Module: Fixing Lizard Art

[Milaga]

I was trying out the 1.3 Mazatl tonight. As soon as I captured my first fort, surprise, there was a human (Kuriotates even) acting as fort commander. This will not do. I checked through everything else and found a couple other units that are missing art. I didn't feel like playing another game with humans in my jungle so I went and fixed them all.

These are the models I used:

• Great Commander - Wyvern Guardian
• Fort Commander - Javelin
• Arquebus - Javelin
• Paladin - Champion
• Paramander - Swordsman
• War Chariot - Knight
• Chariot - Horseman
• Ratha - Horseman

Okay, so it's not really fixed, but it's better than before. The Arquebus really needs a new model. And I honestly think the Mazatl and Cualli should be blocked from making Chariots of any kind. Chariots just don't work in the jungle.

Just unzip the file into your NormalModules directory (it will create it's own directory) and you're all set. Once I get around to playing the Cualli again I'll fix up their art too.

EDIT: I added the artdefines for Royal Guard and Druids. I also added all the corresponding art for the Cualli. For more about the UU Commanders check out this post further down the thread.

EDIT: I forgot to update this post. There is a new version of LizardUUCommanders in this post.

EDIT: No there isn't, newest versions of these two modules will be in this post.

 

[Divvu]

Sweet! Thank you, this was annoying for me, too...

(also, yes, jungle chariots are bit wierd...)

 

[Valkrionn]

I was trying out the 1.3 Mazatl tonight. As soon as I captured my first fort, surprise, there was a human (Kuriotates even) acting as fort commander. This will not do. I checked through everything else and found a couple other units that are missing art. I didn't feel like playing another game with humans in my jungle so I went and fixed them all.

These are the models I used:

• Great Commander - Wyvern Guardian
• Fort Commander - Javelin
• Arquebus - Javelin
• Paladin - Champion
• Paramander - Swordsman
• War Chariot - Knight
• Chariot - Horseman
• Ratha - Horseman

Okay, so it's not really fixed, but it's better than before. The Arquebus really needs a new model. And I honestly think the Mazatl and Cualli should be blocked from making Chariots of any kind. Chariots just don't work in the jungle.

Just unzip the file into your NormalModules directory (it will create it's own directory) and you're all set. Once I get around to playing the Cualli again I'll fix up their art too.

I'll merge some of this (btw, chariots as a whole will be gone in 1.5, will probably just block them for the Mazatl. Only exception is the Ratha, which is religious).

One thing you could do if you felt like it is a unique Fort Commander....

 

[Milaga]

I created new units for these unitclasses because I thought they all deserve their own art and buttons eventually. And I increased the size of the commander and fort commander so the model didn't get lost inside a citadel. But all these changes could really be done in CIV4UnitArtStyleTypeInfos.xml. I even left the buttons the default button because I like the original buttons best.

Every single lizardman button is a screenshot of a green lizardman in front of a green jungle. There is no variance in color or any contrast at all. When shrunk to a list of units at the bottom of my 1920x1200 screen, they all look almost exactly the same. Telling adepts from mages and warriors from swordsmen apart by icon is impossible.

(btw, chariots as a whole will be gone in 1.5, will probably just block them for the Mazatl. Only exception is the Ratha, which is religious).

Chariots always struck me as something left over from Vanilla Civ. Yeah, apart from the Ratha, I really don't see any Civ using Chariots as a regular weapon of war. Ratha would be a lot cooler if they were more unique.

One thing you could do if you felt like it is a unique Fort Commander....

Funny you should say that. I actually made unique versions of the fort and great commanders: The Canopy Guard and the Canopy Walker. I didn't include them because they involved changes in CIV4CivilizationInfos.xml and broke game saves. I'll upload a save breaking version tomorrow night, after I get a chance to test them with the Cualli.

 

[legowarrior]

Ha, I've mention the Chariots in Jungle thing several weeks ago, and I'm sure I'm not the first. Also, royal guards are also normal humans, as are the paladins.

 

[Milaga]

Ha, I've mention the Chariots in Jungle thing several weeks ago, and I'm sure I'm not the first. Also, royal guards are also normal humans, as are the paladins.

Royal Guards! Figures I forgot one (since I never run Aristocracy). I'll add them when I do the Cualli.

Already fixed the Paladins.

 

[Opera]

Nice
I like seeing modules popping up

 

[Valkrionn]

I created new units for these unitclasses because I thought they all deserve their own art and buttons eventually. And I increased the size of the commander and fort commander so the model didn't get lost inside a citadel. But all these changes could really be done in CIV4UnitArtStyleTypeInfos.xml. I even left the buttons the default button because I like the original buttons best.

Every single lizardman button is a screenshot of a green lizardman in front of a green jungle. There is no variance in color or any contrast at all. When shrunk to a list of units at the bottom of my 1920x1200 screen, they all look almost exactly the same. Telling adepts from mages and warriors from swordsmen apart by icon is impossible.

I actually assumed you did use unitartstyles.

Yeah... We need button art badly. We need all art badly.

Chariots always struck me as something left over from Vanilla Civ. Yeah, apart from the Ratha, I really don't see any Civ using Chariots as a regular weapon of war. Ratha would be a lot cooler if they were more unique.

Agreed. And they were removed from FfH already.

Funny you should say that. I actually made unique versions of the fort and great commanders: The Canopy Guard and the Canopy Walker. I didn't include them because they involved changes in CIV4CivilizationInfos.xml and broke game saves. I'll upload a save breaking version tomorrow night, after I get a chance to test them with the Cualli.

Hmm... I have issues with both the Mazatl and Cualli sharing those units, as they are quite different. Will wait and see, though.

 

[KrugSmash]

Rather than bumping the older thread I'll ask here; What's the status of the new lizard models that were brought up a few weeks ago in this thread? http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=369922

Are they still works in progress, or did the artist fizzle out? The early words on it sounded exciting but I haven't heard anymore from it.

 

[Milaga]

Nice
I like seeing modules popping up

I had never made a module before, I just figured I'd try it since RiFE now has that neat launcher that helps people manage them. I added some XML files to a module and it worked! It was incredibly intuitive.

Hmm... I have issues with both the Mazatl and Cualli sharing those units, as they are quite different. Will wait and see, though.

I need to make sure the art works, which is the point of the module. But I never said they'd be the same.

 

[Valkrionn]

Rather than bumping the older thread I'll ask here; What's the status of the new lizard models that were brought up a few weeks ago in this thread? http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=369922

Are they still works in progress, or did the artist fizzle out? The early words on it sounded exciting but I haven't heard anymore from it.

Waiting to be animated, he had a few non-civ projects that had to come first for a bit.

Spoiler :

I had never made a module before, I just figured I'd try it since RiFE now has that neat launcher that helps people manage them. I added some XML files to a module and it worked! It was incredibly intuitive.



I need to make sure the art works, which is the point of the module. But I never said they'd be the same.

Ah, I just assumed they'd be the same as I thought this was for both civs, and you listed two names for two units.

And yes, modules are quite easy. The only real issue is those files which don't work well, which we need to fix; Namely, events.

 

[Milaga]

I need to make sure the art works, which is the point of the module. But I never said they'd be the same.

Ah, I just assumed they'd be the same as I thought this was for both civs, and you listed two names for two units.

Okay, I guess I did sort of say they were the same. And I did plan on naming them the same since they were similar but I guess that will be confusing in the Rifepedia. I'll have to think of different names for the Cualli.

 

[Opera]

I had never made a module before, I just figured I'd try it since RiFE now has that neat launcher that helps people manage them. I added some XML files to a module and it worked! It was incredibly intuitive.

Yeah, modules really are awesome. We even use them for developping stuff quickly without messing with the core files

 

[Milaga]

Okay, I've put together my idea for the UU Great Commanders and Fort Commanders for the two Lizard civs. The link to the module will be in the first post. I've tested to make sure they work but have not playtested it yet. It could be quite imbalanced. The invisible commander is of course a problem. It should be visible while creating a fort but I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

Mazatl

Great Commander: Canopy Walker
Fort Commander: Canopy Defender

Both are Canopy Walkers. They are adept at climbing the trees and moving through the jungle without touching the ground. This gives them a huge sight advantage and also a place to retreat to that will be out of reach of most foes. The commander, imparts these abilities on it's minions. These are the bonuses Canopy Walking provides when within the jungle:

• +2 visibility
• 1 first strike
• 50% collateral damage reduction
• 20% withdrawal
• double fortification bonus
• see hidden animals

Cualli

Great Commander: Canopy Stalker
Fort Commander: Canopy Tyrant

Like their cousins, the Cualli commander is also able to lead it's minions up into the trees. However, rather than using the trees for scouting and escape, they use them to ambush their enemies. The Cualli commander and minions are invisible in the jungle. They also have an additional 1-2 first strikes and 10% withdrawal. After combat the Cualli will remain visible for a turn.

The Canopy Tyrant uses the vantage point of the trees to plan traps for advancing enemies. Nets drop from the trees or lightly covered pits give way, capturing attackers. This translates into 2-4 additional first strikes and a 20% chance of creating a slave after combat. Only in the jungle, however.

The Canopy Defender, Stalker and Tyrant are all Junglebound. This means they are very out of their element outside of the jungle and suffer the following penalties:

• -1 first strikes
• -1 first strike chances
• -5% healing
• no defensive bonuses

Both the Cualli and the Mazatl commanders have their command range increased by 2 within the jungle.

Also in this module, chariots of all kinds have been removed for both civs.

Feedback welcome.

 

[Valkrionn]

I like the look of those units.

 

[Milaga]

I decided to make the Canopy Walker Junglebound and add a few more penalties to it after I uploaded the module. In my game, my level 8 Canopy Walker was run down by a Mammoth. That's what I get for straying out of the Jungle. Unfortunately now that Mammoth is somehow S14 +160% 3-6 first strikes and seems to resist every single spell. Right now Coatlynn only has a 2% chance of killing it. Eek.

The fort commanders are suitably weak outside the jungle. I lost one to a boar and one to a summoned skeleton. Good.

After the game I made some tweaks. I made it so the two commanders need to be in the jungle to grant their minons anything, but I also gave them a high withdrawal in the jungle. This should make it more desirable to take advantage of their +2 command range by positioning them for best effect but without worrying about leaving them undefended.

I took some of the bonuses out of Canopy Vision and split them among two other promotions depending on what the state religion is. Omorr grants the ability to See Invisible. Kalshekk eliminates the maintenance for the unit.

Tonight I'll play the Cualli and see how these units work out for them.

 

[Milaga]

I tried to test these units but I'm having a hard time playing as the Cualli. they build a lot slower than the Mazatl, plus they are unable to remove swamps. Granted, swamps are good for these guys. They need a lot of food to quickly build back pop after saccing for production. But my last game I was only able to build one improvement in my BFC before it was swamped under.

I see an interesting bit of flavor if the Cualli are not improvement builders. Of course, they should be able to build improvements on resources. But it might be unusual if they get more benefit from allowing the jungle to claim a tile than from building anything on it.

Speaking of flavor, I saw there was a bit of improvement on these units.

It is not implemented in the Module, but the way I see it, these Fort Commanders should not be possible outside of the jungle.Their fort should not upgrade and cannot be captured. Mazatl and Cualli should also not be able to assign fort commanders to non-lizard forts.

Changes for v1.1

• Both great commanders now only grant their special promotion to minions while the commander is within a Jungle. These commanders must lead from the field, not the safety of a city.
• Canopy Walker now starts with Junglebound.
• Canopy Walker now gains 30% withdrawal in the jungle. This should result in a 70% rate (+20% Canopy Vision, +10% Natural Habitat, +10% Homeland) for Hianthrogh.
• Canopy Vision no longer provides +2 perception, double fortification bonuses.
• Canopy Vision provides +2 perception, see invisible with Empyrean state religion.
• Canopy Vision provides double fortification bonuses, no unit maintenance cost with Runes of Kilmorph state religion.
• Canopy Defender renamed to Canopy Guard.
• Canopy Stalker now has 2 less defensive strength but +2 poison combat.
• Canopy Stalker now gains 40% withdrawal in the jungle. This should result in a 70% rate (+20% Canopy Stealth, +10% Natural Habitat) or 50% when Canopy Stealth has dropped.
• Canopy Stealth withdrawal rate increased from 10% to 20%.
• Canopy Stealth now grants immunity to defensive strikes.
• When Canopy Stealth drops (either from combat or leaving the jungle) the unit will be vulnerable to first strikes for 1 turn even if they are normally immune (for example, from Blur).
• Canopy Tyrant no longer receives double defensive bonuses.
• Canopy Tyrant range combat reduced from 6 to 5.
• Canopy Tyrant no longer automatically gains +10% range combat limit when increasing Fort Commander levels. Instead they gain +1 collateral damage target at each commander level and an additional +1 target and +10% collateral damage limit at Fort Commander III.
• Canopy Tyrant additional first strikes while in the jungle reduced from 2-4 to 1-2.
• Canopy Tyrant now gains +1 poison combat while in the jungle.
• Unfamiliar Terrain now grants -2 first strikes instead of -1 but there is no penalty for first strike chances.
• Unfamiliar Terrain now also grants -1 range combat, -10% range damage limit and -1 move.
• Canopy Vision and Canopy Stealth now -25% vs. Flying units. The jungle does not provide much cover from the air if you are in the tops of the trees.

EDIT: Attachment removed. See the first post for the most recent modules.

 

[Wauthan]

Thanks Milaga. You truly are anthropomorphic lizards best friend.

 

[Milaga]

First post updated. Minor changes, mostly related to the new launcher.

Note that if you are using NoMoreTerraforming and LizardUUCommanders, NMT must be loaded before LUC.

Suggested loading for all my modules is:

1st
NoMoreTerraforming
NoLinkedBuilds

2nd
GWS Buildings

3rd
GWS Guns
GWS Steel
GWS Experimental

4th
LessDangerousAnimals
LizardArtFix
LizardUUCommanders

 

[Valkrionn]

Honestly, at this point I think you should make a central thread, with links to all your other modules and containing the recommended load order.