Korea Photojournal - King Difficulty with Many Mods

[KaoticKanine]

Sup, everyone! I'm back with a new photojournal, and this time it's a sort of collaboration with @BlessingsBeUponYou as we're both playing the same Civ on the same difficulty. That Civ, of course, being Korea, whom Blessings and I decided to play since one of the previous patches changed up a certain tenet in Freedom that synergizes super well with the Civ.

Of course, it's still two separate games which offers different experiences, so these back-to-back photojournals shouldn't be "too much" lol Especially as, once again, I'll be playing with an assortment of modmods that change up gameplay. Might make for an imbalanced game, but I'm a casual player and I'm gonna play how I like. Here are the mods I'll be playing:

Spoiler Mods :

• 3rd and 4th UCs by pineappledan- Most of y'all should know this mod by now. Adds an extra UU (military or GP) and an extra UB, UI, or UNW for each Civ. For Korea, this mod gives: Turtle Ship, replacement for the Caravel that has worse speed in Deep Ocean but are defensive powerhouses. And Chaebol, replacement for Stock Exchange that has higher Production and Gold, gains extra Production from Factories, increases Great Person Generation for each International Trade Route, and gains Gold, Science, and Culture for each Chaebol in the Empire.
• Community Patch Events by Engineer- Adds more Events to VP, including events specific to each Civ and even Natural Wonders. I'll certainly showcase these events as they occur in this game.
• More Wonders by adan_eslavo- Adds, well, more World and Natural Wonders to VP lol And alongside that, this mod also changes the vanilla Natural Wonders to have different yields and effects (for instance, Mt. Kilimanjaro only grants 'Altitude Training' to newly created Recon Units), as well as adding building requirements to each existing World Wonder in the game. You want to build Petra? Well, you're gonna need to be adjacent to a Desert and have a mountain within two spaces of your city in your border. Also, World Wonders can go obsolete; for example, if you enter the Renaissance Era, you can no longer build Terracotta Army if it hasn't already been built. Certainly restrictive, but makes sense since there's a buttload more wonders to make, and I do like the challenge of meeting these requirements to build these wonders.
• Unique City-States by Enginseer- Essentially gives City-States their own UAs that are provided to their Allies, as well as adding new City-States to the game. For instance, Ur makes City Connections generate +2 Food. And more drastically, Jerusalem automatically adopts the majority Religion of their Ally, with the Religious Pressure of a Holy City, and will establish a Sphere of Influence once the WC comes online. I actually considered not using this mod for a while since it makes Diplomatic Civs even more powerful, but I just like the City-States having their own identities lol
• Ethnic Diversity by Gedemon (modified by Nutty and Dolan2)- Changes the models of each Civ's Units to match their culture's ethnicity. Purely cosmetic, but forces me to play with lower graphic settings so as to not crash and stuff. Don't really care about that though lol And not like we need the Leader Screens to have motion anyway.
• Even More Resources for VP by HungryForFood- Adds more bonus and luxury resources to VP. With this mod, you can have Potatoes as the Inca (though sadly those require Plantations, not Terrace Farms). Also adds new and really unique monopoly bonuses, such as Obsidian giving +10% Combat Strength when attacking (supremely good for Sweden), and Poppies giving +25% GP Generation to all Cities.
• Historical Religions Edit by Tomatekh- Adds 13 more religions to the game, specifically religions that each vanilla Civ historically followed. If Iroquois were to found a religion, they'll do 'Orenda', not Protestantism, and the Inca would found 'Pachaism', and so on. Purely cosmetic.
• Really Advanced Setup by General Tso- Drastically expands the Advanced Setup screen for additional options. I only really use this to completely blacklist certain Civs from ever being AI in my games due to being too much of a pain in the butt to play against. Otherwise, no real gameplay change. Banned Civs will be shown in the settings pics.
• New Beliefs Mod by pineappledan, HungryForFood, and Recursive- Adds new Beliefs to the game and reworks some existing Beliefs. I didn't play this in my India photojournal since a lot of this mod was incorporated into base VP, but New Beliefs had since been updated in light of that, so I'm gonna play it again. A might use one of the exclusive beliefs that didn't get included, and otherwise I think it changes things for the better.
• Pineappledan's Tweaks by pineappledan- A general tweaks mod by pineappledan to test ideas and balance changes that he thinks would improve VP, which I'm generally in agreement with lol For Korea, this mod changes the Hwach'a so it replaces the Cannon (without costing Iron) and get a unique promotion that gives Splash damage and increases CS when inside or adjacent to cities.

Spoiler Game Settings :

For this game, I decided to play on Milae's Map as opposed to Communitu, with map settings that allows for bigger continents.

Spoiler Turn 0 :

So, when I planned this photojournal, I was intending to try for a strict Whale monopoly start as I felt that Whales were the best lux for Korea, what with the +10% Science and especially allowing for Centaurus (a corp that really benefits Tall civs). But then I got Platinum on this start...

Platinum is a luxury resources added by the More Resources Mod, and they are a Mine resource that gives +1 Gold when worked (+2 more Gold when improved with a Mine). But most importantly, Platinum's Monopoly bonus is the exact same as Whales: +10% Science! But while Platinum doesn't allow for the Centaurus Corp, it does unlock Civilized Jewelers, which is as good if not even better for Korea. Cause Jewelers is all about Great People and Golden Ages, and Korea really wants both things.

So, I figure this start is good enough and settle on the spot.

Spoiler Turn 8 :

I explore around my starting area with my Patherfinder, grabbed a few great ruins (one of which allowed my Pathfinder Trailblazer III by this point), and discover Lake Victoria just 6 tiles away from Seoul!

The temptation to restart the game just to allow the capital to work a Natural Wonder was high, but those trees and hills meant that attempting to do so would waste too many turns to settle. So I'll settle (heh) for a satellite city having Lake Victoria. As with many existing NWs, More Wonders changed up Lake Victoria in certain ways.

The Golden Age Points in adjacent plots automatically makes this NW super great for Korea, but free Food Trade Routes and better investment costs is a godsend! The instant I get Caravans, I can send Food to Seoul from any of my satellites, even if they haven't built a Granary yet.

Spoiler Turn 15 :

Met my first neighbor in the form of Arabia.

Can't say I'm enthused that I'm competing against one of, if not THE, strongest Tall/Tradition Civs in the game. But at least I can count on Harun to be peaceful with me throughout the game, and I'm confident I'll be able to win anyway. Korea's science gain is way stronger than Arabia's, especially in the late-game, and if I play my cards right I'll be able to prevent Arabia from achieving CV. Also helps that I'm not too interested in Arabia's surrounding territory.

Spoiler Turn 27 :

I finish researching Mining and decide to beeline Masonry for "Gate of the Sun", a World Wonder added by More Wonders that requires a Mountain and a Lake within city borders (which Seoul has the potential for), and not only improves both tiles but boosts overall Science gain.

Aaand I hit my "insert image" limit for this post, so this shall be continued in the next post.

 

[KaoticKanine]

Spoiler Turn 31 :

My first Settler finishes and I immediately send them to settle Lake Victoria before Arabia could. In that same turn, I noticed that I had enough Gold to purchase a Worker and decided to do so. Capital's got a lot of resources to improve, and in Tundra terrain that is crucial.

Spoiler Turn 34 :

My Pathfinder comes across our second neighbor, the Aztecs, and I earned enough Faith for a Pantheon.

The Aztecs are a mixed bag, I feel. On one hand, they aren't another Tall/Tradition Civ to compete with. But they are also dedicated warmongers that will eventually become deadset on killing me. Though at least there's City-States and a bunch of mountains in-between us, so there won't be much territory disputes and the Aztecs would have a hard time trying to invade my borders. And hopefully by then, I'll have the Hwach'a's ready to decimate his units.

As for the Pantheon, as tempting as 'Goddess of Wisdom' is, what with the boost to Science and GScientist generation in the capital, my Tundra heavy terrain made 'God of the Stars and Sky' a no-brainer. Far as I know, it's still the most meta Pantheon in the game, right alongside 'Spirit of the Desert'.

Spoiler Turn 37 :

Busan has been settled, securing Lake Victoria for myself. And I noticed that it was able to fill the requirements for Mohenjo-daro.

Mohenjo is a Neolithic World Wonder (obsoletes by Classical Era) that grants +1 Food to every River tile in City borders, as well as gives a free Well. With all the Rivers around Busan, I decide "why not" and queue the wonder just after Monument and Shrine.

Spoiler Turn 47 :

Shooting Stars event occurs! Minor as it is, I feel it necessary to screenshot this for the journal as it does provide some long-term benefits to my game. In this case, either the Shrines have more Faith or my Palace gives more Culture. Generally, I always go for the Palace bonus when going Tall, with Shrines reserved for Wide, and since I'm playing Korea... Decorations for my throne room!

Spoiler Turn 56 :

Another event! This time, an eclipse that boggles the minds of my ancient era empire lol Choices at this stage or either gain/lose Golden Age Points, or lose some Food in the capital for a good sum of Faith. Since I'd like to secure my own religion and food isn't that big a deal, I go for the sacrifice.

Spoiler Turn 73 :

So, uh, y'all know how I was beelining for Masonry?

Well, I realized that unlocking Masonry would render Mohenjo-daro obsolete, and the Wonder wasn't complete yet. So I decided to cancel that research and queue up the rest of the Ancient Techs, starting with Calendar. Temple of Artemis would certainly be a good wonder to grab, and Archers would be handy in case I need ranged units ASAP.

Spoiler Turn 84 :

I've settled all the spots that I wanted and can start focusing on infrastructure and defense. I also start constructing Temple of Artemis in Seoul.

In the meanwhile, we met Morocco, which is un-ideal as they're quite a powerful Civ in general. But good news is Morocco is direct neighbors with the Aztecs, and Montezuma wants them freaking dead Even wanted me to join in on the war, but joint wars this early never worked out for me and I'm not able to contribute at this stage. Hopefully the Aztecs will be able to cripple Morocco on their own lol

And that's all the screenshots that I had. Hope y'all enjoy, and see you next time ;D

 

[KaoticKanine]

Yo everyone! Sorry for the lengthy delay with the next parts of this photojournal ^^; I encountered a technical difficulty that put me off from playing VP for a bit. But that has been addressed, and now this game may continue.

Spoiler Turn 94 :

Y'all know how I was gunning for Temple of Artemis? Well, that failed...

All that production, gone to waste... But whatever. It's not THAT crucial a wonder for Korea. Still really helpful, though...

Spoiler Turn 95 :

I birth a Great Prophet and immediately found a religion > I always go for religions that the Civ I'm playing as follows irl (or according to the era of their leader), which is Confucianism for Korea under Sejong. And for my first beliefs, I decide to go "Divine Inheritance" as my Founder since it's best suited for ultra tall, and Korea already gets a big boost of science in golden ages. And for my first Follower belief, I take "Mastery" to boost my Specialists even more, while also getting faster golden ages with them.

Spoiler Turn 125 :

"Icons of the Past" event occurs, which allows me to 'upgrade' my monuments with +1 additional yield of choice. Very minor, but still a decision that affects the long-term. For this game, I decided to go with "fertility" (+1 Food) since that's important for a specialist-oriented Civ like Korea.

Spoiler Turn 139 :

I manage to nab a usually contested World Wonder, El Ghriba Synagogue.

Yet another World Wonder added by the "More Wonders Mod", El Ghriba is part of a series of mutually exclusive WWs for religious founders, each representing a religious building. In the case of El Ghriba, this gives a free Synagogue (since the Wonder itself is one big synagogue) with a free Artifact, the Ark of the Covenant (safeguarded by 'top men'), and also converts some faith purchases into gold. As said, El Ghriba is a rather contested WW as it's usually nabbed by any of the AI in past games, but I succeeded in beating them here lol

Spoiler Turn 146 :

I get another World Wonder, which is also really handy for Korea, "Gate of the Sun".

Yet another "More Wonders" WW, Gate of the Sun requires Mountains and Lakes within a city's borders, and not only does it make both tiles grant Culture but, if I'm reading the description correctly, is grants +5% science during golden ages! With Korea already getting +20% science during golden ages, 'School of Philosophy' adding another 20% science during golden ages, this WW makes it so that Korea gets +45% science during golden ages!! Oh yeah, and Walls also grant bonus science lol Certainly handy. And makes me shudder with the thought of how crazy Babylon could get if they get this WW, in light of the change to their Wall replacement.

Also, y'all remember how I hoped that the Aztecs would wreck Morocco's sh*t? Well, during this turn, I notice that Montezuma's doing exactly that.

Let that be a note to NEVER hope a conquest-based Civ succeeds at conquest. Morocco may not be an issue anymore, but now the Aztecs are going to snowball...

Spoiler Turn 149 :

I unlock Tier 2 Policies, and after deliberating my options, I decided to go Statecraft.

I got a lot of City-States around me, with two serving as a buffer between me and the Aztecs, so Statecraft will help a lot with becoming their allies and maintaining said alliances. Another great thing about Statecraft that I forgot about until this game is that "Shadow Network" grants +1 Science to Specialists! Which is exactly the min-maxing I'm going for here xD Like, suddenly Artistry doesn't look that impressive for Korea. It also certainly helps that Statecraft is the current meta for Medieval Policy Trees, assuming that's still the case.

Spoiler Turn 162 :

Grabbed yet another "More Wonders" World Wonder, 'Etchmiadzin Cathedral'.

Despite being, well, a cathedral, this WW is not one of the "Religion Founder WWs" as it does not require being built in a Holy City, nor does it give a free religious building. Although that's good for me cause I already built El Ghriba lol And this Wonder is even better for Korea to have since it converts 10% of Faith into Culture and Golden Age Points, and Sejong really loves Golden Ages. Additionally, we get a free Great Work in the 'Holy Lance' (no movie jokes this time), and looks like it makes GWs also grant +1 Faith. Dis gon be gud!

Spoiler Turn 173 :

Despite stiff competition from Aztecs and Assyria, I was able to spread my religion enough to get a Reformation belief.

Since Science is the priority for this game, I went with 'Divine Teachings', as consensus is that is the best reform for science gain. Though, in hindsight, I probably should've gone with 'Inspired Works' since that synergizes perfectly with the Seowon's new "+1 Science and Production to GPIs" >.< But then, Divine Teachings also synergizes with Seowons by adding even more science to them, and I have absolutely no use for faith purchasing archaeologists. I guess we'll see how things go.

Spoiler Turn 184 :

Aztecs have conquered Marrakech, and with it wiped out Morocco from the game...

Yep, Monty's snowballing now and I regret making that earlier wish cause I'm feeling the Monkey's Paw. I can only hope that I manage to build all the specialist-boosting world wonders and my late game yields overcome the Aztec's own. And even failing that, I'm confident I'll still win since I'm aiming for Science Victory while the Aztecs are most likely going for Domination. And I'll make certain Monty can't take a single one of my cities.

 

[KaoticKanine]

Spoiler Turn 186 :

Built yet another glorious World Wonder, courtesy of More Wonders, 'Ahu Tongariki'!

I forget the requirements to build this WW, aside from city being on the coast and having forests, but Ahu Tongariki boosts the production of local forests and jungles and makes workers build improvements much faster. Quarries across the empire also yield 1 Culture, and most importantly we get a unique Luxury resource: the Tern Egg. The resource by itself gives +1 Food and +3 Faith, and its monopoly bonus grants +10% Faith in all cities, which will indeed send me into a much brighter future since it synergizes perfectly with the Etchmiadzin Cathedral >

On this note, I do apologize for a lot of these screenshots being just World Wonders ^_^; Haven't seen a lot of photo opportunities this game, and my partial intent with my photojournals is to showcase the other modmods like "More Wonders". Still, I'll try to diversify things.

Spoiler Turn 196 :

Religion enhancement time!

I forget what my other options for beliefs were, but I decided to go with Mosques as my second Follower to have a religious building for my empire. And Mosques also provide science and gels with my golden age strats. And for Enhancer belief, I went with Symbolism, which got changed by the "New Beliefs Mod" so it only grants +2 Great Person Points for Artists, Musicians, and Writers in Holy City, as well as lowering Policy requirements for Wonders by 1, and also granting +1 Happiness per 4 cities following religion to a maximum of 6. I think Sacred Calendar got taken by the time I enhanced, so I couldn't take that belief for the Golden Age bonus. Though Symbolism will probably work out better anyway since I get an easier time building Wonders, and more frequent GWs People means more instant GAPs for Golden Ages.

Spoiler Turn 208 :

'Shooting Stars' event occurs again! And tempting as it was to gift the meteors to my shrines, I donate them to my universities (Seowons) instead. Gotta go galaxy brain, here!

Spoiler Turn 218 :

Another event! This time a 'Civilization Event', unique to the "Community Events Mod" which grants exclusive events for each Civilization that have short term or long term effects.

In this case, our only option for Korea's event is to construct a "grand Gyeongbok" for the court, which makes us lose 750 Gold but makes the Palace provide +5% Culture, Gold, and Science, as well as +5 flat Faith. And even better, we get a copy of Porcelain! Can't get a monopoly or corporation from it, I don't think, but a free luxury (a City-State exclusive one at that) is nothing to sneeze at. It means more happiness for my empire, and more happiness equals more Golden Ages, which nets me more science.

Spoiler Turn 222 :

Well this time something other than Wonders and Events has happened this game, though it ain't good. Germany and Aztecs DOW'd me.

I mostly saw the Aztec's war declaration coming because of their mounted units within my borders. And, well, it's Aztecs lol But Germany was a surprise. He seemed pretty friendly with me, and his only units in my territory are Explorers. In any case, I had long unlocked the Hwach'as and stationed them around my cities, and one of my Militaristic City-State allies gifted me 'Naresuan's Elephants' for good measure. Bogota also built up quite the force and helped me clear out the Aztec's units almost right after this time, and then I destroyed Germany's Explorers right after. So my top priority next was to defend Quelimane, which is in serious danger of getting captured by Monty.

Spoiler Turn 236 :

I was able to fight back the Aztec's forces from Quelimane with minimal casualities (if any, wasn't keeping track), and to my surprise the Aztecs sued for peace.

Since prolonged war with a military powerhouse like the Aztecs is not in my best interest, I accepted Monty's peace deal, and then decided to gift Quelimane a lot of my units that were within its borders. I figure that if the Aztecs DOW me again, those gifted units would give the City-State a better chance at defense than their own units.

Spoiler Turn 238 :

I'm just swimming in ceramics this game, as I've constructed the Porcelain Tower.

With "More Wonders", Porcelain Tower gives the same exact bonuses: less Illiteracy, free GS, and a big boost to science when Research Agreements are disabled (which I always do, cause late-game aggression makes them non-existent anyway oh wait, I disabled late-game aggression FU-). The only change made by More Wonders is that Porcelain Tower requires that you have 2 City-State Allies, which ought to demonstrate how far the requirements for these wonders can go with this mod lmao Good thing, then, that I went Statecraft and maintained alliances with all surrounding City-States. And now I'm even smarter for it (well, Sejong is even smarter now lol).

Spoiler Turn 240 :

Assyria about to share the same fate as Morocco as poor Ashurbanipal is down to one city and both Aztecs and Brazil are bearing down on him.

Really hoping that Brazil takes Nimrud, or Assyria becomes a vassal to Brazil. Aztecs already got the capital, and last thing they need is one more city! And I will seriously cry if Assyria capitulates to the Aztecs, cause then sanctioning Monty in World Congress would do basically nothing.

Spoiler Turn 241 :

Germany sues for peace, after doing... Basically nothing to me since the war's start lmao

Unlike the Aztecs, Germany is on another continent, so they can't readily attack me. I totally expected Bismarck to send them naval units, but I certainly didn't notice any near my borders lol And it would be a waste of effort for him anyway, since I got meh Turtle Ships.

And that's all for now! Y'all enjoy ^^