near it? Repersents the suprise of it shooting at you. Except its in a 2 tile range instead of one tile.

 

[rocklikeafool]

That is a shame imo. Howbout fear to units that are near it? Repersents the suprise of it shooting at you. Except its in a 2 tile range instead of one tile.

But the whole point of fear is that unit is a monster/creature/something scary. Sharpshooters (using a comparison from today) are like snipers; they like to remain hidden and strike from far away.

 

[MrL567]

But the whole point of fear is that unit is a monster/creature/something scary. Sharpshooters (using a comparison from today) are like snipers; they like to remain hidden and strike from far away.

The fear is not from the unit itself, its from units "thinking" "WTF IS OUT THERE!" As they get sniped.

 

[Calavente]

or can the unit start a "spell" that immobilize it for 1 turn, hide it until it moves again and give it a big str bonus / (or attack bonus) until it moves again ?
it would need dll, IMO but not as much as a +x%attack by turns not immobiles, and the AI would be wacky on using this or countering it, but it would mimick the "ambush" thing that MrL567 expressed :

like Sharpshooter is a longbow unit with 1 more str (not much)but :
you move on a forest tile, are allowed to cast the spell if you have movement left, and cannot move then. by next turn (or 2nd next turn), the spell is fired, your unit gets a promotion
"sniper camping": +5attack str, hidden, disapear after attacks or move.
(or +5 ranged str, or the ranged str does not change but only the "melee" attack str)

 

[rocklikeafool]

The fear is not from the unit itself, its from units "thinking" "WTF IS OUT THERE!" As they get sniped.

Yeah, but I don't think that would fit.

or can the unit start a "spell" that immobilize it for 1 turn, hide it until it moves again and give it a big str bonus / (or attack bonus) until it moves again ?
it would need dll, IMO but not as much as a +x%attack by turns not immobiles, and the AI would be wacky on using this or countering it, but it would mimick the "ambush" thing that MrL567 expressed :

like Sharpshooter is a longbow unit with 1 more str (not much)but :
you move on a forest tile, are allowed to cast the spell if you have movement left, and cannot move then. by next turn (or 2nd next turn), the spell is fired, your unit gets a promotion
"sniper camping": +5attack str, hidden, disapear after attacks or move.
(or +5 ranged str, or the ranged str does not change but only the "melee" attack str)

+5 ranged str may be a little high, but I get what you're saying. Only thing is, I don't know if any .dll work would be in the alpha.

 

[FramedArchitect]

+5 ranged str may be a little high, but I get what you're saying. Only thing is, I don't know if any .dll work would be in the alpha.

Changing a unit's base combat strength on the fly is quite easy as there is an existing lua method for this. However, there is no existing method to change a unit's ranged combat strength, and to do so with lua requires a lot of gymnastics.

If you're interested in granting a kind of limited duration or context specific invisibility, you can see how I did this is Faerun mod. The issues with this mechanic are twofold:
1. Removing an invisibility promotion does not remove invisibility; you have to respawn the unit to remove the effects
2. Context specific invisibility can be tracked with UnitSetXY game event, but you'll need a persistent table save to track limited duration invisibility.

 

[MrCasperTom]

Apologies for being dead of late, been working for the last two and a half weeks in the middle of nowhere with little internet access and no time to get on. But I'm back and ready to roll as of tomorrow (I need vast amounts of sleep first)

 

[rocklikeafool]

Changing a unit's base combat strength on the fly is quite easy as there is an existing lua method for this. However, there is no existing method to change a unit's ranged combat strength, and to do so with lua requires a lot of gymnastics.

Sounds like it'd just be easiest to change base strength then...

If you're interested in granting a kind of limited duration or context specific invisibility, you can see how I did this is Faerun mod. The issues with this mechanic are twofold:
1. Removing an invisibility promotion does not remove invisibility; you have to respawn the unit to remove the effects

How easy is it to delete and then recreate a unit, keeping the promotions it had before (except invisibility, of course)? So, could you respawn a unit in that way?

2. Context specific invisibility can be tracked with UnitSetXY game event, but you'll need a persistent table save to track limited duration invisibility.

Ok, so...we'd need a new table, similar to UnitSetXY, but for limited duration promotions?

 

[FramedArchitect]

Sounds like it'd just be easiest to change base strength then...


How easy is it to delete and then recreate a unit, keeping the promotions it had before (except invisibility, of course)? So, could you respawn a unit in that way?


Ok, so...we'd need a new table, similar to UnitSetXY, but for limited duration promotions?

It's pretty easy to clone a unit, including chosen promotions. There's a working method for this in the Heroes.lua script in Faerun.

Well, UnitSetXY is a game event that, for example, allows you to initiate invisibility when a unit enters a tile that has forests or snow or a fort or whatever...

The second issue is that you need to save a unit's invisibility status between save/load. If you don't, you'll have units that are permanently invisible.

 

[rocklikeafool]

It's pretty easy to clone a unit, including chosen promotions. There's a working method for this in the Heroes.lua script in Faerun.

Well, UnitSetXY is a game event that, for example, allows you to initiate invisibility when a unit enters a tile that has forests or snow or a fort or whatever...

The second issue is that you need to save a unit's invisibility status between save/load. If you don't, you'll have units that are permanently invisible.

You wouldn't mind us adapting your script for our purposes, would you?

 

[FramedArchitect]

You wouldn't mind us adapting your script for our purposes, would you?

Use any part of any of my mods you need!

 

[rocklikeafool]

Use any part of any of my mods you need!

Thank you!

 

[PawelS]

Sorry for lack of updates lately, I started playing a really addictive campaign in Battle for Wesnoth (it's Legend of the Invincibles, if anyone wants to know ). But I'm slowly going back to Civ5 modding...

As for the Sharpshooter, I decided to give him a bonus vs fortified units for now, so it will be good at supporting an assault on enemy defensive positions (the fear effect is used for other units, like Elephants and Elite Cavalry). More advanced special abilities can be added later.

Terrain-based invisibility would be an awesome thing to have in the game, but as with other things that require Lua or C++ code, it will be added after the alpha. The Faerun Scenario contains lots of interesting concepts, so it will be very helpful in this regard

As for the next changes in the mod, I have some ideas about the late game tech tree, and some buildings and units available there...

 

[MrCasperTom]

Righteo took some time out to get some writing out. So here is my basic ideas for Undead leader, Dawn of Man/Civ entry for the race, and unit ideas. Apologies for typos (there will probably be many) and let me know of anything that comes up.

Also I'm not ignoring the fact that I could look at the GitHub file, its more I can't Basically my laptop doesn't run CivV so the only time I play it is on my GFs laptop (cause she's lovely. And plays it as well). As it is Summer Semester Exams right now it means there's very little time for me to play, let alone play on her laptop so it might be a while before I have a look.

Potential Leader Artwork

Spoiler :

Personally I love this piece and I might cry a manly tear if the Artist didn't let us use it/you guys didn't like it



Artist​

Dawn of Man NB: It is intentially in 1st person rather than the usual. It was an idea I had but feel free to cast it down. It just fits with the background idea I had.

Spoiler :

“Death is nothing but a tool. Men believe they hold power when they can deal it out; they feel invincible when they cheat it for one more day and revel in the ability to crush their enemies. They are all fools. There are few that have true control over death and I am one of them. All it requires is the will, the will to perceive the thin line of power to drag life back into the cold, decaying corpses of the deceased. But the true power comes not from this mockery of life but being able to drag a soul back from the veil, tearing it back into the world, forcing it into another vessel. Their thoughts linger on but their will bends to your command. That is the true power over death and only a few are powerful enough to hold this power. Only they deserve to be in control, to laud over the weak, mewing populace of this land. The foolish Archons thought to control us but they will soon see their folly; neither they nor others hold the power I do. Soon my legions will march and those that hold the true power will be shown. The inhabitants of this land are not fit to decide their own path. They will see my power and the world will kneel before me. And if they don’t, I will drag their souls back and in death they will obey my command.”

Race CivPedia Entry

Spoiler :

To many they are an enigma; a mockery of life that should not exist. The peasants of the Griffites tell stories of these beasts to their children, attempting to scare them into behaving passively. Yet most do not believe in their stories, for when someone is dead how can they come back? It is the belief that only the hateful would be able to drag themselves from their slumber with the gods and what could possibly hold such hate?

The truth is far more horrifying for these creatures are a creation of an all too human mind. The Archons are forever obsessed with bringing back beings from before the cataclysm. Most outside their order see this as an impossible goal; few realise that they have already succeeded. For the will behind the undead originated from the Archon scheme and it is they who gave birth to its leaders.
The route of the obsession with bringing races back to life lies in the Archons wishes for dictation, to gain knowledge out how best to find the right path to succeed in the eyes of their gods. The thirst for this is what drives them to bring back members of past races, to see where they made their mistakes in order to not repeat them.

The irony of this is that they made their greatest mistake in this pursuit. Several priests made a discovery, realising that they could bring souls that were locked in items of significance into host bodies, holding that form for a short periods of time before being cast back to the peace of death. With this, they reasoned, they could commune with these persons and yet leave the host unharmed.
Untested and unknown this method was pushed forwards by the priesthood leaders, arrogance leading them down a path of stupidity. Several volunteers took their places and several spirits were brought forwards into their bodies. As expected the host’s soul was supplanted, replaced with a being long since dead. Disorientated and confused these beings found themselves brought back into an age long after their own. Their loved ones were dead, their civilisations cast down. Every achievement and sacrifice they made in their lives to further their races was shown to have been for nought. All this they were given within the first few minutes of their new existence.

This was the second mistake of the foolhardy quest to bring back the dead but the one that would send ripples through time. Fury over took the spirits, anger at these priests for bringing them back and crushing their belief their people lived on and their names were remembered for their deeds. Faced with their return to oblivion there was only one choice.

Using the anger as a true force these beings crushed the souls of their hosts, all but one of the volunteers being snuffed from existence by the power of will now held in their human forms. Tearing free of their meagre restraints and tearing into those that had brought them back. These beings were spirits given flesh and they did not need to obey the trappings of their bodies; by will alone the host bodies’ strength were enhanced, tearing priests limb from limb. Little but pieces remained once the resurrected fury had been vented.

Only one being had stood apart from this carnage, purely for the reason of another battle taking place. As the rest of the Resurrected took flight into the wilderness one being surveyed the carnage. For within this host lay not one mind but two, the original soul having not been quashed. Instead a battle for control was taking place as the two souls battled for control.

In the end only one will won; the original possessor of the host wrested control of his body. But, instead of crushing the trespasser in his mind, he bound the other being to his control, shackling the mind with nothing but his will alone. The name of this priest was one Alexis Srtibeial. Able to access the memories of the other being, Alexis saw an opening to even greater power than the repository given to him.

Over the next few years he hunted down the nine other hosts, one by one finding their hiding places, seeking confrontation. In most cases he killed the other being, dragging the soul residing in the host into his own body, crushing the resistance and, like the first captive, trapping them within his mind through force of will alone. Only one other Resurrected was spared, for reasons only known to those two. Together they set out to create an empire and seek revenge for the Archon’s deeds, for only through the total destruction of their creed and populace would the voices cries for revenges in Alexis’ mind be sated.

The Resurrected had several traits unique to such beings. Able to break free of the mortal trappings of the flesh, wounds that were fatal to normal mortals were of only annoyance to a being such as a Resurrected. Able to re-seal wounds by force of will alone, they were also able to enhance their strength and perceive strands of magical power with ease unknown to most magicians. Age held no danger to these beings, for the body was only a form they were glad in, living armour that needed only maintenance by will. The need to quench their thirst and hunger no longer existed, at least in conventional forms. Instead a new hunger existed, that of the need to drain souls from other living beings. Unlike the being lying within the host, the taken soul was quashed, its energy and life taken to feed the existence of the Resurrected. The thirst was different in each Resurrected but it remained for most, only the truly strong able to resist it entirely.

Casting of his given name, a remnant of his links to the Archon’s, Srtibeial took his remaining ally away from the sight of the known races. Many years passed with his name passing into legend and then myth. But these years have not been idly wasted; Srtibeial has used this time to gain access to an army, bringing back undead servants in a mockery of life, corpses bended to his will. He has raised new Resurrected, through new methods gifting this form of immortality to those servants that served him well. Now Srtibeial turns his gaze to the world of men, ready to cast down the Archon’s and then march upon the rest of the world.

Units

Spoiler :

I’m not sure how practical this idea is but if we are having the undead have a faith system to raise troops could we potentially do away with 1GPT per troop and instead it sap from faith (to represent like magic etc.) This way Necromancers/Resurrected/Whatever we do for Magic users + buildings etc would add to this pool and the undead units would drain it. This way gold isn’t important for the Undead but maintaining this is and would represent what would happen where a leader to die; i.e. the army fades faster. It also makes the fact that, though the undead could field many troops that are weaker by strategically taking out their leader it would slowly crumble (literally) the troops.
• Skeletons – The basic troop type of the Undead. Essentially just ‘normal’ soldiers I suppose, something that will stick around through the whole game. It might be that it would be better to merge them with the Zombies, although it would be cool to have both. Also, for both these and Zombies, is it possible to include several race’s troops into one unit art and then re-skin them to be Skeletons/Zombies. To me a mis-matched unit of raised dead of all races would be far cooler and more ‘realistic’ rather than just human undead.
• Zombies – More resilient version of skeletons but either slower or less deadly; i.e. they can take more damage but aren’t a real powerhouse. Just something to throw at in numbers at the enemy and wear them down. It wouldn’t matter if they died as they would be cheapish but a great way to distract and hold the opposing army until the hard-hitters of your troops showed up.
• Resurrected – Basically, as it might have shown, they would be akin to vampires. I see them as either a Hero troop and just a random name out of a few is chosen, or a unit that only a certain amount can be built, dictated either by coding or just a research produced by a building (e.g. one per city so it represents a warlord/overlord for each city).
• Bloodkin – Non-undead undead. Make sense? Well I see this as more human units/thralls that serve the Undead hoping why day to be raised to the status of Resurrected. It would be cool if they were a very basic unit, nothing too fancy (a bit more powerful than the average troop of other races, an eliteish unit). I was also thinking along the lines of able to pass through other race’s borders even without Open borders. Being ‘normal’ it could represent going undetected as the eyes and ears.
• Undead Beasts (yeah not the name) – I think some kind, or several kinds, of undead beasts, like giants, trolls etc. would be quite good, starting off as like undead wolves (could re-skin the wolf art that is already out) up to bigger things. Would be pretty cool in my opinion.
• Burrowers – I haven’t quite get the whole idea formed yet but I’m think either some kind of creature or specially formed undead that would, in fluff (i.e. story-wise) burrow under armies. In game terms could act as a Parachute that could attack on the turn it does so. Basically is like a catapulted city defender or something like that. A thought anyway.
• Some form of Elite Undead Guard as well as some form of Elite Bloodkin. I have background ideas for both but the latter would be rarer and have human traits and the former would be a bit more common but have any drawbacks associated with the undead troops.
• Necromancer – Seriously a must really. Could be the form of the basic wizard for the undead (with the Resurrected being the high power one)

The general idea I was thinking was those two human units representing those that aspire to become a Resurrected and the rest is undead. The undead units shouldn’t be massively powerful in my opinion, maybe weaker than their counterparts but also potentially cheaper, more resilient (i.e. negatives to combat strength) and able to field more of them. Basically death by numbers.

Leader Background/CivPedia Entry

Spoiler :

The history of Alexis Srtibeial is one that could be described as meteoric, although whether that is one of ascent or descent is more a subject of contention. Born to a poor family residing in a small village on the outskirts of Resoria, an Archon city, Alexis’ life began akin to many a person. The fourth child of a peasant family, he was offered to the priesthood in extra for the tithe. Left orphaned to the temple he began a life of study, tutelage and piety dedicating his life to the Archon gods.
Surprising both to his mentors and his fellow pupils, Alexis took to this role like a fish to water, taking in the lessons and knowledge quicker than most, if not all, of his peers. Many a time he was disciplined after being found out after curfew, nose deep in the library’s books. He advanced up the ranks quickly, achieving the rank of Disciple at the age of 17.
The dedication he showed to his studies was also exhibited in his belief of the Archon’s aims; to resurrect and commune with pre-cataclysm races. Trawling over ancient scrolls and books with the other Disciples, together they found what they were looking for. A ritual, found in an ancient ruin, seemed to hold the tools for the achievement of their goal.
Taking this knowledge to the upper hierarchy of the Priesthood plans began to unfold, a path that would have been best left untraveled. The ritual involved the need for hosts, individuals who were willing to be vessels for the dead to latch onto, a mouth to communicate through. Predicted to last only for a short time each of the hosts would temporary be possessed, allowing the priesthood to communicate with the souls of the deceased. It was not surprising that Alexis was one of those who volunteered.
In hindsight the find seems too good to be true. As the spirits of the deceased were dragged back to life they were to learn of things just as the Archons hoped they would learn. Told of the death of their races, the forgetting of their legacy and the destructing of anything they had achieved in life blame cannot be cast on them for not wanting to return to the darkness once more. And thus the souls of the dead sunk their claws into their hosts, crushing the life from the volunteers. Shaping their new forms to their whim, they tore through the Priests, breaking out into the world. They were the first of the beings known as the Resurrected; souls tore from the mortal plain and placed back into a host, able to enhance the abilities of an individual far beyond the mortal grasp. Only one form stood silent. Only one person had resisted the mental assault.
That person was Alexis Srtibeial. Fighting a war unseen by the naked eye he wrestled for his body and his life. By willpower alone he clung on, crushing the soul of the summoned being into subservience, locking him in a mental prison. Able to access his memories and abilities, he possessed his own mind yet held all the knowledge of a pre-cataclysm race. With this, he sought to make his own path.
Angry at the Archons, perhaps driven made by the rage of the being inside of him, Alexis fled into the wilds. Hunting down the other Resurrected he killed them one by one, extracting the souls of each, taking them into his own mind and locking them there. Only one was given permission to live, for reasons known only the Alexis. Taking residence in the Silverback Mountains, away from the parties of priest sent to end his new existence, Alexis cast off his old name, holding on only to the name given to his family.
It was here he looked for new traces of power and found ways to bend the dead to his whim. It was here he raised fortresses of stone and decaying bone, forged by dead hands. It was here that he raised an army, testing its prowess by raiding the surrounding Archon and Griffite lands. Here he trained new mortals, changing some of these into his Resurrected lieutenants. Years passed before the true breadth of his power was seen. Emerging from the depths of the woodland surrounding the mountains, Srtibeial marched on the lands of the living, a mass of mindless warriors at his back.
Vengeance had come, for the dead souls brought back to nothing but despair. It is perhaps ironic that it is the dead that march to do so.

Previous Posts:

• Snobar Leader

 

[rocklikeafool]

^
That all looks awesome, Casper!

 

[PawelS]

The mod is updated. Changes:

• Timber renamed to Hardwood
• Most archery units now require Hardwood
• Siege units like Catapult and Ballista require 2 Hardwood
• Added Sharpshooter (Elite Troops tech, req. Hardwood and Mithril)
• Longbowman is now the default unit of the class. Crossbowman is the UU for Gunpowder civs. Longbowman upgrades to Sharpshooter, Crossbowman to Musketeer. Some changes to the stats and abilities of these 2 units - Crossbowman now gets a bonus vs melee units
• Added Explosives tech. It requires Gunpowder and allows 2 units - Cannon and Field Gun
• Added Ship of the Line (Naval Dreams tech - available only to Dreamers and Vodniks)
• Orcs now have access to Gunpowder
• Added some late game buildings (some of them still need work, and more will be added)
• Added more requirements to city specialization buildings (so, for example, Fortress requires Warriors Guild and Castle)
• Reduced amount of Kelp and Reefs placed on maps
• Other small changes

 

[MrCasperTom]

Apologies for the massively long post about to be done. It's not an angry one nor any sense of ultimatum/trying to take control. Just general thoughts/questions inchoerantly put on paper ​

Spoiler :

Ok I've realised as I'm writing that I've sort of gone down the wrong path. I've kind of started in the middle (i.e. with Civilisations, Units and Leaders) rather than start at the bottom (i.e. the feel, ideals and the general setting of the world) which would make it far easier to build on. I mean the things I've created fit but there's no way to join them when I'm doing it in parts. It’s like I've built the second storey of the house without considering the first storey.

If I was writing solo that would be fine and, while at present, I am the only 'writer' this is a group project; I'm sure we all have ideas and our own concepts. So realistically I need to make sure the concepts are right to make sure everything fits into the world we’re creating. So basically I need to go through a rigorous design process which, for the first half, needs to be vetted by everyone involved. I might have to put it somewhere else so it doesn’t clog up the area meant for general alpha discussion. Thoughts? Separate thread or some other medium (something like a skype chat or similar might be entirely useful for easy access general messaging).

Anyway general ideas:

Setting/Concept

So I’ve been looking through this thread and the other design thread (I also need to get looking at the GitHub file. I will do so hopefully in the next week). You’ve mentioned High Fantasy, Good vs Evil. When it comes to writing, from my end at least, I find things get a little boring and monotone when that happens. I mean it can be done and it can be done well but the problem I have is that it comes down to “Sure they have cool units and look really different but ultimately their motivation is the same”. What gets people interested is the motivation. I mean I’m not a huge fan of Tolkien/LotR (don’t get me wrong I enjoy the films [found the books a bit boring minus the hobbit] and the setting in amazing with all the background) with the whole good/evil thing but even then there is layers of why each races/faction is doing what. Minus Sauron cause he’s evil. Yeah we get it. Baddy. World. Take. Over. (Although as I haven’t read much I admit I am larger ignorant so could be entirely wrong. Feel free to correct me ).

To make each race there’s a few things that come to mind; Why do they do the things they do, how are they different, what is the their society like etc. Thus they need a motivation, a basic backdrop and theme. Just like a feudal, knightly race had the theme they also need something to explain it in my opinion, like why is it that way and everything in between. Take Game of Thrones; each house has the general same idea but is different. Now I haven’t played FFH, or even saw it until I was pointed to it, (I kind of skipped Civ4 as the drastic change from CivIII meant I couldn’t be bothered to learn and then I just picked up Civ5 so it was kind left out for me) but from a brief skim I think what made is popular was the general tone, background and diversity of races. I am no way saying to copy it or base heavily on it as I can’t be bothered to read up enough to do this plus I don’t like writing like that, but what I mean is I need to start from the bottom.

So what I was thinking is a way to fit it in with the good/evil/neutral ideal without making it like that, if that makes any sense. In other words what is the general world concept? So I was thinking along the lines of the general mythology of the world. With the Gods it could be assumed that, through prophecy, old scrolls or whatever, that each race knows about the ‘promised land’ i.e. the fact that one day they would be carried to another world. That could be the general vein of knowledge running through the world; regardless of which god/gods they worshipped. Thus how they perceive to go about this could be what determines their actions.

For example the Archons wish to bring back a pre-cataclysm race is due to wanting guidance in how to perceive. They also believe in the embodiment of the gods within one being or the one true god. Maybe this is to do with the hope that, by doing so, they will better advance down the path to the promise land or maybe this is the actual belief. It adds a bit of uncertainty. On the other hand a race like the Orcs might not care about the whims of the Gods; maybe they perceive that their actions dictate their fate and that they need to survive to take to the promise land and that the worship of the Gods was not the intention of the Gods but simply to live and proper until the designated time.

This somewhat throws away the notion of Good and Evil I suppose and therefore might not be what your aiming for. On one hand if that was the motivation of the Orcs then they could be perceived as Evil; if they raid lands in order to have a place to grow they could be seen as aggressive and evil. On the other hand, they are just trying to live. In a way it greys the borders but not too much. If I race tortures and maims people they’re rather bad souls, but now they have a reason to do so.


Race differences

This is more a minor note, and something I’ll get a more general look at when I see the GitHub thing, but with the diversity you want to offer in game, does this mean we’re not having too much diversity in background? Sounds a bit confusing when I say it like that. Basically is the main freedom going to come from ‘Policies, Religion and Good/Evil/Neutral?’ I’m perfectly ok with this but, from a background point of view, shall I create a ‘canon’ world and then players can stick to this, and any potential scenarios will too, but obviously there’s freedom to alter as they wish? I presume the aim is to create a world, and the AI would stick to it, but then the player can go their own route if they want.

Technology

Again minor point that I can look up but I like clarifying. I presume the aim is medieval with swords and magic and then a couple of races have access to limited gun-powder? I’m perfectly happy with this, I like the idea of it being essentially ‘mundane magic’ that only a small minority have and it not being too powerful.

Also I will look at the tech tree; I like the idea of the first half being a linear progression of technology but then the latter periods being more a focussing on the advancements of society/progression of time. But that is more a preference and obviously should be ignored. More a comment

Magic

This has got me thinking so I’m going to run ideas out there. Magic needs to be explained but in what sense, so how does it exist and what forms does it take.

So I was thinking along these lines of the following:

You mentioned two planes of existence (I believe) so I’m obviously going to stick with that at the core. So basically Magicians have a connection to this plane and they channel it to create forms of energy i.e. Magic.

This connection is largely innate; people are born with it or they are not. However I had another thought about induced magic and then noticed you talking about Crystal plains. In a game ideal it could be a potential way of providing a strategic resource for extra mages. So I was thinking of some kind of crystal that, if introduced to a person (via injection of the dust or something along those lines) they could also potentially access the plane. Or die horribly in the attempt. Of course most could only have a limited connection even if they succeeded, hence why it isn’t common.

Magic can also be stored in item (e.g. the crystals) and thus people can build up a store. With the right mind a person can channel magic to do pretty much everything; however there is limits depending on a person’s willpower and control therefore most races teach a series of school/disciplines in order to help mages focus and not lose control. The truly great mages of those who break out from these edicts and can control the very essence but this is of course quite dangerous.

That’s the basic ideas of course. Thoughts?

Units

This is something I’m going to focus on more with each race as it is more game focused. Also I will try and assign it to various technologies to make it easier for everyone.

But just a quick question; How much do we want? And for when? I presume the Alpha (in my mind) is there to both throw out the idea of the mod, to gain interest and to lay out the bare-bones for assessment and picking apart, yes? So how many unique units do we want for that? Also do we want a complete overhaul of units for each race, so it is pretty much completely different for each one? I’d be happy to take that challenge one but that’ll take more thinking and time, so doubt I could get it done for Alpha (I presume that’ll be fine though). Minus basic things like archers (but again I could go crazy) I think eventually I could stick to a theme for each. Hopefully. Depends how many Civ we got through and how many eventually came out.

Again, just my thoughts and questions as to where to start and make sure I'm on the same page. Everything I wrote is more ideas and theories so feel free to pick apart if is clashes with anything. I just want it to fit with everything you're creating.​