Civilization III Aeon

MeteorPunch · Feb 25, 2010

Aeon is a full epic mod spanning the tribal man to the present day. I've attempted to create each civilization with their own visual style and somewhat historic accuracy as best I can within my knowledge and time have allowed. If you're familiar with Civ 3, I think everything in game should generally make sense and the Civilopedia is updated as reference. I've tried to expand the game while at the same time removing some micromanagement where possible.

IMPORTANT: The game is designed around a no science game which allows all civs to progress at the same pace and have a more realistic feel and time line. To do this it is intended and necessary that you keep your science slider at the maximum amount of 50% at all times - moving it is cheating. Additionally there is a bug which will reset your tax slider to 50% after each turn if you move it - so even if you do move it, it resets back to where it should be. It should remain at 50% for the entire game (you may even forget it's there after a while, I have). The luxury slider you may still adjust.

Short list of changes you should know about when playing:

Civs start with 2 settlers and workers.
Cities never flip sides for any reason.
Rioting that happens when a city is taken over initially is quelled in 1 turn by a single military unit.
Resources used for units in one era are no longer needed for units of the next era.
Diplomatic victory disabled. Cultural victory mostly untested.
Nearly all land units have 2 movement. For this reason, units cannot withdraw from combat when losing.
Resources are marked by a shield for strategic and a smiley for luxury. Also there are blips/bars showing the food/production/commerce values.
For the first 2 eras each civ has a single choice per era for government other than the default type.
Each civ has the religious trait for 2-turn anarchy.
It costs 10 shields to make 1 gold when building wealth prior to the economics tech.
It's easier to clear marshes and jungles.
Rather than "stealth," a generic term, "avoidance," is used to describe bomber who have a lower chance of being intercepted through having stealth/escorts/night bombing etc.
Air units have a 90% chance to attempt an interception on bombers, and 50% versus bombers with avoidance.
Armies are limited to 1 per 10 cities.
Mountains cannot have roads.
Techs cannot be traded
Coastal tiles produce a shield, reflecting the power of coastal cities.
Culmination (of Civilization) Victory is similar to Space Race in that you build 10 parts, but instead of 1 building (Apollo) allowing everything, each part requres control of a wonder. As of now it's a human-only victory.
Defensive bonuses have been drastically reduced. Here's the breakdown:

Unit Fortified 15%
Defending beyond River 5%
Barricade/Fortress 15%
Town 15%
City 30%
Metro 35%
Walls 15%
Castle 10%
Civil Defense 5%

Known Issues:
Korea is considered one nation; Kim Yong-il is the leader, the South Korean flag is used, and units from both sides are available to them (USSR+American MiG Jets and Huey Helicopters)

DOWNLOAD: (original release and separate updates)
Core files for Civilization III/Conquests/Scenarios folder (867 MB .zip which extracts to 1.38 GB): download from Atomic Gamer or download from MegaUpload
Biq files: Aeon 0.39 biqs
Missing Modern Frigate .ini file: The file contained in this .zip should be put in the Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/4 SEA F folder
Fixed Humvee .ini files: The files contained in this .zip should be put in Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/4 Humvee AND Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/4 Humvee desert
Apr 17, 2010 Updated Pediaicons file: The file contained in this .zip should be put in the Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Text folder
June 2, 2010 Fixed Tribal-class Destroyer .ini files: The file contained in this .zip should be put in the Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/3 SEA DD Tribal folder
June 22, 2010 Fixed Japanese archer attack animation: The files contained in this .zip should be put in the Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/1 Archer Jap folder

FULL DOWNLOAD (includes all updates)
June 22, 2010 Core files plus updates for Civilization III/Conquests/Scenarios folder (868 MB .zip which extracts to 1.35 GB): download from MegaUpload

2nd round of updates (these have not been included in the June 22 Full Version)
June 24, 2010 Fixed Chieftain desert camo .ini file: The file contained in this .zip should be put in Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/4 Tank2 Chieftain desert
July 23, 2010 Fixed Olifant Mk1 .ini file: The file contained in this .zip should be put in Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/4 Tank1 Olifant Mk 1
July 24, 2010 Missing sound file for Siege Cannon: The file contained in this .zip should be put in Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/2 Cannon

Credits:

Spoiler :

MeteorPunch · Feb 25, 2010

Screenshots

Spoiler :

Demo Games
Aeon mod - Italy
Aeon mod, game 2 - USA

Preview Thread
Aeon - an epic mod in progress

Hopefully everything works well, but please report any bugs.

MeteorPunch · Feb 25, 2010

WORLD MAP SCENARIO Size: 180x180, Civilizations: 24

Back in my Civ 2 days I pretty much always played on the included world map, so I can definitely appreciate a world map game; there's something fun about capturing real locations. I had a world map scenario in mind for this mod when it was created; which for example, accounts for the long range movement range of naval units.

Very little has changed from the original game, so I haven't played and tested extensively, but I don't think there should be any problems. If you find any, please report them.

Rule Changes v1.021:

The biggest change is that no new cities can be built once the Industrial age begins. This is to keep turn time and game time reasonable.
Civilizations start with their first city and small wonder built, along with a worker, 2 defenders, and a warrior.
Domination Victory is now 25% land and 66% population, instead of 66% of both land and population.
Island nations, UK and Japan start with a Boat.
American nations start with a Scout.
No goody huts.
Settlers are created every 15 turns.
Expansion rate slowed. Eden produces a Settler every 15 turns now, instead of every 11.
Crowded Civs (Euro and Mideast) have kind of a bad deal in that they have to expand and build cities far from thier capital. Because of this corruption has been lowered. This will help all Civs, but will help crowded ones more.

Known Issues:
I'm not happy with the in-between turn times from the second era onward. I haven't measured it with a stopwatch, but it feels like a minute minimum, two minutes maximum, which is entirely too long for me. I know other mods have this problem too, but I can't deal with it. For this reason I put together what I feel will be a faster game version, with some more rule modification which are not reflected in the Civilopedia.

Rule Changes v1.021 Faster:

Military alliances disabled.
Sea trade through harbors and air trade through airports disabled.
Aluminum, coal, heavy industries, oil, rubber, and saltpeter have all changed from a strategic to a bonus resources, and are no longer needed for units and buildings.

Screenshot:

Spoiler :

Credits:
Arne's Worldmap 180x180

Demo Game:
Aeon mod, game 3 - Japan

Download:
Requires Civilization III Aeon mod. Unzip .biq into into the Civ3/Conquests/Scenarios folder.

WildWeazel · Feb 25, 2010

Wow. I definitely didn't see this one coming. I hope I get a chance to try it out.

From looking at your list of changes, it seems you have reduced or removed a lot of strategic elements- resistance, culture flipping, diplomatic victory, defensive bonuses, governments, retreating.... are there rationale behind these decisions?

Just curious, what am I getting credit for?

tubaman · Feb 25, 2010

I keep getting an error message. For whatever reason it appears the amphitheater graphics didn't load.

MeteorPunch · Feb 25, 2010

Weasel Op said:
From looking at your list of changes, it seems you have reduced or removed a lot of strategic elements- resistance, culture flipping, diplomatic victory, defensive bonuses, governments, retreating.... are there rationale behind these decisions?

Resistance - I could see this being back in.

Culture flipping - If I could alter the values, this would still be in, however it's pretty dumb to lose a great number of units, including armies to such a random element. It's un-fun and frustrating.

Diplomatic - I hate this "victory" - sign a military alliance against your rival with remaining the civs = win. It's just too easy.

Defensive bonuses - In short by lowering defenses it gives the AI more offensive teeth, because the AI does not consider terrain. You can still gain and use terrain advantages, but you're not gonna have a situation where a lone defender stands on a mountain and takes out half the AI's invasion. That's an exaggeration but when you factor in things like shield costs of units and stacking several defensive bonuses it gets really unbalanced.

Governments - By limiting governments I was able to give much cultural-relative, and better game play than having what is usually a choice between 2 generic governments, although generic ones exist again from the 3rd era. For example by giving all the Euro civs the same medieval government, it's easier to allow them all access to certain wonders and buildings without making duplicate buildings and governments.

Retreating - I wish I could leave this in, but having 2 movement for all units is better.

For all strategies removed, some new ones emerge and I'm open to changing things, but from my experiences playing things are working out pretty good. I think some changes I would view here as being radical, but you really have to experience it in action I guess.

Weasel Op said:
Just curious, what am I getting credit for?

I didn't keep track of who for what because there was so many things to credit for. I'm gonna guess a modding tip or article from you.

MeteorPunch · Feb 25, 2010

tubaman said:
I keep getting an error message. For whatever reason it appears the amphitheater graphics didn't load.

Either you didn't download the main files or it's not installed correct. The folders should look like this: Conquests/Scenarios/AEON

tubaman · Feb 25, 2010

That's how its setup. I can go in the editor and view the scenario and all of the units and buildings are there, but their icons aren't, except for the icons from the original game.

georgestow · Feb 25, 2010

Just downloaded it-have loads of work now but'll play later. However I checked the files to find out what was mine in there. 199 items in my library, and I finally get some stuff in a mod!
It's the Bible and Quran-right? Wait. I think I know my own work. It is! =]

MeteorPunch · Feb 25, 2010

Just so we're clear, did you download the main files? These:

Core files for Civilization III/Conquests/Scenarios folder (867 MB .zip which extracts to 1.38 GB): download from Atomic Gamer

It should look like this, AEON folder and 3 .biq files in the Conquests/Scenarios folder:

MeteorPunch · Feb 25, 2010

Georgestow, yep...good "buildings." :goodjob:

mythusmage · Feb 25, 2010

1. It's different. The Americans (my fave) as a religious, agricultural people is certainly different. As are the American units. (Having explorers and scouts (braves) who can kick ass on barbarians is certainly different.)

2. Tech advances, improvements, and wonders get finished rather fast.

3. This mod would work great with Snoopy's Terrain. Maybe Ryhe's, but definitely Snoopy's.

4. Settlers (or whatever they're called) move kinda fast. They're also produced kinda fast. I recommend slowing down both.

5. I haven't built a black bear yet, but I have the feeling they are kick ass bastard.

6. Why do I have the feeling this is a fantasy mod?

It loaded fast and with no trouble, for that I thank you. Play is different from the standard game and it has a feel all it's own. I think using Snoopy's Terrain would enhance this and so recommend its use. Keep up the good work, I look forward to v 0.4

tubaman · Feb 25, 2010

I fixed the issue. Thank you for your help. Can't wait to play.

wolf_brother · Feb 26, 2010

You need to edit the script.txt file so that when you mouse over a tech in the science adviser screen you don't get situations where you're looking at Cultivation but your science adviser is talking about Steel, and etc for all other techs.

EDIT: Also, its very confusing seeing one color for a given civ on the minimap, another color on their boarders, another color on their cities, and another color on their units! Please, as pretty as it is, make every civ have one color and only one color.

Kyriakos · Feb 26, 2010

Congratulations for completing the mod :thumbsup:

MeteorPunch · Feb 26, 2010

mythusmage said:
2. Tech advances, improvements, and wonders get finished rather fast.

The speed the game moves is one of the hardest things to balance. I do think things move fast, but it's the only way for me to get the game into the modern era.

In normal civ I almost never build wonders - too expensive, or let the AI build them, then capture. In this mod wonders are generally supposed to be good. Sometimes they aren't as good as they should be and sometimes too good maybe, but "you should want to build them" is what I'm going for.

3. This mod would work great with Snoopy's Terrain. Maybe Ryhe's, but definitely Snoopy's.

I actually made a few interface and terrain recolors, but I don't know if they actually add anything - to not add stuff saves me time and allows people to use the graphics they prefer, so if someone likes Snoopy's best, they can and my mod doesn't override that.. In a mod like Age of Imperialism, the graphics they did really add the the flavor of the time, but I don't have the skill/time to do that. :lol:

4. Settlers (or whatever they're called) move kinda fast. They're also produced kinda fast. I recommend slowing down both.

What size map are you one? The setters come at a pace to fill most of the world, but not all of it prior to the Colonialism tech. Also the initial settlers are faster than normal ones.

5. I haven't built a black bear yet, but I have the feeling they are kick ass bastard.

The uhh, North American animal units are the biggest artistic stretch in the game. There's a sever lack of mounted horses for them, and I think they are fun.

6. Why do I have the feeling this is a fantasy mod?

You know I really wanted dragons for medieval barbarian units...

It loaded fast and with no trouble, for that I thank you. Play is different from the standard game and it has a feel all it's own. I think using Snoopy's Terrain would enhance this and so recommend its use. Keep up the good work, I look forward to v 0.4

thanks!

MeteorPunch · Feb 26, 2010

wolf_brother said:
You need to edit the script.txt file so that when you mouse over a tech in the science adviser screen you don't get situations where you're looking at Cultivation but your science adviser is talking about Steel, and etc for all other techs.

You're right, that's something I need to do.

EDIT: Also, its very confusing seeing one color for a given civ on the minimap, another color on their boarders, another color on their cities, and another color on their units! Please, as pretty as it is, make every civ have one color and only one color.

The only civ that bugs me in this respect is Canada and their colors, so I made an alternate set of colors for the 9 dual colors civs for you or anyone else who would like them.

edit: also it's somewhat necessary to use the Show Team Color Disks option from the third era onward because of vehicles and several military uniforms that have difficult to see team colors or none at all.

Ntp02 Canada
Ntp05 Ethiopia
Ntp07 Germany
Ntp09 India
Ntp11 Italy
Ntp14 Mexico
Ntp21 Spain
Ntp23 UK
Ntp24 USA

Copy and replace into the Conquests/Scenarios/AEON/Art/Units/Palettes

MeteorPunch · Feb 26, 2010

tubaman said:
I fixed the issue. Thank you for your help. Can't wait to play.

Glad it works now.

Varwnos said:
Congratulations for completing the mod

Thanks Varwnos. :beer:

King Coltrane · Feb 28, 2010

You know, I try to keep up on what mods are coming out for civ3 (best iteration imho). But somehow this slipped right by! I played a game through today and I have to say I really was impressed! It took great elements from other recent mods (stephs editor, CCM, etc) and added a lot of interesting twists. Honestly, this was one of the most fun epic mod's ive played. The only thing I would do is differentiate between the 3 nationalism gov'ts a little. maybe a building or small wonder for each. as it is now, they are all kinda the same. OH one other thing: decrease the cost of espionage missions. They are WAY too expensive. at one point i wanted to try and sabotage an American city's production and the cost was 65600... which was 3 times as much gold as there was in the world.

But like I said, minor things aside, this was fantastic. I was skeptical about the tech tree (specifically the fact that it was always 3 turns and you couldnt trade techs) but it grew on me! I really liked the choice at the beginning of each mini era: do i go for the military tech, the cultural tech, the social tech, etc. It was a tough choice especially knowing that the wrong choice could lead to another civ getting one of those cheap wonders.

actually, on the topic of wonders, given how cheap a lot of them are I think you should up the single city cultural victory goal. I reached it (unexpectedly) in 1970something. I was happy to win, but I could see myself getting that many wonders in berlin fairly often.

Also Germany doesnt have a WW2 era carrier. I'm sure you have a good reason for it, but what is it? haha.

Noble warrior ambition: brilliant. I loved how you implemented this. adds flavor without unbalancing things. again, fantastic.

I also wanted to tell you how much i appreciate the accuracy of the timeline. I mean, my golden age (as germany) started in 1942. America's started a turn or 2 after. I know its not really that important, but i appreciate being in the industrial age in the 1800s and the ww2 era in the mid 1900s. So many civ games see a tank SoD in 1530. So thanks again for this little detail.

To recap: I'm really impressed with this mod. Well done! It is a unique and highly enjoyable twist on a tried and true formula. Thank you for your work!

also: world map please!

mythusmage · Feb 28, 2010

I tried installing Sn00py's Terrain in place of the standard Aeon uses. Made a duplicate of the scenario's terrain folder and installed Sn00py's Terrain in the original. Which involved no overwriting of the original files and folders because, the folder was empty originally. To make this a short story, my installing the Sn00py folders and files made no difference, because I still got the original look.

Meteorpunch, Does Aeon use one of the core Art/Terrain folders? If so, which one? from the look of the mod I'm thinking the PTW one. If so then I need to download Sn00py's PTW Terrain.

Update: Experimented. Went to Conquest Game Data/Art, made duplicates of the pertinent files and folders, then replaced the originals with the Sn00py version. It worked. Now I 'm looking for a better goody hut to replace the golden Frisbees.

Meteorpunch, the fact I did this so easily says a lot of good things about your scenario design.

Update 2 or, this comment is no good without a screenshot

Civilization III Aeon

#WINNING

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Carthago Creanda Est

Warlord

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Warlord

Proud to be Awesome

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Prince

Warlord

King

Creator

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