Overall they seem "Too good to be true".
They give a LOT and don't seem to cost very much. For example:
- the free promotions are way too good to pass up for the hammer cost. There is a WORLD WONDER that adds the medic I promotion to all units built in the city. Whereas with a castle, you can build a herbalist and that's that - pretty soon every unit in your entire empire has Medic I. Equally, the city defender I for free meant I could build quite ridiculous city defender units.
Agreed. I've found at normal speed I could build most of the improvements in 2 or 3 turns. Completely unrealistic as something like a moat should take many turns because of the hard work of excavation in the medieval era.
Realistically at any difficulty level where balance matters, people will be building all their units in 1-2 "Production specialised" cities. Which means for just a few hammers in my fastest-building city, I get two VALUABLE and FREE promotions for a huge chunk of the hardest part of the game.
My rational for that was that both of the promotions are non-aggressive abilities. City Garrision isn't going to help you capture other cities, medic I might help some.
- As a suggestion, maybe replace the medic I (which heals *all* units on the same tile) with something like HEAL (heals only that unit) or MARCH (allows healing while moving). They affect only the unit itself, and so are slightly less valuable (and also almost never chosen, to be honest).
I agree with you, in my next version, I'll make it so the herbalist doesn't give Medic I promotion anymore, or increase it's cost, alot. I haven't decided which.
- For the city garrison I promotion, I'd think it's possibly okay to replace it with the first promotion from the first strikes chain (DRILL I).
Or possibly just add more downsides to the sub-build that gives it (Keep).
Keep is the only normal price building in the list I think, and it gives an awful lot of bang for buck.
The only reason I don't want to change it to Drill I is that then that bonus would carry over to attacking, not just defending.
For 130 hammers (castle itself costs 110 hammers), you get:
- Free Garrison I promotion to all units built in city
- 65% defence (castle is 50%)
- 1 free noble (so even at basic rate, thats +2 coin, +1 culture)
- can turn 2 citizens to noble
The cost is 20% maintenance.
I think this building needs a heftier price - something to make you think twice about choosing it, and something to make you pay turn after turn for using it. I don't think the 20% maintenance is doing it, that's just coins and noone notices coins too much as they're pooled civ-wide.
- I think you probably have 2-3 too many options. I'd find myself not bothering to build them in any cities not directly on an attacked border. I think you could achive the flavour in the same way if you had say 3 additional castle-components after castle.
While I was thinking about what to balence, I remembered Zappara made some of the later era buildings national wonders which could have a limit, like 3. So I'm going to make it so you can only have three keeps in your empire, and raise the hammer cost. Alot. And the maintenance. I want to keep the noble specialist because hardly anything in the game right now ever compels you to use them.
The ones with extra effects were built everywhere, which makes me wonder if they weren't a little too good as well (keeping in mind their hammer cost is a fraction of a normal building). For example, the 30% espionage points from secret passage ways. That's more than some espionage specific buildings and the secret passageways costs a tiny amount of the cost.
I'm sure your thinking of the brothel here, as it gives +25% espionage. I happen to think that the secret passageways is probably more useful than a brothel for gaining information about the enemy, but maybe I'm biased. Regardless, I will make the passageways alot harder to build. After all, it's a massive excavation project in the medieval era, so it should take along time.
Also, the +1 health from Herbalist - it became a must have on Monarch and above, just to keep city health under control.
- Dungeon - (combine Dungeon with Secret passageways, get espionage, cost HAPPINESS not HEALTH)
I might combine them, but I still think health cost is better.
- Market Courtyard - traders inside the keep itself, combine herbalist and trade bonuses, maybe.
I had the idea of adding something like this, but I will wait until I return from vacation to make major changes.
@ Seidrik_The_Gray
I personally feel that the Engineering Tech and the Architecture Tech should increase the defensive bonuses of your fortifications.
Maybe I could make them build faster with these techs. However, what your proposing is not possible without alot of coding.
Additionally, Protective civs should have stronger fortifications.
Protective civilizations are already alot more useful with the Castles Mod as many of the buildings (6 or 7 of them) get built twice as fast if your protective.
