1.18 Civilizations - Brainstorming

I would argue that the Hepthalites (and other Hunas) were sufficiently Bactrianized that it makes sense to include them in an East Iranian civ, even if they were originally Turkic (which is not entirely certain either). There's just a lot of cultural and geographical (read: gameplay) parallels with the Kushan Empire that you don't really have with the most of the other polities that are considered to be under the Turkic civ.

I think it would be perfectly reasonable for an East Iranian umbrella civ to include any Sogdian or Khwarezmian polities as well, though I'm not aware of any that were notable enough to be represented - you could say that the Kushans and their successors were the only (classical) Bactrian(ized) polities big enough to represent. IIRC Tajiks are much more closely related to Persian and so I would put them under Persia (or Iran) - for medieval/modern successors, if we're going to have any at all, it might be better to look at the Pashtuns.
In the case of the Sogdians and Khwarazmanians they were the major powers in Transoxiana until the Iranian intermezzo in the 8th century when they gradually got absorbed into larger Persian culture under the Samanids. the Turks really don't gain any notable power until the 10th century conquests of the Ghaznavids and Seljuks, Though there was an Oghuz turkic state roughly between the Caspian and Aral seas at the time.
 
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I am considering this, but initially I want to keep things the same and see how it plays.
 
In my boredom waiting for 1.17, I've thought of an insanely fun and unique

Celtic UP: The Power of Migrations
Drafting is always available, has no cooldown, and reduced unhappiness. Drafting in a city of 1 population razes the city with no stability penalty and creates a settler.


Time to go in a grand tour migrating around Europe and overwhelm your enemies with your sheer numbers!
 
That sounds like something you could expand into the general nomad civs concept, but Leoreth seems to be envisioning the Celts as a more classical play experience?

Anyway, what do people think of Civ Reborn's take on Nubia, specifically its UHV as an amalgamation of ancient Nubia, christian Makuria and islamic Funj? For reference:

2500 BC in Kerma
UP - The Power of Vaults: +50% Production of Ancient Era Buildings with Stone
UU - Medjay: Replaces Archer, +1 Strength, +2 First Strikes, No Bonus vs Light Cavalry
UB - Deffufas: Replaces Monument, +1 Statesman, Priest Slots
UHV1 - The Nubian Dynasty: Build the Pyramids in Kerma by 656 BC and Control Egypt for 1000 years
UHV2 - The Makurian Crusades: Control 2 Orthodox Cathedrals and have Pleased or better relations with 5 other Christian Civilizations in 1365
UHV3 - The Blue Sultanate: Have the highest commerce output among Islamic civilizations and make Sennar the greatest city in all Africa by 1821
(I think this particular might not be completely up to date, but that's not really important.)

I like the idea, not necessarily these specific goals, but some sort of African counterpart to the Chinese experience of a very long UHV game - while the AI would probably collapse and respawn instead. On the other hand, there might be an argument for a more focused civ (that would presumably then represent ancient Nubia exclusively).
 
That sounds like something you could expand into the general nomad civs concept, but Leoreth seems to be envisioning the Celts as a more classical play experience?

Anyway, what do people think of Civ Reborn's take on Nubia, specifically its UHV as an amalgamation of ancient Nubia, christian Makuria and islamic Funj? For reference:


(I think this particular might not be completely up to date, but that's not really important.)

I like the idea, not necessarily these specific goals, but some sort of African counterpart to the Chinese experience of a very long UHV game - while the AI would probably collapse and respawn instead. On the other hand, there might be an argument for a more focused civ (that would presumably then represent ancient Nubia exclusively).

I think goal 3 should allow for a Christian or Islamic Civ.
 
That sounds like something you could expand into the general nomad civs concept, but Leoreth seems to be envisioning the Celts as a more classical play experience?

Anyway, what do people think of Civ Reborn's take on Nubia, specifically its UHV as an amalgamation of ancient Nubia, christian Makuria and islamic Funj? For reference:


(I think this particular might not be completely up to date, but that's not really important.)

I like the idea, not necessarily these specific goals, but some sort of African counterpart to the Chinese experience of a very long UHV game - while the AI would probably collapse and respawn instead. On the other hand, there might be an argument for a more focused civ (that would presumably then represent ancient Nubia exclusively).

I don't hate the idea but I think I'd prefer a more focused version of ancient Nubia. I mean just looking at that first UHV, it feels a lot like 2 rolled into one; it wouldn't take a whole bunch to figure out a third. If there's going to be an African version of China in terms of time scale I think Ethiopia would be a better fit. Or Mali, depending on how much it's going to represent Ghana and/or later Sahelian Empires.
 
Sorry, but wishlists aren't helpful. The purpose of this thread is to collect ideas about what a civilization would look like.
Well, the first stage of brainstorming is just variants generation, collecting & listing all the ideas without judging, aiming for quantity.
Then, after variants/time exhausted, viable ideas are selected and judged under certain criteria.
Then, most prospective ideas are further developed.

How detailed should a civ description be, to consider it seriously to add to the version?
For example, let's describe Imerina Civ:

Rises 1540 AD near Antananarivo, though first native minor civ settlements on Madagascar appear around 700 AD at east and south Madagascar to make full use of ocean tiles so cities capture all possible ocean tiles. Has spices, shugar, banana, elephants, stones (they built strong walls and castles), silk, uranium, copper resources and a lot of fish around Madagascar island, especially in the East. They fight against Betsimisaraka Native People's minor civ city in the East Madagascar and conquer it soon with high probability, but southern Native People's minor civ cities are likely to stand longer but still can be conquered with high probability later. Swahili are likely to settle in the north Madagascar, but Merina can culturally anex or conquer it with about 50% probability, a "wild card".
Must have fishing, sailing, horseback riding, agriculture, hunting, animal husbandry, mysticism techs on start.

UU: naked spearmen with strength equal to usual, something like Impi or Holcan (Foloalindahy?), might be available with just hunting tech.
UB: Rova instead of court, -20% city maintenance.
UP: Power of Vazimba, forest / jungle +1 food.
UHV1: Allow no tile of foreign culture tile on Madagascar by 1800 AD (unite Madagascar, capture all native cities and allow no foreign settlements).
UHV2: Have x gold by y year, or discover gunpowder by n year.
UHV3: Allow no European cities at Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles, Swahili coast or any Indian Ocean islands by 1960 AD.

Leader - Andriamanelo.
Have 1 settler and 2-3 spearman civ specific units at start.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merina_Kingdom

Is this description detailed enough to consider a Civ proposal seriously, or need more detailed?

Most of all I love Swahili proposal, this is a 100% must be Civ, I upvote it as much as I can, thanks for those who proposed!
https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/uhvs-abilities-uu-and-ub-for-new-civs.620715/post-14831876
If there is any doubt regarding adding Swahili Civ to this version - tell me, and I will spend time to develop it in more detail.
 
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I think you still misunderstand the purpose of this thread. It is not to compel me to consider something, seriously or otherwise. Throwing ideas at me will not make any difference in what I decide to do, and the point of detail is not to convince me of a particular idea. The purpose of adding detail is that if I decide to include a civilization in the game, the suggestion can be used as additional reference material that will inform my choices on what the civilization will look like. That is why I said that ideas without content are not very productive.
 
1. Congo, later Patrice Lumumba;
2. Kilwa, later may be Tanzania with Julius Nyerere;
3. Indonesia, might be several Civs if possible:
3a. Indonesian - Javanese, Majapahit;
3b. Indonesian - Malays, Srivijaya, Melayu (Sumatra);
3c. Indonesian - Bruneian Sultanate;
3d. Sulavesi Sultanate;
4. Oceanians, might be several Civs:
4a. Polynesians, Maori (New Zealand, Kiribati, Tonga, Samoa, Cook, Society, Kermadec Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tuamotu, Pitcairn, Rapa Nui, Hawaii, Gambier, Chatham, Jarvis, Phoenix, Niue, Line, Baker, Marquesas, Palmyra, Wallis, Austral, Mangareva, etc);
4b. Melanesians, (Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, Solomon, Papua, etc.);
4c. Polynesians can be splitted into many Civs - Maori of New Zealand Civ, Hawaiian Civ, Tuamotuan Civ, and more;
5. Zimbabwe / Monomotapa / Mapugwebe / Ndebele (starting much earlier, ancient - this was a great ancient & classical Civ that had libraries with a broad spectrum of scientific knowledge, Great Zimbabwe had tall walls and castle, gold mines, etc.)
6. Zululand as a separate Civ starting later;
7. Merina (Madagaskar);
8. Punt / Somalia;
9. Brazil;
10. Australia;
11. Gran Colombia under Simon Bolivar;
12. Buganda, Rwanda, Malawi - Great African Lakes Bantu Civs;
13. Lunda, Luba, Lozi - jungle African Civs;
14. Ndongo, Matamba, Ngola, SWAPO.
15. Viet Nam;
16. Argentina;
17. Chimor;
18. Aymara;
19. Mapuche;
20. Chile under Salvador Allende, Project Cybersyn might be their late wonder;
21. Tupi;
22. Scythians, Uyghurs, Huns, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, other nomadic;
23. Cuba under Fidel;
24. Poland;
25. Magyar;
26. Armenia, Georgia, or other Caucasian;
27. Libyan;
28. Kush;
29. Bachwezi (Kitara);
30. Celts, starting in France, and their last cities to be conquered will be Ireland.

Civs to merge:
a. Shumeria, Babilonia = same civ;
b. Holy Roman Empire, Germany = same Civ.
c. Vikings, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Baltic states, etc. = same civ.
d. Kievan Russia, Belorussia, Moscow Russia, Free Territory by Makhno = same Civ, Russia. Today's war can be referred as a was between Poland, a European Civ, and Russia, a mixed Eurasian Civ.
A 100% must bu Civilization to balance is Maori, because Polynesia and huge number of pacific ocean small islands are empty.
Maori were able to make such a fierce skillful and intelligent resistance against European colonization that Europeans suffered notable losses and gave Maori more rights then most colonized populations ever enjoyed: https://qr.ae/prroZS
Maori even managed to capture European ships using just Waka canoes (galleys)! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waka_(canoe)
We also need to add and/or make sufficiently habitable many smaller islands: Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Falkland, Sandwich Islands, Kerguelen, Crozet, Prince Edward (Herd and Bouvet might be snow but others plains hills and habitable!), Mauritius, Reunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles, Comoros, Malabar/Aldabra/Cosmoledo, Outer Islands, Vingt Cinq, Coetivity, Chagos, Maldives, Cocos islands, Spices Islands, New Zealand = Aotearoa, Kiribati including Kiritimati Baker Tarawa, Tonga, Samoa, Cook, Society, Kermadec Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tahiti & other Tuamotu, Pitcairn, Rapa Nui Hanga Roa, Hawaii, Gambier, Chatham, Auckland, Antipodes, Kingston, Jarvis, Phoenix, Niue, Line, Washington, Ua Huka Marquesas, Palmyra, Wallis, Austral, Mangareva, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands, Papua, etc.);

So, Maori is a too significant civilization to be ignored! The description:

Rising 1300 AD in the middle of New Zealand = Aotearoa, taking both South and North islands. The exact starting tile should be in the South Island end close to North Island, selected mainly from consideration that next cities will be maximally outwards into oceans, taking working all possible tiles, so no tiles are wasted uncultivated by cities, as they had many cities.

UU: Toa, replaces swordsman. Gets Combat 1 + Woodsman 1 + Amphibious free promotions on start, can be built without iron or other resources, +25% against melee units, no gold maintenance cost, enemy units on adjacent tiles get -10% of their respective strength multiplier rounded to nearest integer (units can't die because of solely this feature, just 0.9 multiplier to their strength).
UB: Pa, replaces walls: 70% defense instead of usual 50%, -30% bombardment damage, Woodsman 1 and Combat 1 free promotions for melee, archery, mounted and gunpowder units (cumulative for Toa, if city has Pa Toa has Combat 2 Woodsman 2 instead of 1 each + Amphibious), +1 culture.
UP: Power of navigation: any naval units can enter ocean from start, meaning fishing boats and galleys can travel anywhere before astronomy / optics.
UHV1: Found at least 2 or more cities on the South Island and 2 or more cities on the North Island of New Zealand, and allow no foreign culture tiles on New Zealand = Aotearoa including big South Island and North Island, Chatham, Auckland, Antipodes, Kingston by 1800 AD.
UHV2: Capture / sink at least 3 or more European ships. Achieving this goal can also give gunpowder tech.
UHV3: Allow no European settlements and no tile of European culture in any island or coast of the whole Pacific Ocean (including South America, Asia, etc.), Australia and Indonesia by 1960 AD.

Leader - Kupe.
Have 2 settlers, 3 Toa, 1 galley on start.
Starting techs: fishing, sailing, agriculture, hunting, horseback riding, mysticism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Māori_people

P.S. Descriptions of some Civilizations including Maori, Indonesians, Kongolese, Viet Nam, Mapuche, Scythian, Polish, Magyar, Gran Columbian, Brazilian, Australian, Nubian – can be taken from Civ6:
https://civilization.fandom.com/wiki/Civilizations_(Civ6)
But other important missing Civs I think must be included are Moari and other Polynesinas are 100% necessary must be to balance a huge empty Pacific Ocean, Indonesians might be separated into Javanese and Malay or stay as Indonesians, Kongolese must be, Great Zimbabwe Mwenemutapa must be it was a grat empire with libraries castles science and more, while keeping Zulu Empire as separate Civ to South Africa, Swahili 100% must be, Australia, Tupi / Brazil, Bachwezi / Kitara / Malawi / Buganda or something for African Great Lakes Civ, Gran Colombia, Mapuche / Chile, Andean Civilizations must start much earlier around 600 AD with Tiwanaku Empire while Tawantinsuyu (Incas) can represent all Andean Civs, or Chimor, Aymara, Wari can be either minor civs or playable separate Civs later conquered by Incas from Cuzco, with Tawantinsuyu overwhelming power and almost no chances to stand against. Less important, can include Armenian, Libyan, Punt / Somalia, Merina, Scythians, Khazakhs, Tatar, Poland, Magyar, Viet Nam, Kush, Phoenecia might be separate from Carthage as USA is separate from Britain or Latin America separate from Spain.
I will describe more Civs and/or improve existing later when I have time. Considering we have Swahili (together or Punt / Somalia and Merina as separate Civs), Indonesian (together or separated as Javanese, Malay, or more), and Polynesian (as Maori, or separated to more Civs like Maori, Hawaiian, Tuamotu, and more) - Zimbabwe / Mwenemutapa, Kongolese, Tupi / Brazil, Australia should be my next priorities, then Bachwezi, Mapuche / Chili and maybe more Andean Civs, or minor Civs that will rise much earlier and be swallowed by Tawantinsuyu Incas.
 
I think you still misunderstand the purpose of this thread. It is not to compel me to consider something, seriously or otherwise. Throwing ideas at me will not make any difference in what I decide to do, and the point of detail is not to convince me of a particular idea. The purpose of adding detail is that if I decide to include a civilization in the game, the suggestion can be used as additional reference material that will inform my choices on what the civilization will look like. That is why I said that ideas without content are not very productive.
Do you mean more references to historical sources are needed?
 
I could be wrong but I think that for now the specific civilizations to be included are very likely to be fixed, because the current list (as detailed in the opening post) is based exclusively on civs that will have the greatest impact on the balance of the new map, as determined by Leoreth, rather than any other consideration. This thread is for discussing how these civs could be implemented, but there's nothing binding him to follow a particular suggestion either.
 
Do you mean more references to historical sources are needed?
They are nice but not needed. It's about how substantial the suggestion is in terms of game content. Less "we need civ X because reason and reason" and more "if civ X is added then a good UU would be Y, it played an important role in events and developments".
 
It probably makes more sense to start with the Bagan Kingdom.
 
In that case, My pitch/take on Burma.

Spawn date:830 ad

UP:The power of Faith: Has access to both pagan and religious temples and their bonuses.(Burmese Buddhism is highly syncretic with with the local folk religion).
Pagan faith: Nat

no ideas about UUs or UBs


UHV 1: City of 10000 temples
Build a Nat temple a Buddhist stupa and the Shwedagon paya in pagan by 1000ad

UHV 2:Irrawaddy Agriculture
Have 15 pops amongst all cities and 1000 gold by 1200ad

UHV 3:Toungoo Dominance
Conquer the cores of two other Indochinese civs by 1580ad
 
1. Congo, later Patrice Lumumba;
2. Kilwa, later may be Tanzania with Julius Nyerere;
3. Indonesia, might be several Civs if possible:
3a. Indonesian - Javanese, Majapahit;
3b. Indonesian - Malays, Srivijaya, Melayu (Sumatra);
3c. Indonesian - Bruneian Sultanate;
3d. Sulavesi Sultanate;
4. Oceanians, might be several Civs:
4a. Polynesians, Maori (New Zealand, Kiribati, Tonga, Samoa, Cook, Society, Kermadec Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tuamotu, Pitcairn, Rapa Nui, Hawaii, Gambier, Chatham, Jarvis, Phoenix, Niue, Line, Baker, Marquesas, Palmyra, Wallis, Austral, Mangareva, etc);
4b. Melanesians, (Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, Solomon, Papua, etc.);
4c. Polynesians can be splitted into many Civs - Maori of New Zealand Civ, Hawaiian Civ, Tuamotuan Civ, and more;
5. Zimbabwe / Monomotapa / Mapugwebe / Ndebele (starting much earlier, ancient - this was a great ancient & classical Civ that had libraries with a broad spectrum of scientific knowledge, Great Zimbabwe had tall walls and castle, gold mines, etc.)
6. Zululand as a separate Civ starting later;
7. Merina (Madagaskar);
8. Punt / Somalia;
9. Brazil;
10. Australia;
11. Gran Colombia under Simon Bolivar;
12. Buganda, Rwanda, Malawi - Great African Lakes Bantu Civs;
13. Lunda, Luba, Lozi - jungle African Civs;
14. Ndongo, Matamba, Ngola, SWAPO.
15. Viet Nam;
16. Argentina;
17. Chimor;
18. Aymara;
19. Mapuche;
20. Chile under Salvador Allende, Project Cybersyn might be their late wonder;
21. Tupi;
22. Scythians, Uyghurs, Huns, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, other nomadic;
23. Cuba under Fidel;
24. Poland;
25. Magyar;
26. Armenia, Georgia, or other Caucasian;
27. Libyan;
28. Kush;
29. Bachwezi (Kitara);
30. Celts, starting in France, and their last cities to be conquered will be Ireland.

Civs to merge:
a. Shumeria, Babilonia = same civ;
b. Holy Roman Empire, Germany = same Civ.
c. Vikings, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Baltic states, etc. = same civ.
d. Kievan Russia, Belorussia, Moscow Russia, Free Territory by Makhno = same Civ, Russia. Today's war can be referred as a was between Poland, a European Civ, and Russia, a mixed Eurasian Civ.
Great Zimbabwe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Zimbabwe ancient Civilization proposal representing ancient Gokomere + Mapungubwe + Great Zimbabwe + Mwenemutapa Empire + Butua Kingdom + Rozvi Empire Civilizations (like Schumeria and Babylonia or Holly Roman Empire and Germany or Rome and Italic descendant Civs are same Civs in same place but different time) located in modern Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, parts of Malawi and Mozambique, while keeping Zulu Empire as a separate Civ for South Africa and maybe part of Mozambique, and keeping Kilwa / Swahili as a separate Civ for Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, and maybe parts of Somalia with high chances to settle in Comoros, Madagascar, and smaller surrounding islands later.
Great Zimbabwe had probably the most ancient library in Southern Hemisphere of the world, early entered Iron Age, had pottery, masonry, writing, construction, and probably some of most advanced technologies and libraries in Africa south from the Equator, thanks to gold and ivory trade with Swahili, China, India, Persia, and other Civs.

Rising 300 AD as Gokomere, then changing leader becoming Mapungubwe, then changing leader becoming Great Zimbabwe, then changing leader becoming Mwenemutapa, but Civ can stay same.
UU: Probably spearmen similar to Zulu requiring copper or iron but with Garrison 1 free starting promotion. But Zimbabwean empires had diverse weapons, that can be also swordsmen, axemen, archers, pikemen, or some cavalry units – or even musketeers, latest of Black civs in the region resisting European colonization had even guns. But it should be some Spearman I think, because spears were the most common weapon in Africa. It might be also a unit with spears replacing axemen or swordsmen, because Zimbabwean Civs were diverse over long historical period, but a spear / assegai was the most frequently used weapon in Africa.
UB: Zimbabwe, replaces castle. Zimbabwe gives +3 culture +1 food because terraces around and fruit trees inside fortress and wells. Walls are free from power, but Zimbabwe (castle) has to be build.
UP: The power of soapstone Zimbabwe Birds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe_Bird (African Fish Eagles): free Monument and Walls in every city (whether founded, captured, filliped, culturally annexed, traded through diplomacy / congress, or otherwise acquired) that appear with corresponding technologies but never disappear even when those technologies obsolete, but become UNESCO cultural heritage instead with culture bonus; free Library in every city after completing UHV1 goal because Zimbabwe was famous for most ancient libraries in many Zimbabwes, and Elephants +1 quarry +1 mine +1 hammer = production because Zimbabwean Civs very famous for advanced mining, construction, and jewelry from metals stones and ivory. Zimbabwe is a self-name by the Shona people who built the Great Zimbabwe and other Zimbabwes, corrupt european word originated from Shona Dzimba-dza-mabwe meaning “stone houses” – when Portuguese saw the great stone fortress and ruins, they asked locals what is it and Shona people told it is Zimbabwe. There were many Zimbabwes (stone fortified settlements in the area, and the Great Zimbabwe, the biggest one which was the capital, is called so to be distinguished from many other smaller Zimbabwes around. The modern country Zimbabwe was named after the Great Zimbabwe, which is both ruins and ancient Black empire name. Zimbabwe was the only ancient civilization with stone houses for long time in the region, other Civs like Zulu built Kraals villages from wood, straw, bamboo and mud covered by palm leaves as roof.
Shortly, UP = free monument free walls free library in every city +1 production for mine quarry elephants.
UHV1: Ancient Knowledge:
Build a Monument https://www.wmf.org/project/great-zimbabwe , a Library http://mangemba.blogspot.com/2014/05/history-of-libraries-in-zimbabwe.html & https://uh.edu/engines/CD-SoulOfACity/engines_of_our_ingenuity-soul_of_a_city-track3.html , a Castle https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-zimbabwe , any Temple https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A3FBN3WLAOF7IM8V , Aqueduct and Amphitheater https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/great-zimbabwe-ca-1000-1550-ad/ , and discover Iron Working tech by 1300 AD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Zimbabwe
UHV2: Trade Network:
Sign Open Borders Agreements with Swahili Kilwa Civ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilwa_Sultanate , Congo Civ https://rightforeducation.org/2017/07/28/kongo-kingdom/ , Zulu Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu_Kingdom , Persia, Carthage, Arabia, Egypt, India, and China (because there was evidence of wast trade network of Great Zimbabwe Civ spreading from Kilwa up to China and Phoenicia , with all middle Civs on the way included https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Zimbabwe#Trade ) at least once before 1850 AD (because the Zulu Empire and Rozvi Empire, the latest of pre-european pre-conozation Zimbabwean empires co-existed, had relationships with the Zulu Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu_Kingdom , and even participated in some conflicts together: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rozvi_Empire ) at least once BEFORE 1850 AD (meaning Open Borders agreement must be signed at least once in a history with ALL Civs up to China in the east and Carthage in the west and Zulu in the South and all middle Civs on the way, but if any Civ collapses or declares war or otherwise cancels Open Borders Agreement the goal is still accomplished) AND control at least 3 Elephant/Ivory, 3 Gold, 1 Gems and 1 Horse resources in 1850 AD . All this resources must be nearby, because South Africa has most gold and platinum in the world much more then any other single country, and must have 3 gold resources in South Africa and Zimbabwe;
Also while I remember, Chile has most Copper in the world much more then any other single country so Incas’ Tawantinsuyu must have 4 Copper resources, and Australia has most Uranium in the world much more then any single country and must have 3 Uranium resources, and Venezuela has a lot oil comparable to that of Arabian peninsula thus should have 2 oil, I did research on amounts of fossil resources in countries to place them correctly. Most oil must be deleted from Europe and north Asia as their reserves are tiny comparable to Arabia and Venezuela, and also Australia has most Aluminum about 3 aluminum resources while almost none in Europe and Asia comparable to Australia, and also a lot of Iron in Australia, and Indonesia should have most fish in the world as the most densely populated islands in the world, especially Java, especially Jakarta and Surabaya. So, Europeans need colonies worldwide to get strategic resources – they can gain it with more techs, money, and units on start – but continents and islands landmass proportions and resources need to be accurate, the continents and islands sizes were most important worst lies of original RFC, many important islands were missing or modeled as mountain / snow while were inhabited, for example Kerguelen Crozet Mauritius Reunion Seychelles Chagos Chathem St Helena’s Ascension Tristan-da-Kunha many Polynesian islands etc. Black Africa should have Elephants or Horses resources in each city because Elephants and Zebras were everywhere before European colonization, a lot of bananas and fish, and Great Zimbawe should have stone to build castle, copper, iron, elephants, horses, gems, and a lot of gold around. Most importantly, the Equator should be in the middle with Southern Hemisphere equal to Northern Hemisphere in size, continents and islands proportions realistic with all missing islands included, more accurate resources proportions worldwide, and most importantly Gall-Peters map projection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gall–Peters_projection accurately representing planetary surface proportions is needed – then we get realistic proportions of continents and islands.
I earlier did an improved RFC map https://forums.civfanatics.com/thre...curate-realistic-map-for-civ4-bts-rfc.679066/ with missed islands added and continent shapes more accurate, the Equator line moved 4 tiles up (2-3 more tiles up needed to make the Equator exactly in the middle of the map but otherwise Native American Civs too far in the sea), that proposal is probably obsolete by this very nice modmod with more Equatorial and tropical Civs, but those map can still be used as reference to add the missing islands (even some islands that host whole modern states in Pacific Ocean were missed, and many inhabited islands worldwide), continents proportions, and resources proportions. I spent rather much time to include and characterize all missing islands proportional their sizes: for tiny islands there were no food resources, for small islands there was 1-2 whales, for average islands there was a crab or clam or fish for bigger than average more populated archipelagos, for big islands there was additional stone or marble to increase productivity while almost all islands were plains hills so they could build something, and biggest islands like Fiji and Vanuatu had up to two food resources like fish and crab / clam. They didn’t grow too big because were restricted by other islands from all sides.
UHV3: Decolonization:
Allow no European colonies in Black Africa (Swahili Kilwa, Congo, Zulu territories and anywhere south from Sahara) including Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Rodriguez, Seychelles, Outer islands, Vingt Cinq, Coetivity, Comoros, Cosmoledo, Kerguelen, Crozet, Prince Edward, Amsterdam, Sao Tome and Principe, and all surrounding African Islands, maybe including St. Helena Island + Ascension + Tristan-da-Kunha + Bouvet islands in 1950 AD.
Leaders: King Nyatsimba Mutota for Great Zimbabwe and Mwenemutapa, King Changamire Dombo for Rozvi, President Robert Mugabe can be industrial / modern era leader for decolonization.
Starting units: 1 settler, 2 spearmen.
Starting techs: agriculture, mining, mysticism, masonry, pottery, hunting.

Great Zimbabwe is a great Civ for balancing, because Swahili Kilwa rise only in medieval era and Zulu Civ rises only in renaissance era – most of Black Africa was empty most of the game, Great Zimbabwe was the only ancient Civ in whole Equatorial Africa and all Southern Hemisphere of Africa, we should fix that…
Also, Zulu people actually started a war that lead to great migrations including Nguni tribes moving north from South Africa that lead to wars and destruction and fall the of Great Zimbabwe / Mwenemutapa Empire / Rozvi Empire. So, this Civs should be interconnected and meeting each other.

P.S. We also need to add and/or make sufficiently habitable many smaller islands: Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Falkland, Sandwich Islands, Kerguelen, Crozet, Prince Edward (Herd and Bouvet might be snow but others plains hills and habitable!), Amsterdam Island, Mauritius, Reunion, Rodriguez, Seychelles, Comoros, Malabar/Aldabra/Cosmoledo, Outer Islands, Vingt Cinq, Coetivity, Chagos, Maldives, Cocos islands, Spices Islands, New Zealand = Aotearoa, Kiribati including Kiritimati Baker Tarawa, Tonga, Samoa, Cook, Society, Kermadec Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tahiti & other Tuamotu, Pitcairn, Rapa Nui Hanga Roa, Hawaii, Gambier, Chatham, Auckland, Antipodes, Kingston, Jarvis, Phoenix, Niue, Line, Washington, Ua Huka Marquesas, Palmyra, Wallis, Austral, Mangareva, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands, Papua, etc.);
 
I really like the additional civs in 1.17 and think they will have a significant role in spicing up the Bronze Age and SE Asia, two areas that had previously been begging for attention.

In 1.18, I think that the priority should similarly be on one previously underdeveloped time period, the de-colonization era, and the most glaringly underdeveloped region, West Africa.

For the modern world, in list of priority, 3 new civs are needed. And I should add that even if the prohibition on post-Canada civs stands then these could be made into non-playable civs like the Celts. Their mere inclusions would help with historicity and game balance.

Australia: Spawn 1901
Priority: High

Logic: Australia in-game is a never-assailed production zone for the British Empire by the 1900s and, along with India and South Africa makes Britain post-1950 OP b/c it never declines as it should. Adding Australia weakens Britain and adds a civilization to Oceania with one-of-a-kind UHVs.

UP: The Land down Under -- All plots without improvements provide +1 gold.
Logic: This UP will encourage settlement of the interior and help Australia to establish a strong economy, despite the late spawn date.

UHV 1: Tame the Outback -- Settle all (or X% of if the desert can't be settled) of modern Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania and connect every city in mainland Australia to the capital by road by 1975.
Logic: Australia was scarcely populated well into the second half of the 20th century and still is. Highway 1 was officially commissioned in 1975. It is the longest highway in the world.

UHV 2: Gunfire Breakfast -- Gift 25 industrial era or later units to the U.K. by 1950. Gift 50 industrial era or later units to the U.S. by 2000.
Logic: Gunfire Breakfast is a traditional breakfast in the British Army from WW1 that is traditionally consumed on ANZAC Day. This will make the British navy/air force more powerful in the early Twentieth Century then strengthen America in the second half of the Twentieth.

UHV 3: The Golden Logie -- Build the Olympics, the Sydney Opera House, and have one city with 10,000 culture by 2000.
Logic: The Logies are Australian Television Awards, and the Golden Logie is given to the most popular television personality in Australia. Since this would be the cultural hub, it's a clever play on an Australian cultural object. The objective is based on Australian TV culture's worldwide acclaim, the Sydney Opera House's iconic status, and Sydney's place as host of the 2000 Olympic Games. This objective will make objectives 1 and 2 more difficult by forcing Australia's capital to focus on culture.

UU: Digger -- Replaces the Infantry and comes with +25% city defense built-in. This will help Australia to defend itself while it ships all its military off to Britain and America.
UB: Ore Refinery -- Replaces the industrial park and generates +1 trade route. Again, it will help the economy with Australia's late start.

South Africa: Spawn 1910
Priority: Medium-High

Logic: South Africa in-game is a rarely-assailed production zone for the British Empire by the 1900s and, along with India and South Africa makes Britain post-1950 OP b/c it never declines as it should. Adding South Africa weakens Britain and adds a civilization to Africa with one-of-a-kind UHVs.

UP: Race Classification -- When 3 citizens of a city of 4 or more become unhappy, the next turn the population decreases by 3 and a laborer is generated automatically. This UP disappears if the country embraces the egalitarianism civic.
Logic: This UP represents the apartheid system of South Africa. I think it fairly represents both the cruel nature of the oppression and will help to create the workers that will build the nation's infrastructure in a hurry to compensate for its late start.

UHV 1: Blood Mines -- Settle or vassalize all of South Africa and the Congo, have all cities connected by rail, and mine at least X(3?) sources of diamonds, X(3?) sources of gold X(2?) sources of copper, and X(2?) sources of aluminum in 1965.
Logic: In 1965, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe became independent from Britain, making South Africa the dominant regional power with its monopoly on rail transport and mineral exports.

UHV 2: Rainbow Nation -- Have the most surplus happiness per city in the world in 2010.
Logic: 2010 is the year South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup and showcased its diversity. This UHV is good because it will require South Africa to focus on happiness buildings, end apartheid sometime after it achieves its 1965 UHV, and keep its population small -- which will prevent it from becoming unrealistically strong.

UHV 3: An African Bomb -- Build 6(?) nuclear weapons by 1989.
Logic: In 1979, South Africa tested its first nuclear weapon, and in 1982 it acquired its first operational weapon, Cabot. At the time it got rid of its nukes in 1989, it had a small nuclear arsenal of 6 bombs. It remains the only African country to ever possess a nuclear weapon.

UU: Cape Corps -- Replaces the Infantry and can build roads and railroads. This will help South Africa to fight and develop its infrastructure.
UB: HIV Treatment Center -- Replaces the hospital. Provides +2 additional happiness. Helps with the rainbow nation goal.

Manchus (Mongol re-spawn): Spawn 1616
Priority: Medium-Low

Logic: We need a Qing civ and a China civ. The latter should tech reasonably well, even into the modern era. The latter should be backward and vulnerable after an initial conquest. A Mongol re-spawn really doesn't add much to the game, and even the fact of its modern independence was and is tenuous at best.

UP: Green Standard Army -- When a pre-renaissance unit is defeated, there is a 50% chance that it joins your army.
Logic: This allows the Qing to rapidly metabolize the Chinese army on conquest.

UHV 1: All Under Heaven -- Control or vassalize all of China, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Manchuria, Tibet, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan and have 5 vassals in 1760.
Logic: Set up an East Asian tributary system.

UHV 2: The Middle Kingdom -- Have the largest economy and population in the world in 1860.
Logic: 1860 is the year of the Second Opium War's Ending. By this point European economies should be your primary competition.

UHV 3: Self-Strengthening -- Complete 8 industrial era technologies by 1900.
Logic: The tech rate for Qing will be truly terrible, so this will be a challenge. I assume GP would have to be used.

UU: Eight Banner Cavalry -- Replaces the lancer. Has +25% against gunpowder and archery units. They will cut through the Chinese city defenders.
UB: Tai-pan (Canton trading factory) -- Replaces the lighthouse. Provides +25% commerce instead of an additional trade route. This building will be very beneficial in the 1600s when trade routes are less valuable, but its value will taper off.

I will add my thoughts on a new West African civ, Songhai, later. But simply put, more should be going on there both to better represent its historical development as a part of the larger Medieval world, and so that the French can eventually come in and conquer the chaotic region. The Second French Empire never forms in my games.
 
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