K-Mod: Far Beyond the Sword

hi,
i see, sounds like interesting changes.

maybe your right about sceen shots, the wont show nothing more then un modded civs.
but maybe some more color, list of key features, look at my dawn of the overlords for instance.
its just what i think - im just offering an advice that i think will bring more players to dl your mod :)

thanks for the source code! not to worry i will compare it to the original bbai and ill be able to see your changes.

if my memory serves me right - the old k-mod was for the warlords expansion, it was pretty big one i think, and it was some other user - i dont remember his name but id recognize it if if i see it.
dont bother to look it...its ancient news - 90% of the modders from then are no longer active (just me and a few more)...so no one will know :)
 
keldath, you're probably right about the first post. Some eye-catching details probably would make more people download the mod... but maybe I'll change it later. I don't really want the forum post to just be a clone of the download page... At the moment, I just want to mod, and to play. :) I'd like to get a bit more feedback on the game changes that I've made, but other than that, I don't really mind if no one plays the mod.


In other news, I've been playing a fair bit over the last few days, and I've made a bunch of significant changes. The biggest change is that I've finally decided to whack representation with the nerf-bat.

I've been troubled for quite a long time by the late-game strength of representation. In the late stages of the game, the representation science bonus is truly staggering. There is a population boom from biology, state property, the corporations, etc; along with free specialists from the statue of liberty, and industrial parks (which give 2 engineers in K-Mod); and with this population boom comes _massive_ bonuses from representation specialists. No matter how much you try to focus on a "cottage economy", representation is extremely powerful.

I experimented with a few different balance changes in the past, and I discussed some of them here. Most recently, the only change has been to increase the upkeep from "medium" to high". But now, I've decided to finally hit it hard. I've decreased the bonus to +2 :science: per specialist.

I was partly motivated by this thread, about how late-game tech moves too fast - which I agree with. And indeed, in the few games I've played with the new +2 :science: rep, the late game did last a bit longer - and I think it's for the best.

Actually, in my most recent game, the world was getting seriously screwed up by global warming at the end. If games now last longer, maybe I'll need to turn down GW a little bit to compensate. But I'll leave it alone for now. I've been pretty happy with the GW balance before now.

Apart from the representation nerf, I've also rebalanced global warming unhappiness a bit. Roughly speaking, it will take a little bit longer to build up, and it will be a bit more sensitive to changes in "relative contribution" when close to 100%.

I've also made some more improvements to the AI. The AI now takes into account the happiness benefits of reducing pollution. It's pretty rough, just like the rest of the AI code, but it's better than nothing. Also, the AI will value culture more highly in cities that are being culture-pushed (the initial implementation of this is quite rough, but I've got some ideas to improve it); and I've fixed an AI bug which was causing the AI some confusion while aiming for a cultural victory.

I haven't uploaded these changes yet. I just want to test them a little bit to make sure I haven't completely broken anything. I'm mostly just posting to see if anyone will be upset by the representation change; and to hear if anyone has anything to say about any other change.
 
I've just uploaded the new version. It includes the changes I mentioned previously, and a bunch of new ones.

I've also put "Far Beyond the Sword" as a tagline of the mod. In my view, K-Mod adds to BtS in a similar kind of way to how BtS add to vanilla Civ. There are balance changes, a few new game mechanics, and lots of AI improvements! Besides, "K-Mod" is a really bland and undescriptive name. The only reason I used that name in the first place is that its traditional for me to call my mods K-Mod...

[edit]
I just noticed that although I changed the "title" of the first post, it did not affect the thread name. :( Maybe I'll ask a moderator the change it for me.
 
Yet another version uploaded. This time there are no balance changes or new features. There are only AI changes. Never the less, I think it is well worth the download. I think the AI will be noticeably stronger in this version. I just played a game in which one of the AI players got a cultural victory in 1907. For me this is a big deal, because I haven't seen the AI get even vaguely close to a cultural victory since before I nerfed all the cultural buildings way back when this mod was first released. (The AI in unmodded BtS sometimes gets a cultural victory, but cultural victories are significantly easier there.)

I feel a bit bad for just replying to my own posts here...

[Thanks to The_J for updating the thread name.]
 
Just D/L'd 0.96, had D/l'd 0.95 back last week but have had no time to post or reply.

Keep it up karadoc you are doing fine.

JosEPh :)
 
Thanks for the support, guys.

I've done heaps of stuff for the next version. I think it's going to be pretty good. I've added some new caching system for some of the complicated stuff that the AI needs to calculate - the effect of this is that the game will run faster. I've found and fixed a bunch of AI bugs, some from original BtS code, some from BetterAI code, and some from my own code. With all those fixes, the AI is bound to be a bit better - but I've also done a lot of new AI work as well. I've changed a lot, so I just want to play a few test games to make sure it isn't completely broken before I upload it.

There will be a few minor balance tweaks, but it will mostly be about faster and smarter AI.

In the mean time, please let me know if there is anything you particularly like or dislike.
 
The thing I hate about coming here is that I always end up downloading a ton of stuff and end up not getting any work done. You're not helping. :[

So far, the only thing I'm not too wild about is the global warming aspect...but only because well, let's just say that many thousands of scientists aren't quite convinced and are becoming quite vocal about it (including NASA since they got their funding cut). Still, it's just a game and I can easily disable it.

Overall, really good work. :clap:
 
BoringUsername said:
The thing I hate about coming here is that I always end up downloading a ton of stuff and end up not getting any work done. You're not helping. :[

So far, the only thing I'm not too wild about is the global warming aspect...but only because well, let's just say that many thousands of scientists aren't quite convinced and are becoming quite vocal about it (including NASA since they got their funding cut). Still, it's just a game and I can easily disable it.

Overall, really good work. :clap:
Click to expand...
I'm sorry for being anti-helpful with your work.
Spoiler :
or am I... :devil:

Regarding global warming. Are you saying that you dislike it because you think it is unrealistic, or too perhaps too politically charged? That's fair enough, and as you said you are free to disable it. But unless you also think it's bad for gameplay, I'd encourage you to leave it on anyway :mischief:. The reason I encourage you to leave it on is that global warming plays a significant part in the balance and gameplay of this mod. It's not just about melting away the icecaps for a bit of end-game flavour. The anger caused by global warming increases the value of happiness in the late game, and it increases the incentive for recycling centers, public transport, clean power sources, and so on. It also has a minor 'catch up' effect in that the most advanced civs are likely to be polluting more and thus feeling more GW anger. -- and I think global warming helps build tension at the end of the game.

So... if the problem is just that you don't think it's realistic, I'd encourage you to use it anyway. There are heaps of other things in the game that are unrealistic too. But if you think GW is unfun, that's a completely different story. If you think its politically wrong or offensive... then... umm. I'm sorry.

keldath said:
karadoc,
hi!

one question my friend,

did you uploaded the source code to ur site?
p.s, for your next build can you include the dll in the release plz?
Click to expand...
All of the source code is available here, including all previous versions. And here's a page of all the changes since v0.96. As for your p.s. I'm not sure what you mean. The dll has always been included in every version of K-Mod; it's a vital part of the mod. So of course it will be included in the next version. Do you mean that I should include the source code of the dll? The reason I haven't bundled the source with the mod is that the source is not a necessary part of playing the mod, and so for most people it would just be a big pile of useless files bulking up their mods folder.
 
Hi karadoc,

This mod looks awesome and I want to try it out when I have a chance. (Hopefully soon)

That being said, would you be opposed to documenting the BtS bugfixes you have found and placing them in the Unofficial Patch thread? It would be nice to have them documented somewhere in the event that the Unofficial Patch is updated. I'm sure future modders would greatly appreciate it.
 
I've just uploaded a new version. This version has not been thoroughly tested. I've been making changes to the AI pretty much non-stop, so there are still some changes which I haven't fully seen the effects of myself. I'm pretty sure it will all be ok, but its possible that I've unknowingly created a major strategy flaw somewhere. Normally I'd test it more before releasing it, but I've already made heaps of significant changes and I thought I might as well let other people try them out.

As you can see from the change list on the first page, this version is mostly focused on AI improvements. I really think I'm making progress with the AI. I encourage you all to let me know if you think its smarter or not when you play. (Note, I've made almost zero tactical changes. So it isn't really going to be better at fighting wars and such. Most of the changes are about strengthening the AIs economy.)

That being said, would you be opposed to documenting the BtS bugfixes you have found and placing them in the Unofficial Patch thread? It would be nice to have them documented somewhere in the event that the Unofficial Patch is updated. I'm sure future modders would greatly appreciate it.
Click to expand...
I would not be opposed to it... but its not necessarily easy. I agree that it would be good to report the bugs for the unofficial patch, but I can't guarantee that I'll get around to doing that. I don't recall any major bugs anyway. (although, I did fix something in this latest version which may reduce multiplayer OOS errors. That's pretty big - but only if I'm right!) And the game is getting old enough to rename some of the bugs "features". For example, some parts of the AI's evaluation functions are clearly wrong by a factor of 100; but if I fix that, then the AI will play differently - maybe better, maybe worse. It's kind of a matter of opinion whether or not stuff like that should be changed in the 'unofficial patch'. In my mod, I choose to try to improve the AI in every way I can find - but the unofficial patch people might prefer to only change things which make the game malfunction in some way. ... I've forgotten if I was trying to make some kind of point...


[edit]
I just noticed that there are mechanisms in the code for sustaining compatibility when the save format is changed. I didn't make use of those mechanisms in this latest patch, and so old saves have been broken. But from now on I expect save compatibility to not be a problem.
 
Max Compat Saves are sooo :cool:. Once you incorporate it into your Mod it really keeps the flow of a game going and you actually get to later Eras too! :D

JosEPh :)
 
Just quick comment.

In my opinion the current version (0.97b) isn't very good. It was kind of a work-in-progress and I didn't test it thoroughly enough. As a result there are a bunch of bugs and AI flaws.

I've been putting quite a lot of work into the next version, and I expect it to be much much better. Once again, it is mostly focused on AI changes. There will be smarter military strategy and military tech selection; smarter use of espionage. City site selection will have some personality dependence (eg. financial civs will like rivers more; and the civ with great lighthouse will like coastal cities more); and so on.

It's possible that I'll end up releasing it without proper testing again, because I never really stop making changes anyway.
 
The changelog says you fixed some bugs in BUG. Do you have a list or are they marked in the source so I can fix them in BUG as well? The changes sound very interesting. When I get some time to play BTS, I'll check it out. :)
 
I don't fully remember what BUG bugs I fixed, and it was before I started tracking my changes with git... but I just did a quick search through the python code and found a couple of things. Bear in mind may be mistaken about any of these.

in CvReligionScreen.py
Code: 
	self.X_RELIGION_AREA = 45
	self.Y_RELIGION_AREA = 84
	self.W_RELIGION_AREA = 934
	self.H_RELIGION_AREA = 175
# wrong
#	self.RELIGIONS = ReligionUtil.getAllReligions() + (ReligionUtil.getNumReligions(),)
# right
	self.RELIGIONS = ReligionUtil.getAllReligions()

In CvMainInterface.py
Code: 
if CityScreenOpt.isShowCultureTurns() and iRate > 0:
	iCultureTimes100 = pHeadSelectedCity.getCultureTimes100(pHeadSelectedCity.getOwner())
	iCultureLeftTimes100 = 100 * pHeadSelectedCity.getCultureThreshold() - iCultureTimes100
	# K-Mod (don't display a negative countdown when we pass legendary culture)
	if iCultureLeftTimes100 > 0:
	# K-Mod end
		szBuffer += u" " + localText.getText("INTERFACE_CITY_TURNS", (((iCultureLeftTimes100 + iRate - 1) / iRate),))
in Civ4lerts.py:
Code: 
	AbstractStatefulAlert.__init__(self, eventManager)
	eventManager.addEventHandler("BeginActivePlayerTurn", self.onBeginActivePlayerTurn)
##
# K-Mod, 15/jan/11, karadoc
# I've disabled the following event handlers, because apparently the arugment list isn't what the author of this code thought it was.
# (Note: I've only tested OnDealCanceled. But I don't trust the other's either.)
##
#		eventManager.addEventHandler("DealCanceled", self.onDealCanceled)
#		eventManager.addEventHandler("EmbargoAccepted", self.onEmbargoAccepted)
##
# K-Mod end
##

and in the financial adviser screen, I've got the following comment:
Code: 
		# K-Mod, karadoc
		# The 'total minus taxes' was wrong. We don't need to use that anyway
		# I've changed the 'taxes' output to use fTaxes instead of goldcommerce - totalminustaxes
		##
		#iTotalMinusTaxes = int(fBuildings) + int(fCorporations) + int(fSpecialists) + int(fWealth)
		#for _, _, _, fGold in multipliers:
		#	iTotalMinusTaxes += int(fGold)

That's all I can come up with at the moment. But I also remember that there was a problem with the sevopedia - If you opened the civilopedia from the main menu, you'd get the sevopedia, even if you had the sevopedia disabled in the BUG options.

I don't think there were any major bugs. I think I only mentioned in on the feature list because I didn't have many other features to list at the time... and now I'm reluctant to remove it, because that list is the only record of my earlier changes.
 
Thanks, I'll take a look at those. Every bit helps. :)

I'm not sure what the religion screen is doing there, but I didn't work on that one. The culture turns seems pretty straight-forward. I'll have to pull up the finance advisor as I don't remember what part that is.

There was definitely trouble with some of the diplomacy alerts when I first added them, and since they aren't so easy to force to have happen I wouldn't be surprised if others are still broken. Those are the most troublesome because they cause the player to deny requests without knowing what they are!

As for the Sevopedia, the problem is that BUG can only initialize when a game is started or loaded. So either we show the Civilopedia even when you have Sevopedia turned on or the reverse. I made the bold decision that if you use BUG, you probably want the Sevopedia. I included instructions for disabling it somewhere, but unfortunately it does involve modifying the Python file.
 
Fair enough choice regarding the Sevopedia. I actually kind of prefer the original civilopedia myself, and I kind of have a policy of having all the new UI options turned off by default. Anyway I've already done that python fix you mentioned.

Anyway, while we're talking about bugs... I've just added Advanced Combat Odds to K-Mod. I copied some of the code from BULL, and I've noticed a couple of minor formatting problems.

Code: 
if ((!ACO_enabled) || (getBugOptionBOOL("ACO__ForceOriginalOdds", false, "ACO_FORCE_ORIGINAL_ODDS")))
{
	szString.append(gDLL->getText("TXT_KEY_COMBAT_PLOT_ODDS", szTempBuffer.GetCString()));
// BULL is missing the following
	if (ACO_enabled)
	{
		szString.append(NEWLINE);
	}
// that's all
}
and this next bit looks wrong as well, but I'm not sure if it can ever even happen...
Code: 
if (pAttacker->withdrawalProbability()>=100)
{
	// a rare situation indeed

	/* BULL code
	szString.append(NEWLINE);
	szString.append(gDLL->getText("TXT_ACO_SurvivalGuaranteed")); */
	// should be swapped
	szString.append(gDLL->getText("TXT_ACO_SurvivalGuaranteed"));
	szString.append(NEWLINE);
}
 
Great simple mod.

In my opinion if you do should make two changes:

1. Incorporate Blue Marble.
2. Put in a feature where later religions spread faster than earlier ones. ( It is so annoying to see a world completed dominated by buddism) Many other mods have done this.

And of corse keep working on your AI changes.

Thats my two cents.
 
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