New Mod - Paths of Glory, choose your own path through the ancient world

[dugfromthearth]

Paths of Glory

This is a full blown mod of the dawn of civilization through the ancient world. But it is not a single path like the standard game. You choose your own way. Development should be organic - develop the technologies you want and need. Build the improvements you want and need. Develop and build the army you want and need.

There are no unique units. Instead each time you play you can take a unique path through the tech tree. Want archers? Research them. Want pike phalanx? Research it. But if you do not want archers or pike phalanxes do not waste your time.

There are 4 government types, and you get them early. Democracy is best for reducing corruption, stratocracy (rule by military) is best for large armies and producing veteran units cheaply, theocracy (rule by priests) is best for culture, plutocracy (rule by wealthy) is best for trade. Corruption and war weariness can be modified somewhat by changing government types but are mostly handled by building improvements in the cities that need them.

There are two major divisions: agricultural and hunting. Non-agricultural societies get access to better units fast, but agricultural societies get population much faster. Choose the one that is better for you - or develop agriculture when you want it (you can't go back).

This mod is all about choices. As you play there are typically many things to research and build. There are a lot of new resources that can dramatically change your cities and civilization, so each time you play, each new map changes the game.

You really can play a culture like the Mongols developing horse archers and raiding your enemies without ever bothering with bronze or ships (no Mongol civ though, sorry). Or you could play the Phoenecians and just establish trading cities scattered across the coasts of the world (coastal cities are dramatically improved with the right technologies). Or play the Celts and have vast numbers of hunters roaming the woods, spreading your territory and raiding where you will.

I hate to say something like "I expanded ancient ships" which might make it sound like a naval game. Or "I have detailed development of agriculture" which makes it sound like a farming game. This is an epic game of the ancient world. It has innumerable technologies (they would be countable if I researched mathematics, but it would be a large number), a vast array of improvements, and a horde of military units from infantry to ships to chariots to cavalry.

There is much more to the mod then I can describe here, and words just cannot do it justice. So download it and try for yourself (the zip file is only 23mb).

I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

After you download the zip file, open it into a folder named after it "Paths of Glory" then place the entire Paths of Glory folder into your Conquests folder. It contains a jpg with the tech tree for reference and a readme with some notes about the mod.

Download: http://www.civfanatics.net/downloads/civ3/modpack/Paths_of_Glory.zip

To fix some of the tech tree clutter I am going to use narrow tech borders.
I got the info from Isak (thanks Isak) on narrow tech borders. I will do an update with them, but if you want to add them yourself you can.

Get the file from this thread
In the Art/ folder create a folder called Advisors and put the pcx file in there. It does make the tech tree easier to read.


Edit: Third Patch of biq.
In response to comments I have made some changes to the biq. They are listed in a post further down the thread (since new users won't care about the fixes). You can dl this zip and put the biq file in your scenario folder to replace the one in the big zip file.

 

[didaskalia7]

This looks interesting, I will download tonight and give
it a try, thanks

 

[dugfromthearth]

Enjoy. Any feedback would be appreciated as well of course

 

[METALWOLF]

im downloading it now to give it a try ... sounds different

 

[Silica_Pathways]

 

[Duskfighter]

Looks really interesting. Downloading now, will play when done

 

[dugfromthearth]

Crash thanks for pointing that out. I'll have to go over it. I built every improvement just before I zipped it up. I'll have to see what happened.

Unfortunately I won't be able to get to it until tonight

Edit:

hmm I downloaded the zip file opened the pediaicons.txt and found:
#ICON_BLDG_Moneylender
SINGLE
4
art\civilopedia\icons\buildings\marketplaceindmodlarge.pcx
art\civilopedia\icons\buildings\marketplaceindmodsmall.pcx


I don't have civ on my computer at work so I can't verify whether or not the game loads. Is anyone else having trouble getting the game to load?

 

[Joneill]

Had that problem too, simply because the zip file only contained art and textfolders, and not the correct scenario folder (paths of glory, as set in the .biq file). Moving both directories into that folder solves the problem.

One question though: When I started the game, the tech tree looked really messed up, with way too many techs to properly display in the first age, but only two in second and third, and none in the last age. Is this intentional? If so, you should consider changing that, because its not really fun that way.

 

[dugfromthearth]

ah, see when I unzip I have winzip put it into a folder named after the zip file - Paths of Glory. So I just put that folder into the conquests folder.

As to the tech tree. I do include a jpg of a nicely arranged tech tree. The reason why the techs are almost all in the ancient era is to let you choose the ones you want to advance.

Civ is set up to have linear advancement. To get from one era to the next you need to get basically all of the techs. So to get feudalism you have to develop the wheel. I do not want a linear tech tree, so I have to do it differently. Unfortunately the tech tree screen is not very supportive of that.

 

[Rhye]

Looks interesting. I'll have a look

 

[Rhye]

a quick suggestion: use the thin tech borders.

 

[dugfromthearth]

never heard of thin tech borders but they sound like they would help.

Where can I find them? Or should I just search the forums?

 

[superisis]

cant you just make a lot of the techs not required (like free artistry)to advance to the next level?

 

[dugfromthearth]

yes, I make all of the techs not required for developing bronze working not be required to advance to the next level - which is 95% of the techs.

Any techs at advanced levels are linked by the structure of the game - they have the same requirements, whatever is required to get through the earlier age.

So I only put in the advanced ages techs that have the same requirements, that limits them to just bronze and iron working.

My tech tree is even more complex then it first appears, I cheat a lot. For instance Warrior Code gives you not only Axeman and Spearman, but also Armoured Axeman, Armoured Spearman, Armored Axeman and Armored Spearman. Armoured with a "u" is bronze armour, armor with out the "u" is iron. The Warrior Code tech gives you the ability to build the units, but they require copper/tin or iron - and those resources require bronze working or iron working. So I created a dependency on bronze and iron working for units developed by Warrior Code. I do that in several places - winery and olive press requires pottery as the tech, but grapes and olives only become available as resources with agriculture.

Believe me I've gone over my tech tree repeatedly. It is very engineered and I cannot find a better way to do it.

 

[Joneill]

Believe me I've gone over my tech tree repeatedly. It is very engineered and I cannot find a better way to do it.

And it sounds really interesting, but unfortnuately is a bit hard to grasp for the player ingame. The Techtree picture helps though .

 

[dugfromthearth]

Yeah, I just avoided going to the tech advisor and did my selections when I got a new tech for the next tech.

If someone can tell me how to do narrow tech borders so I can unclutter it up, that would be helpful.

 

[superisis]

I was thinking: with the "not required for advancing in ages" box flagged, you could then move some techs into the next ages, thus leaving the first age less cluttered. You'll have to rename the ages ofcourse, but I think that could be a good solution.

 

[Duskfighter]

You need to add an offensive unit available from the start ie. no prerequiste(sp?) tehcs. I was stuck for quite awhile not being able to move because of brbarians until I researched something which gave me an offensive unit (quite awhile)

 

[dugfromthearth]

What civ were you?

Hunting gives you an offensive unit, many civs start with it (anything militaristic). It was actually my intent not to start you off with a moveable unit - but if that is too irritating I can change it and put in a 1/1 something.

[I was thinking: with the "not required for advancing in ages" box flagged, you could then move some techs into the next ages, thus leaving the first age less cluttered.]

First, 95% of the techs are marked "not required for advancing in ages", the only ones that are not are wood working, stone working, metal working, bronze smelting, bronze working, iron smelting, and iron working. I can move stuff to a later age - but then it all becomes available for development. So it breaks the tech tree.

 

[Chimera]

I love the idea, but the tech tree is confusing in game. If it's possible take out the pictures of the units built and such for each tech; it makes it harder to tell what everything does, but easier to follow.