April 2021 Developer Livestream Discussion

[jdevo]

Disappointed, but not surprised that there's no AI or UI improvements, the two things this game needed the most.

 

[raen]

Did they talk about Naval Changes?

 

[Daigotsu Max]

Oh, no! Why did they had to change something that was fun gamewise and historical

That was a joke.

Disappointed, but not surprised that there's no AI or UI improvements, the two things this game needed the most.

How do you know? The patch notes aren't out yet.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Pretty sure that's because while mountains are all over the map, geothermal vents are more likely to appear on a faultline (read continental divide ).

I understand why they did that but to me it's a little funny. Do they still keep a coastal bias, because I wouldn't mind if they had both, because I still think a coastal start is equally fine for Spain.
Obviously they probably want to make their trade routes and abilities better early game, but historically it didn't happen with them until the Age of Exploration where they did have to cross oceans to reach other continents, not to mention bonuses for earlier fleets and armadas.
Though I guess if one civ should get biases for coast and geothermal fissures it should be Japan for reasons.

 

[EarendilTheMariner]

I understand why they did that but to me it's a little funny. Do they still keep a coastal bias, because I wouldn't mind if they had both, because I still think a coastal start is equally fine for Spain.
Obviously they probably want to make their trade routes and abilities better early game, but historically it didn't happen with them until the Age of Exploration where they did have to cross oceans to reach other continents, not to mention bonuses for earlier fleets and armadas.
Though I guess if one civ should get biases for coast and geothermal fissures it should be Japan for reasons.

Hungary having a bias for Rivers and Geothermal fissures is a great "Civ bonus"

 

[SammyKhalifa]

It was mostly because they spawn on the mountains that divide continents, so they used that to make Spain spawn next to another continent, not because of the geothermal fissure itself. Basically, they didn't have a code for "spawns in continent divide" and use the geothermal one as a way to get that.

I think it was a pretty clever tweak on the part of the developers, though i wonder if it inadvertently turned Spain into a science civ.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

I think it was a pretty clever tweak on the part of the developers, though i wonder if it inadvertently turned Spain into a science civ.

I mean in order to get the maximum benefits out of their missions they want to build them near holy sites and campuses anyway. So this does help in that regard considering Geothermal fissures will also spawn near mountains for Holy Sites as well. I still think it should be a secondary bias, with the coast being primary, but that's just me.

 

[Mtgkuvalda]

In general, if you take a little look at Wikipedia, you can find out that Spain is not the last place in Europe in terms of the number of thermal springs.

 

[pokiehl]

In general, if you take a little look at Wikipedia, you can find out that Spain is not the last place in Europe in terms of the number of thermal springs.

That’s a coincidence. They added the geothermal start bias to make them start near continental divides, not just because Spain happen to has thermal springs.

Start biases for civs in the game reflect the civs gameplay - not the IRL history or geography. For instance, Arabia doesn’t have a Desert bias in the game. Why? because it has nothing to do with their abilities.

 

[SammyKhalifa]

I think Spain's probably gone from one of the most disjointed civs into one of the best feeling ones.

 

[j51]

I missed the stream. Are there any new palace graphics? Only 7(?) civs don't have unique graphics. The overuse of the Roman and Mughal palaces really irks me.

 

[Chysp]

Unless England also got buffs to its colonization game, Spain is clearly now the best multi-continent civ in the game. +25% production to districts and a free builder is a WAY better buff than one free melee unit, and that melee unit is only given to the first city on a new continent, whilst Spain gets their buff for every city.

 

[Mtgkuvalda]

Это совпадение. Они добавили смещение геотермального старта, чтобы заставить их начать вблизи континентальных разделений, а не только потому, что в Испании есть термальные источники.

Стартовые предубеждения для civs в игре отражают игровой процесс civs, а не историю IRL или географию. Например, в Аравии нет пристрастия к пустыне. Почему? потому что это не имеет ничего общего с их способностями.

Why be so categorical? There are plenty of examples when changes reflect both history and geography. It doesn't always have to be. The same early channel of China - why does he need it? Just a historical reference. Of course, it is clear why Spain was given a link to geothermal sources, but it is also impossible to deny that the developers knew about this feature of Spain. Someone may have vacationed there, for example.

 

[Pietato]

Though I guess if one civ should get biases for coast and geothermal fissures it should be Japan for reasons.

Hot springs episode!

 

[pokiehl]

Why be so categorical? There are plenty of examples when changes reflect both history and geography. It doesn't always have to be. The same early channel of China - why does he need it? Just a historical reference. Of course, it is clear why Spain was given a link to geothermal sources, but it is also impossible to deny that the developers knew about this feature of Spain. Someone may have vacationed there, for example.

Huh? All civ abilities are of course some form of historical reference I’m just referring to start biases, of which there are no examples that don’t coordinate with the civs gameplay.

 

[leandrombraz]

Reading this thread makes me really glad that I'm completely immune to hype by now. I learned how to keep my expectations as realistic as possible, and take what devs say for what it is: marketing mixed with excitement for their own work. They will exaggerate, not necessarily out of malice. The size of the patch notes, for example, it's obviously extensive because it has a lot of Civ abilities descriptions in it, which are extensive and will make the patch notes look like a wall of text. Almost 4000 words doesn't necessarily means it will have considerably more changes than we usually get, it just means it has a lot of text. These changes won't necessarily be meaningful or make a considerable difference, and they might break the game, as we are used to by this point.

I wasn't expecting major changes to a lot of Civs, regardless of what the devs have been saying, and it's pretty much guaranteed that there will be those Civs that we think really should get some love, but that will remain unchanged, or changes that won't please some players. It's a patch, not a miracle.

 

[bite]

Thank you to everyone who collated the information from the livestream, I have now made the likely penultimate update to the Features Thread

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Unless England also got buffs to its colonization game, Spain is clearly now the best multi-continent civ in the game. +25% production to districts and a free builder is a WAY better buff than one free melee unit, and that melee unit is only given to the first city on a new continent, whilst Spain gets their buff for every city.

The most obvious answer is to give them a start bias toward Geothermal fissures as well.

 

[blackbutterfly]

Unless England also got buffs to its colonization game, Spain is clearly now the best multi-continent civ in the game. +25% production to districts and a free builder is a WAY better buff than one free melee unit, and that melee unit is only given to the first city on a new continent, whilst Spain gets their buff for every city.

But I understand why England didn't get buffed. Elanor is OP.

Victoria does get buffed indirectly. The Redcoat is now upgradable from melee units.

Also the Sea Dog will finally be able to shine, as Barbarian Clans mode produce more naval units. And if what the devs promise is true: more AI naval warfare, then from that too.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

But I understand why England didn't get buffed. Elanor is OP.

Victoria does get buffed indirectly. The Redcoat is now upgradable from melee units.

Also the Sea Dog will finally be able to shine, as Barbarian Clans mode produce more naval units. And if what the devs promise is true: more AI naval warfare, then from that too.

Sea Dogs can't claim barbarian naval units, unfortunately.