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18 Civ Earth remake taking notes from e18, ee2, eeX, and others.
Some notes to highlight:
Game is set in the late classical era to start and you have 3 special units not available (to my knowledge) anywhere else in any civ map:
Royal Guard (archer/skirm/bowman) with triple city defender, sentry, shock, formation, and drill I promotions. This unit is not intended to attack, but rather to prevent warrior rushes or entirely premature destruction from a roaming horde of barbarians. Should you use this unit as an attacker, be aware that your opponents have similar units already and you lose an early defense advantage by moving this unit outside your capital early.
Gift of the Gods - this fast worker is a one time only unit available at the start of the map. Cherish this unit, because not only can it do what the Indian fast worker can do (+1 terrain movement), it also comes with sentry (+1 visibility) to further ensure it doesn't walk into a barbarian or mounted unit trap and morale (-1 terrain movement cost) allowing it to move fluidly across your civ to hurry tile upgrades or run away from a fast moving unit that would otherwise overtake a regular worker by 'fast moves' or AI treachery. Any captured gift of the gods reverts to a regular worker, so be sure you don't leave yours alone
.
Early Explorer - this advanced scouting unit is superior to a regular scout and with the exception of base unit HP, superior to even an explorer because of its sentry, morale, medic I, woodsman II, and guerrilla II promotions. Ideally, your scout should be able (historically and in the game) to see beyond its enemy's line of sight, move more quickly through rough terrain, escape an attacker's advance, and if attacked but alive, heal itself without having to scurry 'home'. Remember to keep this one active until you either choose to make it a medic general or use it to, perhaps, scout other mysterious lands that lie far away from the known world
.
In order to further the best approximation of a real earth terrain layout, several tiles have been modified throughout the map, so ee2 and e18 players beware: resources aren't always where you expected them to be. Plan accordingly.
Many flood plains have been upgraded to plains terrain instead of desert, intending to counterbalance the ill effects of the flood plains (in real life there are seasons where the flood plains are dangerous and seasons where they offer profound growth of life). Additionally, these plains upgrades (not every flood plain was modified and even some plains were upgraded to flood plains so watch the map carefully) will provide +1 food and +1 hammer over their desert counterparts making them a poacher's paradise. Your land will be coveted so don't leave your cities unprotected.
Forests have been given more (dare I say it) respect in this map versus some others. Large expanses in Russia, the Americas, Mongolia, etc. have been given additional forest cover making them better suited for later game options when food can be harvested from lesser tiles. Additionally, many jungle tiles were converted to forests. A misconception for some and bone of contention for others is why certain regions that are 'rainforests', for instance, are merely 'jungles' in CIV. Since the game (without modding it) does not provide for a 'rainforest' option (jungle/forest hybrid), forests displaced many jungles tiles in the equatorial and vicinity regions. Do not think this means you can treat these lands with any less respect. Jungles still exist; however forests will permit more rapid expansion and more favorable colonization later in the game.
A concept I have place in many of my maps is the addition of forests to coastal, lake, bay, harbor, and inlet waterways. While some (very few) have contested these tiles, most have expressed an appreciation for the merits these tiles provide. First, you get instant health bonuses from the forestation of the coastal regions (as in the real world, how often do you see a lake, coast, or inlet with no vegetation or forestation of any kind?). Second, water tiles with forests produce +1 base hammers (think moai on the coastal tiles). Third, these specialized tiles reduce movement rate of ships as they pass through. Some have contested this is unreasonable, but I subscribe to two notions supporting these tiles and their reduced movement rate: 1) lakes, bays, harbors, etc. generally have slower moving vessels anyway and deep water ships travel the ocean and other maritime areas far more then these inland seas and 2) any penalty of movement imho is less problematic than the benefits gained by the civilization that uses these tiles in their culture.
Generally speaking, the resources found in ee2 and their locations are preserved; however several food tiles have been added. In order to keep the game progressing lively and at a faster pace, tiles throughout the map have been given resources that are naturally occurring either in antiquity or the modern age (or any time in between) and food tiles top the list of the additions. Deer has given a more prominent role in heavily wooded regions (and fur have been added as well); cows and horses (not for meat in CIV I realize but they are often found together) are increased across the northern temperate zone; banana plays more prominently in the south temperate and tropical areas and spice are dotted along the 'spice routes' of the medieval and renaissance eras; silk and incense are increased around the Himalayas and into China; rice is increased in the Asia arena and wheat added to Russia and North America; hard metals and precious gems are increased in subSaharan and North American desert regions; ivory plays more centrally in central Africa, India, and Khmer; more seafood tiles are added throughout the map making coastal regions more inviting and many lakes have new seafood tiles.
Fundamental terrain changes that may shock certain players but based on satellite imagery and several photographs, I believe more accurately represent certain regions include: the addition and removal of hill and mountain tiles; conversion of plains to tundra or grassland (most hills adjacent high peaks are tundra whereas most coastal regions not expressly desert are upgraded to plains or grassland - most notably Carthage and Australia [more about Australia in the barbs section]); North America (except the Sierra Madre and Rockies) received more hills especially in the Appalachian region; South America received more hills in the rainforest regions; however, the Andes were raised and lowered part for realism and part for playability (more for realism) and the Incan and Chilean areas became plains and tundra instead of desert and plains; the Ural mountains were extended using hills and a few peaks were moved; the Himalayas were made more prominently tundra and hills permitting a pass from India to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc. were converted from peaks; Iran (Persia), Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and local regions were adjusted to reflect regional terrain found in satellite images. Many other terrain features than will be listed here were advanced as well ... you'll have to open the map to appreciate the details.
Barbarians, their cities, their culture (yes culture) and their locations play more prominently than I have seen in any other map to date. Why barbs at all you say? Glad you asked. Barbarians (especially in the classical world) were often just civilizations that had not yet grown into organized government. Additionally, vast regions of land that the 'would be' expansionist might attempt to 'land grab' will be contested early. Too many times, especially with a large number of humans in such a map, a couple wars will occupy a player for far too long a time to recover and expand before another human (unadulterated up to that point) shows up against the other human's capital culture with his 5th, 6th, 10th city, landlocking the poor guy (or girl) who defended a 'noob rush' only to have wasted 30 minutes and 40 turns while the noob rusher quits and the region is impractically unbalanced. (For those who don't like or even loathe barbarians, turn raging barbarians off and you'll only have the preseeded cities/units) For the average (and even superior) player, a challenge from around a region you thought was 'free for the taking' may be a welcome diversion; for the valorous defender left landlocked, your occupation with barbarians may give him the well desired (and earned) respite while he recovers. Furthermore, barbarian cities over time will develop and could be diamonds in the rough.
Barbs (round II): Australia (New Zealand and Tasmania as well), Siberia, the Arctic region of Russia, Japan, and the Americas all have ample barbarians to prevent an eager galley (and later galleon) with a single settler and worker from expanding beyond one's ability to defend. Later, once your land is developed and/or you prove you are the expedition authority you claim, heartily expand into these regions and reap the benefits of the New Worlds .
Civilizations and Leaders (recommendations are acceptable; however this revision will retain these leaders as they - and their random personalities - have proven they do not play well with each other ... and this, for you, is a good thing):
Saladin of Arabia; Justinian of Byzantium; Joao of Portugal; Elizabeth of England; Mao of China; Ramesses II of Egypt; Napoleon of France; Charlemagne of Holy Rome; Mehmed of Ottomans; Zara of Etiopia; Gandhi of India; Suryavarman II of Khmer; Mansa of Mali; Kublai of Mongolia; Darius of Persia; Augustus of Rome; Peter of Russia; and Ragnar of Vikings. In playing several ee2 and similar earth maps/scripts online with hundreds of players, I believe the variations (where a civ has more than one leader available) has made these leaders the appropriate ones for a late classical era start.
This is a simple format description and limited explanation of what I believe could be a fantastic earth variation.
Suggestion and constructive comments are welcome; however, I encourage you (any) to play most if not all civs before considering that one civ/player/region is OP, unplayable, etc. My experience with my maps (and others) has taught me there are rarely any unplayable situations - just tough decisions when I should have made a left and took a right.
Hope you all enjoy!
p.s. (though several things more could be said) SP mode should not tax most newer computers much; however MP should probably be limited to those who have solid graphics cards, connectivity, and hardware (especially hard drives) since the early barbarian activity and later AI/human interaction will use many 'calls' during the start of each (technically the end of the last for AI) turn. Also, the turn timer (recommend fast not blazing unless just a couple humans), level of difficulty (noble to start but play with it based on how difficult the AI/barbs become for you), era start (classical as stated), and game speed (quick, however noble may work well too) all compliment each fairly well. One admirable (imho) variation would be to choose prince of epic (in SP) or normal/monarch (MP with multiple humans) and watch the tech paradigms, AI attitudes, health, happiness, etc. etc. create entirely different outcomes each time. All victory conditions are recommended, vassal states are not; espionage is highly preferential but remember this will effect cultural expansion rates; random events with this much 'other' activity/turn are not recommended and technology trading/brokering in MP is highly unfavorable for some and horribly advantageous for others (in SP the AI WILL trade with each other and often not you making your tech almost certainly inferior later in the game); choose religions can be turned off, however, the game will distribute 3 religions early due to the classy start; random personalities is recommended for those who want a richer, more unexpected response from the AI; and tribal huts are not recommended (ever seen someone pop machinery in a hut and have mace before anyone else has even a small axe stack? yeah, not pretty). Enjoy!
18 Civ Earth remake taking notes from e18, ee2, eeX, and others.
Some notes to highlight:
Game is set in the late classical era to start and you have 3 special units not available (to my knowledge) anywhere else in any civ map:
Royal Guard (archer/skirm/bowman) with triple city defender, sentry, shock, formation, and drill I promotions. This unit is not intended to attack, but rather to prevent warrior rushes or entirely premature destruction from a roaming horde of barbarians. Should you use this unit as an attacker, be aware that your opponents have similar units already and you lose an early defense advantage by moving this unit outside your capital early.
Gift of the Gods - this fast worker is a one time only unit available at the start of the map. Cherish this unit, because not only can it do what the Indian fast worker can do (+1 terrain movement), it also comes with sentry (+1 visibility) to further ensure it doesn't walk into a barbarian or mounted unit trap and morale (-1 terrain movement cost) allowing it to move fluidly across your civ to hurry tile upgrades or run away from a fast moving unit that would otherwise overtake a regular worker by 'fast moves' or AI treachery. Any captured gift of the gods reverts to a regular worker, so be sure you don't leave yours alone
.Early Explorer - this advanced scouting unit is superior to a regular scout and with the exception of base unit HP, superior to even an explorer because of its sentry, morale, medic I, woodsman II, and guerrilla II promotions. Ideally, your scout should be able (historically and in the game) to see beyond its enemy's line of sight, move more quickly through rough terrain, escape an attacker's advance, and if attacked but alive, heal itself without having to scurry 'home'. Remember to keep this one active until you either choose to make it a medic general or use it to, perhaps, scout other mysterious lands that lie far away from the known world
.In order to further the best approximation of a real earth terrain layout, several tiles have been modified throughout the map, so ee2 and e18 players beware: resources aren't always where you expected them to be. Plan accordingly.
Many flood plains have been upgraded to plains terrain instead of desert, intending to counterbalance the ill effects of the flood plains (in real life there are seasons where the flood plains are dangerous and seasons where they offer profound growth of life). Additionally, these plains upgrades (not every flood plain was modified and even some plains were upgraded to flood plains so watch the map carefully) will provide +1 food and +1 hammer over their desert counterparts making them a poacher's paradise. Your land will be coveted so don't leave your cities unprotected
.Forests have been given more (dare I say it) respect in this map versus some others. Large expanses in Russia, the Americas, Mongolia, etc. have been given additional forest cover making them better suited for later game options when food can be harvested from lesser tiles. Additionally, many jungle tiles were converted to forests. A misconception for some and bone of contention for others is why certain regions that are 'rainforests', for instance, are merely 'jungles' in CIV. Since the game (without modding it) does not provide for a 'rainforest' option (jungle/forest hybrid), forests displaced many jungles tiles in the equatorial and vicinity regions. Do not think this means you can treat these lands with any less respect. Jungles still exist; however forests will permit more rapid expansion and more favorable colonization later in the game.
A concept I have place in many of my maps is the addition of forests to coastal, lake, bay, harbor, and inlet waterways. While some (very few) have contested these tiles, most have expressed an appreciation for the merits these tiles provide. First, you get instant health bonuses from the forestation of the coastal regions (as in the real world, how often do you see a lake, coast, or inlet with no vegetation or forestation of any kind?). Second, water tiles with forests produce +1 base hammers (think moai on the coastal tiles). Third, these specialized tiles reduce movement rate of ships as they pass through. Some have contested this is unreasonable, but I subscribe to two notions supporting these tiles and their reduced movement rate: 1) lakes, bays, harbors, etc. generally have slower moving vessels anyway and deep water ships travel the ocean and other maritime areas far more then these inland seas and 2) any penalty of movement imho is less problematic than the benefits gained by the civilization that uses these tiles in their culture.
Generally speaking, the resources found in ee2 and their locations are preserved; however several food tiles have been added. In order to keep the game progressing lively and at a faster pace, tiles throughout the map have been given resources that are naturally occurring either in antiquity or the modern age (or any time in between) and food tiles top the list of the additions. Deer has given a more prominent role in heavily wooded regions (and fur have been added as well); cows and horses (not for meat in CIV I realize but they are often found together) are increased across the northern temperate zone; banana plays more prominently in the south temperate and tropical areas and spice are dotted along the 'spice routes' of the medieval and renaissance eras; silk and incense are increased around the Himalayas and into China; rice is increased in the Asia arena and wheat added to Russia and North America; hard metals and precious gems are increased in subSaharan and North American desert regions; ivory plays more centrally in central Africa, India, and Khmer; more seafood tiles are added throughout the map making coastal regions more inviting and many lakes have new seafood tiles.
Fundamental terrain changes that may shock certain players but based on satellite imagery and several photographs, I believe more accurately represent certain regions include: the addition and removal of hill and mountain tiles; conversion of plains to tundra or grassland (most hills adjacent high peaks are tundra whereas most coastal regions not expressly desert are upgraded to plains or grassland - most notably Carthage and Australia [more about Australia in the barbs section]); North America (except the Sierra Madre and Rockies) received more hills especially in the Appalachian region; South America received more hills in the rainforest regions; however, the Andes were raised and lowered part for realism and part for playability (more for realism) and the Incan and Chilean areas became plains and tundra instead of desert and plains; the Ural mountains were extended using hills and a few peaks were moved; the Himalayas were made more prominently tundra and hills permitting a pass from India to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc. were converted from peaks; Iran (Persia), Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and local regions were adjusted to reflect regional terrain found in satellite images. Many other terrain features than will be listed here were advanced as well ... you'll have to open the map to appreciate the details.
Barbarians, their cities, their culture (yes culture) and their locations play more prominently than I have seen in any other map to date. Why barbs at all you say? Glad you asked. Barbarians (especially in the classical world) were often just civilizations that had not yet grown into organized government. Additionally, vast regions of land that the 'would be' expansionist might attempt to 'land grab' will be contested early. Too many times, especially with a large number of humans in such a map, a couple wars will occupy a player for far too long a time to recover and expand before another human (unadulterated up to that point) shows up against the other human's capital culture with his 5th, 6th, 10th
city, landlocking the poor guy (or girl) who defended a 'noob rush' only to have wasted 30 minutes and 40 turns while the noob rusher quits and the region is impractically unbalanced. (For those who don't like or even loathe barbarians, turn raging barbarians off and you'll only have the preseeded cities/units) For the average (and even superior) player, a challenge from around a region you thought was 'free for the taking' may be a welcome diversion; for the valorous defender left landlocked, your occupation with barbarians may give him the well desired (and earned) respite while he recovers. Furthermore, barbarian cities over time will develop and could be diamonds in the rough.Barbs (round II): Australia (New Zealand and Tasmania as well), Siberia, the Arctic region of Russia, Japan, and the Americas all have ample barbarians to prevent an eager galley (and later galleon) with a single settler and worker from expanding beyond one's ability to defend. Later, once your land is developed and/or you prove you are the expedition authority you claim
, heartily expand into these regions and reap the benefits of the New Worlds .Civilizations and Leaders (recommendations are acceptable; however this revision will retain these leaders as they - and their random personalities - have proven they do not play well with each other ... and this, for you, is a good thing
):Saladin of Arabia; Justinian of Byzantium; Joao of Portugal; Elizabeth of England; Mao of China; Ramesses II of Egypt; Napoleon of France; Charlemagne of Holy Rome; Mehmed of Ottomans; Zara of Etiopia; Gandhi of India; Suryavarman II of Khmer; Mansa of Mali; Kublai of Mongolia; Darius of Persia; Augustus of Rome; Peter of Russia; and Ragnar of Vikings. In playing several ee2 and similar earth maps/scripts online with hundreds of players, I believe the variations (where a civ has more than one leader available) has made these leaders the appropriate ones for a late classical era start.
This is a simple format description and limited explanation of what I believe could be a fantastic earth variation.
Suggestion and constructive comments are welcome; however, I encourage you (any) to play most if not all civs before considering that one civ/player/region is OP, unplayable, etc. My experience with my maps (and others) has taught me there are rarely any unplayable situations - just tough decisions when I should have made a left and took a right
.Hope you all enjoy!
p.s. (though several things more could be said) SP mode should not tax most newer computers much; however MP should probably be limited to those who have solid graphics cards, connectivity, and hardware (especially hard drives) since the early barbarian activity and later AI/human interaction will use many 'calls' during the start of each (technically the end of the last for AI) turn. Also, the turn timer (recommend fast not blazing unless just a couple humans), level of difficulty (noble to start but play with it based on how difficult the AI/barbs become for you), era start (classical as stated), and game speed (quick, however noble may work well too) all compliment each fairly well. One admirable (imho) variation would be to choose prince of epic (in SP) or normal/monarch (MP with multiple humans) and watch the tech paradigms, AI attitudes, health, happiness, etc. etc. create entirely different outcomes each time. All victory conditions are recommended, vassal states are not; espionage is highly preferential but remember this will effect cultural expansion rates; random events with this much 'other' activity/turn are not recommended and technology trading/brokering in MP is highly unfavorable for some and horribly advantageous for others (in SP the AI WILL trade with each other and often not you making your tech almost certainly inferior later in the game); choose religions can be turned off, however, the game will distribute 3 religions early due to the classy start; random personalities is recommended for those who want a richer, more unexpected response from the AI; and tribal huts are not recommended (ever seen someone pop machinery in a hut and have mace before anyone else has even a small axe stack? yeah, not pretty). Enjoy!