Trying to summarize things a bit...
I'd really rather perform a full review now than a little at a time otherwise it'll never be finished. If properly organized I'm sure the review will be much more consistent and easy. I'll underline the most controversial issues so those can be discussed (here or in a dedicated thread).
The main categories for currently visible options are:
- Stay visible and off for "true" options that can be turned on or off to change the flavor of the game and that modders should consider potentially part of the game when balancing or bugfixing.
- Stay visible and off with an "UNSUPPORTED" warning in the option name for those that players may like but that are broken or change the balance the game and that players will select "at their own risk": modders shouldn't feel obligated to fix bugs or imbalances caused by those options (or at least not in priority)
- Stay visible and on with an "UNSUPPORTED IF OFF" warning in the option name for options that are broken or change the balance if they are not selected. Unckecking them is like checking an unsupported option in the previous category.
- Go invisible and off for really broken or inadapted options that shouldn't be selected.
- Go invisible and on for really necessary options that should be selected.
Category I : Visible and off
Let's start with the easiest part: options that were
Visible and
Off by default and should remain so. They are mostly options that have little or no effect on game balance or that seem popular enough that they are worth the effort to maintain them.
Option|Was|Becomes|Comment
GAMEOPTION_DIVINE_PROPHETS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_NO_CITY_RAZING|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_NO_BARBARIANS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_LEAD_ANY_CIV|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_RANDOM_PERSONALITIES|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_NO_TECH_TRADING|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_NO_TECH_BROKERING|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_COMPLETE_KILLS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_NO_VASSAL_STATES|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_NO_EVENTS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_NO_INQUISITIONS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_ADVANCED_DIPLOMACY|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_CULTURALLY_LINKED_STARTS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_RELIGION_DECAY|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_BARBARIANS_ALWAYS_RAZE|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_ADVANCED_ESPIONAGE|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|
GAMEOPTION_FIGHT_OR_FLIGHT|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|Merge into "Advanced Combat" option?
GAMEOPTION_SIZE_MATTERS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
|Merge into "Advanced Combat" option?
The only place where I remain hesitant is with GAMEOPTION_FIGHT_OR_FLIGHT and GAMEOPTION_SIZE_MATTERS. I really think they should be merged into one "Advanced Combat" option (there's already "Advanced Diplomacy" or "Advanced Espionage"), first because it seems that those who don't like one also don't like the other, and because managing the state of each leads to additional management (hence the "Size Matters Uncut" problem which looks precisely like the kind of needless work caused by too many options available).
I'd even put it on by default - the only issue there is whether it causes a signifiant AI problem. In my experience the AI isn't too good with it, but I'm not sure AI is really better without it (sharing your experience if you've done both is welcome). I'd even go as far as putting a "UNSUPPORTED IF OFF" prefix to it to encourage player using it - I mostly agree with the discussion in the "unit healing" thread in the modmod section, advanced combat should be considered a true part of the game and further combat balance assume that it's on, not the other way around, although there's always the possibility to turn it off for those that aren't interested in combat.
Now options (well, really a single option) that were
Visible and
On by default and will become
Visible and
Off:
Option|Was|Becomes|Comment
GAMEOPTION_NO_BARBARIAN_CIV|
Visible
&
On
|
Visible
&
Off
|
Given the above feedback, this module should be working fine so no need to deactivate it by default. It's also easier to understand if "true options" are all initially unchecked.
Category II : Visible, off and UNSUPPORTED
As "unsupported" options would now be easy to spot and to toggle, I'd take this opportunity to put more options here to better the "base C2C", the one that is balanced to work properly on which options will be allowed only if they actually work as intended - in other words, players are free to select any option here, but shouldn't expect it to be maintained, to always work as expected.
Option|Was|Becomes|Comment
GAMEOPTION_BARBARIAN_WORLD|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Bad AI performance
GAMEOPTION_START_AS_MINORS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Bad AI performance
GAMEOPTION_GREAT_COMMANDERS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Bad AI performance
GAMEOPTION_SAD|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Bad AI performance
GAMEOPTION_RAGING_BARBARIANS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Bad AI performance
GAMEOPTION_NO_TECH_DIFFUSION|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_REALISTIC_CORPORATIONS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_ADVANCED_NUKES|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_NO_FIXED_BORDERS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_INFINITE_XP|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_UNLIMITED_NATIONAL_UNITS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_NO_NEGATIVE_TRAITS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_PURE_TRAITS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_LEADERHEAD_LEVELUPS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_START_NO_POSITIVE_TRAITS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_NO_NUKES|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_SCALE_CITY_LIMITS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_LS612_TRAITS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_UPSCALED_BUILDING_AND_UNIT_COSTS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_XP_FROM_ASSIGNED_SPECIALISTS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_MORE_XP_TO_LEVEL|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_PERMANENT_ALLIANCES|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_UNLIMITED_WONDERS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_NO_ESPIONAGE|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Does not fully work yet (and probably not adapted to C2C)
GAMEOPTION_NO_CITY_FLIPPING|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Flipping a city is so difficult that disabling it isn't really necessary…
GAMEOPTION_LIMITED_RELIGIONS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Not adapted to C2C
GAMEOPTION_PICK_RELIGION|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Not adapted to C2C
GAMEOPTION_PERSONALIZED_MAP|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Slightly buggy
GAMEOPTION_MIN_CITY_BORDER|
Visible
&
On
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|Base game balance assumes it's off
GAMEOPTION_LARGER_CITIES|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|TBD
GAMEOPTION_NIGHTMARE_MODE|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
Off
& with UNSUPPORTED prefix|TBD
Those that don't seem too controversial to me:
- As fun as GAMEOPTION_BARBARIAN_WORLD, GAMEOPTION_START_AS_MINORS, GAMEOPTION_SAD, GAMEOPTION_RAGING_BARBARIANS and GAMEOPTION_GREAT_COMMANDERS might be, they notably increase the performance gap between player and AI, so they are set to unsupported until that's no longer the case.
- All options between GAMEOPTION_NO_TECH_DIFFUSION up to GAMEOPTION_UNLIMITED_WONDERS on the table above aren't necessarily bad, but are put there to have a more uniform "base C2C" experience. Fine if a player wants to switch one, but it might make the game unbalanced (perhaps in an unexpected way) so until this "base C2C" is balanced those options shouldn't add further confusion to the unaware player. Maybe they can become "normal" options again afterwards.
- I've understood that GAMEOPTION_NO_ESPIONAGE did not fully work as intended yet, so at least currently it shouldn't let people believe it's the case. I'm not sure it should afterwards (should espionage be considered a core part of C2C? Would someone want to play C2C without espionage?), but that's a discussion for later anyway.
- GAMEOPTION_LIMITED_RELIGIONS and GAMEOPTION_PICK_RELIGION aren't really fit for C2C, but if anyone wants to have fun with it, let's keep them visible (but unsupported)...
- GAMEOPTION_PERSONALIZED_MAP is slightly buggy but if it's mainly a matter of it being "not good enough", well, it could remain visible.
- GAMEOPTION_MIN_CITY_BORDER was previously on by default; I guess it could be off by default...
Controversial ones:
- GAMEOPTION_LARGER_CITIES could be either UNSUPPORTED or UNSUPPORTED IF OFF, both approach seem valid, but I'd really have one or the other (rather than it being a "real option") as it changes the game balance.
- I don't really know what to do with GAMEOPTION_NIGHTMARE_MODE. Having a difficulty option in addition to the difficulty setting is rather confusing; intuitively I thought that it scaled the whole tree (so that Nightmare/Settler was harder than Base/Deity), but I learn here that its main effect is adding two to the difficulty level. Wouldn't it be simpler to just add two difficulty levels after Deity and let the player choose only a difficulty setting? If it also changes other things (such as lowering gold income), then Nightmare mode should be more explicit and do just that...
Category III : Visible, on and UNSUPPORTED IF OFF
Works the same as category II, except that those option are checked by default and the warning is if the player unchecks it.
Option|Was|Becomes|Comment
GAMEOPTION_NO_REVOLUTION|
Visible
&
On
|
Visible
&
On
& with UNSUPPORTED IF OFF prefix|Add option "Revolution" that does the opposite? (TBD)
GAMEOPTION_MORE_RIVERS|
Visible
&
On
|
Visible
&
On
& with UNSUPPORTED IF OFF prefix|Game balance assumes it's on
GAMEOPTION_MORE_RESOURCES|
Visible
&
On
|
Visible
&
On
& with UNSUPPORTED IF OFF prefix|Game balance assumes it's on
GAMEOPTION_MOUNTAINS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
On
& with UNSUPPORTED IF OFF prefix|Game balance assumes it's on
GAMEOPTION_REALISTIC_CULTURE_SPREAD|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
On
& with UNSUPPORTED IF OFF prefix|Game balance assumes it's on
GAMEOPTION_RELIGIOUS_DISABLING|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
On
& with UNSUPPORTED IF OFF prefix|Game balance assumes it's on
GAMEOPTION_UNITED_NATIONS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Visible
&
On
& with UNSUPPORTED IF OFF prefix|Game balance assumes it's on (or that Diplomatic Victory is on)
Those that don't seem too controversial to me:
- GAMEOPTION_MORE_RIVERS and GAMEOPTION_MORE_RESOURCES significantly change the game balance, so support should be either for on or off. I'd go for on since it's currently on by default so I assume most people plays with it except those who want a challenge. I'm wondering if it'd be clearer to actually have options that do the opposite, i.e. have both GAMEOPTION_MORE_RIVERS and GAMEOPTION_MORE_RESOURCES activated and invisible and make a GAMEOPTION_LESS_RIVERS and GAMEOPTION_LESS_RESOURCES deactivated and visible whose sole effect when switched would be to enforce GAMEOPTION_MORE_RIVERS and GAMEOPTION_MORE_RESOURCES off. Thus the current setup (with more rivers and resources) would actually show like the standard.
- GAMEOPTION_MOUNTAINS, GAMEOPTION_REALISTIC_CULTURE_SPREAD and GAMEOPTION_RELIGIOUS_DISABLING are changing the game balance, so they should be either UNSUPPORTED or UNSUPPORTED IF OFF. I feel those should be on by default, so UNSUPPORTED IF OFF.
Regarding GAMEOPTION_NO_REVOLUTION, I'm not completely sure I understood what people said here: it worked but recent changes have introduced bugs that are currently fixed, is that right? In this case it seems necessary to point out that the Revolution mod is currently unsupported, i.e. have GAMEOPTION_NO_REVOLUTION with a UNSUPPORTED IF OFF warning, until it's fixed.
I also find it very confusing that the option's effect is to
disable the component (as it was illustrated in this very thread), so I suggest having a "Include Revolution Component" option that does just the opposite of GAMEOPTION_NO_REVOLUTION - the first would be off and visible by default and the second on and invisible by default and enforced to off if "Include Revolution Component" is on.
Category IV : Invisible and off
Those don't work or are unnecessary so they shouldn't even need an UNSUPPORTED tag, they should just go invisible and off:
Option|Was|Becomes|Comment
GAMEOPTION_ADVANCED_ECONOMY|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|Buggy
GAMEOPTION_CHALLENGE_CUT_LOSERS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|Can be achieved with BUG options
GAMEOPTION_CHALLENGE_HIGH_TO_LOW|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|Can be achieved with BUG options
GAMEOPTION_CHALLENGE_INCREASING_DIFFICULTY|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|Can be achieved with BUG options
GAMEOPTION_ADVANCED_START|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|Does not work
GAMEOPTION_AGGRESSIVE_AI|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|Does not work properly in C2C
GAMEOPTION_RUTHLESS_AI|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|Does not work properly in C2C
GAMEOPTION_SIZE_MATTERS_UNCUT|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|No point if FoF and SM are merged
GAMEOPTION_NO_CHANGING_WAR_PEACE|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
Off
|Not adapted to C2C
None here seems too controversial to me:
- GAMEOPTION_ADVANCED_START, GAMEOPTION_AGGRESSIVE_AI, GAMEOPTION_RUTHLESS_AI and GAMEOPTION_NO_CHANGING_WAR_PEACE don't work properly or at all with C2C.
- GAMEOPTION_CHALLENGE_CUT_LOSERS, GAMEOPTION_CHALLENGE_HIGH_TO_LOW and GAMEOPTION_CHALLENGE_INCREASING_DIFFICULTY are a bit redundant with difficulty settings but more importantly can be achieved (with even more customization) through BUG options.
- If I understood correctly its philosophy, GAMEOPTION_SIZE_MATTERS_UNCUT is irrelevant if GAMEOPTION_FIGHT_OR_FLIGHT and GAMEOPTION_SIZE_MATTERS are merged, otherwise it should be enforced if both GAMEOPTION_SIZE_MATTERS is on and GAMEOPTION_FIGHT_OR_FLIGHT is off.
Category V : Invisible and on
Those are options that shouldn't really be turned off:
Option|Was|Becomes|Comment
GAMEOPTION_BARBARIAN_GENERALS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
On
|Necessary for Great Hunters
GAMEOPTION_FLIPPING_AFTER_CONQUEST|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
On
|No real reason to turn off
GAMEOPTION_MODERN_CORPORATIONS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
On
|No real reason to turn off
GAMEOPTION_NO_CITY_LIMITS|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
On
|There's already maintenance cost to balance # of cities
GAMEOPTION_NO_ZOC|
Visible
&
Off
|
Invisible
&
On
|ZOC is buggy according to description…
None here seems too controversial to me:
- GAMEOPTION_BARBARIAN_GENERALS is required to get Great Hunters, a core part of the early game
- GAMEOPTION_FLIPPING_AFTER_CONQUEST don't really enforce anything on the player, there's a popup allowing the player to decline, so there shouldn't be problems to keep it always on. I guess it prevents the interface annoyance for something you most of the time don't want, but it's not like it happens very often...
- GAMEOPTION_MODERN_CORPORATIONS can be considered part of the core game
- GAMEOPTION_NO_CITY_LIMITS removes the happiness penalty due to number of cities. Not sure where this penalty comes from or whether it's still enforced, but now the number of cities should be primarly limited by maintenance cost (or at least aims to be balanced that way), so this is a bit redundant.
- ZOC are bugged even according to the description of GAMEOPTION_NO_ZOC, so until it's fixed it should remain there.
To give an idea, with the changes above, there would be 57 visible options, including 19 "true" options (excluding the unsupported and unsupported if off options).