Alpha testers needed for Steph's mod 2

[Steph]

Germany up and running!

You can also play Britain correctly now.

No gameplay change yet (so still no pop cost), but I wanted to finish uploaded the graphics. Update is 66 Mb!

 

[Phlegmak]

Steph, it looks like the flag you need to set for buildings that increase the output of luxury resources is Increase Luxury Trade. +50% Luxuries isn't what you want for the luxury resources.

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More from my American game.

21. Big news! A US_06N # Caravel correctly turned to fire broadside shots at a barbarian ship.

22. Well, it's turn 520 now, and I just discovered Separation of Power. I think that's a little less than half of the techs in the game.

23. The US_08I # Fusilier doesn't look American at all. It looks like a French soldier.

24. Refining has no icon.

25. The Africans seem to have been destroyed by the North Africans, but they were regenerated on a remote part of their original island. I know that they were destroyed because my embassy with them disappeared.

26. It's currently turn 604 and I have less than half of the Industrial Age technologies.

 

[Steph]

Well, at least is American for American Conquest

http://www.aconquest.com/lejeu/unites/etats_unis/fusilier.htm

It looks quite similar to the 1812 uniform. It's not very exact, but it's more american than you think

http://www.militaryheritage.com/1812.htm

About the speed, how many turns to you need to find a tech on average?

 

[Phlegmak]

About the speed, how many turns to you need to find a tech on average?

I'm guessing I research techs in either 4 or 5 turns on average. Now that I switched to Constitutional Monarchy, I can probably research all of the remaining techs in 3 turns or close to 3 turns.

At a minimum, I think the number of turns in the game should be 800.

By the way, the fortify animation for the American Mounted Shooter unit is way too long. It's around 2 or 3 seconds. It's pretty and everything, but it's a nuisance when I have to have them fight and then fortify them. It's just very time consuming. It's also tremendously time consuming when I have a bunch of them in one tile and they're getting attacked. I have to watch each little American Indian guy load his rifle and after 2 or 3 seconds, he fires. Ug.

 

[T.A JONES]

Good feild notes. I love lots a tech Im glad to see you never whipped though em to fast. I turned Stephs one into a 770 but 80o sounds good. RIse n RUle was 910 right? so there ya go.


I use extra huge maps where theres enough land to drive a big economy for all to get a nice science rate going. I always raise the tech rate up accordingly (usually in mid upper 700's)

Nothins worse then seein your skiddin by or able to rely on the min research time for tech advanment, so I hope thats not the case here.

You should really have to sweat for a tech these days lol (even if you have a millon to reaserch, so what raise turns up!)
If Im earning one every 3 or 4 turns thats no fun. I would go back raise the cost of every myself if thats was whats happening. Its nice to move fast at first but better if your required to steam up the science rate to keep up that pace .

 

[Alan McG]

I'm downloading it now (it's taking quite a while), and I will post my thoughts when done. But could you consider changing the name "Iberia"? If you can't get both Spain and Portugal, just name it Spain, I think it makes much more sense...

 

[Steph]

Good feild notes. I love lots a tech Im glad to see you never whipped though em to fast. I turned Stephs one into a 770 but 80o sounds good. RIse n RUle was 910 right? so there ya go.

Actually, the number of techs is 835.
@Phlegmak: did you trade tech a lot? I think it should be close to impossible to discover all the techs by yourself, and being friend with a few other civ to increase techs rate through exchange is the key.

I'm downloading it now (it's taking quite a while), and I will post my thoughts when done. But could you consider changing the name "Iberia"? If you can't get both Spain and Portugal, just name it Spain, I think it makes much more sense...

Why does it make more sense? Than using Scandinavia instead of Denmark, Norway, or Sweden for instance?

 

[Alan McG]

Well, Denmark, Norway and Sweden for once share(d) a relative political unity during plenty of time (with Harold Bluetooth for instance). Playing a scn where Sweden is part of Denmark would be very weird an inaccurate, the name of Scandinavia makes sense there. But the name of Iberia doesn't, if you have to choose I think you should just take Spain. To merge some civs and give them a different name makes sense in some cases, but in the case of Spain-Portugal being Spain the most dominant country there (and having conquered and controlled Portugal for quite some time) I really think it makes more sense to just name it Spain.
Based on the same principle, why did you name France "France", and not "Gaul"? Belgium, Switzerland,the Netherlands are not included as civs either,and if you set their cities in a map I guess they will either belong to France or not be there at all..
I hope you don't take any offense here (or anyone for that matter), it's just my opinion! It is your mod and you should do what you feel like of course..

 

[Phlegmak]

@Phlegmak: did you trade tech a lot? I think it should be close to impossible to discover all the techs by yourself, and being friend with a few other civ to increase techs rate through exchange is the key.

Almost never. I think I tech traded a lot early on, but after a short while, I had a tech lead. Especially since I defeated my major competitor, France. So there was no more tech trading.

 

[Steph]

When I play, I usually select a few allies to whom I give techs for cheap if I'm on the lead, so they can contribute to the research.

 

[Phlegmak]

When I play, I usually select a few allies to whom I give techs for cheap if I'm on the lead, so they can contribute to the research.

Hmm, I had never thought of that, ever! I always treat all computer opponents as enemies.

 

[Steph]

If you read Germs, Guns and Steel from Jared Diamond, he claims that Europe managed overcome China technologically because China was united, and Europe divided.

The division and competition in Europe forced each state to find new invent new concepts, new weapons, to remain competitive. While China was to big, and to powerful to need such progress.

Also, the central government of China had the effect that if an invention was seen as useless and did not get support, the idea was abandonned everywhere, while in Europe, if a prince did not support it, another would.

You may agree or not with his explanation. However, for sure the exchange of ideas and international cooperation are a must to develop new concepts and technologies.

So if I'm on the lead, I give techs to another trusted civ. first, they'll be happy with me and support my warfare. Second, if they have the tech, they don't need to research it, and so will research something else, that I could then exchange with them for another tech I discovered.

I once played a game were I set the research output to the minimum, but made large money. Enough to buy a tech to civ A, then exchange it for another tech with civ B, then sell both tech to civ C to have enough money to start again...

Played right, it greatly increases the speed of discovery, helps your allies to be stronger, and keep a lot of people happy with you.

 

[T.A JONES]

THe key is the tech rate option located in " WorldSizes" menu

If you want a game where they value a good tech, crank up that number, There! now none of this dime a dozen trading you see on some mods with lots of techs .

Now AIs starts asking for more cash to trade a Tech to another AI so the dif in price between a tech where it was might have been small, now takes an extra luxery a world map and several hundred more to seel the deal. This AI effect on techs tradin behavior slows down their advancement and yours to, to some cconsiderable extent.

(however it can make controlin AI in war a easier But theie still the chance they take this (more valuable)tech, fight a turns on your side then get paid off to stop, then selling their newly accuired techfrom yopu plus the money they maid to stop puts a nice profit in the hands

Sorry just som jib to pass the time

 

[Alan McG]

If you read Germs, Guns and Steel from Jared Diamond, he claims that Europe managed overcome China technologically because China was united, and Europe divided.

The division and competition in Europe forced each state to find new invent new concepts, new weapons, to remain competitive. While China was to big, and to powerful to need such progress.

Also, the central government of China had the effect that if an invention was seen as useless and did not get support, the idea was abandonned everywhere, while in Europe, if a prince did not support it, another would.

You may agree or not with his explanation. However, for sure the exchange of ideas and international cooperation are a must to develop new concepts and technologies.

This is a little bit off-topic, but since you mentioned the book... I think the ideas presented there are interesting but I disagree. After all China was far more advanced than Europe for hundreds of years, and it's not until recently (end of middle ages) that Europe managed to get ahead.

 

[Steph]

This is a little bit off-topic, but since you mentioned the book... I think the ideas presented there are interesting but I disagree. After all China was far more advanced than Europe for hundreds of years, and it's not until recently (end of middle ages) that Europe managed to get ahead.

Yes, and why did Europe get more advanced at a time? I'm not sure if his ideas are all right, but they are interesting and make you think

 

[Alan McG]

You can also ask why did China get more advanced before that for over a thousand years.. I guess you are right in that it does make you think, you can always agree or not. I personally do not agree with most of the ideas there, but it's a judgment call.

 

[Phlegmak]

More of my America game.

27. Very strange. I was able to trade with North Africa, and we were trading luxuries. So I lost my supply of the luxuries after a while. Now, I can no longer trade with them at all. They're on a different island. Could it be some other nation whose sea zones interfere with the trade route? Could they have sold their harbors due to constantly running low on cash?

28. Strange. I have a city that produces 93 resources per turn (not counting corruption) and it can build a University in 2 turns. University's civilopedia entry says it costs 250 resources.

29. I can trade luxuries with North Africa again. Don't know why.

30. Plantation's civilopedia entry says it produces improved luxury resources. It doesn't. I looked in the editor and it provides +50% Luxury instead.

31. It's turn 646 and the US_02 # Scout is still buildable. Should it be?

32. US_09N + Transport has the bombard ability.

33. The British declared war on me. I can't believe it. A handful of my soldiers outgun their whole army.

34. The 01S # Slave unit that looks like a prisoner moves very slowly when moving from tile to tile.

 

[Steph]

27. Very strange. I was able to trade with North Africa, and we were trading luxuries. So I lost my supply of the luxuries after a while. Now, I can no longer trade with them at all. They're on a different island. Could it be some other nation whose sea zones interfere with the trade route? Could they have sold their harbors due to constantly running low on cash?

29. I can trade luxuries with North Africa again. Don't know why.

Perhaps they trade their avalaible resource with someone else and had none for a while?

28. Strange. I have a city that produces 93 resources per turn (not counting corruption) and it can build a University in 2 turns. University's civilopedia entry says it costs 250 resources.

Any tree chopped down? Some leftover from a previous turn?

30. Plantation's civilopedia entry says it produces improved luxury resources. It doesn't. I looked in the editor and it provides +50% Luxury instead.

I have to check these things, I may have mixed them.

31. It's turn 646 and the US_02 # Scout is still buildable. Should it be?

Wrong upgrade path, corrected.

32. US_09N + Transport has the bombard ability.

Corrected

33. The British declared war on me. I can't believe it. A handful of my soldiers outgun their whole army.

What were your armies and theirs?

 

[Phlegmak]

Any tree chopped down? Some leftover from a previous turn?

No trees chopped down. My resource box was empty.

I have to check these things, I may have mixed them.

I told you in a previous post what is the correct way to make a building have bonus luxury resources vs. +50% luxuries.

What were your armies and theirs?

Mine wasn't particularly large, but my troops were Rifleman. 09 or something. They were using medieval knights. 05 I think. Each Rifleman is 2x a knight.

 

[Steph]

Well, wouldn't you expect a American Civil War regiment to easily decimate some medieval knights?