Is civ6 too boring? Tweak it and then tweak it some more

[planetfall]

A few have asked how I keep gameplay interesting, so I am posting this as an idea starter. Hope it helps your gameplay.



What is a tweak?
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A small change in the game that changes something but not as far as a full blown mod that can be shared with others.

How do I tweak?
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Just edit the civ xml file for the change you want.

What, for example, can I tweak?
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Unit values
-- cost: including any cost progression factor
-- power
-- movement range
-- civ needed
-- tech needed
-- resource needed
-- maintenance
-- upgrade path/or no upgrade

Building values
-- cost
-- civ needed
-- tech needed
-- sci/food/gold/culture added


Example #1, Unique Unit [uu] tweak
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Are you tired of other civs having a horse unit or sword replacement unit able for early era harrassment without a need
for horse or iron resource? Add it and they then play like normal units


Example #2 jet bomber tweak
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It was so annoying to have b-52 type units with crippled range. So take the circumference of the world and the range of a B-52 and then get the fraction of the world a unit can travel at one time. Count the tiles of a standard size world and use the previous fraction to give you a range for jet bomber. The number is 23.
Edit the file c:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization vi\base\assets\gameplay\data\units.xmo and change BaseMoves to 23. Done. Note this will make air power much stronger and you may wish to have a different number between the default range of 15 and the real world range of 23.

Example #3 navy units tweak
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Ocean units are fun to play with, but like real life the take forever to move. Remember the Falklands War where it took forever for GB to get ships there?
Simple tweak is to almost double the navy unit range and now these units add value to gameplay.

How many tweaks are you playing with now?
=========================================
I checked, and it's over 200.

Will I break anything by editing the files?
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Sure, from time to time, but easy to fix.
A-- back up files before starting
B-- document your changes, including time stamp in xml file, ala <!-- comment here -->
C-- only make a few changes at a time, and verify work with starting new game and loading previously saved game
D-- when have issue, start with the first errors as the others are probably just associated messages
E-- find your error. Look for:
-- typo errors, like missing a quote symbol and a end stop />
-- syntax errors, like changing something that is hard coded outside xml files or adding/removing something that was not planned for.
Do a compare between file before changes and your changed file, to see what is going on.
F-- if still stuck, post details of changes and errors to forum.

For example, what tweaks are you playing with now?
==================================================
I miss being able to flip a city without military action. I was just able to flip a foreig capital by culture pressure only. Takes longer than military but nice to have the option. Yet, it takes too long, so going to try to see if I can find ways to increase the pressure without breaking early eras gameplay.

 

[pokiehl]

I'm all for making your own changes to have fun, but it's a lot better to do this by making a mod instead of directly editing the files.

 

[planetfall]

Is there a tutorial or outline on how to convert file edits to a mod?

 

[Disgustipated]

I'm all for making your own changes to have fun, but it's a lot better to do this by making a mod instead of directly editing the files.

I don't actually know how to make a mod LOL. I guess I could learn, but I'm too lazy I guess. Editing files is something I've done since back in the civ2 days. Though I recommend creating backups. I often forget which entries I edited, and to get back to "vanilla" you have to do the Steam verify files thingy. And often it's easier if you just one to make one small change. Like buffing anti cavalry units (which should be stronger imho).

 

[pokiehl]

I don't actually know how to make a mod LOL. I guess I could learn, but I'm too lazy I guess. Editing files is something I've done since back in the civ2 days. Though I recommend creating backups. I often forget which entries I edited, and to get back to "vanilla" you have to do the Steam verify files thingy. And often it's easier if you just one to make one small change. Like buffing anti cavalry units (which should be stronger imho).

Truthfully, editing files is certainly fine enough and is very accessible to the average user.

The main downsides are that editing files makes multiplayer impossible unless your friends have the exact same changes as you (otherwise you’ll desync constantly), and edited files get overwritten when the game is updated by the devs.

Mods have other advantages though. It’s easier to package all your changes and keep track of them with a mod. Inserting new data (rather than simply editing existing values) is also easier with a mod since you can use SQL.

 

[planetfall]

Here is how I keep track of edits with a remark syntax in xml file. {I don't know sql and too lazy to learn}

{comment start} {date code} {item changed} {original value, new value} {comment end}
So can search file directories with reading file content enabled, and search for
date code option: year only, year and month, year and month and day. I do not use field separators to make date editing easier
item changed option key word(s)

Here is an example
<!-- m240316 bread circus add pro sports, lock cost f25 t300 rm progression -->

 

[Lonecat Nekophrodite]

Using mod spices things up
But not all mods satisfy me.

Basically Civ7 has to reintroduce stackings. but mid size limited stackings and not unlimited stacks of doom.

 

[reddishrecue]

Downloading mods have been entertaining because they add a newness to what seems to be a vanilla civilization even with the whole anthropological expansions. Modding has really come a long way and kept us entertained in civilization until civ 7 gets out.

 

[planetfall]

Yes, my current entertainment is trying to get culture flipping to work correctly. I'm able to flip in early game, but in mid game, it stalls and I don't know why. They have only 4 cities, so only 4 governors are possible. My cities surround them and I have all governors within 9 tiles. Most are about 5 tiles away. I've tried bread and circus and that matters not at all. If I can get a successful loyalty hit or governor kill with spy then usually the flip will happen. It's just so hard to get spy to work in reasonable period of time. Tempted, very tempted, to just blow away the 4 cities, but puzzled by the game mechanics so will try a few more things before giving up on this tweak. Only other idea that comes to mind is to declare and go on a plunder plunder policy to see if can starve away at loyalty by dropping pop. But again, that ploy takes forever to work.If anyone has any ideas, I'll love to hear them.

 

[planetfall]

nm, found a solution.