MOD: The Balancer

Elucidus

King
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Messages
983
Location
USA
---18 Mar, 2002 -- 15:55

Version 2.11 is almost ready, check out some of the new things we are planning to implement at the web page.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments.

I hope you enjoy it.


---13 Mar, 2002 -- 20:35
The Balancer 2.1 is available and has added quite a few things. Download Here or Here. There is a download that has some enhanced wonder splashes. These enhanced Wonder Spalshes are just pics of the existing wonders and are not needed for the balancer mod.

(I created a new thread, because the subject of the last one has a version number that we don't use anymore and Monkspider is nowhere to be found to change it.)



Here is the readme.txt




------------------------------
The Balancer

2.1 beta (000)

13-Mar-2002

Creators:
Elucidus
WesW


Web Admin:
Rhuarc
------------

Questions? Comments? contact me at elucidus_healfire@yahoo.com

(Note: This is a beta because not all graphics for the new items have been included. Some units reuse older graphics. Mostly the missing graphics are Wonder Splashes and building queue icons, maybe a few civilipedia icons. If you see a generic pic with "To Be Added" or just a generic building icon then that is something we are working on. If it shows up as a blank picture, let us know as that is a glich. As I release the graphics patches they will be numbered (001, 002, etc...) I will also update the full install with them and anotate the latest files included in it. 2.1 beta (003) for example. If you have a better way for us to track this, please let me know.




NOTE: BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, EXTRACT THESE FILES TO THE ROOT DIRECTORY OF YOUR CIVILIZATION III FOLDER

Also note: An in-game known issues list was included in the civilopedia for your convenience. I have not found any issues yet in testing version 2.1 but things can change, keep an eye out. If you are unsure of weather we are aware of a possible issue you are having, please check there first. In the civilopedia go to the "Concepts" area. In there you will see a tab named Balancer Mod. In that tab we will list any known issues with the mod. As of now there are no game-breaking issues.

First, I have to say that this mod was started by Monkspider. He created it, but since I haven't heard from him in a long while (read: months), and I was working on it with him regularly, I took it over. Also, we need to thank others who have had an impact as well. Special Thanks to Anunikoba, Korn469, Chegitz Guevara, Yaga, Pydodrew, Cian, d-audi, Wesw, SilentBob, Kromwel, java4me, Wite Rabbit, thomsonlau, Synthetik, Mizaq and Harlan for the help or inspiration that they have provided.
WesW has come on board since version 2.1 and he has contributed a lot to the mod, please welcome him and thank him for his great efforts. The biggest thanks I have to give are to other modders whose mods I have included in this version. If any of them wish me to remove there files or data from my mod simply let me know and I will. Thanks go out to you:

Sevorak's More City Names mod.


Thank you for that, it helps a lot.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed making it.
Have fun!



For version history, see History.txt

Latest changes:

- General Changes
-- Citizen value in shields raised to 25.
-- Fortify gives +50% defense.
-- Raised the defense from bombardment of citizens and buildings from 8 to 12.
-- Numerous errors with civilization build often/never settings corrected.
-- Cities grow to size 8 before needing an Aqueduct, and 15 before needing a Hospital.
-- Espionage missions except Sabotage reduced. Investigate city by 70%, all others by 50%.

- Governments, Added
-- Theocracy
-- City State

- Improvements
-- Added
--- Royal Academy (Monarchy)
--- Mill
--- Monastery (Theocracy)
--- Gestapo HQ (Fascism)
--- KGB Office (Communism)
--- Party HQ (Communism)
--- Fire Hall
--- Theatre
--- Brokerage (Democracy)
-- Changed
--- Marketplace no longer increases luxury trade (Bonus happiness) it instead gives +50% Luxury output
--- Bank increase luxury trade instead
--- Walls now have a bombardment defense of 16.
--- Cost of the Palace reduced to 30, make that 300, shields.
--- Cost of Armies reduced to 300.
--- Cost of Forbidden City reduced to 200.

- Units
-- Added
--- Ranger (New American UU, replaces Paratrooper, see Changed section below for what happened to the F-15)
--- Babylonian Bowman (New Babylonian UU, replaces Bowman, see Changed section below for what happened to the Bowman)
--- Longbowman (New English UU replaces Archer, see changed section for what happened to the Man-o-War)
--- Man-At-Arms (New Medieval age swordsman, to unit transition)
--- Crossbowman (New unit to help the transition to Rifleman)
--- Grenadier (New German UU, replaces Rifleman, see Changed section for what happened to the Panzer)
--- Horse Archer (New Knight replacement for those non-european Civs)
-- Changed
--- F-15 renamed to Strike Fighter and made available to all civs as an upgrade to the bomber (sort of a Fighter/Bomber)
--- Bowman made available to all civs as a pre-archer unit.
--- Man-o-War renamed to Ship-of-the-Line and made available to all civs as an upgrade to the frigate
--- Panzer renamed to Armor and made available to all civs as an upgrade to the Tank

- Technologies, Changed
-- All advances cost more.
-- Engineering enables irrigation without water.
-- Mass Transit system now available with Combustion to allow you to combat population pollution earlier.
-- Writing requires Bronze Working, and Gunpowder requires Banking, for unit progression reasons.
-- Espionage has taken The Republic's place in the advances chart. The Republic has been moved to Democracy's position, and Democracy to Espionage's. This allows you to conduct espionage missions earlier, and places all three advances closer to their actual historical spot.
-- MPP and Trade Embargo enabled by Espionage.

- Resources
-- Added
--- Cotton adds 2 Shields and 1 Commerce
--- Apples, Dates, and Fruits appear on different terrain, but share an icon for now, they all add 2 food
--- Marble adds 2 Shields and 1 Commerce
-- Changed
--- Uranium and Aluminum now share an icon, due to the limitation of new icons. They still retain their old properties
--- Horses no longer require a tech to see, after all they are animals roaming the contryside.
- Terrain, Changed
-- Grassland Irrigation gives 2 food now instead of 1 (This is to help differentiate the different terrains)
-- Flood Plains Irrigation gives 2 Food now instead of 1 (This is to help differentiate the different terrains)
-- Hills can now be irrigated
-- Clear Jungle now takes only 6 turns
-- Clear Forest now takes 10 turns and gives 15 shields for harvesting
-- Build Fortress takes 8 turns instead of 16 on base terrain

- Specialists
-- Changes
--- Scientist renamed to Alchemist
-- Additions
--- Musician gives +2 Luxuries and requires Free Artistry
--- Accountant gives +2 Taxes and requires Economics
--- Scientist Gives +2 Research and requires Physics
--- Investor gives +3 Taxes and requires Rocketry
--- Comedian gives +3 Happiness and requires Smart Weapons
--- Researcher gives +3 Research and requires Computers

- Wonders, Added
-- Master Race (Fascism)
-- Hollywood
-- Disney World
-- Taj Mahal
-- London Exchange (Monarchy) [Looking to Rename]
-- Carnegie Steel Trust
-- Einstein's Lab
-- Napoleonic Code (Republic)
-- The Prince (Monarchy) [Looking to rename]
-- Hammarabi's Code
-- Hippodrome
-- Stonehenge
-- Internment Camp (Fascism)
-- Gulag (Communism)
 
Alright guys, I am planning on releasing an updated version this Friday (and if all goes well, each friday).

Unfortunately, this version will not be compatable with the saves from 2.01B. Sorry about this, but when you add new units/bldgs/etc... it invalidates the previous version's savegames.

We have updated the web-page, so check it out. It doesn't list all of the new settings yet, as they are not finalized.


If anyone has had problems with the geocities or angelfire links... Try this one:


2.01 Beta

2.01B (Tested)
 
Yes the gov't specific buildings seem to be working now. Great news there.

Also looking at releasing a newer version this friday. It will have some new units and improvements/wonders, also a lot of mock units and buildings, so it won't be compatible with saves from either 2.01B or 2.11 beta. These mock items will be space savers so that if I add more units or buildings in the future it will be compatible with the previous versions save files. At least that is the theory.

I haven't been able to get to the forums since they went down before, so haven't been able to update the post. Thanks for the feedback too.

I hope you guys keep enjoying it.
 
Just to let everyone know the new version is out. I hope I didn't let anything slip by, as I have a tremendous headache that won't quite and I am having a hard time concentrating today.

Well, if there are any problems let me know and I will fix 'em right away.

Since I added Mizaq's New Wonder Splashes the file has about doubled in size. If someone would like to have a copy of the mod without the extra wondersplashes, send me an email. Also because of the size of the file I have uploaded two different formats. If you have a program that can read .rar format, like Winrar, then you can download the smaller rar file.

Zip (8.2MB)

Rar (6.8MB)


Also for anyone who wants to uninstall I have a copy of the original files that this mod overwrites. It does not remove additional files or anything though. Get it here.



Here is the current readme (Again, I hope I didn't miss anything as I updated this today with my massive headache):


------------------------------
The Balancer

2.11(000)

22-Mar-2002

Creators:
Elucidus
Rhuarc
------------

Questions? Comments? contact me at elucidus_healfire@yahoo.com

(Note: Not all graphics for the new items have been finished. Some units reuse older graphics. Mostly the missing graphics are Wonder Splashes and building queue icons, maybe a few civilipedia icons. If you see a generic pic with "To Be Added" or just a generic building icon then that is something we are working on. If it shows up as a blank picture, let us know as that is a glich. As I release the graphics patches they will be numbered (001, 002, etc...) I will also update the full install with them and anotate the latest files included in it. 2.1 beta (003) for example. If you have a better way for us to track this, please let me know.



NOTE: BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, EXTRACT THESE FILES TO THE ROOT DIRECTORY OF YOUR CIVILIZATION III FOLDER

Also note: An in-game known issues list was included in the civilopedia for your convenience. If you are unsure of weather we are aware of a possible issue you are having, please check there first. In the civilopedia go to the "Concepts" area. In there you will see a tab named Balancer Mod (the only tab with it's own icon). In that tab we will list any known issues with the mod. As of now there are no known game-breaking issues, just graphics and such.

First, I have to say that this mod was started by Monkspider. He created it, but since I haven't heard from him in a long while (read: months), and I was working on it with him regularly, I took it over. Also, we need to thank others who have had an impact as well. Special Thanks to Anunikoba, Korn469, Chegitz Guevara, Yaga, Pydodrew, Cian, d-audi, SilentBob, Kromwel, java4me, Wite Rabbit, thomsonlau, Desert Dog, Tori Synthetik, Mizaq and Harlan for the help or inspiration that they have provided.

*WesW has contributed a great deal and special thanks go out to him for that. If it weren't for him this mod would not be as well developed as it is. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us.

The biggest thanks I have to give are to other modders whose mods I have included in this version, including graphics mods. If any of them wish me to remove their files or the information I have listed is incorrect simply let me know and I will fix the problem. If I forgot to mention anyone, let me know. Thanks go out to all of you:

Sevorak's More City Names mod
Mizaq's Wonder Splash Upgrade/Mod
TVA1's Battlewagon Unit Graphics (We used it for the Dreadnaught)
Bonedoc's Apache Unit Graphics (We used it for the Attack Helicopter)
Pesoloco's Engineer Unit Graphics
Darksheer's Crossbowman and Modern Frigate Unit Graphics (We used this for the Missile Frigate)
Kryten's Horse Archer
SpencerH's New Catapult Attack Animation and Fire Galley Unit Graphics
Kal-el's Grunt Unit Graphics (We used it for the US Ranger)

Thank you for all for your great work, it helped make this mod what it is today.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed making it.
Have fun!



For version history, see History.txt

2.11 changes: (My notes from 2.1 and 2.11 got mixed together, so I hope I have everything updated here).
- General Change
-- Added place holders for future units, techs, buildings, resources, etc... named ZZ1-20, these items should not appear
in the game other than the civilopedia. If they do, contact me immidately and send me the save game
-- All civs get a colonist starting unit. This is to help the human player (computers plop down where they start) find a
good spot. This is the only colonist they get, unless they are expansionist.
-- Golden Age changed to 25 Years, I don't know maybe I'm just greedy.
-- Shield value in gold up from 4 to 6 gold. This is because with capitalization it reduces it to half, and I think 2 is
too much. This was changed long ago from 8 to 4.
-- Raise the turn penalty for rushing from 20 to 30 turns; this is to help against pop-rushing


- Governments

-- Fascism
--- Free units reduced from 3/5/8 to 2/3/5, but they get 25 free units. This is to make fascism great for smaller
civs, but not for larger ones.
--- Assimilation % reduced to 0%, Fascists don't assimilate they get rid of those that aren't like them
--- Rate cap reduced to 6 (from 7), this is to help detract prolonged use

-- Communism
--- Rate cap raised to 7 (from 6), give communism a more prolonged life
--- Free units raised from 2/4/6 to 3/5/8, they get 10 free units. This is to allow them to be better with larger
nations

-- Democracy
--- Free units raised to 1/1/1, this is to help the balancing of democracy. As it stands most don't like it

-- Despotism
--- Worker rate reduced to 1 (workers are only 50% effective)

-- City State
--- Changed from values at 2/4/6 to 1/2/3, they get 10 free units. If this is supposed to be for smaller nations (as
city states were) it makes more sense to have lower values.

-- Theocracy (this is where I tried something completely new)
--- Doesn't require building maintenance (meaning all buildings are free).
--- Free units reduced to 0/0/0, they get 0 free units
--- Units costs raised to 3/unit

-- Anarchy
--- Removed the Standard Tile Penalty, hopefully this will convince people to try switching gov'ts more often


- Units

-- Added
--- Prisoner (I was going to make it the POW, but didn't want to offend anyone), this is the unit that is captured, it
can do anything a worker can do and can build a city as well. You cannot get this unit any other way.
--- Engineer, this is an upgrade to the settler and the worker. It is like a prisoner but buildable and with 2 moves
--- Fire Galley, this is a normal galley, but with a 2 attack and defense and can only carry one unit
--- Dreadnaught, a precursor to the battleship, this unit upgrades from the destroyer and to the battleship
--- Missile Frigate, this is a weaker version of the battleship, but it is the only naval unit with ZOC
--- Attack Helicopter, this is a fighter helicopter as opposed to a transport

-- Changed
--- Renamed the Scout to Explorer, available to non-expansionist civs, removed All-terrain-as-roads, 2 Moves
--- Renamed the Explorer to Pioneer, available to Expansionists only, All-terrain-as-roads, 1 move
--- Hoplite reduced to 1/3/1 from 2/3/1

-- Naval Units
--- I have upped all naval movement, the modern ones now have double what they were


- Wonders

-- Added
--- Einstein's Lab (2x research output)
--- Arc de Triumph (Replaces Statue of Liberty as the Reduces War-Weariness for Democracies wonder)
--- Internet (A modern day great library)

-- Changed
--- Statue of Liberty (Doubles City Defenses, Gain an Aqueduct in every city)
 
I found out that the icon I made for the Fire Galley is crashing the game, amoung other things. I think this should clear everything up. Get the patch here.

I'm sorry about these little problems. But that is everything fixed.

Next time I will delay the release for a day or so when I have a headache like that (yes I blame the headache for this, it couldn't have been me). :)

If anyone has any other poroblems let me know.
 
it seems, that the link not work.......
maybe to many who load it, but maybe not online, please check
 
Well 2.11A is out. This fixes all known problems and a few mistakes I made, like having the engineer require iron.


Get the upgrade here.

Or download the full version here.

Let me know if you run into any problems and I'll fix them as soon as possible.

Enjoy.
 
--- Dreadnaught, a precursor to the battleship, this unit upgrades from the destroyer and to the battleship

This is backwords.
Dreadnaughts were a class of ships that when devolped were almost three times as powerful as any other battleships in existance.

Historicly battleships should upgrade to Dreadnaughts.

Also, Destroyers have uses after you can build BB's. In particular escorting transports, and bombarding improvements. Whats the logic of making them upgradeable to BB's?
 
Thank you for the information.

I guess the philosophy behind it was that battleship can do everything a destroyer can do, but better, except for movement this is true. Destroyers are a little faster than battleships, so they are better at escorting. This may have been an oversight...I will take this into consideration for future versions. Also where can I find information about dreadnaught's being newer battleships? I would like to get this information correct. Thank you.
 
Hi Guys.

Just a quick note on Dreadnoughts and Battleships.

It is correct that the Dreadnought era (by that I mean anything that came after HMS Dreadnought) warships completely out classed anything that came before them (previous battleships).

However, these early Dreadnoughts were rapidly eclipsed by advances in armour, gun rangle/calibre etc, by subsequent vessels. These were called at the time, as far as I know, "Super-dreadnoughts".

The Super-dreadnought quickly reverted to the name "Battleship" again (not sure why). Certainly, the last of the big gun capital ships were known as Battleships. It would seem to be these ships (ie. Bismarck, USS Iowa etc, Yamato, HMS KGV) that the Civ3 team were trying to depict with their in-game graphic.

Anyway, enough waffle.

Keep up the good work, great mod!

Drew.
 
Drew,

Thanks for the info, that is what I was told. However, I was only told that, I didn't have any knowledge on the fact and didn't do any research either. I appreciate the info and if anyone could point me to good resource of it, I would appreciate it.

Not to say I don't believe you, but when I get conflicting information I like to look it up. And although it isn't directly conflicting it is a little blurred.

Thanks for the compliment on the mod, we appreciate it.

Enjoy.
 
Well this is how I always understood it:

Battleship defines the large capital ships designed to kill the enemy with gunfire.

EG(fictional): An battleship in 1908 might have had 4 12" guns, 8 6" guns and 8 4" guns.

Dreadnaughts define a battleship whos primary weapons are all of the same type.

EG: HMS Dreadnaught had 10 12" guns.

All Dreadnaughts are battleships, but not all battleships are Dreadnaughts.


The Japanese found in their little war w/ Russia in the early 20th centruy that it was the big guns on the battleship that really did dammage to enemy ships and that the guns of smaller calaber were relitively worthless. This caused the British to devolpe an all big-gun ship HMS Dreadnaught that when built was the most modern battleship ever completed. Its firepower was estimated to be 2.5x the firepower of any other battleship afloat.

It was really one of the biggest revolutions in the design of the battleship, and thats why I think it would be good to make it the upgrade point for those particular units.



Drew is right, technology did advance rapidly after HMS Dreadnaught was launched, but the basic premise (all big gun) remained constant all the way though the last super-dreadnaughts: The Iowas, Bismark, Yamoto, etc.
 
I'd agree with all of the above. Seraph put in a much better way then I could!

There's a very good Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) site at www.combinedfleet.com

I don't think it contains exactly the information you require, but it does have links to all sorts of other naval resources, plus pictures and info on all manner of Japanese warships. Have fun!
 
To anyone who would like to help us test the new combat model, send me an email.

This is still preliminary, as we want to see how the stats work out in general before we decide the exact stats.

This also tests some terrain balancing. Again just send me an email and I'll get you the file.
 
I tried to understand, but failed, please tell me what this mod does.
 
What it does? You mean compared to the basic game?

Well, as the post above shows, it adds and changes a lot of content. The purpose of which is to bring more fun to the game and make it more balanced.

Other than what the readme above says, I don't know what else I can tell you about it.
 
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