[MODULE] Populated Cottages

[odalrick]

Following an idea by Kraydak, this module tries to make Cottage-line improvements seem more like small population centres. They give a free specialist in nearby cities.

Installation

Run the file Populated Cottages 1.0.exe . Alternatively download the source manually from Google Code.

The module will probably work with Fall Further, but there will be no minimum distance between Cottages.

 

[odalrick]

How it works

Cottages and the upgrades improve with time regardless of worked status, they grow on their own. As an unintended consequence, Cottages can be built outside of borders. There is also a minimum distance of 1 between Cottages and they can't be built without Education any more.

The main reason to build Cottage-line improvements is the new building available at Education: Urbanization (I don't really like the name). Urbanization gives a free specialist for each Hamlet or better in range of the city.

Cottages and their ilk have a lower yields too:
Cottage -2-11
Hamlet -1-12
Village -1 12
Town 0 12

Enclaves give the same as before 114.

 

[odalrick]

Future Possibilities

Kuriotates can no longer cover their lands with Enclaves. I think this is slightly sad. I was thinking that Enclaves might spawn one unit that can settle in a tile, building a Cottage regardless of distance.

Bannor have a lot fewer Towns to convert to Crusaders during Crusade. Dunno what to do about that. One advantage is that the Cottages don't need to be worked to upgrade, so they can spam cottages outside city borders.

There isn't any good improvement anymore. I'm thinking making Plantations fulfil that niche, so that Cottage economies would become Plantation economies.

 

[Valkrionn]

Sounds interesting, will definitely test it out.

 

[squadbroken]

Urbanization (I don't really like the name)

"County seat", or something like that, perhaps?

 

[Celeborn]

Fiefdom?

 

[lordrune]

How does the AI handle this?

 

[Vermicious Knid]

How it works

Cottages and the upgrades improve with time regardless of worked status, they grow on their own. As an unintended consequence, Cottages can be built outside of borders. There is also a minimum distance of 1 between Cottages and they can't be built without Education any more.

The main reason to build Cottage-line improvements is the new building available at Education: Urbanization (I don't really like the name). Urbanization gives a free specialist for each Hamlet or better in range of the city.

Cottages and their ilk have a lower yields too:
Cottage -2-11
Hamlet -1-12
Village -1 12
Town 0 12

Enclaves give the same as before 114.

I like it...but I think you moved away from commerce needlessly.

An urbanized area is not going to be a net exporter of food...it will in fact generally require food imports. Normally we see this represented in Civ4 by one central urban tile surrounded by support tiles (farms, mines, workshops, etc...).

What you have here is a secondary urban tile...so what we should see is commerce and the need for other tiles to support it.

I'd start at -3 food and leave it there. No need to adjust hammers at all. Commerce I'd start at +2 and work up from there...these tiles should be at least as good as an aristofarm in terms of commerce.

Cottage +2, Hamlet +4, Village +6, Town +8.

The tiles will still not be ideal to work until they have time to develop, but they will still be useful in terms of commerce.

 

[Kraydak]

a) woot

b) I like the urbanization model. If unworked hamlets provide free specialists, it could conceivably cause problems but I'm not seeing it in practice.

c) Why not expand the urbanization model?
cottages: Marketplaces go from 3 gold to 1 or 2 gold+1 gold/cottage
Monument gains 1 culture/cottage.
hamlet: City Hall building gives free specialist/hamlet

Libraries, pagan temples, artisan's workshops, forges etc... are all buildings that could provide the village/town scaling, probably in paying off primarily in gold/commerce and culture.

Such a design would, of course lower the tile bonuses even more.

 

[Swinkscalibur]

Perhaps modify the Market building, boost the cost a bit, ensure the techs match up. Why make more buildings for no reason. The market is where town specialists would go to make a difference.

Also, I'm not sure you have to rework the plantation to be a commerce tile. What commerce have you lost? Sure, a town gave something like 3 commerce, you really haven't nerfed it much, plus you have added a specialist which can net you 3 beakers, 3 hammers, some gold, or a combination. Yes, you can't have as many, but if you are strategic in the placement of the cottages I don't think your commerce will suffer much, especially with inter city cottage spam and the free specialists you will get from that.

 

[odalrick]

How does the AI handle this?

Dunno. Badly, considering that is how it handles everything?

Seriously, finding out is part of the purpose of making the module.

I like it...but I think you moved away from commerce needlessly.

An urbanized area is not going to be a net exporter of food...it will in fact generally require food imports. Normally we see this represented in Civ4 by one central urban tile surrounded by support tiles (farms, mines, workshops, etc...).

I agree with your points, but the civ engine doesn't really support such changes.

-3 is no different from -2 unless you place it on a floodplain. It can't spill over to neighbouring tiles.

Any malus is pointless for Scions, who will love an extra six population per city more than their mothers. I suppose Scions could be blocked from the full benefit somehow. Either completely blocked or force them to use Awakened/Reborn to build cottages.

I want to make cottages a choice. Giving them more yield than they already have would make them always the best option.They still might be, but if I lower the yield any more I might as well make them give no yields.

a) woot

Woot!

c) Why not expand the urbanization model?
cottages: Marketplaces go from 3 gold to 1 or 2 gold+1 gold/cottage
Monument gains 1 culture/cottage.
hamlet: City Hall building gives free specialist/hamlet

Two reasons, the not every strategy should need cottages and limitations of the engine.

If it was possible, Cottages would give 1/6 of a free specialist scaling up to only Town giving a full specialist. As is, there is little reason to want Towns over Hamlets.

It might be possible to have cottages spawn a barbarian non-combat unit, like the treasure chest and give that unit city boosting promotions based on the development of the cottage. That way cottages could use yields as well and it could be more finely graded.

 

[odalrick]

Perhaps modify the Market building, boost the cost a bit, ensure the techs match up. Why make more buildings for no reason. The market is where town specialists would go to make a difference.

It was mostly so I can move the building easily during testing and don't need to modify all the unique buildings. I almost attached the effect to the Monument but the Market makes more sense.

Also, I'm not sure you have to rework the plantation to be a commerce tile.

Neither am I. The ides was sparked by an upcoming reorganization of improvements, so we will see what the next patch brings.

 

[Vermicious Knid]

I want to make cottages a choice. Giving them more yield than they already have would make them always the best option.They still might be, but if I lower the yield any more I might as well make them give no yields.

An improvement that provides no food and 2 commerce that requires spacing...isn't a no-brainer, even with the free specialist. Allowing the commerce to increase as it ages just makes it increasingly more attractive to actually work the tile.

They will be very good for the Scions, but that makes perfect sense to me. It isn't like Scions are running away with the game in any case.

 

[odalrick]

An improvement that provides no food and 2 commerce that requires spacing...isn't a no-brainer, even with the free specialist. Allowing the commerce to increase as it ages just makes it increasingly more attractive to actually work the tile.

Isn't it? What improvement would you replace it with and when? And if it could be worked for 8? It's not that different from a Gold Mine if you already have Gold. And a free specialist is worth about 3 + 1 happy.

I may relax the requirement to not have cottages be no-brainers when I've had time to test it out for a while. Maybe have them a bit more civ specific: make the barbaric civilizations not benefit, or have a higher tech requirement; replace cottages with tree settlements for the elves retaining the cottages everywhere feel; civ specific yields...

They will be very good for the Scions, but that makes perfect sense to me. It isn't like Scions are running away with the game in any case.

It's just that Scions are supposed to be low population. Adding six free specialists to each city will, I fear, ruin that aspect. Maybe push back the urbanization to when they can start building Reborn...

 

[Valkrionn]

It's just that Scions are supposed to be low population. Adding six free specialists to each city will, I fear, ruin that aspect. Maybe push back the urbanization to when they can start building Reborn...

Or give the Scions a unique cottage build that works differently, and disallow them from building the standard cottage... Adding a 'PromotionBuildBlock', or however I name it, that lets you say this is what they CAN"T build.

 

[odalrick]

Or give the Scions a unique cottage build that works differently, and disallow them from building the standard cottage... Adding a 'PromotionBuildBlock', or however I name it, that lets you say this is what they CAN"T build.

That'd work. I'd probably block them from building cottages altogether and let Awakened/Reborn spell two or three into existence. That would have been my first plan, but I was worried captured workers or slaves would ruin that. An auto-acquired promotion blocking cottaging will solve that.

 

[Valkrionn]

Honestly, the whole idea that captured workers/slaves will gain the civs unique build orders was completely unintended; Awesome, but I hadn't thought of it until after I was finished with the code.

 

[Vermicious Knid]

Isn't it? What improvement would you replace it with and when? And if it could be worked for 8? It's not that different from a Gold Mine if you already have Gold. And a free specialist is worth about 3 + 1 happy.

I may relax the requirement to not have cottages be no-brainers when I've had time to test it out for a while. Maybe have them a bit more civ specific: make the barbaric civilizations not benefit, or have a higher tech requirement; replace cottages with tree settlements for the elves retaining the cottages everywhere feel; civ specific yields...



It's just that Scions are supposed to be low population. Adding six free specialists to each city will, I fear, ruin that aspect. Maybe push back the urbanization to when they can start building Reborn...

I'd easily replace it with a Dwarven mine...or a farm + resource. Food>commerce.


EDIT: The spell idea for Scions works fine.

 

[smithroadtrip]

I've downloaded the module and will start playing with it now. Thank you for making it.

 

[odalrick]

I'd easily replace it with a Dwarven mine...or a farm + resource. Food>commerce.

Cottages do compete with Dwarven mines for real estate but if there was a farm resource there, why build a Cottage in the first place? I suppose you could accidentally build a Cottage on Mithril or something. It would still be more of a relocation than a replacement, though.

Ideally I want people to occasionally be tempted to replace Towns with normal, unlimited, non-resource improvements.