CivIVRedux v0.2

[CdGGambit]

CivIVRedux v0.2
Author: CdGGambit

Global Changes:
*All research costs twice as much on all size levels.
*Base cost for first 5 tiers of techs halved to ease early play before tech trading.
*Legendary Culture levels reduced to 10k/20k/30k so that cultural victories are more plausible with slower research.
*Roads and Railroads take 2 times longer to build.
*Civics cost twice as much.
*Default number of players on each size increased.
*Julius Caeser no longer offers you salad. :F

Units:
*Swordsmen (and Praetorian) gain +50% vs. melee, lose +10% city attack and more hammers, 50(60).
*Axemen lose +50% vs. melee, gain +10% city attack and cost 5 hammers less (30).
*Macemen lose +50% vs. melee, gain +10% city attack and cost 20 hammers less (50).
*Frigate enabled at gunpowder.
*Cannon enabled at chemistry.
*Machine Gunner enabled at Assembly Line.
*Crossbowman reduced by 20 hammers (50)

Buildings:
*Drydock enabled at construction.

Technologies:
*Combustion base cost up 600 to 3000.
*Railroad base cost up 300 to 2500.

http://infohost.nmt.edu/~gambit/Files/CivIVRedux.rar (1.5megs)

 

[CdGGambit]

Okay, here be the second version of the mod that everyone had at least one problem with. I fixed a couple of bugs from the last version and added a few more changes.

This mod has been tested and works EXTREMELY well on Rhye's 18 civ map on normal. I haven't tried it on epic yet (being that the game is so darn long) but the timescale is just about right. I am entering the late industry age in the year 1900 and about to get planes and tanks. I recommend that you use Rhye's map, if not, tell me how the game works otherwise.

An explanation of tech advancement:
You'll notice that I halved the cost first several tiers of techs, this does not make them easier to research. It puts them at about the same level as the unmodded game. Only after researching alphabet does the tech tree becomes more expensive. I tried playing with the whole tree doubled, but the problem was that the early techs took far to long to research and I ended up building everything I possibly could in every city and every worker improvement as I got them. Because I couldn't build currency, I was forcing myself into debt just because my cities had to construct something.

An explanation of the unit changes:
When first playing the game, it seemed rather silly to me that the bronze axe would defeat the iron sword. There's just something about this that made absoluetly no sense and I felt compelled to change the way axeman/maceman and swordsmen behaved.

If you don't like these unit changes and still want to try the speed changes hop into your Assets/XML/ folder and copy the Units folder and replace the mods Unit folder with the games original.

 

[userqwerty]

This mod makes Romans a very very very unbalanced faction when taken your suggestion of playing on Rhye's map.
In fact it makes them pretty historically accurate in their expansion spee against the people who colonize greece, gaul, and iberia.

i would rethink the praetorians in this aspect.

 

[Mujadaddy]

I think the designers' line of thought was that a heavy axe or mace is harder parry than the precise edge of a sword...just my 2cents on that...

I certainly like the cannon/frigate changes...cannons come wayy too late, historically thinking...they WERE gunpowder's first "killer app," no pun intended...

What I wonder, though, is *HOW* exactly you're able to keep the "historical time" of tech advances so close to historical when the bulk of the research costs TWICE as much... Is it just extensive tech trading that has allowed this?

 

[CdGGambit]

userqwerty: Praetorians are better than axeman, but they're twice as expensive. It balances out fairly well. Rome is a power house, however they lose alot of their offensive advantage against archery and mounted units and still cost an arm and a leg.

Mujadaddy: I wasn't trading that extensively. I would trade whenever I got the chance, but I wasn't liked enough to do it "all the time". I was running 60% research for most of the game, which is perhaps about average, but I am not the tech leader either. I'm currently entering the industrial age in 1888 and I seem to be right about historically accurate.

 

[Mujadaddy]

Hmmm...so, without extensive tech-trading, I still wonder how you're able to keep the progression semi-chronologically accurate ... :?:

 

[CdGGambit]

In a normal game, I can finish the tech tree by 1000 AD or so on monarch. With my mod on Rhye's map, it's about right.

 

[Mujadaddy]

UR2 1337 4ME

 

[takatok]

Why would you lower cultural values needed to win. In my experience the biggest race you have with cultural victory is getting it in before someone wins the space race (at least on noble/prince). With a slower tech tree advancement this just gives a longer time before someone can start doing space race. Also tech tree gives little help to the cultural victory, other than the odd wonder here and there. For the most part you have distinct goals in regards to tech --- Parthenon, Liberalism, 3 media wonders, etc.

No amount of buildings in the game will make up for 1 or 2 super food cities pumping out great artists and dropping culture bombs on whichever of your 3 cities is lagging the most. It seems to me a 30k cultural victory on a slow tech game would be almost assured, as long as you didn't get militarily beaten up.

Takatok

 

[CdGGambit]

slower techs mean you get access to things that give you culture slower. Culture victories still aren't easy. You won't be getting liberalism until 1500 a.d. at the earliest (probably 1700 or so) and at 1900 I'm still no where near getting mass media.

 

[sovarn]

The swordsmen will be way too overpowered. They have the strongest attack of the time and so the only way will be to bring them down with horses esp with that 50% melee bonus.

 

[CdGGambit]

how are they different than vanilla axemen sovarn? Other than having 1 extra power and costing far more?