Acken's Minimalistic Balance for singleplayer (and AI improvements)

[Imnoob]

R.E.D. modpack https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/r-e-d-modpack-v-27.15434/
R.E.D. Xtended https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/r-e-d-xtended.22564/
Does those two mods work with your mod or they will brake something?
Thanks

 

[Acken]

The first one seems to be a graphics mod ? So it should work. The second one adds units and rework promotion ? It will work but you can end up with very weird behaviors and bugs.

 

[Imnoob]

The first one seems to be a graphics mod ? So it should work. The second one adds units and rework promotion ? It will work but you can end up with very weird behaviors and bugs.

Stick with the first one then

 

[calad]

Honestly you should stick developing CiV5 instead of CiV6. CiV5 has about twice as many players as CiV6 and wont have any more updates to interfere with you, more easier and rewarding.

 

[IronfighterXXX]

I've played a few more deity games with 60% win to loss rate (4:3). I'm really happy from that, as feeling that you can lose is quite exciting. 2 from 3 games I lost started in the midddle of Pangea/Continents beeetwen three- four neighbours, which I think is a main reason when you can lose and can't do much about it. Once you get to Renaissance in pretty good shape, everything should be OK.

The game from screenshot below was different, I was about 20 turns from winning when Songhai came with ~ 25 Xcoms in one turn! On screenshot I've already lost few russian cities with many wonders, that's why my tourism output is not so big. Songhai was at war with EVERYONE from ~ turn 150 and somehow managed to win with - well - everyone. Because AI is still bad at war, even with this mod, I was fighting an equal fight with outdated units eg: Riflemen against GW Infantries, but Xcoms + atomic bombs were too much, gg

 

[tylerdurden846]

Hi Acken, love your mod! I am trying to use your mod with the Giant Earth expansion but cannot add more than 22 players, when I want to play the full 43 player game. Is there a way to fix this? Thanks

 

[Acken]

I've played a few more deity games with 60% win to loss rate (4:3). I'm really happy from that, as feeling that you can lose is quite exciting. 2 from 3 games I lost started in the midddle of Pangea/Continents beeetwen three- four neighbours, which I think is a main reason when you can lose and can't do much about it. Once you get to Renaissance in pretty good shape, everything should be OK.

The game from screenshot below was different, I was about 20 turns from winning when Songhai came with ~ 25 Xcoms in one turn! On screenshot I've already lost few russian cities with many wonders, that's why my tourism output is not so big. Songhai was at war with EVERYONE from ~ turn 150 and somehow managed to win with - well - everyone. Because AI is still bad at war, even with this mod, I was fighting an equal fight with outdated units eg: Riflemen against GW Infantries, but Xcoms + atomic bombs were too much, gg

Hey Ironfigher, glad you're having fun and that deity is still challenging to you Also I like that the AI is at least capable to go for dom victory.

Hi Acken, love your mod! I am trying to use your mod with the Giant Earth expansion but cannot add more than 22 players, when I want to play the full 43 player game. Is there a way to fix this? Thanks

Hmm sadly I'm not really sure how Giant Earth do that... arent they forced to use a dll for that ?

 

[bc1]

Great mod ! Finally got to winning on deity with so-so civs...

 

[anhlong1122]

wondering if anyone still here, for some reason I seem to can not start The World Congress, what to trigger this?

 

[yung.carl.jung]

bumping to let people know this is still the best Civ 5 AI mod and only a handful of people have beaten new Deity! I still return to it from time to time, even though I mostly play 6.

 

[bc1]

+1

nice to know I am not alone (except for civ 6 : i don't like it and hardly play it)

 

[Asterix Rage]

+1

Not alone at all (except I even never tried Civ6)

 

[yung.carl.jung]

so how many of you have done demigod/deity and do you think it's balanced?

when was your earliest recorded AI victory? I had Egypt win culture on ~t130 in an earlier version of the mod which was later balanced out. Had Deity AI win science sub200 a few times, too. Assuming standard speed, standard size.

 

[bc1]

i always try for domination victory on continental maps so i never win that fast (and my win ratio still needs work on deity - which is how it should be)
I think the mod very well balanced, except maybe the pace of tech and tourism could be slowed down a bit
playing by mistake without the mod regular deity feels like cakewalk, it's only a question of how fast the win!

Asterisk Rage, if you have played both Acken's and VP at deity levels, how do the two compare ?

 

[Asterix Rage]

Asterisk Rage, if you have played both Acken's and VP at deity levels, how do the two compare ?

VP and Acken are two very different concepts.
VP is like a super DLC for Civ5 with new features and gameplay mechanics when Acken turns Civ5 on a better Civ5 with very few new things.
Acken's minimalistic mod is among the best Civ5mods simply because it does very well what is expected. Highly recommended if you never used a mod before. The game will be almost the same than before with a better AI. That's the point.
VP is for those who are looking for a entirely new game.

The other big difference is that Acken is a finalized mod when VP is still in development.

EDIT: I didn't play Acken for a long time. So I'm not the best to tell how Acken deals with deity. I just remember that AI is less stupid for sure. AI's VP is definitly more advanced, but but the approch is more complexe.

 

[bc1]

actually I meant the "basic" VP without the new mechanics, just (mostly) the improved AI
Acken has clearly improved the AI at the strategic level, based on his experience as an outstanding civ 5 player, but has not changed the tactical AI much (beyond archers being able to move and shoot, and that's a major one)
i have the prejudice that VP mostly improves the tactical AI, which clearly needs improving, but that the VP team lacked Acken-level talent for overall strategy, and wanted your opinion, since combining the best of those mods is no longer an option - Acken has left the scene last year
Cheers

 

[DeAnno]

VP is like a super DLC for Civ5 with new features and gameplay mechanics when Acken turns Civ5 on a better Civ5 with very few new things.

This is a good comparison. I used to play Acken but switched to VP on my current binge because I like things that are being updated and changing. I think it's very accurate to say that VP is basically the 3rd DLC of Civ V, with tons of mechanics refurbished, the AI tuned up, and the "flagship" of the DLC would be the fully fleshed out new City State mechanics. If you remember the difference of playing Civ V with no DLC back in the ages where dinosaurs roamed the Earth and how big a deal it was to get the DLCs it's a very similar feeling.

The first few times you play it's overwhelming though, and the maps feel very poor at the start because most bonus resources start out invisible.

 

[bc1]

Thanks but new is not what i am looking for (i already own all civ 6 variants but ai sucks too much), it's the strategic challenge i am after
And Acken's delivers!
Cheers

 

[dan1ell1ma]

Thanks but new is not what i am looking for (i already own all civ 6 variants but ai sucks too much), it's the strategic challenge i am after
And Acken's delivers!
Cheers

Hello bc1! This mod works well with the EUI? Thanks dude, and nice work!

 

[Acken]

Thanks but new is not what i am looking for (i already own all civ 6 variants but ai sucks too much), it's the strategic challenge i am after
And Acken's delivers!
Cheers

Hey I'm glad there are still some people liking and playing the mod (although unfinished) from time to time. I connected out of curiosity I completely left the Civ scene after the release of Civ6 mostly because it was really disappointing to me and my career started peaking at the same time and I nowadays spend time mostly doing work related projects and just play games casually. I then tried the DLC but it still wasn't there for me due to awful AI and really questionable balance with no clear mod to really address these issues.