MODMOD - EEM - Empires Enhanced Mod

[Sneaks]

Empires Enhanced Mod
Current Status: In Development pre-Alpha

Empires Enhanced is a Modmod for VEM being spearheaded myself, but eventually will include Thal's project ideas "too large" for VEM's core goals.

What will be in EEM?

Short Term:

Building Additions
Building Additions is a concept designed to add more customization on a city to city basis, and give each city a deeper uniqueness.

Most basic buildings will be rebuilt in cost and have bonuses reduced. In return, there will be additions available to each to either bring them up to vanilla power levels or to take them in a new direction.

Example

Vanilla library:
75
.5 per Citizen

EEM Library:
60
.25 per Citizen

Research Library Addition
15
1 Scientist point

Public Library Addition
15
.25 per Citizen

As you can see, by building a public library, you in essence recreate the vanilla library as it exists now. However, perhaps you want to focus more on GP generation in this city. Maybe you plan on keeping the population low here, so per Citizen bonuses are weak. In this case, the research library will be the right choice.

In essence, the name of the game is choice.

Marketplace

Every bonus resource will now be able to be consumed by vendors in a Marketplace buildings section. Every resource will have an associated vendor that turns the bonus crop into extra yields at a cost of 1

Examples:
Baker - Costs 1 Wheat.
1 maintenance
2

Mason - Costs 1 Stone
1 maintenance
2

In total, every city could potentially gain 9 and 5 at a cost of 7GPT

Long Term:

2UU 1UB Civilizations
Self explanatory. Every civilization will be given 2 UUs and 1UB/UA. Will not be implemented until appropriate graphics are available.

City Ordinances
Unlocking certain techs, policies, and buildings will allow for the ability to adopt ordinances on a per-city basis. These might include Mandatory Conscription unlocked with the Barracks. Adopting the ordinance would increase in the city as well as increase military production time.

Religion - DLL
Ideally creating what amounts to a yield similar to culture that allows for something similar to religious policies and techs and a new victory condition.

Fully redeveloped diplomatic victory - DLL


What you can do to help:
Give ideas, especially in regards to building additions. I haven't even come up with concepts for additions for most buildings yet. Or, something I haven't thought of yet.


Coming soon...

 

[Txurce]

That's quite a project, Sneaks.

One question I had was whether the Marketplace bonuses are too cheap at roughly 0.5g per 1 food or hammer. Probably not early in the game, anyway.

I'll try to think of other buildings, but some obvious possibilities are are embassies and consulates, cultural exchanges, friendship organizations, and sister cities.

 

[mitsho]

Wow, big one...

On the top of my head, the only other System I would also like to see is stability, maybe replacing global happiness as the expansion check, also it's fun to just see how far you can go... Espionage is somehow included in the CSD-Modmod, so no need...

I guess you will be starting with the building additions first and then go on to the Marketplace? So there, every ressource is now a strategic one and can be consumed by the Specialist buildings? I do like it because it essentially takes away the locality of food. As for the numbers, they are up too testing.... What is the total list of Strategic Ressources then and will every one be available in the ancient era or do some unlock later (sugar?)? Will this imbalance starting positions? Can f.e. Fish markets be built everywhere or do they at least need Rivers? (or can you make this steps up unlocked by technology?

Generally, before I come to the Additional Buildings, do you have a Grand Strategy for the end? Because the Religion Social Policy System (which I like) will change the additional buildings regarding the culture-line (Temple-Monastery-Museum versus Colloseum-Theater)? Will you incorporate the Happiness-specialist if Thal decides for it?

City Ordinances are "Local Civics", correct? So you can call in the Militia to give the city more defense, but it will reduce production? Or you can declare the City a "Reichstadt" (City of the Empire) freed from taxes which will increase Gold from luxury ressources used in the city, but increase unhappiness or decrease stability? Cool! Are they exclusive or can they exist side by side? (The clusters that I would see are Administration (local Parliament,...), Security (Police, Local Courts, Militia), Economy (City Rights) and Social (Guilds, Charity).

As for Additional Buildings: Market-Guild Hall; Credit Institute-Bank; Barracks-Archery Range-Stable; Keep-Castle; Sanctuary-Temple, ....

 

[zarakand]

Great idea! I'm really looking forward to this mod when its complete.

In that vain, I think I'd like to see more national projects. Historically a lot of nations have embarked on some kind of national project that enabled them to do various things (expand, explore, etc.). In CiV we only really have the Apollo project and the Manhattan Project. I think there should be projects in the early parts of the game as well.

For example, ancient, classical, and medieval era could be covered by a religious type project enabling you to build religious buildings (based on the civilization we can call them temples, mosques, churches, etc.) to increase happiness or build religious shock troops (troops like the lancer, high attack value low defense value).

In the Renaissance, there can be an exploration/colonization style project enabling super settlers (cost high hammers but build cities with 2-4 population and with granary and aqueduct).

 

[SgtCiv]

Great project idea Sneaks!!! I will be looking for some ideas for the project. I like some of the already stated ideas. To ask one of mine own, could it be possible for a worker to add a resource to a hex. What I mean is - a farmer, cattle, sheep, horse rancher and or plantation operator move to the city and build their respective resource there. It's not unreasonable for this to relate to RL, just not sure if it is possible with current MODDING abilities.

 

[Sneaks]

That's quite a project, Sneaks.

One question I had was whether the Marketplace bonuses are too cheap at roughly 0.5g per 1 food or hammer. Probably not early in the game, anyway.

I'll try to think of other buildings, but some obvious possibilities are are embassies and consulates, cultural exchanges, friendship organizations, and sister cities.

I want them to be cheap, as the true benefit of marketplaces will be more in the capacity of later cities to grow very fast early. For the relatively expensive GPT, you can afford to drop that desert city down and have it flourish, or actually build things in realistic times in that grassland city.

However, as everything else in this project, it will be totally alterable in value depending on what people think works.

I plan on making each building available the moment you can connect that tech to the empire. The Market buildings will lose significant value at their only 2 yields if they come much later.

I love the ideas about projects, as well.

I will try to answer more questions posted in a bit.

ETA on the initial alpha with examples of building specialists (probably only available in a couple building lines) and the marketplace should be next week.

 

[Sneaks]

Great project idea Sneaks!!! I will be looking for some ideas for the project. I like some of the already stated ideas. To ask one of mine own, could it be possible for a worker to add a resource to a hex. What I mean is - a farmer, cattle, sheep, horse rancher and or plantation operator move to the city and build their respective resource there. It's not unreasonable for this to relate to RL, just not sure if it is possible with current MODDING abilities.

I don't know about the capacity to do this one, or how much I want to. I ideally would like to avoid situations that undermine the value of city location.

To answer some earlier questions:

City ordinances more or less will amount to local civics, yes. Marketplace buildings will be available everywhere once a resource is hooked up somewhere in your empire. This means you can use that newly acquired banana tile to grow your capital larger or help push along that new city.

I will probably include a happiness specialist if it becomes part of VEM, as this is a MODMOD, meant to grow off of what VEM initially accomplishes. As for religious grand strategies, honestly have not gotten too far down that rabbit hole yet.

 

[SgtCiv]

Alright here is some early game ideas:

Monument:
Statue = +1

Walls:
Watch Towers = +1 city sight range

Colosseum:
Chariot Races = +1 or exp. for mounted units
Gladiator Games = +1 or exp. for melee units

Smithy:
Blacksmith = some kind of bonus for units
Farrier = some kind of for mounted units

Castle:
Ringwork = Auto damage similiar to forts or citadels
Motte-and-Bailey = some kind of city defence bonus

Mint:
Jewelyer = +1

Blast Furance:
Seige Foundry = some kind seige exp. promotion

Just some ideas, thanks!!!

 

[gunnergoz]

Some others with a military bent:

Mountaineering school: build in city hex next to a mountain, train mountaineering troops (no movement penalty for hills, able to move thru mountains, though perhaps slowly)

Paratroop school/airfield: build it in a city and project troops several hexes away from city with the school

Marine base: build it on a coast square, train amphibious troops (no penalty for attacks across beaches)

Ranger school: build it on a jungle hex, train jungle rangers (no movement or combat penalty in jungle)

Desert warfare center: build on desert, train troops with no movement or combat penalty in desert terrain.

Of course, these bonuses would only apply to units built at those cities having these particular improvements, not just everywhere through the empire.

 

[Thalassicus]

I'm fully supporting this and other modmods. Sneak's project is exploring ideas that were "too far from vanilla" for the base mod. Creative development is entirely in his hands, with me just providing occasional background on how the code is set up in the Unofficial Patch and Vanilla Enhanced (UPAVE? ).

 

[Sneaks]

A preview of things to come

 

[Txurce]

A preview of things to come

I'm looking forward to it!

 

[mitsho]

Seeing this and thinking of how many buildings will have to come, is it possible to simplify the UI for the City View a bit? like shrink the symbols here so more buildings fit on the screen?

Something like in this post here. Probably not possible though ;-)

 

[albie_123]

It may not be possible, but the UI described in the post linked above is brilliant.

 

[sukritact]

Sneaks, would you like me to help with the graphics? I'd be glad to help!

 

[Sneaks]

Seeing this and thinking of how many buildings will have to come, is it possible to simplify the UI for the City View a bit? like shrink the symbols here so more buildings fit on the screen?

Something like in this post here. Probably not possible though ;-)

The rework of the focus panel is certainly something I will attempt to do. The manual specialist control box, however, is something I am really divided over whether to implement. It will in actuality take up more room in the side panel than the current iteration. However, I cannot deny the utility it would offer. Once I get more content squared away, I'll look into it.

Sukritact, I would love your help. You're an icon wizard.

 

[sukritact]

In that case, if you have any icons you'd like me to make just pm me and i'll get started.

 

[Sneaks]

With the addition of Sukritact to the team, this mod is going to be pretty gorgeous with graphics. The alpha will come out towards the end of this week, and focus on the Building Additions of the Science building line and Marketplace.

One thing I am yet to really figure out how to fix is not letting building additions let the Korea trait run wild.

 

[Thalassicus]

It will in actuality take up more room in the side panel than the current iteration.

I think vodka's concept here is to shift all buildings to the "Buildings" panel, so all that's shown is the specialist panel quoted above. With the buildings minimized it would take up less space (and certainly allow faster specialist reassignment).

 

[zarakand]

I think vodka's concept here is to shift all buildings to the "Buildings" panel, so all that's shown is the specialist panel quoted above. With the buildings minimized it would take up less space (and certainly allow faster specialist reassignment).

I love this, it's so much more organized.