Full Patch Notes for December Patch

[Tamed]

Greg, why can't I use bonus Civs in Multiplayer?

 

[blind biker]

Here are some things I believe are missing from the patch:
- add replays
- add detailed stats to replays
- remove 1UpT
- make game more responsive (remove molasses)
- add many more resources
- buff up tech tree
- add many more terrain modifications

 

[Ahriman]

This actually looks really awesome, and at least on paper addresses the vast majority of my concerns.

Now, if only they'd made Electronics require combustion.... I still think we're not going to be seeing Tanks much when Mech-Inf are so much more available. [Though maybe this is fixed enough by allowing cavalry upgrades.]

And I'd still like to see the non-strategicness of most strategic resources (especially horses) be addressed.

Oh, and AI willingness to trade their gold away for things they don't really need.

 

[Txurce]

Lancers to Helico, Cavalry to Tanks... wow, i mean this is superb thinking for more gameplay reasons than i can stress upon.

Currently found in the Balance mods, by the way, with an interim step to AT guns. There are a lot of parallels to what the mods have introduced, which is both a compliment to the modders and to the openness of the developers.

 

[Arsenic Steel]

No slots for the library or paper maker, wow. That looks overboard to me. With how strict that change is it does not jive with how much leeway is given to being in negative happiness, -20?

Not agreeing to a friend's request now results in a relations hit.

So long as those requests from friends don't ask for all or a sizable chunk of my gold.

New “Angry Genghis” loading screen (replaces the “fluffy-bunny Genghis” loading screen).

Huh?

 

[Louis XXIV]

When you load Genghis' screen, he's kinda happy and friendly. They decided that wouldn't do.

 

[AgentTBC]

remove 1UpT

Give it up; this will never happen. Nor, I think, should it.

 

[bryanw1995]

I closed the other 2 now (sad to close some productive threads ), so that we can focus on one.

And with a look at the list...i think we should send the devs a list of the bugs which have already been solved/figured out here, because i still see some things missing, which could easily be corrected (or at least it's not hard).

One thing I noticed is that they are now going to correctly show the river attack penalty when attacking a city. however, what about the terrain bonuses from attacking a city. are they going to correctly show them now, take them away, etc?

 

[Zechnophobe]

This does look good, I have to admit. Still not sure how the Maritime change will go over. I mean, as you progress in age, will you still get nationwide food at 'friends'?

 

[MadmanAtW]

# Allow AI to build more units if above Prince.

Wasn't the Blanket of Doom already a problem on high levels?

# Buildings can now no longer provide more Happiness than there is population in a city (wonders are excluded from this).

I know that everyone is assuming this means "the total Happiness contribution from buildings", but the patch note text is ambiguous. If I have a Size 8 city and build two buildings that offer 5 happiness, do they both give 5 (neither building is providing more Happiness than there is population) or do they give a total of 8 (all buildings combined provide at most the population's worth of happiness)? I assume the latter but I've been wondering.

# Reduced bonuses from Maritime city-states - Friends: +2 food in capital, +0 food in other cities - Allies: +3 food in capital, +1 food in other cities

Interesting. Unfortunately, it still scales with your empire size, which the other two still don't.

# Amount of Happiness needed to trigger a Golden Age now increases as the number of cities in the empire goes up.

So it's difficult to have a city apply more happiness than it absorbs, but it makes it harder to reach the next GA? That could get ugly (and turn GAs into something only empires that take Policies that help with happiness get).

And of course, hurray for research overflow. Some more links in the tech tree is good but it looks like you can still, for instance, get Infantry without Rifling.

Also, the main bug I was hoping to see squashed doesn't seem to be mentioned, which is the canceling of open borders sometimes not expelling troops and troops getting their "home terrain" combat bonuses in enemy territory.

 

[Marshall Thomas]

If an empire reaches -20 Happiness, it goes into revolt, and rebels start appearing throughout the empire, based on the number of cities.

Will this ever happen to the AI?

Which features of this patch will help stop early game, runaway AIs?

Do you think this patch will help much to prevent early, runaway AIs from wiping out other AI civs (or reducing them to just a couple of cities)? that's my biggest problem with CiV right now. Thanks in advance

 

[Arsenic Steel]

When you load Genghis' screen, he's kinda happy and friendly. They decided that wouldn't do.

I figured that. Yet the only thing that could come to mind after reading that line was "huh"

 

[mattcrwi]

Will this ever happen to the AI?

Which features of this patch will help stop early game, runaway AIs?

Do you think this patch will help much to prevent early, runaway AIs from wiping out other AI civs (or reducing them to just a couple of cities)? that's my biggest problem with CiV right now. Thanks in advance

Cities are much harder to take now. That should help some.

 

[DemonMaster]

# Allow AI to build more units if above Prince.

Wasn't the Blanket of Doom already a problem on high levels?

Think of it like a game of Stratego, but with hexes (I usually play on Prince, I like the comfort zone, Edit: So I do not suffer much of this).

 

[Beef Hammer]

-20 for happiness revolt seems way, way too high. I mean I've never even gone to -10 so it seems like an added thing that could be interesting, except no one will ever see it unless they purposely tank their happiness.

 

[Rohili]

With so many changes, I will have to relearn the game all over again! I hope they updated the civilopedia to reflect all these changes...

 

[bryanw1995]

overnerf ?? I'm not sure.


Now, I picture a guy on horse bum rush city wall to death.



Superb change.

Anyway, this complete lists look so delicious. Last think I've worried is patch size.

even +3 +1 isn't an overnerf, that is still enough to make it worthwhile but not completely game breaking. +5/+3 however was completely overpowered. keep in mind that it might still go up to +4 +2 at renaissance anyway.

the point is that they don't want you to "army of the apocalypse (tm)" the ai to death in 1200 bc, and at least now you'll take a lot of damage at a minimum if you take out cities with your horses.

I love that cav finally upgrade to tanks. even with the -50 % instead of -40% vs cities, this is great imho. songhai in particular should LOVE this, they could make a tank late game army of the apocalypse with only -20% vs cities (easily wiped out and then some by gg and terrain bonuses). obviously mitigated by the lateness of the strategy, but should be fun nonetheless to try it out.

 

[Celevin]

even +3 +1 isn't an overnerf, that is still enough to make it worthwhile but not completely game breaking. +5/+3 however was completely overpowered. keep in mind that it might still go up to +4 +2 at renaissance anyway.

I think it's either going to be an overnerf or undernerf, with nothing inbetween. Giving +x food to each city will simply not be used at an amount of cities below a certain number, and above that number, you're going to nab every single Maritime that you can. There's no inbetween.

It should give a flat amount of food that you can distribute how you please.

 

[bryanw1995]

Oh I also Like that the 2 different Cavalry trees stay different instead of both becoming tanks. Infact this keeps it so that the Lancers will still counter the Cavalry after upgrades. Very nice.

(The Lancer does get something against cavalry doesn't it? hahaha)

yeah, remember that cav is -50% vs other mounted units. knights do very well vs cav, lancers beat them badly, and siamephants utterly demolish them. hopefully tanks will lose this "promotion". I wonder if they got rid of the setup penalty to artillery promoted to rocket artillery?

 

[Mr_Burns]

Now this is simply great

But more patches will be needed for good balance though!
Mabye the civ5 AI will preform better than civ4 AI in time! (civ4 tactical AI was not exacly great )