New Beta Version - August 16th (8-16)

[Gazebo]

Hey all,

New beta inbound. Just a few tweaks.

General

• AI optimizations
• Big bugfix for AI growth and tile selection
• AI more aggressive towards wonders

Balance

• Promotions
  • Overrun - now 25% and 10AOE damage on kill
• Buildings
  • Oxford- now +50s (was +25s)
• Civs
  • Spain - now Gold on Found/Conquest (instead of Food)
• Happiness
  • Slightly eased unhappiness and empire needs modifiers
• Units
  • Pioneers and colonists cheaper than before
  • All ranged mounted units (except helicopter) have rough terrain penalty
• Difficulty
  • Fixed handicap base value in Deity not being scaled correctly (should make harder)

Online as of 1am CST.

Not savegame compatible.

Link: https://mega.nz/#!SJFnnIBS!jMuqRd7cLlUHejaskFaiEGeDQ9CgoX8KhSLAnBKYOuc

G

 

[Ziad]

Awesome.

But... why is Spain getting Carthage's bonus?

 

[Dolen]

because food can be counterproductive in some situations like when about to hit the global happiness threshold?

 

[Ziad]

It's just odd that two civs have the same bonus now.

 

[tu_79]

Love when it's just minor tweaks!

I'm afraid to ask, how's the harsh penalty for mounted? I wish it's not the same as the war chariot.

 

[ridjack]

> All ranged mounted units (except helicopter) have rough terrain penalty.

If this is the "War Chariot" rough terrain penalty, I'm... going to find that intensely frustrating, to stay mild.

Thank you for doing a release without sweeping changes! I know these are betas, but it's very much appreciated.

EDIT: Oh great, MEGA has a new interface. Sigh.

 

[pineappledan]

It's just odd that two civs have the same bonus now.

QFT. I've been having this argument for 4 weeks now. Spain also blocks religious pressure the same as the Celts, but civs overlapping in mechanics is apparently something only stupid busybodies care about.

@Ziad, you can download my civ tweaks in mod repository; I reworked Spain's UA so it's not stacked on Celts/Carthage/Assyria.

• Promotions
  • Overrun - now 25% and 10AOE damage on kill
• Happiness
  • Slightly eased unhappiness and empire needs modifiers
• Units
  • Pioneers and colonists cheaper than before
  • All ranged mounted units (except helicopter) have rough terrain penalty

This should be a big improvement. It's a big Mongol/Arabia/Hun nerf too, which I think is for the best. Thanks for the release.
The overrun change makes a very interesting decision for Sweden's Caroleans. Do you go down Drill, and maximize your March, or do you level Shock and try to maximize your Grenadier? I like this a lot.

 

[JNZS13]

The incredible and scarce art of thanksgiving... Thanks for this update!

AI more aggressive towards wonders

oh boy..let's hurry Stonehenge even more!

 

[Rekk]

It's just odd that two civs have the same bonus now.

Check out the Spain thread for more conversation about this.

 

[Zuizgond]

Sorry I didn't read all the posts on the Aug 5 version. What was the bug about AI growth?

 

[Gazebo]

QFT. I've been having this argument for 4 weeks now. Spain also blocks religious pressure the same as the Celts, but civs overlapping in mechanics is apparently something only stupid busybodies care about.

@Ziad, you can download my civ tweaks in mod repository; I reworked Spain's UA so it's not stacked on Celts/Carthage/Assyria.
This should be a big improvement. It's a big Mongol/Arabia/Hun nerf too, which I think is for the best. Thanks for the release.
The overrun change makes a very interesting decision for Sweden's Caroleans. Do you go down Drill, and maximize your March, or do you level Shock and try to maximize your Grenadier? I like this a lot.

Spain and Celts have totally different religious mechanics.

G

 

[Dolen]

Wait a minute, does building a settler now cost 1 pop?

 

[Txurce]

Wait a minute, does building a settler now cost 1 pop?

Yes, and it did last patch, too.

 

[Dolen]

Ok I missed that thanks.

 

[tu_79]

> All ranged mounted units (except helicopter) have rough terrain penalty.

If this is the "War Chariot" rough terrain penalty, I'm... going to find that intensely frustrating, to stay mild.

Thank you for doing a release without sweeping changes! I know these are betas, but it's very much appreciated.

EDIT: Oh great, MEGA has a new interface. Sigh.

I've checked, it's the same penalty.

I would like it to be double movement in flat, halved movement in harsh, with a base movement of 2. This way chariots could move through forest, just one tile, and still be able to shoot. In flat they would move at 4 steps per turn.
I know that's new code, but current penalty is awful.

 

[CrazyG]

What if skirmishers had the penalty in forest/jungle, but not on hills?

Maybe cavalry and light tanks could just lose the penalty entirely or gain extra movement. As dominant as skirmishers are, cavalry are pretty forgettable.

 

[pineappledan]

I enjoy the idea of light tanks having a rough terrain penalty. Those little WWI tanks got stuck a lot, so it makes sense.

I was just thinking about the Mandekalu cavalry, which gets overrun for free. Is this maybe too much of a buff? Songhai and their UU are already enough of a problem without making its free promotion 2.5x stronger, and adding AoEonKill to them.

 

[amateurgamer88]

I also think the change is a bit too much for ranged mounted units. I think people are mostly complaining about Skirmishers being too strong. I don't recall people complaining about Heavy Skirmisher, Cuirassier, Cavalry and Light Tanks. From Medieval Era onward, you have mounted units like Knights and Lancers that are pretty good counters to your ranged mounted units. By the time Industrial Era arrives, ranged units like Gatling Guns and Field Guns are far more dominant.

 

[Stalker0]

All,

We have a wonderful thread in the balance forum dedicated to the discussion of skirmishers, I would welcome everyone give comments about it there.

 

[tu_79]

I'm trying the reworked Venice, and I must say I'm loving it. Bye, bye, micromanagement, without the hasle of waiting for the AI to settle nearby so you can take your chance.

By the way, desert is not considered harsh terrain for the ranged mounted penalty. I guess it just stops when crossing features.