Earth 2014 Development Thread

[Barbarian King]

I have decided to try my hand at mod/scenario making for Civ 5, and for my first project I am attempting to remake what was my most popular scenario for Civ4 (Earth 2010). I saw that there is already a scenario on the Workshop that deals with the same subject, but as I plan to use a different civ list I figured it wouldn't hurt for there to be another. I will use this thread to provide progress updates and take suggestions concerning how to improve my scenario. I would also like to use it to solicit assistance, if anyone is interested (see next post), since there are certain areas (especially artwork) where my skills are lacking and I would appreciate the help.

Details
Currently the plan is for the mod to have 24 civs, and for there to be two scenarios (one on a Standard map, one on a Huge map), with each scenario featuring the maximum allowable 22 civs.

Status: As of 2/25/2014 this mod/scenario is available for download. See this thread.

This mod is being developed for Brave New World

Civilizations

Spoiler :

Civilization Leader
United States Barack Obama
China Xi Jinping
Russia Vladimir Putin
Japan Shinzo Abe
Germany Angela Merkel
United Kingdom David Cameron
France Francois Hollande
India Manmohan Singh
Brazil Dilma Rousseff
Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Australia Tony Abbott
Canada Stephen Harper
Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto
Argentina Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
South Africa Jacob Zuma
Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain
Iran Hassan Rouhani
South Korea Park Geun-hye
North Korea Kim Jong-un
Israel Benjamin Netanyahu
Egypt Adly Mansour
Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan

UUs

Spoiler :

The following table lists the UUs each civ will have (WIP).

Civilization Mobile Infantry Modern Armor Jet Fighter Helicopter Gunship Nuclear Submarine
United States Bradley M1A1 F-15 AH-64 Apache Los Angeles
China Mil Mi-8
Russia BMP-2 T-90 MiG-29 Mil Mi-8 Akula
Japan F-15 AH-64 Apache
Germany Marder Leopard 2 Eurofighter Eurocopter Tiger
United Kingdom Challenger 2 Eurofighter AH-64 Apache Astute
France Leclerc Rafale Eurocopter Tiger
India BMP-2 T-90 MiG-29 Mil Mi-8 Akula
Brazil
Indonesia Marder Leopard 2 Mil Mi-8
Australia M1A1 Eurocopter Tiger
Canada Leopard 2
Mexico Mil Mi-8
Argentina Marder Mil Mi-8
South Africa
Saudi Arabia Bradley M1A1 Eurofighter AH-64 Apache
Turkey Leopard 2
Pakistan Mil Mi-8
Iran BMP-2 T-55 MiG-29 Mil Mi-8
South Korea F-15 AH-64 Apache
North Korea T-55 MiG-29 Mil Mi-8
Israel Merkava F-15 AH-64 Apache
Egypt M1A1 AH-64 Apache
Nigeria T-55 Mil Mi-8

Here are two screenshots to give you an idea of how things are shaping up so far.

Spoiler :

 

[Barbarian King]

Help Needed
While I will be able to make the mod by myself, I will not be able to make it great by myself. Therefor, I will use this post to make requests for things I would like, and if anyone is interested in helping out it will be much appreciated (and all credit given where it's due). I will organize requests by area of expertise.

Artists

Spoiler :

I am not a very good artist. If there are any talented artists reading this who would like to help make my mod look better, I will need buttons for new units, buildings, and techs. I would also like maps for the civ selection screen, but that is less important.

Writers

Spoiler :

I'd like to have brief biographies of the world leaders in the Civlopedia. I'd get around to this eventually on my own, but if there is anyone reading this who loves to write and would like to do a few (or all) of them for me, that would be great.

World Leaders

Spoiler :

Leader Status
Barack Obama
Xi Jinping
Vladimir Putin
Shinzo Abe
Angela Merkel
David Cameron
Francois Hollande
Manmohan Singh
Dilma Rousseff
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Tony Abbott
Stephen Harper In Progress... (by otaman1)
Enrique Pena Nieto
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Jacob Zuma
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Mamnoon Hussain
Hassan Rouhani
Park Geun-hye
Kim Jong-un In Progress... (by Viregel)
Benjamin Netanyahu
Adly Mansour
Goodluck Jonathan

Translators

Spoiler :

This mod is being made in English. If anyone wants this in another language and is willing to translate it for me, please let me know.

Playtesters

Spoiler :

Do you like to play Civ? Do you like to criticize things (constructively)? Then this is the job for you. When I release this mod I'll want feedback (especially on balance), so I hope to have plenty of volunteers for this.

In addition, if anyone knows of any good models for modern units that are not currently in the CivFanatics database, I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

 

[Viregel]

This looks like a pretty fun project. I'm willing to write the Civlopedia entries, as that involves no programming.

 

[AW Arcaeca]

Now are you planning to all 196 countries for this project, or is that too many?

 

[Nutty]

Now are you planning to all 196 countries for this project, or is that too many?

22 civs and 174 city states on an 80x52 standard size map... That's 21 hexes for each country... On an Earth map, that's going to be about 5 or 6 land hexes per country...
That does sound fun!

 

[AW Arcaeca]

Not to mention having places like like Bratislava, Belgrade and Vienna all so close together...
And I'm assuming your calculations are based on the average area of a country? I'd love to see how a "major" civ like Denmark pales in comparison to the size of America.

EDIT: Oh hey, I just now realized the OP included a list of major civs. Apparently, I'm going blind.

 

[Barbarian King]

This looks like a pretty fun project. I'm willing to write the Civlopedia entries, as that involves no programming.

That's great. I've put a list of the Leaders in the OP, so feel free to write for whoever you want (although please let me know who, either in a PM or in a post in this thread, so that if I get other volunteers we can avoid duplication of effort). Thanks for helping.

 

[Barbarian King]

22 civs and 174 city states on an 80x52 standard size map... That's 21 hexes for each country... On an Earth map, that's going to be about 5 or 6 land hexes per country...
That does sound fun!

Not to mention having places like like Bratislava, Belgrade and Vienna all so close together...
And I'm assuming your calculations are based on the average area of a country? I'd love to see how a "major" civ like Denmark pales in comparison to the size of America.

EDIT: Oh hey, I just now realized the OP included a list of major civs. Apparently, I'm going blind.

I haven't decided yet how many city states will be on the maps. My plan is to first place the 22 major civs and then place city states until the maps feel full but not stuffed. Sorry, there will not be 196 total countries represented. That would be a bit excessive. Plus, I think there is a limit on how many city states you can put on the map.

 

[Viregel]

OK- I've started on North Korea now. I've always had a soft spot for that Kim fellow.

 

[vibe96]

Looks nice!

Can I ask you, what will happen in the scenario? Will it be a huge world war or more like an economic simulation?

 

[Barbarian King]

Looks nice!

Can I ask you, what will happen in the scenario? Will it be a huge world war or more like an economic simulation?

This scenario will simply be a starting point, from which you will be able to play civ normally. Currently I am leaving in all normal victory conditions (although I am making the spaceship parts super expensive, to give everyone lots of time to play). The fate of the world will be up to you (and the AIs).

 

[Barbarian King]

I have gotten the mod to a point where I felt comfortable starting on the maps, and I've made significant enough progress on the Standard-sized map to provide new details. The standard map uses Firaxis's standard earth map with some modifications and has 22 major civs and 31 minor civs. I have already placed all the cities and painted the borders (see WIP screenshot below) as well as placed all the resources. I have yet to finish placing improvements and setting the civs relations with each other. The units still need to be placed as well. At the current rate of progress, I expect to have a preliminary version of this scenario (with standard-size map only) ready for testing next weekend. If anyone reading this is interested in testing the scenario out, check this thread next Saturday and I'll provide a download link.

Screenshot

Spoiler :

 

[JFD]

Lol, I didn't even realise Tony Abbott was PM now - not that I wasn't expecting it - until I saw your screenshot.

It's looking good, but Egypt and South Africa look very much alike, assuming they're still meant to be seperate civs.

 

[otaman1]

Nice! I wanna write about Stephen Harper since he's from the same place I am from, and I know a lot about him, but I'm not a really good writer. My "vocabulary" and "detail" sucks.

 

[Barbarian King]

It's looking good, but Egypt and South Africa look very much alike, assuming they're still meant to be seperate civs.

That's a good point you raise, and it's one I hadn't noticed. Egypt and South Africa are still separate civs, with the color schemes Yellow/Purple for Egypt (base game scheme) and Yellow/Green for South Africa. When looking at them on the main map they are clearly different, but now that you point it out I realize they do look a bit too similar on the mini-map. I think I'll change Egypt's colors to make things a bit clearer.

Nice! I wanna write about Stephen Harper since he's from the same place I am from, and I know a lot about him, but I'm not a really good writer. My "vocabulary" and "detail" sucks.

If you know a lot about Harper, then that is good enough for me. Any leaders that I don't get volunteers for I'll probably just skim their bios on Wikipedia and whip up a short digest for them. Having knowledgeable people write the civilopedia entries instead would be superior to this, so I'll be glad to have your help.

 

[TPangolin]

Lol, I didn't even realise Tony Abbott was PM now - not that I wasn't expecting it - until I saw your screenshot.

Thank god. The less people that know about him overseas- the better.

 

[Barbarian King]

My scenario has reached the point where I am ready to release a beta version to be tested. If anyone is interested in trying it out, here is a link to the file. To install, just extract the files to your MODS folder (should be located in Documents/My Games/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/MODS). When you load the mod, make sure to select the map "Earth 2014 (Standard)" (it's in the "Additional Maps" menu) and check the "Load Scenario" option.

Any suggestions for how to improve the mod/scenario are appreciated. Once I get this mod tested, improved, and make the larger map I will release it in the Download database on this site and on Steam.

TECHNICAL NOTE: This mod is for BNW. It was created on a version of CiV that includes all civ and wonder DLCs. If you don't have all DLCs, read the following

Spoiler :

text for more info.

Spoiler :

If you don't have the Ancient Wonders DLC and get an error loading the mod, please let me know and I'll get you a file to fix it. My mod includes a file that deletes the wonders, and I don't know if this will cause problems for people who don't have them.

Likewise, the mod includes a file that deletes most of the existing civs, so if you don't have all of the civs and get an error loading the mod, please let me know.

Concerning civs, the following civs were used as the base of some of my modded civs. If you don't have the civs listed below, you won't be able to play the scenario.
-America
-China
-Russia
-Japan
-Germany
-England
-France
-India
-Brazil
-Indonesia
-Arabia
-Persia
-Korea
-Egypt

CITY STATE NOTE: Not all city states are in the best location vis a vis accuracy, but this is due to an error concerning city states that I was only able to fix by having city states be founded after the start of the game.

CREDITS

Spoiler :

New building icons and a map of Australia by TPangolin
Jet Bomber mod by Ekmek, KnelRivendare, Jinzor
UAV mod by Ekmek, asioasioasio
Other unit models from the CFC database by snafusmith, Wolfdog, blazekid87, coyote, Sharick, and Refar
Map of Canada by Viregel
Map of Mexico by janboruta

 

[Barbarian King]

I'm bumping this to see if there is anyone else who would like to download and test my scenario, and to see if any of the 13 people who have downloaded it so far have any feedback yet.

I'd also like to announce that the Huge map is coming along nicely. Screenshot below.

Spoiler :

 

[TPangolin]

Where can I find a link to it? Also I'd love to see some more screenshots.

 

[Barbarian King]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=369565&stc=1&d=1391652406

Where can I find a link to it? Also I'd love to see some more screenshots.

Yes, I should have provided more info in my bump post. Here is where the beta version of my mod/scenario is hosted. The map is "Earth 2014 (Standard)" and you need to check the box "Load Scenario" to get it to work. Since I uploaded this version, the mod has progressed a little, such that in future versions city states will be founded from the start and all major civ cities will have religions. Other than that, what you see is the current state of the mod.

Per your request, I'm attaching a few more screen shots below.

Spoiler :

Tech Tree

Huge Map -- South America

Huge Map -- Europe