Fall from Heaven is, in many ways, amazingly developed. The distinctiveness of the civilizations and the mechanics of gameplay make it one of, if not the most original and compelling mod out there.
That said, there is one thing that stands out to me as possibly substandard when I play this game: the current alignment system and how it interacts with the Armageddon Counter.
From my reading in the Civlopedia and other online sources, it seems that "Good" and "Evil" are defined somewhat specifically in the FfH universe. "Good" is when a people respects the contract and resists the interference of the angels in the mortal world. "Evil" is when a people does the opposite, encourages the wars of the gods among men. To me, this dichotomy is a fascinating aspect of the mod's lore, because "Good," "Neutral," and "Evil" may not necessarily correspond with ideas that we would consider virtuous or abhorrent. For example, a culture that endorses slavery and brutal conquest might be "Good" because it advocates non-interference by the gods according to the compact. Another culture might be democratic and a beacon of justice for the oppressed, yet work toward a world ruled by an immanent angel and thus be aligned "Evil."
The problem I see is that this idea isn't really represented in-game. The Infernals and the Sheim are "Evil," which makes sense because they are attempting to interfere with and nullify the contract. However, so are the Mercurians who are labelled "Good." Similarly, the Balseraphs, Svaltar, and Calabim are all labelled "Evil," with no reason that I can see for that label save for the moral value placed upon their cultures' stances toward deception and human rights. By the same token, the Grigori ought to be clearly "Good," since they advocate non-interference more than any other civilization in the game.
My suggestion would be to reassign alignments for many of the civilizations, and base them on the more lore-centric (and more interesting) system. Have the "Good" nations fighting on behalf of the contract, the "Evil" nations acting on behalf of some angelic overlord, and the "Neutral" nations those who really don't care about anything save for their own little agendas in their own little corners of the world.
This could also tie into the Armageddon Counter. What exactly is the counter supposed to represent? In the Civlopedia, Kael describes it as a device developed to promote late-game action, to raise the stakes and pit "Good" civs against "Evil" civs. I think that's a wonderful idea, but I think that, like the alignments, it could use some refining.
If "Good" means enforcing the contract and "Evil" means undermining it, then the counter should really not simply be escalating toward the transformation of the world into the Infernal's Hell, it should be escalating toward an apocalyptic war between angels within the confines of the world. In other words, Hyboriem and his allies should not be the only ones to benefit from a higher count, and his terrain should not be the only one to spread on higher levels.
I would suggest that the Infernals, Mercurians, and Illians all play a part in the raising of the Armageddon Counter, but that each reap different benefits from it. Already in the game, the Infernals have Hell terrain and the Illians spread Ice. Perhaps these climate changes could be tied equally to the counter, so that it spreads within their borders and eventually beyond. Perhaps the Mercurians could have a similar system. The end result would literally be the meeting and clashing of Ice, Fire, and other elements, in both landscape and civilizations.
The higher the counter, the more extreme this conflict would become, and the more destructive it would be to the "Good" civilizations that sought to keep it from occurring. In this system, the existing mechanic for strained relations between alignments with a higher counter would make perfect sense.
As a side note, if this mechanic were used, it might be interesting to change the Illians into another late-spawned civilization, assembled as followers of a White Hand religion gained strength and sought to restore the power of Mulcarn. The system could also theoretically be expanded into other religions and civilizations until each of the five "elements" was represented: earth, wind, fire, water, and ether. Each could have a religion which then, as the counter escalates, has the ability to spawn a civilization and raise their patron to dominance over the mortal world.
Those are my thoughts on the matter; take it or leave it. I think that some, or all, of these ideas would fit well with the existing game, heighten its distinctiveness, and raise the final stakes of the conflict, while varying the outcome.
Whatever your response, please know that this is already an absolutely amazing piece of work. Your mod is a must-have and only gets better with each release. Thank you for all your hard and constant work.
That said, there is one thing that stands out to me as possibly substandard when I play this game: the current alignment system and how it interacts with the Armageddon Counter.
From my reading in the Civlopedia and other online sources, it seems that "Good" and "Evil" are defined somewhat specifically in the FfH universe. "Good" is when a people respects the contract and resists the interference of the angels in the mortal world. "Evil" is when a people does the opposite, encourages the wars of the gods among men. To me, this dichotomy is a fascinating aspect of the mod's lore, because "Good," "Neutral," and "Evil" may not necessarily correspond with ideas that we would consider virtuous or abhorrent. For example, a culture that endorses slavery and brutal conquest might be "Good" because it advocates non-interference by the gods according to the compact. Another culture might be democratic and a beacon of justice for the oppressed, yet work toward a world ruled by an immanent angel and thus be aligned "Evil."
The problem I see is that this idea isn't really represented in-game. The Infernals and the Sheim are "Evil," which makes sense because they are attempting to interfere with and nullify the contract. However, so are the Mercurians who are labelled "Good." Similarly, the Balseraphs, Svaltar, and Calabim are all labelled "Evil," with no reason that I can see for that label save for the moral value placed upon their cultures' stances toward deception and human rights. By the same token, the Grigori ought to be clearly "Good," since they advocate non-interference more than any other civilization in the game.
My suggestion would be to reassign alignments for many of the civilizations, and base them on the more lore-centric (and more interesting) system. Have the "Good" nations fighting on behalf of the contract, the "Evil" nations acting on behalf of some angelic overlord, and the "Neutral" nations those who really don't care about anything save for their own little agendas in their own little corners of the world.
This could also tie into the Armageddon Counter. What exactly is the counter supposed to represent? In the Civlopedia, Kael describes it as a device developed to promote late-game action, to raise the stakes and pit "Good" civs against "Evil" civs. I think that's a wonderful idea, but I think that, like the alignments, it could use some refining.
If "Good" means enforcing the contract and "Evil" means undermining it, then the counter should really not simply be escalating toward the transformation of the world into the Infernal's Hell, it should be escalating toward an apocalyptic war between angels within the confines of the world. In other words, Hyboriem and his allies should not be the only ones to benefit from a higher count, and his terrain should not be the only one to spread on higher levels.
I would suggest that the Infernals, Mercurians, and Illians all play a part in the raising of the Armageddon Counter, but that each reap different benefits from it. Already in the game, the Infernals have Hell terrain and the Illians spread Ice. Perhaps these climate changes could be tied equally to the counter, so that it spreads within their borders and eventually beyond. Perhaps the Mercurians could have a similar system. The end result would literally be the meeting and clashing of Ice, Fire, and other elements, in both landscape and civilizations.
The higher the counter, the more extreme this conflict would become, and the more destructive it would be to the "Good" civilizations that sought to keep it from occurring. In this system, the existing mechanic for strained relations between alignments with a higher counter would make perfect sense.
As a side note, if this mechanic were used, it might be interesting to change the Illians into another late-spawned civilization, assembled as followers of a White Hand religion gained strength and sought to restore the power of Mulcarn. The system could also theoretically be expanded into other religions and civilizations until each of the five "elements" was represented: earth, wind, fire, water, and ether. Each could have a religion which then, as the counter escalates, has the ability to spawn a civilization and raise their patron to dominance over the mortal world.
Those are my thoughts on the matter; take it or leave it. I think that some, or all, of these ideas would fit well with the existing game, heighten its distinctiveness, and raise the final stakes of the conflict, while varying the outcome.
Whatever your response, please know that this is already an absolutely amazing piece of work. Your mod is a must-have and only gets better with each release. Thank you for all your hard and constant work.
