Importance of Mods in Civ IV: S&T and Modding Communities

[BornInCantaloup]

Traditionnally, modded gameplay has been relegated to stories and tales. This is probably contentious.
There are some very competent players in there. I can't think of many because the lines don't cross often but I know Tigranes is one.

you all wouldn't mind shadowing a game of mine if I could put one up soon?

Shoot it out. And tell us if it gets downgraded from S&T to S&T (Stories and Tales). So we can see where the heat is at.

I don't recall much bad being said about mods, however. Playing a mod is like learning a new game, so there's that deterrent. You compare it to chess grand masters, those people don't play many games.
I can recall my good friend Tachywaxon doing the shift to PIE, DOC, RFC and she was most disillusionned with the lack of followship.
Sometimes, if you wanna do something on these boards, you gotta be prepared to do it on your own.

 

[konata_LS]

There are different ways to enjoy Civ 4. Playing modded games is certainly one of them. Even I play unmodded BTS myself, I enjoy reading other players' write-ups in mods such as RFC or GEM. Many modders have shown great talent and originality in their creation.

Ironically though, this thread has made me want to play a game of plain BtS just to see how well I would do after playing what I consider to be a much more challenging version at the same difficulty level. I have a feeling I would handily win on Monarch, but we'll see..

If you want a challenging game at Monarch level, the vanilla Civ4 (the original game before Warlord and BTS expansions) at Monarch is quite challenging, because Monarch AIs in Civ4 start with a free worker. In comparison, BTS AIs start with a free worker only from Immortal, not Monarch. I'm usually comfortable at Monarch level in BTS, but I might struggle on the same level if I go back to vanilla Civ4.

 

[AspiringScholar]

Traditionnally, modded gameplay has been relegated to stories and tales. This is probably contentious.
There are some very competent players in there. I can't think of many because the lines don't cross often but I know Tigranes is one.

Shoot it out. And tell us if it gets downgraded from S&T to S&T (Stories and Tales). So we can see where the heat is at.

I don't recall much bad being said about mods, however. Playing a mod is like learning a new game, so there's that deterrent. You compare it to chess grand masters, those people don't play many games.
I can recall my good friend Tachywaxon doing the shift to PIE, DOC, RFC and she was most disillusionned with the lack of followship.
Sometimes, if you wanna do something on these boards, you gotta be prepared to do it on your own.

Thanks, I'll likely do that soon, then! I'm thinking I'll truncate a whole game and upload it after it's over, and include screens of key moments and info that's not easily abbreviated with text, post saves at medium-length intervals, and if any of you kind people would like to critique what I've done, I'd be happy for the feedback. If I post intervals and receive advice before proceeding, I don't think it would be as much of a self-evaluation.

Maybe random leader, fractal, standard and normal so that I'm not going into the game with any particular strategy in mind and can better be tested on the ability to make lemonade with whatever lemons I get.

Are huts and events both off by convention in Strategy & Tips, just one, or neither? Any other settings I should bear in mind?

 

[BornInCantaloup]

Oh, I misread you but that works, too My mind was still stuck on the RI shadow game you evoked.

There are no right or wrong ways to go about shadows but what you describe looks like a walkthrough. And it is fine, you don't need to ask for permission to click end turn.
It only becomes a shadow game once multiple people start playing.

Events and especially huts are turned off by convention, yes. The idea is that popping Horseback Riding from a hut in 2000 BC renders all comparison moot.
However, if you post a map, you get to set the conditions. That is your special privilege. So, if you'd rather have huts/events on and play something other than Standard/Fractal/Normal, then, those are lemons too.
As far as funky settings go, I would mostly say avoid Rocky and Cold Climate (those tend to have the poorest areas and prevent normal expansion) and Marathon Speed (people will get confused with their numbers - I know I will).
You're right, though, that Fractal is a good choice to "keep an open mind".