Now that the first round of updates to the Tech Tree is complete (at least in a testable format, if not yet on the SVN or in a beta release), I'm going to start posting the new content for the 14 new technologies that I added to the tree. I'm going to keep individual additions to separate posts to make them easier to comment on, unless they are totally linked (I have a pair of Wonder and Promotion, and another pair of Project and Building).
New Content for New Techs
- Thread starter Vokarya
- Start date
The one new improvement that I want to add is the Woodcutter, available at Woodworking. It's a very simple improvement: a flat +1 
, buildable on a Forest only. After Machinery, it upgrades to a Lumbermill.
I've got three reasons behind this particular improvement.
Woodcutter uses the Camp graphics, but scaled down to 60%. It's kind of hard to see them against the forest background.
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I decided against giving Woodcutter any kind of additional bonuses because Lumbermill starts out at a flat +1 and I don't ever want to punish a player for having a Woodcutter upgrade to a Lumbermill, which it will automatically do (it upgrades at the same speed a Cottage upgrades to a Hamlet -- I can zero it out if you think that would be better). I'm a big fan of adding new things in a way that prevents them from overloading the player, and having the Woodcutter disappear at the end of the Classical Era works for me.
, buildable on a Forest only. After Machinery, it upgrades to a Lumbermill. I've got three reasons behind this particular improvement.
- It gives Woodworking some content, and it's a different kind of content from anything else. Most of my other additions are going to be buildings or Wonders.
- I find early-game building times are very high, and I'd like to reduce it a little - but before we do any adjusting on costs, I'd like to try out the Woodcutter and the Carpenter building and see if that's enough.
- It gives you something to do with Forests in the early game other than burning them for other improvements.
Woodcutter uses the Camp graphics, but scaled down to 60%. It's kind of hard to see them against the forest background.
View attachment 348256
View attachment 348257
I decided against giving Woodcutter any kind of additional bonuses because Lumbermill starts out at a flat +1
and I don't ever want to punish a player for having a Woodcutter upgrade to a Lumbermill, which it will automatically do (it upgrades at the same speed a Cottage upgrades to a Hamlet -- I can zero it out if you think that would be better). I'm a big fan of adding new things in a way that prevents them from overloading the player, and having the Woodcutter disappear at the end of the Classical Era works for me.
JosEPh_II
TBS WarLord
Yes!
JosEPh
JosEPh
Combat Wombat
Warlord
I wouldn't mind seeing all the worked time based tile improvement upgrades removed for awhile to see how it changes game play having them instantly upgrade with the right tech.
Dancing Hoskuld
Deity
A small warning, they only upgrade if they are being worked. This is only a problem if the upgrade provides access to resources the unupgraded improvement doesn't.
It was a small problem in C2C with one improvement and copper - the earlier improvement did not give access to copper because it went obsolete long before copper was discovered. This did not help when the only copper plot had the early improvement but was not able to be worked - it required a military unit going out and removing the improvement and then a mine being built.
IPEX-731BA5DD06
Deity
'Prime timber' is a bonus awarded now at random. You have to meet certain conditions, to get this 'bonus', but once you do, it stays, till you cut down the forest.
45°38'N-13°47'E
Deity
Thank you for the warning DH; right now I prefer things stay as they are, at least until the next stable version of AND2, which should come when I fix that damned bug of AI using player's routes.
45°38'N-13°47'E
Deity
Correct. Moreover, IIRC there is a limit to the number of resources that can be in a mod like AND2. I know the problem of the limited number of resources has been solved in C2C, but I don't think that part of the code was imported in AND2 yet. I think I'd like to do it in the future but right now there are more urgent issues like that tedious bug of AI using player's routes.
I've been working out some of the new units that I proposed. I've got three of them done so far. The first is the Ram that comes available at Woodworking. It's a simple unit: Strength 2, Moves 1, can bombard defenses for 4% per turn, can't actually attack.
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The unit model is from C2C; I couldn't find a better ram that didn't have a frame on wheels, and I don't want to require The Wheel for this. I did discover that the f-scale was too small; it was set to 0.44, which gives a much smaller unit on the map, and I wound up with 0.7 instead. I also made a new button by creating the unit and zooming in as close as possible with the flying camera, then taking a screenshot.
For now, the Ram upgrades to the Catapult. Down the line, I would like to develop the Ram line into a trio: the Ram, the Battering Ram, and the Siege Ram. This would also necessitate a new Assyrian UU, as the Battering Ram is currently their UU. The Battering Ram would come available at Warfare, and the Siege Ram at Siege Warfare. The Siege Ram would be very, very good at battering down defenses (probably around 20% per turn) because it would be competing with the Trebuchet throughout the entire Medieval Era until upgrading to the Bombard. All Ram units would be bombard-only and could not attack.
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The unit model is from C2C; I couldn't find a better ram that didn't have a frame on wheels, and I don't want to require The Wheel for this. I did discover that the f-scale was too small; it was set to 0.44, which gives a much smaller unit on the map, and I wound up with 0.7 instead. I also made a new button by creating the unit and zooming in as close as possible with the flying camera, then taking a screenshot.
For now, the Ram upgrades to the Catapult. Down the line, I would like to develop the Ram line into a trio: the Ram, the Battering Ram, and the Siege Ram. This would also necessitate a new Assyrian UU, as the Battering Ram is currently their UU. The Battering Ram would come available at Warfare, and the Siege Ram at Siege Warfare. The Siege Ram would be very, very good at battering down defenses (probably around 20% per turn) because it would be competing with the Trebuchet throughout the entire Medieval Era until upgrading to the Bombard. All Ram units would be bombard-only and could not attack.
The Cog is one of the two new ships that comes available at Rudder. The Cog is a cargo ship, filling the gap between the Galley and the Fluyt. The Cog's major bonus is that is Strength 6 compared to the Galley's 3; it keeps the move 2 and cargo space 2 of the Galley.
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I got this model out of the Wolfshanze pack. I think it's very good.
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I got this model out of the Wolfshanze pack. I think it's very good.
The Galleass is the other new ship available at Rudder. This is the pure warship: Strength 8, moves 2, no cargo, no ocean until Astronomy.
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This is another model from the Wolfshanze pack. The Trireme and Siege Quinquireme will be able to upgrade to either the Galleass or the Caravel. I have a feeling the Strength might need to go a little higher; I don't know if it should be able to go toe-to-toe with the Sloop and Fluyt, both of which are Renaissance Era ships.
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This is another model from the Wolfshanze pack. The Trireme and Siege Quinquireme will be able to upgrade to either the Galleass or the Caravel. I have a feeling the Strength might need to go a little higher; I don't know if it should be able to go toe-to-toe with the Sloop and Fluyt, both of which are Renaissance Era ships.
JosEPh_II
TBS WarLord
This should be fun. 
JosEPh
JosEPh
This should be fun.
JosEPh
Yes, it should. Units are actually one of the harder things to make because the art for the model can get complicated. Buildings and Wonders can get by without models, but you need a model for a unit. I also have way more practice making buildings and wonders, so expect more of those pretty soon.
The Hacker is the last new unit for the new techs. This becomes available at Cyberwarfare and requires a Computer Network to train. The Hacker is an Espionage unit; it gains a free Improvise I promotion over the Agent.
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While I can't really make new unit models, I can recolor existing ones. This is a recolor of the modern Great Scientist -- I was able to take away the test tube and beaker (and Great Person glow) and change the coat to black. I wasn't able to remove the bow tie.
I know this isn't exactly how cyberwarfare is conducted, but I want something that meshes well with the existing espionage mechanics. Later on, maybe we can go back and do more; I just want something workable that keeps the new techs from being empty filler.
I really want to have the Agent upgrade to the Hacker (and then restore the Spy to Agent upgrade path); I'd like to try this out in the next development round, but if it doesn't work, we can cut that option out.
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While I can't really make new unit models, I can recolor existing ones. This is a recolor of the modern Great Scientist -- I was able to take away the test tube and beaker (and Great Person glow) and change the coat to black. I wasn't able to remove the bow tie.
I know this isn't exactly how cyberwarfare is conducted, but I want something that meshes well with the existing espionage mechanics. Later on, maybe we can go back and do more; I just want something workable that keeps the new techs from being empty filler.
I really want to have the Agent upgrade to the Hacker (and then restore the Spy to Agent upgrade path); I'd like to try this out in the next development round, but if it doesn't work, we can cut that option out.
45°38'N-13°47'E
Deity
Looks spectacular to me!
I've started now to work on the new buildings/Wonders for the new techs. The first is the Storyteller Circle. It's a quick source of happiness and culture (+1 , +1 
) but it only lasts until Writing. This is effectively an Early Building, although I don't actually think it's a good idea to allow it to be turned off; if you do, Storytelling will be an empty tech.
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The Storyteller Circle does not have a +
bonus as I don't want it infringing on Elder Council, and I think 3 separate bonuses from a building this early is too many. The idea is that Storyteller Circle quick-starts your culture along with Fire Pit.
This building does have a building model, although you aren't going to see it normally without turning that option on in the INI files. Building models are dialed down by default to only show defenses and Wonders, because if you show everything, you get a lot of crashes on big maps and/or in the late game due to memory problems. In this case, the building model is from Realism Invictus, and the button is from Wolfshanze.
, +1 ) but it only lasts until Writing. This is effectively an Early Building, although I don't actually think it's a good idea to allow it to be turned off; if you do, Storytelling will be an empty tech.View attachment 348790View attachment 348791
The Storyteller Circle does not have a +
bonus as I don't want it infringing on Elder Council, and I think 3 separate bonuses from a building this early is too many. The idea is that Storyteller Circle quick-starts your culture along with Fire Pit.This building does have a building model, although you aren't going to see it normally without turning that option on in the INI files. Building models are dialed down by default to only show defenses and Wonders, because if you show everything, you get a lot of crashes on big maps and/or in the late game due to memory problems. In this case, the building model is from Realism Invictus, and the button is from Wolfshanze.
