Epic Mod Ideas: Compilation of Suggestions

[Steph]

This idea is a new one, that I have enver tried in game, but it could be interesting.

Base of thinking : some units are not really used, because they upgrade to fast. Especially with extended unit lines.

Easy solution : make them upgrade slower.

Here is my idea. Let say the unit line for aircraft is

Biplane (1920s) - Fighter (1940s) - Jet Fighter (1950s) - Jet Fighter II (1960's) - Modern fighter (1980s) - Advanced fighter (2000s)

The idea is to make biplane upgrade to jet fighter, fighter to jet fighter II, Jet Fighter to Modern figther, etc....

So, when you discover a new techs, you must actually build your new units, and keep the older one in your army. You can upgrade them only when they are really obsolete. It would also reduce the "attack with 20 newly upgrade modern armor just after we discover the tech"

Of course, this would be used mainly for the most modern units, with 1 turn = 1 year.

 

[Colonel Kraken]

"ats" are boats which have lost their "bo"

Oh, I see.

 

[Colonel Kraken]

This idea is a new one, that I have enver tried in game, but it could be interesting.

Base of thinking : some units are not really used, because they upgrade to fast. Especially with extended unit lines.

Easy solution : make them upgrade slower.

Here is my idea. Let say the unit line for aircraft is

Biplane (1920s) - Fighter (1940s) - Jet Fighter (1950s) - Jet Fighter II (1960's) - Modern fighter (1980s) - Advanced fighter (2000s)

The idea is to make biplane upgrade to jet fighter, fighter to jet fighter II, Jet Fighter to Modern figther, etc....

So, when you discover a new techs, you must actually build your new units, and keep the older one in your army. You can upgrade them only when they are really obsolete. It would also reduce the "attack with 20 newly upgrade modern armor just after we discover the tech"

Of course, this would be used mainly for the most modern units, with 1 turn = 1 year.

Rhye uses something like this in his mod.

 

[Dom Pedro II]

My attempts at giving units a population cost were disastrous! The AI ran itself into the ground... the population cost did not, in any way, affect the rate at which they built military units... they just continued to crank them out and so by the Industrial Era, I was ten technologies ahead of my nearest competitor and they had cities no larger than 9.

 

[Ozymandias]

Research Cost Formula For 1.29f

A quick and dirty explanation of Diplomacy.txt

How Does The AI Choose Which Units To Build?

Just a few, slightly OT but hopefully useful.

-Oz

 

[Rhye]

Rye uses something like this in his mod.

my name is Rhye with the "h"


I think that while you collect some random thoughts with this thread, you must begin to plan the mod from the whole instead of the particulars.
You should ask yourself a few questions, which answers will be your guidelines:

Do I want to add units? (yes as many as I can / yes when necessary / yes, unique armies of flavour units (like Steph's)/ no)
Do I want a world map mod or a random map mod? (or both)
Do I want to alter the tech tree? (no / a little / heavily)
Do I want to make changes to enhance realism? (yes / no I don't care, I want cool additions)
Do I want to add future eras? (yes / no)
Do I want to keep an eye on loading times? (yes / no I've got a brand new PC)
Do I want to add any sort of graphics customization?
Do I want to add new civs?
Do I want to add obstacles / forbid actions? (yes / no I want freedom in player's and AI decisions, they'll pay for their mistakes)

 

[Colonel Kraken]

Just a few, slightly OT but hopefully useful.

-Oz

Thanks Oz.

 

[A Viking Yeti]

A lot of these ideas seem really cool, I think I'll probably put a lot of them in my personal mod. Toward the population cost though: I personally feel it is more realistic, and should probably be added to the game, but the pop cost of units shouldn't above lets say... 3. Otherwise, the AI will probably have like a dozen size 6-9 sized cities. Maybe we could have pop cost, coupled with the alter unit costs that I suggested . The reason for that would be: the AI would try and build too many units, but wouldn't be able to afford the heavier, more "pop-expensive" ones (and probably a lot of the other ones), and wouldn't be able to destroy itself. This is, of course, assuming the AI is smart enough not to just build unit after unit that will be mandatorialy disbanded due to economic issues, which, from what I've seen, may not be that likely. [/2 CENTS]

 

[Dom Pedro II]

A lot of these ideas seem really cool, I think I'll probably put a lot of them in my personal mod. Toward the population cost though: I personally feel it is more realistic, and should probably be added to the game, but the pop cost of units shouldn't above lets say... 3. Otherwise, the AI will probably have like a dozen size 6-9 sized cities. Maybe we could have pop cost, coupled with the alter unit costs that I suggested . The reason for that would be: the AI would try and build too many units, but wouldn't be able to afford the heavier, more "pop-expensive" ones (and probably a lot of the other ones), and wouldn't be able to destroy itself. This is, of course, assuming the AI is smart enough not to just build unit after unit that will be mandatorialy disbanded due to economic issues, which, from what I've seen, may not be that likely. [/2 CENTS]

I set my units to 1 population cost and the AI still ran itself right into the ground...

But I also went with the standard costs for units as well.

 

[Zeekater]

I set my units to 1 population cost and the AI still ran itself right into the ground...

But I also went with the standard costs for units as well.

I gave the units I play with pop costs, but for the AI not, it's just too stupid.

 

[A Viking Yeti]

Hmm... Dumb AI. Maybe the extra food bonuses will make the larger, more prosperous cities the center of military activities, while the others stagnate with next to no military units except the ones supplied to them by the military centers (?).

 

[Dom Pedro II]

Hmm... Dumb AI. Maybe the extra food bonuses will make the larger, more prosperous cities the center of military activities, while the others stagnate with next to no military units except the ones supplied to them by the military centers (?).

But the problem is that the larger cities will never get a chance to grow because the AI will constantly be churning out more units killing off the city's population...

Now, if you up the cost to build military units and maybe adjust exactly how food works in the game, it MIGHT work... I'm not sure though...

 

[Steph]

Or you can try to increase the maintenance cost of units. Does the AI take it into account before building new troops?

 

[mrtn]

Or you can try to increase the maintenance cost of units. Does the AI take it into account before building new troops?

As far as I understand it the AI just check how many troops the other civs have, and try to keep up army-size, regardless of if it can afford it. Seeing civs with no gold isn't that unusual...

 

[Dom Pedro II]

But on the other hand, if you hold back the military size of one civ, you'll do it for all of them.... if they're all kept in check, they'll only run themselves into the ground if the human player gets too much bigger... which they won't because they will be more sparing about the units they produce.

 

[Steph]

Does it mean that if the human player has to face limitation, such as unsing pop to build units, costly maintenance, and thus create small size army, the computer will also build small size army ??
I doubt that...

 

[Dom Pedro II]

If the leading AI civ does not feel a need to build more units, the rest of them won't either... so it works out that if it's costly enough, the AI will not be compelled to build them at the rate they normally do.

 

[Colonel Kraken]

Is it possible, then, to give the AI some kind of bonus in the difficulty settings to compensate for the pop cost of units?j

As a sort of an aside, I do remember discussions about how it's not good to allow units that cost population to be able to join cities because the AI won't do it. Is this true?

 

[Ozymandias]

Is it possible, then, to give the AI some kind of bonus in the difficulty settings to compensate for the pop cost of units?j

As a sort of an aside, I do remember discussions about how it's not good to allow units that cost population to be able to join cities because the AI won't do it. Is this true?

Remember according to the online Helpless ALL worker activities have to be set for the AI to see the unit as a worker, i.e., something that can join a city.

On a related point, I've not played the Roman Conquest -- do the Legionaries actually build fortresses??

Thanks,

Oz

 

[A Viking Yeti]

They can have the settle strategy and still use the join city ability... It's just that it doesn't work, with settlers or workers... I tried it with a refugee unit, they joined them to cities. They won't do it with normal settlers either.