How to best enjoy BTS?

[mrwendel]

I have been lurking around here since CivIII, and played Civ4 extensively over the past 4 years(?), and was finally inspired to spend the $12 to get BTS.

My question is, what settings should I play to get the most out of all the new features? Should I instantly start using BUG (is that necessary, or just overwhelming?).

I am a Monarch -> Emperor (with a good start...) player on Vanilla, and usually play fractal/continents/terra on large maps with 4-5 added civs to make it nice and crowded. Game should arrive on Friday, and I am getting excited! any tips would be great! Thanks!

 

[ParadigmShifter]

BUG just improves the interface, it doesn't change the game. If you liked the HoF mod for vanilla/warlords with its interface add ons BUG is far better.

Plus Lemon Merchant may talk to you if you talk about BUG (or is that BAT?).

Welcome to CFC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[s.bernbaum]

Definitely add BUG mod. I recommend putting it in CustomAssets, so it always is active. It will make BTS easier to learn and play (the interface not the strategy) and less overwhelming. It just collects information that you would otherwise have to hunt for and presents it in nice formats.

 

[lymond]

Yes, that would be BAT if you want some Lemon love...

Actually, I would install BUG and BAT. Use BUG if you are playing forum games and BAT for your personal games.

 

[mrwendel]

What is the difference between BUG and BAT? I think BUG is BTS unaltered gameplay, correct me if I'm wrong. What does BAT stand for, and what does it do? Thanks for the help!

 

[Lemon Merchant]

What is the difference between BUG and BAT? I think BUG is BTS unaltered gameplay, correct me if I'm wrong. What does BAT stand for, and what does it do? Thanks for the help!

A little Lemon love:

BAT stands for BTS Artistic Tweaks, and it is a graphical improvement mod. Like BUG, it doesn't change the gameplay, except to add some information (It includes BUG, and BULL, the BUG DLL) and new city and unit graphics. It just makes your BTS experience a little more rich.

The best suggestion that I can offer is to try a number of mods, and most of all, have fun!

 

[mrwendel]

Thanks for the great tips/explanations. Another question... Will BAT require more computational resources? I run on low->medium quality and my 5+ year old computer slows down toward the end of games. Is that something to be worried about with these add-ons?

 

[yturk39]

But definitely play without the Single Unit graphics setting. It looks better, and the unit animations get a little more interesting.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

How best to enjoy BtS? Naked, of course.

 

[snakeseare]

How best to enjoy BtS? Naked, of course.

That's your answer for everything

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Thanks for the great tips/explanations. Another question... Will BAT require more computational resources? I run on low->medium quality and my 5+ year old computer slows down toward the end of games. Is that something to be worried about with these add-ons?

In that case, BAT will slow your machine down a little. BAT 3.0 is heavily optimized, and the graphics textures are much leaner that previous versions. It does perform better, but the added load will be noticeable.

It's worth it, though. ... er, IMHO, of course.

 

[NBAfan]

If you want a mod, Realism Invictus is the best. Very well done and looks very professional. They managed to expand the game a lot without unbalancing it.