"City grid" overlay with no Settler? Or city-placement planning tool?

[ModernKnight]

Early in my current game (about 6 cities down), I've got a lot more land to settle and have just put a Settler in a queue, but my Engineers are doing make-work (mainly roads) because I have a surplus of them, for now... and I'm having trouble deciding where to put my next city.

I'd really like to see the "city overlay" that's shown when a Settler is selected. And for that matter, a better one than Civ4 has; one that shows the full 5x5 "Plus" for all cities (even young ones that haven't expanded yet).

And - in or a penny, in for a pound - what I'd really love is a tool or mod where you can plan out an entire future empire from Day 1 (once you've explored all you can initially).

I'd be happy to use a mod or separate app that reads my saved game, if that's what it takes. But of course, it's always nicer if it's there in the game already, and I just didn't know.

(This is vanilla Civ4 - pardon me if I don't know the terms for things commonly used here.)

Any ideas, anyone?

Thanks if you can help! - MK

---

P.S. I see the WorldBuilder on my menu... maybe I could use that but my very few forays into it made it seem a bit, how shall I say, too much power and ability, when all I want is one specific thing. But correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[Dr.Null]

BUG mod (for Beyond the Sword) does all this and makes coffee. Highly recommended.

 

[ModernKnight]

Hi, Dr. Null. Does it work for vanilla Civ4? If so, where might I find it? Thanks! - MK

 

[lymond]

Hi, Dr. Null. Does it work for vanilla Civ4? If so, where might I find it? Thanks! - MK

No, just for BTS, which you should be playing anyway

 

[ModernKnight]

Yeah ok... I'm seeing a lot of variations on Civ4 BTS on Amazon... "Sid Meiers Civilization IV: The Complete Edition" and "Sid Meiers Civilization IV: Complete" even have different box art and seem nearly the same (both have Warlords and BTS); one thing I see is that the first one has Colonization, which I don't need (was disappointed by it).

Will I be able to play BTS in some mode resembling vanilla Civ4 (plus of course use the BUG mod)?

Thanks for your help! - MK

 

[TCMIV]

BTS is basically Vanilla+, it's essentially the same game with added units/buildings/techs

 

[ModernKnight]

Ok, so you can't turn off the extra buildings, units, etc. in BTS, right?

Did I detect right - between those two "Complete" editions, the only difference is Colonization?

Thanks folks! - MK

 

[TCMIV]

Not sure on the complete editions, but I forgot BTS also added espionage (another slider like research and culture) but it can be turned off if you don't like it.

 

[raxid]

So a little bit of knowledge for you. You don't need Warlords, BTS has almost everything warlords does, so really all you need is the expansion BTS (since you have original) if you can find it. And since you were wondering, the notable things that have been added since vanilla.

Espionage (can be turned off)
AP (relgious victory) which would have to be modded out i think
Events (can be turned off
Great General (no reason to turn off)
like 4-ish new techs (again not sufficently complicated to 'turn off')
a bunch of new civs and leaders

and a whole lot of more minor changes

in any case BTS is practically a necessary upgrade, and to be honest having the ability to use the BUG mod (even withought any other changes) is worth the price to me...

 

[ModernKnight]

Thank raxid, good info. Sounds like I need BTS and BUG.

The very best games have all kinds of replay ability for dummies like me, and smart guys like on this forum. I've played hundreds of games and Civ stands above the rest (although many genres has some really cool games in their own right - who can forget Half Life). The point of my rambling is that the very best games can be played for years without need for an expansion pack. But, there's a limit to everything, I guess.

Thanks all, I'll be ordering BTS in the next few minutes - MK

 

[Cusanus]

Thanks all, I'll be ordering BTS in the next few minutes - MK

Good choice.

BTS doesn't feel so much like an expansion pack for CIV. At least here on the forum, it's just the standard version everybody is using.

OT, concerning some "some really cool games in their own right".

Spoiler :

I think you might compare Civ and BTS to StarCraft and BroodWar. StarCraft is an amazing game that definetly didn't need an expansion pack. But since BroodWar is just as great (possibly even better), there's not really a reason not to "upgrade" your game.

As you like HalfLife, have you ever played HalfLife II? Imo, it's a really worthy successor. But in this case: don't bother with the expansion packs. They are nice, but really just not necessary.

- - -
One small thing, since you mentioned "terms for things commonly used here":
the "Plus" of a city is called the Big Fat Cross = BFC on the internet.

 

[ModernKnight]

Thanks, Cusanus... eh Half Life bred its own demise... who could top Half Life for the pure fun of it? hehe, isn't life funny... Supreme Commander Forged Alliance kinda went sideways on what was a supreme game, if you ask me...

I remember crowding into a tech show in the late 80s and seeing the new VGA technology, and how there were "waves on the ocean" in Civ2 - it was the best thing since sliced bread.

Holy s***. I need to get a life!

 

[lymond]

I'd say the reason to have Warlords is for the scenario content, but if you don't play scenarios it can be avoided. However, the complete addition is so cheap now it may be easier to buy that than the separate expansions.

BTS is pretty much the way to play the game now. It improves graphics and performance considerable in my view. The additions - buildings, civs, techs,etc, add a lot but don't really change the basic gameplay significantly. The several major features like Espionage can be turned off - however, you may find at times it's a different change of pace to play with it on. All victory conditions can be turned off if you don't like a particular one.

The BUG mod stands for BTS Unaltered Gameplay and like its name it does not change the gameplay. It does add a lot of interface improvement that increase the ease of getting information. Also, it adds the dotmap feature that you are looking for which is very nice for planning out your cities.

Bottom Line is BTS is very worth it and essential in my book. So is BUG - I don't play without it.