[Modmod] CB-Mod for RaR

[Don Senglar]

Starting army
When founding your first settlement, the King will provide you with a small army consisting of 2 Conquistadors (was: Veterans), 3 cannons and 5 light cannons.
This shall allow for protection of the first settlements or for a limited early war.

You are right, some free military units are required to protect the first settlements. However, I'm not sure that Conquistadors are the good variant for all civilations. Conquistadors are OK for Spain and Portugal, but how about other ones, e.g. Dutch, England, Sweden, Russia, etc.?

I don't comment the cannons because up to now they are working by the wrong way.

Cannons can capture the enemy cities (How it's possible? ),
instead of bombardment of the enemy army located near my city,
cannons can only attack my enemies as "a renaissance mobile artillery" (Why? ), etc.

Fortunately some improvements of the Cannons work are planned by Raystuttgart in the future.

The concept has several smaller parts / features.

* Rebuilding the way Cannons work (to feel more like Artillery and less like Tanks)

Next remark.

Healing
Healing units now costs food to display the drain on the population caused by wars and unfavourable events.
This food is taken from the city with the highest food storage at that point, but at least 10 food are left to avoid starvation. If no food (or not enough food) is available, healing will not take place or at least will be slowed down.

You are fully right, the healing must cost someting. However why do you use "food" for a healing instead of "medicaments"? I remember this yield in one of mods published earlier. To my opinion "medicaments" are much more effective remedy for healing than "food".

"The food is taken from the city with the highest food storage at that point".

It's OK if your wounded unit is located near or in this city, and as minimum inside your border.

However how your unit will heal if the city with the highest food storage is located too far from your wonded unit, e.g. on other continent?

Here probably a new emergency food (or better medicamets) supply unit would help?

Thus, your invasion army (on other continet or outside your border) will have:
- some army units (veterans, etc)
- some cannons
- emergency food (medicamets) supply unit

In this case your wounded veterans will heal by using food (or medicamets) from your supply unit.

 

[Commander Bello]

You are right, some free military units are required to protect the first settlements. However, I'm not sure that Conquistadors are the good variant for all civilations. Conquistadors are OK for Spain and Portugal, but how about other ones, e.g. Dutch, England, Sweden, Russia, etc.?

Point is that Conquistadors are a unit, not a profession. In the first version I had given the player 2 Veterans (profession), leading to the player making use of additional workers in the beginning and the AI being completely overcommited with using them in a meaningful way. It is sad but true that the AI is very close to being completely braindead.
You should see the Conquistador as a military unit, not necessarily as exactly a Conquistador whom we know from the real history (if so, one would have to question the Frigate as well, just to name a very obvious example).

I don't comment the cannons because up to now they are working by the wrong way.

Cannons can capture the enemy cities (How it's possible? ),
instead of bombardment of the enemy army located near my city,
cannons can only attack my enemies as "a renaissance mobile artillery" (Why? ), etc.

Fortunately some improvements of the Cannons work are planned by Raystuttgart in the future.

I agree with your assessment.
I do have ideas about changing cannons, too, but at the current moment they are just beyond the scope of my skills. Let's see what future may hold for us.

You are fully right, the healing must cost someting. However why do you use "food" for a healing instead of "medicaments"? I remember this yield in one of mods published earlier. To my opinion "medicaments" are much more effective remedy for healing than "food".

Well, under standard game speed rules a newly created colonist equals 200 food. Therefore, food is the yield being most obviously connected to any unit, regardless of its profession.
In real life, if you have to replace a dead soldier in the battle field, you have to move one of your population out of your settlements. This person then cannot reproduce nor do anything anymore regarding civilian activities.
In total, I think using food as measure to healing is just fine.

"The food is taken from the city with the highest food storage at that point".

It's OK if your wounded unit is located near or in this city, and as minimum inside your border.

However how your unit will heal if the city with the highest food storage is located too far from your wonded unit, e.g. on other continent?

Here probably a new emergency food (or better medicamets) supply unit would help?

Thus, your invasion army (on other continet or outside your border) will have:
- some army units (veterans, etc)
- some cannons
- emergency food (medicamets) supply unit

In this case your wounded veterans will heal by using food (or medicamets) from your supply unit.

Once again, one has to take into consideration some additional points:
1) The AI has to be enabled to make use of any new concept
(Actually, this is rarely the case. The AI "lives" just on the many, many exceptions and special rules created for it, which in my eyes makes the game more and more feeling "artificial".)
Adding a concept of "supply units" currently just won't work for the AI as it doesn't understand this concept at all. The AI isn't even capable of escorting weak units (ships, treasures, you name it).
2) Micromanagement
Although a certain degree of micromanagement is fun (and actually makes Colonization being Colonization), this is a thin line.
Too much micromanagement will just result in tedious "working" instead of "playing".
Look at the transports for example. Transporting goods in the right quantity at the right time between three or five cities of yours is fun. Having to do the same for a big colony of 20 cities becomes a nuisance.
In my eyes it would be just the same with supply trains.

Therefore I decided to have the support happen in some kind of "black box" or in other words, automatically, without having the player to manage this by hand.
I am not saying that the current implementation is perfect. But it is a first step, and more are planned to follow.

 

[Don Senglar]

Point is that Conquistadors are a unit, not a profession. In the first version I had given the player 2 Veterans (profession), leading to the player making use of additional workers in the beginning and the AI being completely overcommited with using them in a meaningful way. It is sad but true that the AI is very close to being completely braindead.
You should see the Conquistador as a military unit, not necessarily as exactly a Conquistador whom we know from the real history (if so, one would have to question the Frigate as well, just to name a very obvious example).

I understand very well your reasons to use Conquistadors instead of Veterans.

However there is a simple trick when you can use national units (IMHO).

Just compare UNIT_CONQUISTADOR

			<Type>[B]UNIT_CONQUISTADOR[/B]</Type>
			<Class>[B]UNITCLASS_CONQUISTADOR[/B]</Class>
			<UniqueNames/>
			<Special>NONE</Special>
			<Capture>NONE</Capture>
			<Combat>UNITCOMBAT_GUN</Combat>
			<Domain>DOMAIN_LAND</Domain>
			<DefaultUnitAI>UNITAI_OFFENSIVE</DefaultUnitAI>
			<DefaultProfession>[B]NONE[/B]</DefaultProfession>

and UNIT_VETERAN

			<Type>[B]UNIT_VETERAN[/B]</Type>
			<Class>[B]UNITCLASS_VETERAN[/B]</Class>
			<UniqueNames/>
			<Special>NONE</Special>
			<Capture>NONE</Capture>
			<Combat>NONE</Combat>
			<Domain>DOMAIN_LAND</Domain>
			<DefaultUnitAI>UNITAI_OFFENSIVE</DefaultUnitAI>
			<DefaultProfession>[B]PROFESSION_MUSKETMAN[/B]</DefaultProfession>

Add in CIV4UnitInfos.xml a new national unit UNIT_VETERAN_NATIONAL with

			<DefaultProfession>[B]NONE[/B]</DefaultProfession>

you could have a new national "Conquistador-type" protective unit with graphics from UNIT_VETERAN but without DefaultProfession.

Add in CIV4UnitClassInfos.xml

		<UnitClassInfo>
			<Type>UNITCLASS_VETERAN_[B]NATIONAL[/B]</Type>
			<Description>TXT_KEY_UNIT_VETERAN_[B]NATIONAL[/B]</Description>
			<DefaultUnit>UNIT_VETERAN_[B]NATIONAL[/B]</DefaultUnit>
		</UnitClassInfo>

Your new unit should work like Conquistador, but will have a typical national name and will looks as a national unit of your civilization.

Once again, one has to take into consideration some additional points:
1) The AI has to be enabled to make use of any new concept
(Actually, this is rarely the case. The AI "lives" just on the many, many exceptions and special rules created for it, which in my eyes makes the game more and more feeling "artificial".)
Adding a concept of "supply units" currently just won't work for the AI as it doesn't understand this concept at all. The AI isn't even capable of escorting weak units (ships, treasures, you name it).
2) Micromanagement
Although a certain degree of micromanagement is fun (and actually makes Colonization being Colonization), this is a thin line.
Too much micromanagement will just result in tedious "working" instead of "playing".
Look at the transports for example. Transporting goods in the right quantity at the right time between three or five cities of yours is fun. Having to do the same for a big colony of 20 cities becomes a nuisance.
In my eyes it would be just the same with supply trains.

Therefore I decided to have the support happen in some kind of "black box" or in other words, automatically, without having the player to manage this by hand.
I am not saying that the current implementation is perfect. But it is a first step, and more are planned to follow.

I understand the problems with AI. My point of view is very simple:

"AI is stupid but working. DO NOT TOUCH and DO NOT TRY to improve AI, especially if you add something new and complicate for AI. Any complex improvements should be only for you, as for a human player. AI should play the own simplified vanilla version."

 

[rob_robinson398]

I want to try this mod, Could not find download for 9006 Rar2.0_CBMO.7.046. I did find the attachment 9006 Rar2.0_CBMO.7.046Z which I downloaded and unzipped but it never completed opened up. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Commander Bello]

I want to try this mod, Could not find download for 9006 Rar2.0_CBMO.7.046. I did find the attachment 9006 Rar2.0_CBMO.7.046Z which I downloaded and unzipped but it never completed opened up. Any help will be appreciated.

Works absolutely fine for me using Firefox and 7-zip (Win7/x64)

 

[Commander Bello]

Updated posting #2 with description of a bug (not yet solved) and how to avoid it.

 

[Commander Bello]

Updated posting#4 with some plans of mine regarding crosses.

Ideas and comments are very welcome.

 

[Dunpeal]

Bello, I really miss your mod.
Any chance to make it 2.2 compatible?
Thank you again for an amazing mod.
Hehe I love coastal exploration hehe

 

[Commander Bello]

Bello, I really miss your mod.
Any chance to make it 2.2 compatible?
Thank you again for an amazing mod.
Hehe I love coastal exploration hehe

Thanks for your kind words.

Actually, I am (hopefully) doing the last steps prior to releasing a new version. It may still take a week or so, provided I don't run into yet unknown errors.

... which currently is the case. Arghhh!

 

[Dunpeal]

Please don't worry, more than happy to wait for your quality mid

 

[JosEPh_II]

Just wanted to say keep up the good work CB.

Waiting for your update too.

JosEPh

 

[eXPonent_123]

How to install this mod on Religion & Revolution 2.4 (rev 1033 - 01.04.15) ?

 

[Schmiddie]

This mod is not compatible with RaR 2.4 or later versions!