Modding the future past the space race?

[jesterbone]

Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm new here and I don't see a way to search this particular board -- just the entire forum.

Does it seem possible to do away with the space race victory and create either some set of abnormally futuristic units and/or another phase/age of gameplay?

 

[Anarki]

The answer I believe is yes.

 

[dalek master]

I thought "ages" were taken out for civ4

 

[Spatzimaus]

dalek master: Yes and no. There's no explicit separation any more, but according to some screenshots, the game DOES tell you when you've reached the Renaissance Era, etc. Plus, that's not really what he was asking.

jesterbone: Many of us are planning on exactly that. I've already got planned out a future mod with around 40 techs (almost all of which were taken from Alpha Centauri, so that I can use those wonder movies and tech quote recordings).
To do this, of course, you'd have to disable the Space Race victory. Really, what I'm looking for in the long run would be to have the Space Race "winner" get some advantages, in the same way that the person who founds/leads the U.N. has advantages before the actual Diplomatic Victory. But for now I'd just disable it.
This assumes, of course, that you can simply add more techs to the end of the tree and have the window expand. If you can't, I'll just have to do what I did in Civ3, and squeeze the existing techs down a bit to make room.

Give it a little time, so that the 3D modelers can make the units we need, and you'll see plenty of mods like this.

 

[Mason11987]

There is no seperation, but when you reach certain points to the right of the beginning it begins new ages.

 

[jesterbone]

Plus, that's not really what he was asking.

[snip!]

Give it a little time, so that the 3D modelers can make the units we need, and you'll see plenty of mods like this.

Exactly. I meant "another age" in the context of timelines which don't currently exist in Civ4.

And awesome. Even though it'll never be a true sequel to SMAC/X (which I'm still hoping for... someday) I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the group comes up with. If I can contribute, I'll try to make some time for it.

I'm a full-time programmer (already know and love Python) with some amount of 3d modeling/rendering/animation skill... maybe that'll come in handy?

 

[Spatzimaus]

I'm a full-time programmer (already know and love Python) with some amount of 3d modeling/rendering/animation skill... maybe that'll come in handy?

Well, there's two schools of thought on this, that I've seen. The first is to make a true total conversion of SMAC, which is what the C4:AC people are planning over at Apolyton. For that, they'll need a LOT of programming help. It's the little things; in SMAC, rivers went through the middles of tiles, while in Civ games they run along edges. Formers could raise or lower terrain, with huge impacts on weather. The Fungus requires a lot of work, including the water fungus. Landmarks had bonuses. The Unit Workshop. Psychic Combat. All of these will require a lot of coding.

Then there are those of us going for a more integrated setup, with the AC techs simply acting as a framework for a Civ4 Future Era. That's what I'm going for, personally, and it doesn't require nearly as much coding effort. Plus, you can take advantage of all the improvements that have been made in the Civ series that weren't in SMAC: National Wonders, Unique Units, Culture, Resources, and so on. For this, there are still a few things that'd need to be coded, but not nearly as much; most things can be mimicked by tweaking or copying the existing rules. I'm just waiting for the various high-tech units to be created, which you know SOMEONE will do sooner or later.

 

[dalek master]

Exactly. I meant "another age" in the context of timelines which don't currently exist in Civ4.

OK I get it know. I'd love to see all your mods, and I wouldn't mind making an extra slice on the game myself. Maybe you could just delay the space-race victory, and have the techs for the peices a little later. I can't wait for some good futuristic units!

 

[jesterbone]

nice! checking out C4:AC now... both ideas are great, though! can't wait to see how it plays out, and hopefully find some time to chip in...

just can't get enough gaia...

 

[Spatzimaus]

Maybe you could just delay the space-race victory, and have the techs for the peices a little later.

That's one of the possibilities... just say that cryogenics doesn't work, so the "sleeper" ship isn't practical, and no one wants a "generation" ship, so the Alpha Centauri victory doesn't work until you invent faster-than-light travel. In my case, I'm going to try to replace it entirely with a "Transcendence" victory; same basic concept (build a series of improvements and mini-Wonders), different movie.

Either way, you have to change the other victories as well. The Diplomatic victory, for instance, never seems to take very long after the U.N. is built. The Culture victory would need to be re-assessed, too, with the required points increasing. The bigger problem, though, is with the Domination/Conquest victories. Seriously speaking, how often have you ever actually made it to the 2050 ending?

So, the real question is, if you DO add all these future techs, how do you ensure the players even make it that far? Outside of custom scenarios, I mean.

 

[dalek master]

That's one of the possibilities... just say that cryogenics doesn't work, so the "sleeper" ship isn't practical, and no one wants a "generation" ship, so the Alpha Centauri victory doesn't work until you invent faster-than-light travel. In my case, I'm going to try to replace it entirely with a "Transcendence" victory; same basic concept (build a series of improvements and mini-Wonders), different movie.

Either way, you have to change the other victories as well. The Diplomatic victory, for instance, never seems to take very long after the U.N. is built. The Culture victory would need to be re-assessed, too, with the required points increasing. The bigger problem, though, is with the Domination/Conquest victories. Seriously speaking, how often have you ever actually made it to the 2050 ending?

So, the real question is, if you DO add all these future techs, how do you ensure the players even make it that far? Outside of custom scenarios, I mean.

It could be worse.