New Version - May 22nd (5/22)

[Gazebo]

Hey all,

New version inbound. I've been running a lot of debug tests over the past few months (in-between the smaller updates) and I've gotten some good balancing work done. Interestingly, many of the issues I've tackled are things that I'm starting to see pop up on the forums, so it seems that we're all generally moving in the same direction on some balance concerns. As always, thanks for your feedback, it has been essential to some of the changes I've made.

Here's the changelog:

-CP-
Bugfixes:

• Addressed issue with air deployment of units in some situations
• Fixed an overaluation bug for AI for strategic resources in certain policy conditions
• Fixed an overvaluation issue for luxury resources in some situations
• General bugfixes and requests from github completed

AI:

• Worked on AI proclivity to attack when it is advantageous to their UU situation - should help underperforming AI with mid-game UU synergies
• Worked on AI policy selection some more
• Some general bugfixes and improvements
• More tactical AI work from ilteroi
• Fixed DOW->Passivity issues in some situations
• (CBO) refactored some AI personality elements to better suit new/changed elements since last pass in 2016

-CBO-

• Policies
  • Piety:
    • Reduced Science and Faith yields on Monastery to 1 (were 2)
  • Statecraft:
    • Opener now 30% from quests (Was 25%)
    • Informants - removed +10 Culture on Printing Press; added: +2 Paper for every Alliance you maintain.
    • Buffed finisher- reduced time for GP spawn, increased impact of additional CS alliances on spawn timer (more allies = more GPs)
  • Aesthetics
    • Reduced Science and Culture on buildings and GP improvements by 1 (now 2, where they were 3)
  • Rationalism:
    • Reduced tech cost buff to 3% (was 5%), reduced Observatory Scientist slots back to 1
• Leaders
  • Shoshone:
    • All recon units can choose goody huts; comanche rider returns in lieu of Pathfinder
      • Pros and cons. Weaker scouts early on, but all scouts get to do goody picking. So that's nice. Also the Comanche Rider is a solid UU.
  • Arabia:
    • UU: removed resource requirement, added Splash Damage II as free promotion. RCS now 2 points higher than replacement, CS now same.
    • UA: now +1 for science (Was +2)
      • Arabia could overperform in the right hands, and a buff to the camel archer was needed. So it was give-and-take.
  • Aztecs:
    • Reduced faith/gold on kills from 150% of CS to 100% of CS
    • Floating gardens now +2 Food/Production per 5 citizens (was +1 per 2) - reduced from 50 to 40
      • Aztecs and Mongols are the big winners for the AI. Almost always dominate. This will temper the snowball.
  • Assyria:
    • Great Library bonus now +3 science to all libraries (was +2)
      • Assyria should fight Babylon and the Maya for best early science civ. This will help some.
  • France:
    • UA modified, now renamed 'Esprit de Corps' - removed Golden Age element, added new element: +10% Damage versus Units and Cities for every attack against them during a turn.
      • Napoleon was feared for his precision and desire to wholly rout armies quickly - this UA element should help France rapidly eliminate units it focuses on. The bonus resets every turn, so maximize hits on single targets to bring them down quickly.(Esprit de Corps promotion renamed to Withering Fire.)
  • Inca:
    • Removed Gold from Mountains on UA
      • Mountains OP.
  • Japan:
    • Removed GA/GG spawn = GWAM element - replaced with: 'When Units promote, gain Culture and Science based on their current Level.'
    • Removed 'level up yields' element from the Dojo, but added in +1 Culture/Science base.
      • Why? Japan has had a hard time getting started. This change focuses Japan in on building up highly-trained units. The GG/GA/GW element had limited connections to the rest of their UA (and kind of came off as a poor man's China/Korea hybrid)
  • Mongols:
    • Added 50 turn (scaling with gamespeed) hard cooldown on CS annexation.
      • Will slow annexation for AI and players alike. Tame the snowball.
  • Netherlands:
    • Now +4/+6 from UA (was +4/+4)
      • More Gold for William allows him to challenge Dido for best Commerce civ.
  • Siam:
    • UA added- Influence when you meet a CS starts at 45
      • Siam has a slow start, especially considering the opportunity costs of CSD diplo units - this should help make the first 100 turns meaningful for your UA
    • Removed resource requirement for UU
• Units:
  • Reduced upgrade costs for later eras slightly
  • Scout now a classical unit - unlocks at Sailing, CS 10
  • Pathfinder now the opening ancient era scout for all civs - CS 5
  • All Recon units after Pathfinder start with +1 vision compared to normal units.
• Promotions:
  • Return of siege unit promotion lines for siege units. Called Siege (I-III) and Field (I-III)
    • Adjusted some exclusivity elements here - generally, Siege line good at sieging, Field line good at unit damage.
    • Old Siege promotion now City Assault
  • Scouts get some new goodies:
    • Reconaissance XP no longer capped.
    • New promotion (no requirements) - Treasure Hunter (+25% yields from ancient ruins)
    • New promotion with Trailblazers I - Spotters (+5XP for every turn that you end in enemy territory)
    • New promotion with Survivalism I - Scavengers (+5XP when you pillage a tile)

Not savegame compatible. Online as of 9:30pm EST.

Link: https://mega.nz/#!mANEVZBC!6d7it8lL3w0cgLrePtoKWWkIgBxk4HauGHt-TOm-WUE

Cheers,
Gazebo

 

[ElliotS]

Awesome! This patch is legit amazing! I have some concerns, but they're minor and I'll hold off on mentioning them until I test this.

 

[PapaRockett]

• Scout now a classical unit - unlocks at Sailing, CS 10
• Pathfinder now the opening ancient era scout for all civs - CS 5

Does this mean the human player can still get a pathfinder at ancient era? If so, what's different to it from a scout? Awesome changes otherwise. I was just noticing how potent Floating Gardens is, myself

 

[phantomaxl1207]

A great Patch coming out of the Blue. You just made my day.

 

[Enginseer]

Yikes that Siam might make Unique City-States OP!

 

[kawyua]

wait did you also take away the hill movement promotion from barbarians - i'm so glad my warrior isn't dying. I'm not even sure how things were.

 

[Gazebo]

Yikes that Siam might make Unique City-States OP!

Keep in mind it isn't permanent, you just get that much at the beginning (so ~15 turns of friendship).

• Scout now a classical unit - unlocks at Sailing, CS 10
• Pathfinder now the opening ancient era scout for all civs - CS 5

Does this mean the human player can still get a pathfinder at ancient era? If so, what's different to it from a scout? Awesome changes otherwise. I was just noticing how potent Floating Gardens is, myself

Pathfinder upgrades into Scout.

G

 

[tu_79]

wait did you also take away the hill movement promotion from barbarians - i'm so glad my warrior isn't dying. I'm not even sure how things were.

I don't think so. Barbs get promotions depending on where they spawn. Barbs in coastal camps get doubled movement on coastal tiles, for example.

Awesome patch, I agree.

I thought biggest problem for Japan was its inability to get early trade routes (no gold, no army) and the warrior rush issue.

Aztecs could have done just with a reduction to their gardens. Guaranteed religion sounds troubling, but my biggest problem facing them is how populous they become.

Arabia camels sounds too powerful. Have 5 of them and you can reduce any army to half life in any time without taking horses. I wouldn't bother to upgrade.

Did you remember to balance Accuracy vs Barrage? Accuracy was the go-to promotion before.

Scouts peaceful XP looks switched. I would have thought that moving faster is better for pillaging and defending better is better for staying in enemy territory. Did you anti synergized that on purpose?

I never saw a GP coming from a CS, maybe now I'll get more lucky. Statecraft continues the trend of giving more to tall civs, when they have more trouble to keep alliances. +2 paper is only needed for tall cities who can't have so many chanceries. But doesn't address the biggest problem, being that all civs compete for CS now, not only the diplomatic ones. (off topic - I'm having a Portugal game where I'm the only one dedicating Great Diplomats to embassies, thus leading the WC by far, AI loves to get friends and forgets votes)

 

[Gazebo]

I don't think so. Barbs get promotions depending on where they spawn. Barbs in coastal camps get doubled movement on coastal tiles, for example.

Awesome patch, I agree.

I thought biggest problem for Japan was its inability to get early trade routes (no gold, no army) and the warrior rush issue.

Aztecs could have done just with a reduction to their gardens. Guaranteed religion sounds troubling, but my biggest problem facing them is how populous they become.

Arabia camels sounds too powerful. Have 5 of them and you can reduce any army to half life in any time without taking horses. I wouldn't bother to upgrade.

Did you remember to balance Accuracy vs Barrage? Accuracy was the go-to promotion before.

Scouts peaceful XP looks switched. I would have thought that moving faster is better for pillaging and defending better is better for staying in enemy territory. Did you anti synergized that on purpose?

I never saw a GP coming from a CS, maybe now I'll get more lucky. Statecraft continues the trend of giving more to tall civs, when they have more trouble to keep alliances. +2 paper is only needed for tall cities who can't have so many chanceries. But doesn't address the biggest problem, being that all civs compete for CS now, not only the diplomatic ones. (off topic - I'm having a Portugal game where I'm the only one dedicating Great Diplomats to embassies, thus leading the WC by far, AI loves to get friends and forgets votes)

Japan had a lot of problems. The extra science and culture should help them keep a smaller, but more experienced army relevant.

Camel Archer gets a point blank attack at range 1 that can only affect units adjacent to it (splash damage only affects in-range AoE units, reminder) so it isn't that strong. Can't get Splash I either, so only 5 damage extra per shot.

Yes, Accuracy and Barrage were rebalanced.

Trailblazer = get in, spot, get out. Survivalism = stick around, pillage, get out. Theoretically Trailblazer scouts don't have to get too close to cities to get XP.

Statecraft's extra Paper is definitely for Tall civs, who do have the hardest time dealing with big expansionist diplomats like Russia.

I'm sure that there will be elements of this balance that are over/under-tuned to a certain extent (human hands and all), but the AI handled these changes very well. I'm seeing fewer and fewer gross one-sided runaways on this leader balance spectrum.

G

 

[randomnub]

Wait, you mean I can stop play civ6 now that the patch hype is over? Damn I'm gonna miss it... not.

Everything looks cool, can't complain really. I'd like to see some patch note about 'Assyria AI doesn't suicide its siege towers nor make them when under siege itself' someday but I have to play with firaxis AI to remind myself why I'm here.


Edit: I read somewhere the food/GAP founder didn't scale with Era anymore, ninja patch?

 

[Txurce]

Spectacular at first blush. It almost looks like a new game.

 

[Enginseer]

reminder for people to not use my E&D compatibility unless you plan on disabling Shoshone.

 

[tu_79]

Camel Archer gets a point blank attack at range 1 that can only affect units adjacent to it (splash damage only affects in-range AoE units, reminder) so it isn't that strong. Can't get Splash I either, so only 5 damage extra per shot.

Ah, ok, not so strong then. By the way, last time I checked, I could damage units at 3 range with my spash cannons who had range 2.

Yes, Accuracy and Barrage were rebalanced.

Missed in the changelog.

Trailblazer = get in, spot, get out. Survivalism = stick around, pillage, get out. Theoretically Trailblazer scouts don't have to get too close to cities to get XP.

So, as you are saying (move in, scout, move out), trailblazer scouts aren't going to end the turn in enemy territory. So no easy experience for them. Survivalist scouts, who gain the best by fortifying, now have to pillage and lose fortified status if they want to get experience. It's completely anti-synergic.

A trailblazer scout can surprise attack by the rear more easily thanks to its fast movement, so it can theorically pillage unprotected cities, and move back out of city range. Even if it gets a city shot, it usually doesn't kill anybody, and having tiles to pillage means the scout is going to heal anyways. And move out of range. Meanwhile, the survivalist scout can plant himself in a well protected terrain in enemy territory and fortify. Sure, it won't be able to endure if the enemy attacks, but it would take a little more than a horseman to force him to retreat.

You could have made it on purpose to avoid easy leveling, but I wanted to be sure.

 

[Aldebaran1997]

Statecraft's extra Paper is definitely for Tall civs, who do have the hardest time dealing with big expansionist diplomats like Russia.

G

Yeah, it's really cool! It makes me be able to play one-city strat again simply and effectively. I like this change a lot

 

[ColonelCarter]

I wouldn't say the scout XP bonuses are completely anti-synergistic; the defense from survivalism helps make up for not getting fortification bonuses when pillaging and Survivalism 3 (albeit this is what the extra XP helps get so kinda too little too late) allows healing even if you move. Also, high-movement Trailblazer scouts can potentially outrun enemies in rough terrain, so I assume their goal would be to run around enemy tiles out of city attack range, and reposition if threatened (cavalry in open terrain present an issue, but then again it's probably not the scout's place for that in battle).

 

[FoxOfWar]

Arabia, Siam and Shoshone now on my list of civs to do a(nother) game with. Woo. Also will be interesting to see the scouting changes in action

 

[Moi Magnus]

Some question on trailblazer :
+Does it works when the unit is embarqued ?
+Does it works on City-States you're at war with ?

If yes to this two, I'm begining to see an exploit :
+You find some maritimes CS
+You take some scouts, and and some naval units
+You declare war to one CS, and defeat the naval army of the CS
+You're scouts now gain 5XP per turn, and cannot be attacked since they have a naval unit on them
+Also, take Japan, and enjoy your regular science and culture.

 

[randomnub]

That's some effort to get xp on a puny scout; you are using part of you force limit, not scouting the map, not getting tribute or alliance yelds from the cs and also have to keep some maintenance heavy navy busy. The gain is quite limited, considering that exploreing would net you about half of that xp. Generally speaking CS are prone to abuse (see shotting archer practice) but it's rarely worth, with better targets or higher priorities around.

You can also do the same with a harmless defeated opponent, kept alive for xp.

 

[Moi Magnus]

That's some effort to get xp on a puny scout; you are using part of you force limit, not scouting the map, not getting tribute or alliance yelds from the cs and also have to keep some maintenance heavy navy busy. The gain is quite limited, considering that exploreing would net you about half of that xp. Generally speaking CS are prone to abuse (see shotting archer practice) but it's rarely worth, with better targets or higher priorities around.

You can also do the same with a harmless defeated opponent, kept alive for xp.

This was more a mid-game exploit (so after the exploration part). And you do not need that much naval units. You just need enougth to kill CS naval units, and then, you need you need 1 naval unit (maybe 2, in case the CS build another unit), and put as many number of scouts as you want under it.

But you're right, outside of Japan, it probably don't worth it.
(And yes, you can to the same with an harmless defeated opponent, but you need to stay at war with a major civ for a long time, so you have War Weariness problems)

 

[randomnub]

INSERT INTO Trait_YieldFromHistoricEvent
(TraitType, YieldType, Yield)
VALUES
('TRAIT_LAND_TRADE_GOLD', 'YIELD_CULTURE', 1),
('TRAIT_LAND_TRADE_GOLD', 'YIELD_SCIENCE', 2);

Arabia is still getting +2 science from the UA.