AdvCiv-SAS (Simple Advanced Strategy)

[Rawwwrr]

I often converted the marathon to the standard values for playing AdvCiv/AdvCiv-SAS. I don't understand why it was necessary to touch it at all: those who want to play faster will simply choose a higher speed. The marathon opens up well in conjunction with this mod on ultra-sized maps and with 30-48 AI, the game feels really global. I recommend the mod for review, perhaps you will transfer these card sizes and other settings yourself.

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Perhaps, sure i'll give it a look, my idea was to make it nicely geometrical, and really remove tedium, as we went straight from 750 to 1250, a nice 1000 gap felt much better

ofc, i could have also added back the 1250 of base advciv, but it didnt seem to provide extra value vs 1000 so i thought better support 1500 rather.

Another factor is our tech tree is fairly thin on design (i.e. we don't have that much techs), and i removed +/- 10 techs to the future era, so making marathon lighter may have helped comrpess history a bit, even if these techs were at the end of the tree anyway, i needed early eras to end a bit faster too (and generally i wanted to cure the issue of late industrial+ being super tedious).

If you find it valuable, i may add a 1250 timeline as in base advciv, we have the room, i just though 1000 vs 1250 is aboutthe same, and someone wanting 1000 woudlr ather straight go to 1500 maybe.

A note though i dont remember very well but there were some values that may have been asymetrical in base advciv (like goign from 4 to 12 or 9 instead of 4x 2 = 8, 4 x3 = 12, 4x4 = 16, as i liek to do in advciv-sas generally ) (i.e. mathematical gradual even spread, especially for handicap xml values btw although not directly related to this)

i believe these may be easier to take a look into after i make the gamespeed chart, which i am doing atm with GPT-5.2-Codex and chatgpt 5.2 (web) to continue there xd, mirroring the new handicap chart. It allowed me to spot a last human field i had overlooked to put to 100 always for huamn and adjust bit for AI too (GPThreshold, about great person something)

otherwise glad to know 48 civs DLL is working great, from autoplay runs i tried, generally before a new release xd to eb fair, A is super competitive in it and doesnt die easily, so games seem close at least on samples i played which looks intense and possibly super fun xd

then after gamespeeds are cleanly settled, i'll most likely make a new maps chart as well mirorrign same pattern (not promised nor guaranteed, but as things are going it may be a nice continuation )

then we can review XXL or even XXS for that matter xd i wouldnt mind!

edit: if you have mods or links for small maps please send them too, i'll consider them for review as well!

edit 2: just to be sur ei got it right, by standard values, do you mean the BTS ones? From what i remember, they were 1500 turns at 300% no? I'd need to recheck to be sure as it may slightly be different, but i believe our slow speed matches that if it was that.

Btw i already have a working draft atm for the gamespeed chart, based on the handicap chart, so need to polish it now, thanks a lot GPT-5.2-Codex and then i assume chatgpt 5.2 web or such forpolsih thanks

 

[Rawwwrr]

ust to be sur ei got it right, by standard values, do you mean the BTS ones? From what i remember, they were 1500 turns at 300% no? I'd need to recheck to be sure as it may slightly be different, but i believe our slow speed matches that if it was that.

Yes, that's right, I adjusted the speed values to the standard ones for BTS. And I set up <iResearchPercent> separately, since the prices for the technologies were changed, and simply changing the percentage to the standard one was not enough. I also had to edit CIV4CultureLevelInfo.xml so that the cultural expansion also meets BTS standards for marathon speed.

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Yes, then i'm guessing our Slow (1500 / 300%) covers that now

see screenshot below, i'm making the game speed chart currently xd, it's unfinished but still displays most info, in particular the "Slow (1500 / 300%)" column should show same info.

To add a game speed, i'd recompute all values including research percent and others (done by chatgpt 5.2 thanks a lot xd not me here), plus as you said the culture level infos need to match that scaling, and finally i also redid the timeline (the thing with month increments, so that turn 100 ends sooner at slower game speeds (e.g. 1000 BC at game speed normal but say 8000 BC at game speed very slow (imaginary numbers if not the same as the real ones), etc.)

So if i'm understanding it correctly, you can now play with the Slow game speed to match the things you changed, although the sclaing you did may have been a bit different possibly so adjust as you see fit, but i went for a mathematically similar (all normal values * game speed percent e.g. 45 000 culture legendary at normal * 300% slow game speed = 45 * 3 = 135 000 culture legendary), etc.

Also again look at game chart, i'll try to add the full computed time month increments before/after for each increment line in the table too, and then beautify and perf opt it etc as i can xd

Also in the future if you or other players have suggestions i'm open to review them and i'll decide np if i want them in AdvCiv-SAS or not thanks

edit: fixed Very Slow 2116 AD to 2105 AD, very handy to spot mistakes xd and bit of UI polish or such (unfinished as it needs emojis still, etc.)

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Also fixed the camel tga that had a bit drawing, now is from the Middle-earth's mod and fixed comparison vs old also shown

yet to be committed though xd

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Alright i got the game speed chart figured! Entirely or almsot entriely, with the vry big help of ChatGPT 5.2 Thinking and of GPT-5.2-Codex thanks a lot!!

i'll try to figure my next move now xd, which may be to look into maps, or maybe other AI or UI stuff but it's planned to at least take a look for me xd thanks @Rawwwrr

Also i find the game speed chart super nice and informative!!

And also, i fixed a base advciv bug summarized as below in the Main Changes Guide:

- (Requires AdvCiv-SAS 5303+) **Fix base AdvCiv `iExtraFreeOutsideUnits` incorrect default bug:** Faster-than-Marathon speeds ended up with **100 extra free outside units** due to two issues: the `iExtraFreeOutsideUnits` XML tag was missing for those speeds, and the DLL fallback default for that tag was incorrectly set to **100** (Marathon explicitly had **1**). Fixed by changing the DLL default from 100 to **0**, and by adding the missing `iExtraFreeOutsideUnits` game-speed XML field with a value of **0** so nothing relies on defaults. Also added `iUnitCostPercent` in XML for exhaustiveness (value **100**) without changing its DLL default (**100**) since it was correct. Spotted thanks to the new Sevopedia Game Speed Chart. See: [KI#92]

See:

- KI#92 at: https://github.com/wonderingabout/A...-thanks-to-the-new-sevopedia-game-speed-chart
- commit: https://github.com/wonderingabout/AdvCiv-SAS/commit/6901fd17969c00abada610fbfd2bdf6bf1fc01ea

Spotted thanks to the new Sevopedia Game Speed Chart!

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

And so, i made a new sevopedia world sizes with the very nice help of GPT-5.2-Codex thanks a lot!

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Btw i'm more than midway done into adding world sizes, it's different dimensions than the XXL World (adjusted by GPT-5.2-Codex so i trust i i mean xd but i didn't review it yet), i'm adding UI info in sevopedia like recommended DLL, ratio to standard, possibly other things etc with the help of ChatGPT 5.2 Thinking thanks a lot xd thanks.

So it's not too far from being finished and implemented into AdvCiv-SAS (a modified version of the XXL World Mod, with again maps that are likely bigger than the XXL World's but ti's pure speculation since i didn't check the values in more detail yet xd)

Also this will be super handy for quick testing the 48 civs DLL instead of manually tediously filling all slots in a custom game xd thanks a lot! And thanks for recommending/suggest me to add it in AdvCiv-SAS, open to further suggestions which i'll review and decide on if i want them on AdvCiv-SAS or not thanks!

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

So i'm reviewing GPT-5.2-Codex's sizes, and added a new "Tiles Per Default Player*" field, and it looks at a glance like GPT-5.2-Codex heavily overshot it xd so i'll reduce sizes i think and see

here is how it looks atm

Note: not final though i am still reviewing, could change either way xd but here most likely will need a reduction but will see

edit: while i'm reviewing this, i'm also thinking of adding one new World map size super small xd, "Arena" most likely if i go through with it

edit 2: so to better cover the full range until max DLL, i added a new SAS48 world size, so the sizes atm are SAS24, SAS32, SAS40, and SAS48! Plus the other smaller size i'm considering too! Also reduced it a lot with the help of ChatGPT-5.2 Thinking thanks!

edit 3: here is an a world size duel vs world size arena comparison atm (still unfinished/unsettled).

edit 4: here is also how SAS48 looks vs huge (all screenshots so far maps zoomed out as much as possible), looks super big xd! Still reviewing and polishing/gix/tweaking stuff xd + docs too

and here is also how it compares to the XXL World mod (with the help of ChatGPT-5.2 Thinking thanks!), will be (edit: see docs for updated version if/when committed)

it's decently fast in autoplay xd at least not too slow it seems yet xd

looks like a fun game so far xd although i didn't play it yet, and i see a couple things that could be improved like the scoreboard if too many players to display, AI scrapping for old units, etc. But overall they're competitive xd, although i want to improve AI a lot more still xd.

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

btw another cool thing is the world picker now uses real world size ratios!

So tiny is actually tiny not metaphorically so, and vice versa xdd

edit: phew! Finally committed it so nice xd: https://github.com/wonderingabout/AdvCiv-SAS/commit/77dc1e64a73227b38707bd158950be2853cb1c95

It includes a 48 civs DLL which makes sense so you @Rawwwrr or players can test them with latest things as of now xd i mean.

If you have ideas/feedback/suggestions, open to receive them xd. I'll decide if i want the idea in AdvCiv-SAS or not though xd but open to ideas xd i mean!

Now until tomorrow i have little codex rates left xd like 6% left, i'm pondering whether doing an era chart with it if it's enough, or reworking the soreboard so it displays nicely, but since i can do ui with claude code, i'm guessing the era schart is the itch to scratch xd i mean maybe (not promsied nor guaranteed but ideally yes xd)

Also these changes can be tested right away and are available in the development version of AdvCiv-SAS

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

also claude opus 4.5 mostly fixed the scoreboard issue with my help or is it vice versa xd, but it nicely fixes it although it needs some polish as the list is reverted but should be minor it seems although i'd need to test it to be sure but it works fine atm i mean!

When more than specified numbers of leaders, move to second row, should especially help 48 civs DLL!

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

but atm i'm doing the eras chart which GPT-5.2-Codex almost got right at first prompt xd (minus the getters or such) (scaling on old code but still nice)

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

I also beautified sevopedia leader a bit, and main

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Also i changed with GPT-5.2-Codex thanks the Found value (functions and variables such as AIFoundValue, etc.) pipeline from short to now using int!

I don't know too much about these so check if accurate, but should heavily increase reliability (less underflow/overflow form what i can tell i mean) and possibly performance as well:

commit: https://github.com/wonderingabout/AdvCiv-SAS/commit/e8659a5e4c4afae41306dfc04e8ec62eeb77eb99

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

So i just added an optional XML field ObsoleteTech for units which is a very nice enhancement in AdvCiv-SAS (and civ4 too i think!)

Blurb from the main changes guide of AdvCiv-SAS:

- (Requires AdvCiv-SAS 5317+) New **optional XML field**: `ObsoleteTech` **for units**: if set, this unit **can no longer be produced once we have discovered this tech** (e.g. Ancient Maceman (`UNIT_WARRIOR`) obsolete at `TECH_BRONZE_WORKING`). This XML field is **optional**: if **not set** (`<ObsoleteTech>NONE</ObsoleteTech>`, e.g. for the `UNIT_SETTLER`) or missing entirely (better **inter-mod portability**), a **fallback default of `NONE`** is provided anyway, so the unit is never obsolete, meaning no tech discovery will stop allowing to produce it (base AdvCiv/Civ4 behaviour). This new XML field allows to **avoid unit clutter in later eras** (no more **abherrent obsolete units in later eras** (e.g. Ancient Maceman produced in Medieval Era; Pikemen in Industrial Era)) being **produced** or shown in the **Production Chooser Bar**. **AI** becomes **naturally stronger** as a result of these changes. Additionally, this also helps set **clean scrapping rules** to computationally cheaply detect and remove old units for the AI's military compostion, or **further enhancements**. **Sevopedia** Blurbs with links fully implemented in [CvGameTextMgr.cpp](/CvGameCoreDLL/CvGameTextMgr.cpp). See [README: New optional XML fields](/README.md#new-optional-xml-fields-eg-obsoletetech-for-units). See also [KI#93].

commit: https://github.com/wonderingabout/AdvCiv-SAS/commit/a134450486e0104df9473d46017ebc6e4d7bc553

Added with the very nice help of GPT-5.2-Codex thanks a lot!

Should have been the default in civ4 i think!

Implementation is minimal atm but fully functional!

edit: i'm adding a sas define atm so that if you don't want to use this `ObsoleteTech` feature without tediously enabling/disabling them manually in XML, you can, similarly to how was done for terrain and feature modifiers in AdvCiv-SAS, disable them by toggling to 0 the corresponding SAS define in GlobalDefines_advciv_sas.xml) (as of now `SAS_CV_UNIT_INFO_ENABLE_XML_UNIT_OBSOLETE_TECH`). If disabled (0), the value in XML will be ignored and forced to always NONE so you can easily reenable it in the future as you prefer.

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Also i just found another base advciv bug and fixed it!

Of not always redirecting to last visited category if it was Index, Hints, or in AdvCiv-SAS Sevopedia Charts (UI Reworks)

fixed with the help of GPT-5.2-Codex thanks! Commit: https://github.com/wonderingabout/AdvCiv-SAS/commit/21f67530d536c6d93b42cf1223237b34e1ca7d0a

edit: after the issue with exiting and reopening sevopedia not leading to last visited category for e.g. Hints or Index, i also added this other fix for the Base AdvCiv issue of now the Back button not leading back to last visited e.g. Hints or Index. Commit: https://github.com/wonderingabout/AdvCiv-SAS/commit/044d26e918b6aa586807c6428fb770cb32f6324e

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Also, for the new unit XML ObsoleteTech mechanic, i added a sas define atm so that if you don't want to use this `ObsoleteTech` feature without having to tediously manually modify each entry one by one in XML, you can, similarly to how was done for unit XML terrain and feature modifiers in AdvCiv-SAS, disable them by toggling to 0 the corresponding SAS define in https://github.com/wonderingabout/A...ework/Assets/XML/GlobalDefines_advciv_sas.xml) (as of now `SAS_CV_UNIT_INFO_ENABLE_XML_UNIT_OBSOLETE_TECH`). If disabled (0), the value in XML will be ignored and forced to always NONE so you can easily reenable it in the future as you prefer.

edit: fixed sas define link that was pointing to incorrect old commit so this new define was not visible there

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Looks like i cracked the puzzle on suicidal AI behaviour of declaring wars when too far away!!

Spoiler edit: but actually not sure i'll implement this as it's a bit hard to baalnce between too few and too many wars, or my implementation is not complete although functional. It would need further tweaking to adjust or enhance so left for now i think i guess hehe xd :

this totally prevents wars to be declared at all if not extremely close, and gradually tuning it enables wars again. Other defines not mentionned here xd until i commit, is extremely effective and removes nonsense behaviour!

Includes pre check for our own war decision, and a post check to catch any other weird war declaraiton so we dont attack too faraway rivals or other conditions, and tunable in sas define after i commit it if all goes well!!

added with the help of GPT-5.2-Codex thanks a lot in CvTeamAI::AI_setWarPlan and CvTeamAI::AI_doWar (also has defines to disable these to keep base advciv behaviour (nonsensical distance wars xd unfortunately or just how it was xd, at least i fixed it now! With the help of gpt-5.2-codex thanks too hehe


<!-- custom: below knobs are common to precheck and postcheck, and used only if their respective optimize knobs are set to 1 (enabled) -->
<!-- custom: note: empirically values of 5 and 192, or 6 and 160 lead to no wars at all in autoplay, then at 7 and 120 wars happen again to close neighbours but few wars, and then at 8 and 100 wars happen against too far rivals again. With more testing, it seems 120 is a fine gate, but increasing the first value specifically to e.g. 10 restores wars on close neighbours without attacking faraway ones it seems based on quick testing. Adjust as you see fit. -->
<!-- custom: max distance (plots) used to evaluate war closeness for both precheck and postcheck. Lower = stricter (only immediate neighbors count), higher = looser (more mid-range targets qualify). (GPT-5.2-Codex) -->
<Define>
<DefineName>SAS_WAR_CLOSE_MAX_DISTANCE</DefineName>
<iDefineIntVal>10</iDefineIntVal>
</Define>
<!-- custom: closeness score threshold used by both precheck and postcheck; below this is treated as far and blocks war. Higher = stricter distance gate (fewer wars), lower = looser gate (more wars). (GPT-5.2-Codex) -->
<Define>
<DefineName>SAS_WAR_CLOSE_MIN</DefineName>
<iDefineIntVal>120</iDefineIntVal>
</Define>

Note: the precheck also accounts for other sanity things like how much stronger we are (need to be reasonably and reliably more since this is decisive), and does not value friendship when gaining profits (avoids the issue of boxed in player missing their chance to win due to not attacking a friend only close neighbour), taking worst of relations between master and vassal when attacking any of them (effectively is the same anyway), etc if any more checks.

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

btw since this is a dud so far or incomplete, i'm trying to do something else, looks super fun atm xd btw, which is to redesign civ4 music

not sure nor guaranteed i'll go with it, but it's faster, and possibly with better resilts than reordering inaccurate and boring although very cool civ4 music (i mean i like it but nice to change xd)

it is unfinished and i really made this very fast, but i looked at these for example so far (note this is a very fast made prototype, not sure i'll go with it or to the end, but i like these atm xd)

Spoiler music links :

music

https://pixabay.com/music/search/ancient/

ancient
https://pixabay.com/music/mystery-noite-dos-espíritos-167572/ (but stressing bells xd)

https://pixabay.com/music/build-up-scenes-a-imperatriz-do-povo-fera-195704/

https://pixabay.com/music/pulses-andando-em-c%c3%adrculos-195703/

https://pixabay.com/music/adventure-sombras-da-selva-195663/

https://pixabay.com/music/world-ancient-lands-progressive-hypnotic-343917/

classical

https://pixabay.com/music/adventure-a-odalisca-163176/

https://pixabay.com/music/folk-dance-of-the-black-rose-422383/

medieval

https://pixabay.com/music/meditationspiritual-ancient-chinese-dali-448882/

https://pixabay.com/music/world-exotic-flute-amp-strings-ancient-431045/

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-instruments-seaward-gale-ancient-nostalgic-harp-235460/

https://pixabay.com/music/folk-floralia-194076/

renaissance:





industrial:

https://pixabay.com/music/modern-classical-scarborough-fair-266148/

https://pixabay.com/music/traditional-jazz-harmonies-to-dream-with-you-273401/

https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-european-intrigue-205236/

modern:

https://pixabay.com/music/beats-stone-cliff-371580/

https://pixabay.com/music/funk-magical-and-serene-night-266084/

no future era since we already have in advciv-sas

 

[civ4-advciv-oracle-bug]

Btw, here is my new creation!!

The sevopedia specialists page!! Should be much more informative and prettier too!

Based on the very nice Middle-earth mod's @topsecret 's Specialists Platypedia, and adjusted for AdvCiv-SAS with the help of GPT-5.2-Codex thanks a lot!