[LP] Apocalypse Mode Scaled Back?

[blackbutterfly]

Has Firaxis fixed Apocalypse mode? Like it did Dramatic Ages at the start of the Leader Pass.

I was very pleasantly surprised to see Apocalypse mode not blazing an "eternal flame" across Siberia when play testing my map/mod (UN Earth Maps).
I shall post some definitive results, if this is the case. (I'm still half way through a full TSL Theodora play test).

So far for sure Dramatic Ages, Zombie Defence have been touched in LP.

Anyone notice any changes with Apocalypse mode?

Actually I am super excited about this, b'cos Sec. Soc. + DA + Zombies + Apocalypse is pretty game breaking (OP) on my maps. So I'm very happy about this! 😁

Previously, a Siberian Vampire Castle producing ~90 food+prod: "Hyper yields" 😆

 

[pokiehl]

I haven't noticed any changes with any of the modes. None of the data for any of those DLCs has been updated for quite a while.

Can you go into more detail about what you think changed for these modes? I know you already have a separate thread for Zombies, but what about DA and Apocalypse?

 

[blackbutterfly]

Can you go into more detail about what you think changed for these modes? I know you already have a separate thread for Zombies, but what about DA and Apocalypse?

Culture Industry bug has been fixed.
That bug made DA virtually unplayable (b'cos AI would chose that policy and then get stuck unable to complete districts).

 

[MrRadar]

Has Firaxis fixed Apocalypse mode, like it did Dramatic Ages at the start of the Leader Pass?

Pretorian Guard in DA is still bugged for Encampment buildings and will take away 2 prod from those buildings when unslotted, if the Encampment is built or acquired while that card is slotted. You get negative production barracks or stables. So DA hasn't been fixed, just patched up a bit.
Also, have you seen a single case of AI actually attacking a Free City? Long ago, when I played that mode I got the impression that AI was effectively blind to Free Cities and would engage neither the cities themselves, nor their units. Just zero military contact.

 

[pokiehl]

Pretorian Guard in DA is still bugged for Encampment buildings and will take away 2 prod from those buildings when unslotted, if the Encampment is built or acquired while that card is slotted. You get negative production barracks or stables. So DA hasn't been fixed, just patched up a bit.

What?! I use that card all the time but haven't played close attention to that. Wow, that's bad! I need to test this myself. Have you reported this bug in the bug forum?

 

[blackbutterfly]

Pretorian Guard in DA is still bugged for Encampment buildings and will take away 2 prod from those buildings when unslotted, if the Encampment is built or acquired while that card is slotted. You get negative production barracks or stables. So DA hasn't been fixed, just patched up a bit.
Also, have you seen a single case of AI actually attacking a Free City? Long ago, when I played that mode I got the impression that AI was effectively blind to Free Cities and would engage neither the cities themselves, nor their units. Just zero military contact.

Same with zombies.

For some reason they don't like free city brains 🤣

 

[MrRadar]

What?! I use that card all the time but haven't played close attention to that. Wow, that's bad! I need to test this myself. Have you reported this bug in the bug forum?

I remember making a report on 2K forum.
I have found an example in one of my old posts: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/praetorian-guard-golden-card.663218/#post-16003587
I and recently I saw a confirmation it was still there in a Potato's video:

 

[pokiehl]

I remember making a report on 2K forum.
I have found an example in one of my old posts: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/praetorian-guard-golden-card.663218/#post-16003587
I and recently I saw a confirmation it was still there in a Potato's video:

I just did a bunch of testing on a completely unmodded game and could not reproduce this bug.
I tried it with Encampments/Barracks I started before slotting the policy but didn't finish til the policy was slotted, and with Encampments/Barracks that were both started and finished with the policy slotted.

 

[MrRadar]

I just did a bunch of testing on a completely unmodded game and could not reproduce this bug.
I tried it with Encampments/Barracks I started before slotting the policy but didn't finish til the policy was slotted, and with Encampments/Barracks that were both started and finished with the policy slotted.

Interesting. I dug out posts in the Funny Screenshots where I stumbled on this bug a couple of years ago, you can check out this one and a few up. That was a conquered city, and in Potato's case it is also a conquered city, so maybe it affects only conquered cities? Although it seems to me that I also tried to build a new one with that card and it was affected likewise, but I also can misremember. And 2K forums seem to be down? I can't find them anymore, only found likewise confused people on Reddit, on whose accounts they've been down already over a month?

 

[pokiehl]

Interesting. I dug out posts in the Funny Screenshots where I stumbled on this bug a couple of years ago, you can check out this one and a few up. That was a conquered city, and in Potato's case it is also a conquered city, so maybe it affects only conquered cities? Although it seems to me that I also tried to build a new one with that card and it was affected likewise, but I also can misremember. And 2K forums seem to be down? I can't find them anymore, only found likewise confused people on Reddit, on whose accounts they've been down already over a month?

Hmmm…quite a mystery. Maybe it is indeed the conquered cities, or maybe they stealth fixed it in the last two patches?

I’ll keep an eye out it for sure though. I always use that policy.

 

[Oberinspektor Derrick]

I really dont see the appeal in abusing game breaking mechanics like that, game after game, to the point that you're essentially playing on settler difficulty against a helpless AI.
The game is easy enough as it is.

Moderator Action: Please refrain from comments like this, not everyone finds the game as easy as you do --NZ

 

[blackbutterfly]

I really dont see the appeal in abusing game breaking mechanics like that, game after game, to the point that you're essentially playing on settler difficulty against a helpless AI.
The game is easy enough as it is.

Yeah, absolutely.
This is why I'm kinda done with Civ VI.

However, it does look like the regrowth from forest fires has been scaled back.
I'm not sure if the algorithm for forest fires has changed much b'cos I'm still seeing like a never ending blaze in Siberia on the TSL map I'm play testing. (I haven't finished the game yet).

So you're still getting nice hyper yields (if you don't chop!) and IMO that should be the reward for not chopping early game. That I like.
But not crazy/insane hyper yields.

Still you can do lots of damage with a couple of well placed Vampire Castles.

 

[blackbutterfly]

Ok. False expections.

I am so pissed!
There seems to be no change 😐

I think in my current play test the Appease the Gods competitions appeared later, so I only got "the burn" going a little later.
(You buy 1 Soothsayer then when you participate and win this competition you get another Soothsayer free. Plus your existing one gets some promotion usually granting more charges. So you can use them again to set fire to forests).

I used the same map seed to see what difference there would be to the Vampire Castle placed in exactly same spot:

 

[blackbutterfly]

I used the same map seed to see what difference there would be to the Vampire Castle placed in exactly same spot:

Actually, the OP Vampire Castle is much earlier in the game. Turn 340 on marathon.

So I reloaded my Theodora play test at 340 and only 16 food + prod. Good news! 😁

 

[UWHabs]

Actually, the OP Vampire Castle is much earlier in the game. Turn 340 on marathon.

So I reloaded my Theodora play test at 340 and only 16 food + prod. Good news! 😁
View attachment 656997

If you remove and replace that castle, its yields will go up. Castle yields are fixed when placed, so I'm guessing you only had 3-4 fires when it was placed. If you replant it then it would be 25 food and 20 production, based on what the overlay shows.

 

[blackbutterfly]

If you remove and replace that castle, its yields will go up. Castle yields are fixed when placed, so I'm guessing you only had 3-4 fires when it was placed. If you replant it then it would be 25 food and 20 production, based on what the overlay shows.

Oh, maybe this is another bug then? 😆

You are seeing two screenshots in the same game/play through.
Vampire Castle went up from 16 food & prod to ~80 from turn 340 to turn 500+. No replacement. Yields grew with each forest fire.

 

[blackbutterfly]

Ok, in my second play test of Great Builders on my map/mod TSL Old World (UN Earth Maps) I can now confidently say Apocalypse mode has been rebalanced 🙌
Forest fires aren't quite so insane.

I'm doing a "Sejong build".