Medieval Millennium release thread

[ThichN]

Hi, a quick update from me on this issue! It seems that ToT more generally is blipping in and out with sound, likely something to do with my computer or OS. It happened outside of your scenario, and wanted to let you know!

I'm progressing nicely. Barbarian activity is really picking up. There are moments when an arrow fires, and the lua console comes up with an error... but the act of the arrow, effect, etc., all goes through without a glitch. Not sure why the error pops up. It will only be 1 out of 25 arrows fired or something like that.

I did severely run out of money because of the extra costs for some of those worker units. That got me! But I am back up to speed now. Still massively enjoying this, Knighttime. The pacing is spot on. These later moments in the game feel "lived in," but not a slog. One of my least favorite moments in any civ game is when I'm scrolling through cities and ticking off the boxes of improvements (kingdom fatigue). But decisions seem to really matter here, balancing money, food, and materials, so the slog is avoided.

 

[Knighttime]

Hi, a quick update from me on this issue! It seems that ToT more generally is blipping in and out with sound, likely something to do with my computer or OS. It happened outside of your scenario, and wanted to let you know!

OK, thanks for letting me know. I won't worry about it anymore, but I hope you can figure out what's going on -- and that it doesn't get gradually worse!

I'm progressing nicely. Barbarian activity is really picking up. There are moments when an arrow fires, and the lua console comes up with an error... but the act of the arrow, effect, etc., all goes through without a glitch. Not sure why the error pops up. It will only be 1 out of 25 arrows fired or something like that.

Hmm... I don't think anyone else reported that yet. Is it just coincidence that your arrow sounds don't work, and the Lua console sometimes shows an error when an arrow fires? Could be, I guess...

In the update that I'm finishing, I went over all of the ranged unit Lua code line-by-line and made a number of tweaks or enhancements. So I don't think it pays for me to troubleshoot a bug in the original v1.0 events at this point -- it will (hopefully!) all be fixed in the new version anyway.

I did severely run out of money because of the extra costs for some of those worker units. That got me! But I am back up to speed now. Still massively enjoying this, Knighttime. The pacing is spot on. These later moments in the game feel "lived in," but not a slog. One of my least favorite moments in any civ game is when I'm scrolling through cities and ticking off the boxes of improvements (kingdom fatigue). But decisions seem to really matter here, balancing money, food, and materials, so the slog is avoided.

That was definitely one of the issues with the base game that I was trying to avoid: the fact that eventually every city gets to build everything, and you end up with an empire of megalopolises. Related to that, I also tried hard to create a game in which you're repeatedly confronted with decisions that have two or more reasonable alternatives, and it's not clear which one is necessarily best -- both when considering higher-level strategy, as well as lower-level city management. So it's great to hear that you're enjoying those aspects of the scenario -- thanks for sharing!

 

[ThichN]

That makes total sense. I also enjoy the challenge near the end. The Black Death hit just as hordes of barbarians were picking up. It was almost to the degree that having a larger civ meant more pain in this regard. Very well-simulated.

Indeed, it appears that some of those errors may be on my end, for whatever reason. I'm playing on an old Windows XP OS. That likely has something to do with sound clipping and whatnot.

Can't wait to also try out the update!

 

[ThichN]

Hi again, @Knighttime .
I've had time to play through this more, and had some questions and comments. First, I was wondering what your reasoning is (other than historical accuracy) to not allow the ship to be constructed until 1415. I suppose, as a "builder" type of player myself, I find there to be less weight on science with this in place. A player could devote a lot of their resources to science, but for it to be in vain; other players will have caught up by the time 1415 hits, and then it becomes the player with the most productive cities that ultimately wins the game. On the other hand, I like this concept in that it does throw a wrench into the game. Actually, I'd say one brilliant thing about this mod in general is how you navigate the late game. In a lot of ways, it is far more interesting than the base game! I really appreciate how you arranged that.

That brings me to the many barbarians. I absolutely love this aspect. The challenge of barbarians at the gates, even through the late game, is fantastic. I wonder, then, if you would ever consider implementing some kind of "reward" for actively pursuing barbarians. The 4g/barbarian is small change. I don't have an answer as to what the reward could be. A unit? More research? (Might be fun if the "Islamic" units specifically provided a research boost!) The way you've done barbs in this make them so threatening and fun to navigate, and I wish I, as a player, had a bit more reason to actively seek and destroy, rather than just shield and protect.

Just a couple notes... food for thought, as it were. Honestly, Knighttime, this mod is so re-playable and enjoyable, that it has replaced the base game for me (part of that, granted, is that I am partial to the time period). I can tell you've put a lot of care into it. Thanks for creating something so dynamic!

 

[Dadais]

Medieval Millennium is an adaptation of Civilization II: Test of Time, based on Western Europe during the one-thousand-year period from A.D. 500 to A.D. 1500. It requires the Test of Time Patch Project (TOTPP) version 0.15.1 and takes advantage of many features that this enables. This is a single-player-only scenario (one human player vs. AI nations).

It is available for download here: https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/medieval-millennium.28568/
For installation instructions, please see the Readme.txt file included in the download.

In a technical sense, this is a complex modpack in which all units, improvements, wonders, advances, etc., have been altered to fit the medieval theme. There is no .SCN file, and every game begins on a new randomly-generated map (utilizing the new "Play a mod" menu option added via TOTPP). A game last 500 turns, at two years per turn, and you can win either by conquest or by "voyage".

On the other hand, this has many features more commonly found in a scenario, the primary one being extensive use of events to dramatically alter the gameplay experience. This allows the controlled introduction of new factors and gameplay elements at appropriate times, not directly caused by in-game actions. The experience of playing probably aligns very closely with what players have come to expect from an in-depth scenario.

In short, this is something of a unique hybrid. Perhaps the best summary is to say that this is the original base game of Civ II, completely reimagined, with the power of Lua programming behind it.

The intent is not to recreate the strictly historical sequence of events during these years, or to allow you to replay and reenact events exactly as they occurred, but rather to provide a thematically "medieval" experience or context. Every attempt has been made to provide an immersive experience that balances authenticity with enjoyable gameplay. This is far more than a graphical overlay or a new skin on familiar game mechanics — you'll encounter many detailed and nuanced changes to all aspects of the game.

Full documentation is available both in PDF format and within the Civilopedia.

A few example screenshots:

View attachment 576094
Vikings have landed near Salerno! The monks near the city are in trouble, and the Knight probably won't arrive in time to save them.

View attachment 576095
The Kingdom of Castile and Leon, in A.D. 1100.

View attachment 576096
New diplomacy screen, featuring a meeting with Enrico Dandolo of Venice.

I hope you enjoy Medieval Millennium! Happy Civing!

Knighttime

One should be able to play it now with dll active despite beeing in a mod folder, making installation easier and smoothier for ones' ToT install.
Here's a quick try for that (unzip in civ2 main folder then "play mod" on civ2 main menu)