Originally posted by Grey Fox
Ok, my Graphics flavor mod doesn't change the game dynamics in anyway though. Does yours? (I don't have to ask Kal-El this, cus he probably means the DYP mod 
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Version 1 of my mod changes the rules but not nearly as drastically as DYP. I've added new units as well as flavor units, some tweaked features like more HP, readjustment of ship and plane stats, some new techs, some new resources, and new improvements and wonders. But I haven't done anything like change amounts of food produced by terrain types or anything that would require much more playtesting.
Version 2 however is going to be an entirely different beast. Version 2 is going to be a civ-specific game essentially. Each civilization will have its own tech tree to research. Some will have their own wonders, citizens, resources, improvements.... There are some serious balancing issues of course, which is why Version 1 is playable and Version 2 is not...
The tech tree has really been the biggest pain in the ass....
When I was still at school, I was reading up extensively on Iroquois and Zulu culture as well as on Asia and so forth. And on the internet, I've been learning more and more about the history of education and medicine in China, India, the Middle East.
Basically, there will be a scientific tech tree that everybody can research. Then there will be a sort of group or regional cultural tree for say religion (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam) or geographic region (Mediterrenean, MesoAmerican), and then there will be civilization-specific branches on each of those trees.
I'll give a quick example of some of the features.
The Inca, for example, can get a bonus resource called "terrace farms" that other civs can't see which makes building near or on hills much more practical.
The Aztecs get (instead of the Cathedral which is now strictly a Christian building) they get the Teocalli, which in addition to giving them the benefits of the generic Cathedral, it also gives the city a defense bonus. In ancient MesoAmerica, the temple was the place where all the weapons were stored and made and it was also usually the most fortified structure in the city, so when it came down to it, the temple was the last hold out. It was almost a castle of sorts.
Anyway, I don't want to spoil anymore... hopefully the mod will be done before Doomsday! Cheers!
He'll just have to be careful to not let anyone bash him over the head. 
