'Realer' Mod, v1.0 (This mod is for Civ4 1.62. I don't have Warlords.)
This is a standard big world map, using seriously altered rules,
intended to make it more like the real world. The changes have the
downside of decreasing play balance, because successful civilizations
do grow more realistically powerful with time than in the original game.
Many technologies have been moved earlier in the game, added, or
changed.
I've bundled an xml-stream-editing 'C' quickie program I wrote to make
the move changes, xmlsed.c. It's copyrighted under the BSD license,
meaning you can do what you want with it except sue me. The command used
to alter the CIV4UnitInfos.xml file was:
xmlsed -t iMoves "*3" < CIV4UnitInfos.xml > CIV4UnitInfos.xml.new
Changes:
1. Moves have been tripled. This allows more realistic scouting,
contact, and conquest rates. It also makes barbarian raids more
realistically dangerous. And I find the game more fun this way.
2. Like in Civ2, governments have been changed drastically.
Monarchy appears earlier, depending only on polytheism, since there
were plenty of kings in ancient times; Divine Right is gone,
because that was really always part of monarchy.
Constitution and Democracy appear much earlier, depending on Code
Of Laws. But Democracy only gets you an Athenian-style direct
democracy; other cities in your empire are assumed to be in an
Athenian-style empire where the subsidiary cities could only vote
on internal issues. So, Representation now buys you the boost that
Bureacracy gave.
A new advance, Republican Democracy, appears in the Age of Reason,
just like in the real world. It depends on Corporation, since an
at least mildly wealthy elite appears to be needed for its success.
Like in civ2, governments do alot more. Hereditary Rule and Police
State both double military production, Democracy doubles both
gold and all production of your capital city (it does what
Bureaucracy used to do; Bureaucracy no longer does that).
Republican Democracy allows you to get the Democracy bonus for your
whole Empire.
Code of Laws now only depends on Mysticism (Hammurabi had his out
the door much, much earlier than Civ would allow).
3. Economics happen faster and more realistically.
Currency appears much earlier, dependent on either Pottery or
Bronze Working. Currency was the first form of writing in many
areas, historically; it was really only dependent on having
something appropriate to strike it on. I recently saw a pottery
envelope contract predating 1000AD in a museum in Istanbul.
Lending is a late ancient invention, dating to Ancient Greece. The
Athenians had a special court for dealing with loans. Banking now
depends on Constitution, Currency, and Alphabet.
Economics and Corporation are now swapped, appearing in the order
they really did, Corporation prereq to Econ.
4. Other Tech Changes
Meditation was too early; now it depends on Priesthood.
Math depends on Writing instead of Alphabet.
A new advance, Stirrup, has been introduced.
5. Units
Cannon depends on Gunpowder now. The basic game has it wait 'til
artillery was showing up in the real world (!).
Knights are weaker against longbow and Keshik units, as they
really were. The longbow just about obsoleted heavy cavalry in
Europe, and Genghis Khan's Keshik also specifically was especially
powerful against heavy cavalry, because they also fired bows with,
er, armor-piercing rounds.
The Keshik is more powerful, and depends on Feudalism, like the
Longbowman.
6. Future changes:
Make economics more powerful: I intend to try making Markets,
Banks, and Wall Street more powerful still, with bigger
improvements. Grocers will continue to yield only a 25% gold
improvement, but better happiness and food bonuses will be added.
Naval units will be given doubled movement bonuses even beyond the
tripling already there. I need to upgrade xmlsed a bit to do that.
Currently, as some post somewhere grumbled, seas in Civ divide. In
real life, seas were much better means of travel than roads all the
way until the railroad showed up.
Rationalize medieval techs.
Trading of increasingly sophisticated/pricy items.
This is a standard big world map, using seriously altered rules,
intended to make it more like the real world. The changes have the
downside of decreasing play balance, because successful civilizations
do grow more realistically powerful with time than in the original game.
Many technologies have been moved earlier in the game, added, or
changed.
I've bundled an xml-stream-editing 'C' quickie program I wrote to make
the move changes, xmlsed.c. It's copyrighted under the BSD license,
meaning you can do what you want with it except sue me. The command used
to alter the CIV4UnitInfos.xml file was:
xmlsed -t iMoves "*3" < CIV4UnitInfos.xml > CIV4UnitInfos.xml.new
Changes:
1. Moves have been tripled. This allows more realistic scouting,
contact, and conquest rates. It also makes barbarian raids more
realistically dangerous. And I find the game more fun this way.
2. Like in Civ2, governments have been changed drastically.
Monarchy appears earlier, depending only on polytheism, since there
were plenty of kings in ancient times; Divine Right is gone,
because that was really always part of monarchy.
Constitution and Democracy appear much earlier, depending on Code
Of Laws. But Democracy only gets you an Athenian-style direct
democracy; other cities in your empire are assumed to be in an
Athenian-style empire where the subsidiary cities could only vote
on internal issues. So, Representation now buys you the boost that
Bureacracy gave.
A new advance, Republican Democracy, appears in the Age of Reason,
just like in the real world. It depends on Corporation, since an
at least mildly wealthy elite appears to be needed for its success.
Like in civ2, governments do alot more. Hereditary Rule and Police
State both double military production, Democracy doubles both
gold and all production of your capital city (it does what
Bureaucracy used to do; Bureaucracy no longer does that).
Republican Democracy allows you to get the Democracy bonus for your
whole Empire.
Code of Laws now only depends on Mysticism (Hammurabi had his out
the door much, much earlier than Civ would allow).
3. Economics happen faster and more realistically.
Currency appears much earlier, dependent on either Pottery or
Bronze Working. Currency was the first form of writing in many
areas, historically; it was really only dependent on having
something appropriate to strike it on. I recently saw a pottery
envelope contract predating 1000AD in a museum in Istanbul.
Lending is a late ancient invention, dating to Ancient Greece. The
Athenians had a special court for dealing with loans. Banking now
depends on Constitution, Currency, and Alphabet.
Economics and Corporation are now swapped, appearing in the order
they really did, Corporation prereq to Econ.
4. Other Tech Changes
Meditation was too early; now it depends on Priesthood.
Math depends on Writing instead of Alphabet.
A new advance, Stirrup, has been introduced.
5. Units
Cannon depends on Gunpowder now. The basic game has it wait 'til
artillery was showing up in the real world (!).
Knights are weaker against longbow and Keshik units, as they
really were. The longbow just about obsoleted heavy cavalry in
Europe, and Genghis Khan's Keshik also specifically was especially
powerful against heavy cavalry, because they also fired bows with,
er, armor-piercing rounds.
The Keshik is more powerful, and depends on Feudalism, like the
Longbowman.
6. Future changes:
Make economics more powerful: I intend to try making Markets,
Banks, and Wall Street more powerful still, with bigger
improvements. Grocers will continue to yield only a 25% gold
improvement, but better happiness and food bonuses will be added.
Naval units will be given doubled movement bonuses even beyond the
tripling already there. I need to upgrade xmlsed a bit to do that.
Currently, as some post somewhere grumbled, seas in Civ divide. In
real life, seas were much better means of travel than roads all the
way until the railroad showed up.
Rationalize medieval techs.
Trading of increasingly sophisticated/pricy items.