Favorite XML Tweaks

"Never build...", "What's the point of...?", "Lamest UU / UB / AI...", "How to fix...."

I keep seeing the same few game-balance questions over and over again: useless buildings, units, and wonders; weak civ UB/UU-trait combos; and some consistently sub-par AI players (I'm lookin' at you, Toku!). While the utility of some buildings, units, and wonders are certainly more strategy-specific, some are also clear under-performers regardless of strategy or Civ (castles, most obviously).

But enough whining - what do you do about it? What are your favorite re-balancers?


First obvious candidate:
Castles obsolete much later, like Steel or Steam Power.

 

I made the castles and Spanish citadel obsolete at Steel and I made the Chichen itza cost a little more, but give 2+ Happiness on the continent it was built and 1+ trade route modifier.

 

I removed the limit on experience points gained from animals and barbarians.

 

Can this be done in the XML? I thought this was an SDK tweak...

Cheers,
ripple01

 

airships require physics and combustion. now my privateers have a happy window to raid in peace!

also, making ironclads seaworthy.

these two changes please me greatly.

i just might have to expand the age of castles as Soduka does.

 

Celtic Dun costs 30h, +2 culture, Guerilla I to all.

Aztec Jaguar 6 strength.

Korean Seowon +2 scientist slots.

 

I did quite a few of these. All of these changes stack with the existing effects unless otherwise noted.

Lumbermills
- Available with Machinery, not Replaceable Parts.
- Replaceable Parts gives +1 production.
- Removed the Railroad bonus to production.

Forest Preserve
-Available with Civil Service

Drill Promotions
-Give 1 first strike, 1 first strike chance, and -15% collateral damage per rank. These replace the standard effects.

City Garrison Promotions
-Available to Siege Units. I would make it exclusive to Machine GUns if I knew how.

Expansive Trait
-gives +25% production to Scouts, Caravels and Explorers.

Protective Trait
-Double production of Bunkers and Bomb Shelters.

Aggressive Trait
-Double production for stables.

Desert Tiles
-Can be irrigated.

Tundra Tiles
-Can support any improvement that Plains can.

Explorers
-Can attack

 

Where do you edit the traits in BTS? The file referenced in Civ 4 Vanilla doesn't exist in BTS.

 

If I remember correctly, I copied the one from the Warlords folder into the BTS CustomAssets folder and edited it there.

 

It's in one of the XML files, I don't recall which at the moment.

 

My favorite tweaks?... I gave paratroopers, guided missiles, and tactical nukes a little more range. I also gave triremes a cargo capacity of 2. I've been thinking about giving submarines hidden nationality, but that may be a bit toooo much.

 

I've worked on a few:

Privateers:
- got rid of the iron requirement so the ai can fight with some kind of navy. still debating if I should add a BonusProductionModifier for Iron or Gold/Gems/silver. The BonusProductionModifier I saw its used for buildings (stone/marble) but not for units. I'm looking to do that for oil. double the cost of some units but double the speed with oil.


Improvements:
-Workers are consumed with all but farms, mines, roads, and railroads like workboats. this makes it more of a guns vs butter decision "do I need more workers? should I build that improvement? I need to go raiding an AI....)
-railroads cost 5 gold and subract 1 food but add 1 hammer. another choice thing.
- made towns have a chance to discover drama, singles, movies resources (but had to change the nif from wheat to the theater, broadcast tower, mall)
- made oil not appear regularly. you have to build oil wells in desert, tundra, or jungle (removes jungle). it adds 1 gold and you cant build cottages there now. they have a chance to find oil. same for offshore platforms. Can't tell you what a b**** it is when you discover oil in a well on your border or when an AI well discovers oil first.

moai statues
- asian civs only and just added the harbor graphic for everyone else. until I found that shipyard graphic.

I'm sure I've done others but thats enough....

 

Give a great prophet to the first who discovers divine right

 

Sorry I don't have anything to add, other than a big THANK YOU for the thread!
I haven't done any modding, but this looks like a great place to start. I really like the lumbermill idea. I think I'll start with that one, if I can ever stop playing the game to make the change...

LM

 

Workers being consumed is terrible, because a city cannot grow with worker production.

 

don't knock it til you try it

 

assets>xml>civilizations>CIV4LEADERHEADINFOS.xml

hope that's what you meant

 

I don't see where to edit the actual traits, that's just where to edit what traits a leader has. By the way, Ekmek, mind sharing your changes or at least how to do them? That sounds great.

 

*I make the Great Wall a national wonder instead of a world wonder.
*I sometimes increase the national wonder limit to more than 2.
*Change the culture boundaries so there are not those big gaps between 500 and 5000 and 50000 (add two new culture levels, at 1000 and 10000 or thereabouts).
*I always want to change the discovery/obsolescence of the castle, but I never have figured out exactly what to change it to.
*I recommend everyone plays one game with CITY_MAX_NUM_BUILDINGS (global defines) set to 2 instead of 1. It completely changes the game. It lets you build two of any building in any city. Two granaries rocks. Two barracks and two stables when you have horses strikes fear into even your own heart.

 

Some of these are game-breaking. There aren't TOO many unbalances with the units.

However, there are a couple of things I would do. Of course, I haven't done it yet, as I have to make AI strategy tips, as well as learn to make new units, instead of modifying existing ones.

Change #1: Global Warming produces Tundra (1 , 1 , can be improved if adjacent to a river), instead of desert.

Change #2: Ironclads are 16 units, with alot bigger cost, and +100% defence in coast. Same speed, and still can't move into ocean. Upgrade to Battleships. That said...

Change #3: New unit: Steam Ships. 20 units, that can move faster than Ironclads, and travel over ocean. These can eat Frigates and Ship-of-the-line for breakfast, lunch and tea, but are no match to beat fortified Iron-clads.

Change #4: New unit: Modern Privateer. 26 units that can destroy un-guarded transports, and pillage and blockade like a regular privateer. They are the same speed as battleships. Now... I KNOW that that is NOTHING like real life ATM, however the reason is this: Pirates exist, but no government wants to hire them (like they did in the medieval era). Modern Privateers will also have a (low) anti-aircraft value.

Change #5: Unlike most people, Im NOT moving the time of Airships. That said, I am pulled between two choices:

A) Flak. Comes with Artillery (before Rocketry), and acts as good anti-air, albiet with VERY low strength, but a HUGE anti-airship value

B) Airships cannot attack, only recon. But they have more Line of Sight, and don't obsolete.

But that is minor. Personally, I don't care losing 10% of my strength in a war... its small change! Add on the fact that airships lack collateral damage abilities, and you mean that Airships are useless to try and suppress my SoD... and even in city walls they are nearly useless. But B is also very realistic!

Those are my planned mods... when I get around to it. But ATM, they are tiny problems. I do miss late-game privateering however...