[NEWCIV] - Ydil (a hive mind civ)

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Esus (Allegedly)
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Original Post
Spoiler :
Hi

I'm planning to develop a new civ for RifE once I'm finished with the JotnarL. I've already started working on some of the xml.

The overall concept is that it will be a hive mind civ. I don't think this has been done for an FFH modmod. I'm not aware of such a civ in any sci-fi mods but if there is one that I can nick ideas from, let me know.

Key Features
  • Everyone in the civilization is controlled by the hive mind. The core of the hive mind is in the capital. So long as a city is connected with the capital, it will not have any unhappiness from population. There will be a big unhappiness hit in any city not connected to the capital (from a python generated building).
  • While Ydil units are in the within the Ydil territory, they are Connected, can not be captured in combat and every unit will have 5% chance of converting defeated units.
  • While Ydil units are outside of their territory they are Disconnected, with a chance of becoming temporarily Confused (held) with a subsequent chance of becoming Crazed.
  • Units will not gain any xp from combat. 1 beaker of research will be gained when an enemy unit is killed.
  • Units are also blocked from passively gaining xp.
  • The Ydil do not gain promotions from xp. Rather the hive learns something and then The Ydil can build Wonders, which create buildings in all Ydil cities which give the associated promotion to the applicable units.
  • All units will be assigned levels after a certain number of turns (or at certain techs) to allow upgrading to units which have level requirements.
  • The Ydil palace provides three Mind mana. The arcane units start with the associated level of Mind promotion. They do not get a free promotion pick.
  • Their chance of great people is reduced. 50% is the maximum reduction I can do with a trait without causing ctd. If it does not cause ctd I will add further gp% reductions to buildings which allow assignment of specialists in cities.
  • They will not be able to use Commanders.
  • Individuality is not strong enough in the civilization to allow for any heroes. Their mind control does allow them 4 unique units; Foreign Ambassadors. These will be weak units who can not leave the city. They each provide one more vote on any council that the Ydil are members of. If an ambassador is killed, it will trigger diplomatic malus or possibly a war between two other civilizations.
  • Most units will be the defaults.
  • Their ArchMages are Possessors. The power of an ArchMage is the arcane mind and the Ydil's mind is the collective. These units will have a high chance to avoid destruction in any conflict, representing the consciousness simply moving to another body. Mind magic is their thing and they can not regain promotions from experience so they will not lose Mind 3 when they cast Dominate but there will be a delay preventing them casting it too frequently.
  • Similarly, their Immortals are based on moving the consciousness from body to body. Rather than trying to heal a unit, the collective simply focuses the combat skills into a different individual. Ydil Immortals heal 100% after any combat but can not use bronze, iron or mithril weapons.
  • Berserkers can infect units on tiles they attack with Crazed.
  • When a state religion is adopted, then that religion appears in all Ydil cities. Any other religions present in any of the cities (except the capital) are removed but the memory of that religion is retained in the capital. All religious units (including high priests) switch to the equivalent unit for the state religion.
  • Religious heroes will be blocked.
  • The leader is the collective consciousness, or rather the token figurehead that the other leaders will deal with. This will start with just the Ydil Trait to reduce GP generation (and possibly Insanity). The collective can gain further traits, based on the same criteria used for Emergent leaders but there isn't the same limit to the number they can gain.
  • Current idea for a world spell is to have everyone dogpile a selected enemy, whilst giving a diplomatic boost from everyon towards the Ydil.

The origins of the civ is in a group of people who wandered too near the Palus when Perpentach was in one of his less lucid states. Their consciousness were altered and able to flow among them all. They almost succumbed to insanity. When the body of one among them died but the consciousness remained with the others they realised that they might now be immortal. They spread their consciousness into others, subduing the sentience that was already there. They learned that their power grew the more minds that they could move among and so began to infect as many minds as they could. Children born within their influence never develop any concept of self.


Version 0.1 issued.
It's pretty much complete but needs to be balanced. Pedia entries are not fully in there but see post 2 below for info.

Version 0.2 changes
Spoiler :

xml
  • Drone overwrites mental target.
  • Meta Magic building descriptions corrected.
  • Chance for AI to build a Wonder increased and increased Military Flavor.
  • Connection bonus art define defined and referenced.
  • Ydil version of Obsidian Gate and Elder Council added.
  • Garrison3 building xml corrected. Sentry1
    and 2 buildings and promos added.

python
  • onUnitBuilt/onUnitCreated, corrected if to elif to allow tier 4 upgrading.
  • onTechAcquired added for assigning level to Drones
  • onBeginPlayerTurn, state religion spreads automatically to Connected cities. Sense Wonder buildings and Garrison3 uncommented
  • YdilSpell; Made Ale or Wine prerequisites for the Ydil world spell. Chance of getting a new trait reduces when Joining the Core, depending on how many traits have already been acquired.
  • onUnitKilled; halved the beakers earned from killing units as the Ydil seemed to be advancing too quickly compared with the others.

Version 0.3 changes
Spoiler :

xml
  • Lots and lots of text entries, including concept
  • LeaderheadInfos/BuildingInfos - Tweaked AI flavors
  • CivilizationInfos - Blocked archery range to Ydil. Added the GC and Worker Wonders
  • BuildingInfos - Siege Workshop made prereq for Siege Knowledge
  • BuildingClassInfos - Amended Ydil Wonders so that they can rebuild the Promotion wonders if destroyed.
  • UnitInfos - Added buildable Link, limited to 4 max. Can not Join Core to gain Traits.
  • Some pedia entries added
  • PromotionInfos - Relevant mana made prerequisite for the level 3 arcane promotions. Extra perception for Links. Some tech prereqs added for some promos
  • ArtDefines_Building/BuildingInfos - added Ydil Palace art to use civ button
  • Added Subdue Animal, Subdue Beasts, promos, buildings, wonder and python
  • LeaderheadInfos AI values tweaked

python
  • onUnitKilled - Ydil no longer get beakers for killing barbarians, animals or demons (to discourage farming)

Version 0.4 Changes
Spoiler :
  • CivilizationInfos: Blocked Dungeon. Now use no xp hunting lodge.
  • BuildingInfos: iAsset values set to 0 for promotion buildings. Archery wonder now requires fletcher. Few other building prereq added for promo wonders. Repairer text reference fixed.
  • PromotionInfos: Drone overwrites evil eye and is now allowed to Commanders. Confused units are now held. Connected units are immune to fear (all expendable). Guerilla central knowledge made autoacquire.
  • LeaderheadInfos: Human can choose Octopus Overlords
  • UnitInfos and PromotionInfos: amended so minions claimed by Locus and Talents won't be mental targets.
  • SpellInfos: Dominate made autocastable so the Loci do not need to be micro managed.
  • Other Text: typo fixed
  • onUnitBuilt python: amended so heroes do not start with the Central Knowledge Promotions.

Ydil 0.5 Changes
Spoiler :
  • BuildingClassInfos: <iExtraPlayerInstances> changed to 1 for wonders.
  • onBuildingBuilt & onBeginPlayerTurn: Wherever promo wonders are built, they appear in the capital. Promo building appearance updated to reflect this.
  • Siege,Sentry and Commander promo wonders split into two wonders.
  • Ydil Academy replaced with Free Thinkers. Ydil given their own version of sage
  • BuildingInfos: iAsset, iAIWeight values amended
  • CivilizationInfos: Blocked Catacomb Libralus and new sage and buildings
  • LeaderheadInfos: Chance for AI to build wonders changed. Tweaked some AI parameters
  • onPlayerChangeStateReligion - allows for the Esus state religion option
  • BuildingInfos, BuildingClassInfos, PromotionInfos, onBeginPlayerTurn - Counter Intelligence and Flanking wonders added.
  • EventInfos, EventTriggerInfos, onCityAcquired: Sting in the tail sequence of events added.

Ydil 1.0 Changes
Spoiler :
  • onUnitBuilt - fixed MetaMagic typo and siege_b text
  • SpellInfos - Ydil Free Thinker can Join Core
  • PromotionInfos - ambassador no longer affects diplomacy
  • LeaderRelationInfos added so The Consciousness dislikes Perpentach
  • Diplo text and some pedia entries added.
  • AI given friendly push to use the ambassadors to take control of a Council

Art Credits
Spoiler :
Civ banner is based on Rutland Water - Swans by Jean Louis Vandeviere. See www.birdingblogs.com.
The Consciousness protrait is Empty Mirror be dred8667. See www.deviantart.com.
Immortal unit graphic is Chuck Norris by Garretsidzaki.


Compatability
Should work with Rife 1.41, Snarko's patch and Ashes of Erebus
 

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Leaving draft blurbs here. TextInfos is the last xml I plan to do.

Ydil Module Concept
Spoiler :

The module adds a "hive mind" type civ, which has a central intelligence, rather than individual intelligences and which specialises in mind control.
  • Ydil units don't gain xp (and promotions) like others from combat. They gain beakers towards what they are researching based on the level of defeated opponents instead.
  • Their promotion counteracts the free xp given by other promotions.
  • Should a Ydil unit gain enough xp(e.g. From goody huts/events), they can cash it in for beakers for the civ.
  • Ydil units do not start with xp. It is cleared to 0 even if an xp granting civic is adopted. Such civics grant specific promotions instead; Combat 1 for Apprenticeship and City Raider 1, Assault 1 and Barrage 1 for Conquest.
  • Other promotions are gained by building wonders. These wonders establish buildings in Connected cities, which allow automatic gaining of promotions when tech, tier and bonus requirements are met.
  • Cities are happy when Connected (i.e. controlled by) to the Consciousness but unhappy when Disconnected. It's vital to maintain road/harbour/obsidian gates to keep cities working properly.
  • Ydil Units within Ydil territory are Connected, stopping anyone from converting them and giving them a chance to convert defeated opponents. Connected can also be granted by the Ydil GC, Link.
  • Ydil units outside Ydil territory are no
    longer Connected to the Consciousness and may become Confused (temporarily Held).
  • Non Ydil units in Ydil territory are mentally attacked by the Consciousness and may become similarly Confused.
  • They have no heroes but their control of Foreign Ambassadors gives them extra sway in Councils.
  • Disciple units of all levels can be converted to the equivalent unit when the state religion is changed.
  • Changing state religion also instantly spreads that religion to all cities.

Ydil Civilization
Spoiler :
"Ydil is,
Ydil is,
Ydil is a Perfect Place!"

How blessed are the people of Ydil? They live in a land of order, where fields are well tended and no one shirks their work. They live in a land where dungeons aren't needed as there is no crime. They live in a land, where you can be born, live and die and never know unhappiness.

How cursed are the people of Ydil? They live in a land where all are enslaved and do not know it. They live in a land where dungeons aren't needed as everyone is imprisoned in their own minds. They live in a land where you can be born, live and die and never have any sense of yourself.


Leader
Spoiler :
The Ydil government appears just like all the others in Erebus. It may be a Monarchy, Theocracy, Republic or it may be any other form of government found elsewhere in Erebus. This is meaningless fancy, designed merely to dupe foreign nations into thinking that the Ydil are just like them.
There is only one leader in Ydil and that is the dominant, core Consciousness. Those that the other leaders of Erebus deal with are just figureheads, puppets dangling on the Consciousness' strings. The true leader of Ydil never reveals itself.
---
Performers were not the first to stray too close to the Palus. There were others before them but Perpentach was not always lucid enough for guests. The identities of those who formed the original Consciousness are lost, or rather the Consciousness does not disclose anything of them.
Exposure to Perpentach's magic fused the minds of the party somewhat, allowing each of their consciousnesses to flow through the others minds. The group battled with insanity but eventually reached consensus allowing the group consciousness to guide all of their bodies through daily life. Then, one died...
...but their consciousness lived on with the others. They realised that they were no longer bound and limited by their original bodies. If their consciousness could be shared into new hosts, then they would survive longer. They selected children first, as these had potentially the most life to be shared. Not only could they share the minds of the children, but the awareness of the children could be so cowed and dominated that the control of their consciousnesses was not even diluted. They also felt awareness and power grow with each new host. Soon, they were all the children. They moved on to the village adults, more subtly this time, as the adults' sense of self was more developed. As they controlled more, the distinctions between the original individuals consciousness blurred and became The Consciousness. Soon, it was a village. Even an entire village may succumb to a single plague or other calamity. The Consciousness needed more hosts to be secure in its immortality. It continued to spread its influence, only rarely allowing a well developed mind to join it rather than to be controlled by it.

The Consciousness does not have initial traits of its own but can gain traits from great people as the game progresses).


Units
Ydil use mostly standard units and are not denied any units, other than Heroes.
Spoiler :

Ydil Settlers
Spoiler :
The Consciousness flows through the minds of its people. Where there are no people it can not exist. It needs the constant movement of people through the arteries of its empire to maintain its connection and control in all of its cities. When establishing a new outpost, one of its first priorities is to establish the route which will connect the new city to the core.

Ydil settlers are the same as standard settlers but they can also build roads at a faster rate than normal workers.

Immortals
Spoiler :
The Ydil Consciousness knows true immortality. The Consciousness will not die as long as there are physical bodies to maintain it. Any physical form can be assigned appropriate tasks guided by the applicable aspects of the Consciousness.
The Immortals are guided by all the martial aspects that the Consciousness has accumulated. They are notable in that they eschew weaponry and armour. Their skill is all they need to bring down even the most heavily equipped enemy. They taunt those they fight and usually with justification for they are dangerous foes. Occasionally, an armour clad, sword wielding warrior may fight a bitter long battle and succeed in striking one down. Such victories are short-lived, as another body steps forward to continue the fight and the taunting until the result has been changed.

The martial aspects of the Consciousness discards damaged bodies after (sometimes during) combat and lays claim to the next available, fit specimen to continue its fight.

Immortals heal fully after any combat they survive.
Unlike the Immortal Units of other Civilizations, the Ydil Immortals do not use bronze, iron or mithril weapons.
The immortal unit graphic is Chuck Norris by GarretSidzaka


Talents(Arch-Mages)
Spoiler :
There are three things required to make an arch-mage; the raw potential ability to shape the world using matter, the knowledge of how to shape the world using magic and the strength of will to apply that knowledge. The Consciousness can supply two of these three; knowledge and strength of will. The third is dependent on the individual and so the Consciousness scours it's populace for those with the potential to channel immense arcane forces. All of the arcane knowledge possessed by the Consciousness is wielded by these Talents.

Talents have a 90% withdrawal rate when losing combats. This reflects the Consciousness abandoning that particular Talent and selecting an alternative Talent to wield its arcane power. Sometimes, such an individual is not locally available.


Religious Units
Spoiler :

When the core religious beliefs of the Consciousness change, the beliefs of all the subservient masses controlled by the Consciousness change. Those who were disciples, priests and high priests of the former state religion assume the roles of disciples, priests and high priests of the new state religion.

The Ydil have unique high priest units for all religions. The only difference between these and the standard version is that they will not abandon the state when the state religion changes. They are instead converted into the equivalent high priest for the new religion.


Ragers(Berserkers)
Spoiler :
Extreme emotions are dangerous to the Consciousness. It remembers when it teetered on the brink of insanity shortly after coming into its awareness.

Losing itself to extremes of emotions would not only put its subservient tools at risk of destruction, it could imperil the nature of the Consciousness itself. The Ragers are the product of years of self examination and control by the Consciousness. It has managed to separate and isolate out functional rage so that it does not pose a risk of contaminating the rest of the Consciousness. The opponents of the Ragers are not similarly protected.

Units on tiles attacked by Ragers have a chance of becoming Crazed.


Locus of Influence (Fort Commander)
Spoiler :
The Consciousness is most powerful where many people gather. Thus, it favours cities as a civilization. Its influence is present in rural areas but is weaker as there are fewer minds through which it can manifest, act and draw strength.
Some people have been found to be more receptive to the hive mind's control. By grouping several of these in an area, the hive mind's ability to influence the subservient beings there is increased.
The people who form a Locus look and act like everyone else in the locality. Without some means to identify them, the only way to destroy a Locus is to kill the entire local population.

It has Mind3 to dominate and control passing enemies.
The unit is invisible. It is also territorial, blocking enemies from entering the tile.
Once detected, the ordinary people who make up the locus, can not really defend themselves against trained soldiers, reflected in a defence value of 1.


Link (Great Commander)
Spoiler :
Those who show most promise when being cultivated to form part of a Locus are sent with Ydil armies. Channelling the power in the minds of the army, they provide a continuous link to the hive mind, wherever the army goes. No longer cloaked by anonymity, they are always surrounded by a force of bodyguards. Even so, if threatened, the whole army will mobilise to defend them.

All Ydil units on a tile with a Link are Connected to the Consciousness, preventing them from becoming Confused when outside of Ydil territory.
They give an extra 10% conversion chance to their minions.
The units base defence is 4 but it can be boosted up to 7. It's defence is boosted by 1 for each combat type (Melee, Recon and Ranged) represented on the tile.
Can cast spell to attempt to culturally claim the nine surrounding tiles for one turn when in a village/town/enclave in enemy territory.


Ambassadors and Reports (no equivalents)
Spoiler :

It would be naive to think that anyone could spend any length of time in Ydil territory and remain immune to the control of the Consciousness. The other tribes of Erebus are not aware of and do not comprehend the nature of the Consciousness. Gross naivety is understandable in the circumstances.
All ambassadors and diplomats based in Ydil may nominally serve someone else but they are all tools of the Consciousness.

Ambassadors give the Ydil an extra vote in the councils. They also provide beakers (diplomatic and technological secrets).
When an Ambassador is built a Reports unit is created in the capital of a rival. This provides a small boost to diplomatic relations in the way that civ regards the Ydil.
If an ambassador is slain a war may be triggered between the nation he nominally represented and the state who killed him. The associated Reports unit is killed when it's Ambassador is killed.


Great People
Spoiler :
The Consciousness is not totally successful in suppressing all individuality. Occasionally, strong minded people will emerge in Ydil. Some will flee Ydil never fully understanding what it is that fills them with foreboding in their homeland. Some will learn the truth about Ydil and strive against it. Ultimately such individuals are defeated, mentally or physically. There are others who's vision and intellect impresses the Consciousness and it realises that it will be enriched by adding their knowledge, awareness and personalities to its own. Such rare individuals get to join the Consciousness, the dominant awareness in Ydil.

Great People are rarer in Ydil as the base GP rate is reduced by 50%. Great People may Join the Consciousness. This not only provides the benefits of a settled great person, it may also add a new trait to the Consciousness.


Promotions
Spoiler :
Connected: When Ydil units are within Ydil territory they are connected to the Consciousness. They can not easily be swayed by reason or argument from the Consciousness plans. Those who venture into Ydil territory to attack put themselves at risk of being dominated by the Consciousness and abandoning all they once held dear.
Connected is also granted to Ydil units on a tile where there is a Link.

Disconnected: When a Ydil unit moves outside of Ydil territory, it is no longer under the direct control of the Consciousness. It may function as required from a mixture of routine and muscle memory but there is a chance the the individuals' buried sense of self will try to surface. This can lead to a period of confusion during which the unit can not perform effectively.

Confused: When the buried personality surfaces, it is in conflict with the commands that the Consciousness has embedded in the psyche. This clash leads to a period of inactivity, until the Consciousness commands or the individuals' personality gains precedence.

Consciousness Knowledge: When the Consciousness knows something that information is available to all of its subservient drones. Some drones, however, lack the physical ability or equipment to apply some of the knowledge possessed by the Consciousness.

When the requisite wonders are built, buildings which grant promotions to Ydil units in the cities are established. These promotions have a 100% chance of "randomly" applying the standard promotion associated with the building to the units which meet the unit type, bonus and tier requirements, once any requisite technologies have been researched.

Drone: The individuality of the people of Ydil has been crushed. They no longer learn from their own experience and form their own opinions. They know only what the Consciousness decides they should know and do only what the Consciousness decides they should do.

XP is zeroed each turn for drones. They are reliant on Consciousness Knowledge for promotions.
The Consciousness gains beakers, based on the vanquished opponent's level, towards whatever it is researching when such a unit defeats another.

Insidious: The controlled Ambassadors send back glowing reports of Ydil.

Over time, there is a gradual improvement in diplomatic relations from the host city's leaders towards the Ydil. There is also a gradual increase in Ydil cultural influence.

Strong Link: The Ydil GC promotion.

Linked: Minion promotion for the Ydil, boosting the units chance to convert others by 10 percent.


Civic Promotions
Spoiler :

The Ydil don't benefit from the free xp that Apprenticeship and Conquest give others.
While Apprenticeship is adopted, cities with Connection to the capital gain a building that will grant units the Combat1 promotion.
While Conquest is adopted, cities with Connection to the capital will gain a building that will grant units City Raider1, Barrage1 & Assault1 promotions.


Promotion Wonders
The promotion wonders provide free buildings in all cities that have the Connection bonus. These allow promotions, some of which have further tier, tech or bonus requirements.
Spoiler :
Combat Knowledge; No tech prerequisite. Allows Combat 2, Combat 3, Combat 4 & Combat 5.
  • Combat3: requires tier 2
  • Combat4: requires tier 3
  • Combat5: required tier 4

Counter Intelligence 1 allows Cover 1, Formation 1 & Shock 1.
Formation 1 requires Horseback Riding
Shock 1 requires Bronze Working

Counter Intelligence 2 requires that Counter Intelligence 1 be constructed and Warfare. It allows Cover 2, Formation 2 & Shock 2.
Cover 2 requires Masonry and tier 3
Formation 2 requires Warhorses and tier 3
Shock 2 requires Iron Working and tier 3.

Flanking Knowledge requires Horseback Riding.
Flanking 1 requires tier 2
Flanking 2 requires tier 3 and Stirrups.
Flanking 3 requires tier 4 and Warhorses.

Meta Magic Knowledge; Requires Sorcery. Allows Meta Magic1, Meta Magic2 & Meta Magic3.
  • Meta Magic2 promotion requires tier 3.
  • Meta Magic3 promotion requires Strength of Will, tier 4 and at least one of the meta magic mana bonus.

Other Arcane Knowledge (e.g. Air); Requires Knowledge of the Ether. Allows 3 levels of arcane promotions (e.g. Air1, Air2 & Air3).
  • Level 2 arcane promotions require tier

    3 and Alteration/Divination/Elementalism/Necromancy, as appropriate.
  • Level 3 arcane promotion requires Strength of Will, tier 4 and at least one of the applicable mana bonus.

Rural Combat Knowledge; Requires Exploration. Allows Woodsman1, Guerilla1 & Amphibious.
  • Woodsman1: requires Hunting
  • Guerilla1: requires Mining
  • Amphibious: requires Construction

Urban Combat Knowledge; Requires Warfare. Allows City Raider1, City Raider 2 & City Raider 3.
  • City Raider2: requires tier 2
  • City Raider3: requires tier 3

Defence Knowledge; Requires Palisade. Allows City Garrison1, City Garrison2 & City Garrison 3.
  • City Garrison1 requires Warfare
  • City Garrison2 requires Warfare and tier 2
  • City Garrison3 requires Warfare and tier 3

Siege Knowledge; Requires Construction and Siege Workshop. Allows Assault 2, Assault 3, Barrage 2 & Barrage 3.
  • Assault 3 and Barrage 3 require Engineering and tier 3

Working Knowledge; Requires Agriculture. Allows Skilled1, Skilled2, Skilled3, Skilled4, Skilled5, Hardy1, Hardy2 and Hardy3.
  • Skilled2 requires Crafting
  • Skilled3 requires Masonry
  • Skilled4 requires Construction
  • Skilled5 requires Engineering
  • Hardy2 requires Hunting
  • Hardy3 requires Tracking

Command Knowledge; Requires Agriculture. Allows Command Limit1, Command Limit2, Command Limit3, Command Range1, Command Range2, Command Range3 and Battlefield Tactics.
  • Command Limit2 requires Mind Mana and Divination
  • Command Limit3 requires Command Limit2 and Strength of Will
  • Command Range2 requires Dimensional Mana and Necromancy
  • Command Range3 requires Command Range2 and Strength of Will
  • Battlefield Tactics requires Military Strategy

Other Wonders
Spoiler :

Pillar of Chains & Shrine of the Champion are blocked.

Form of the Titan
No xp bonus but units built in the city get the Strong promotion.

Xxx Stables(Ride of the Nine Kings)
No free xp for Mounted units but units built here receive Mobility1 and Mobility2.

(Summer Palace)
Same as Summer Palace but also acts as a source of the Connection resource.

(Winter Palace)
Same as Winter Palace but also acts as a source of the Connection resource.


Spells
Spoiler :
Global Amnesia (World Spell)
Spoiler :
It was the Autumnal feast night of Mammon when it happened. Afterwards, The Consciousness surmised that it's senses had been dulled by the alcohol and other substances consumed by its subservient drones. Part of it suspects that Mammon himself had taken an interest, hoping to lay claim to the soul(s) of The Consciousness, should it eventually die.
Whether drunk on intoxicants or tempted by Mammon, The Consciousness overreached itself. It tried to claim control over all sentient life in Erebus. It was nowhere near powerful enough to succeed in maintaining control over so many at that time. In the act, many throughout Erebus became aware of The Consciousness. The Consciousness had no choice but retreat but it could not allow so many to remain aware of it. With its influence spread so thinly, it could not act with its usual finesse. It removed all knowledge of The Consciousness and it's mental assault but countless other memories were destroyed in the process.
The morning after many woke with headaches, which some attributed to Mammon's festivities. None knew of the attack but over the next few months, acts of incompetence became more frequent across Erebus.

Global Amnesia raises the level of all units by 2. This has no effect on the Ydil. Other civilizations will need to spend more xp to gain a promotion for any units affected by the spell, although it may allow units to advance to the next tier sooner than they otherwise would be able to.
Join Core
Spoiler :
The Consciousness is not totally successful in suppressing all individuality. Occasionally, strong minded people will emerge in Ydil. Some will flee Ydil never fully understanding what it is that fills them with foreboding in their homeland. Some will learn the truth about Ydil and strive against it. Ultimately such individuals are defeated, mentally or physically. There are others who's vision and intellect impresses The Consciousness and it realises that it will be enriched by adding their knowledge, awareness and personalities to its own. Such rare individuals get to join The Consciousness, the dominant awareness in Ydil.

Great People may join The Consciousness. This not only provides the benefits of a settled great person, it may also add a new trait to The Consciousness.
Link;Aggressive, Conqueror, Defender,Imperialist, Regimented, Raiders, Strategist
Artist; Creative
Engineer; Industrious, Organized, Repairer
Healer; Healer
Merchant; Financial, Organized
Prophet; Spiritual, Philosophical, Theocratic
Sage; Philosophical, Summoner


Learn from Experience
Spoiler :
If a drone unit acquires enough experience in a turn this allows that experience to be changed into a beaker before the experience is zeroed.


Other Buildings
Spoiler :
The Core (Palace)
Spoiler :
The Consciousness exists throughout the minds of the population but it's influence is most concentrated in the capital. From here, it reaches out to the other minds of the people. It is here that it puts on the shams to delude other nations into thinking the Ydil are just like them.

This provides 2 Mind mana resources and the Connection resource. It causes those at war with the Ydil to suffer more war weariness. It also provides a free Subservient Population in all cities
Temple of Unity(Pagan Temple)
Spoiler :
It is easy for The Consciousness to take and retain control of children. It is more challenging with adults who have already developed some awareness of their individuality. The Temple of Unity espouses the belief that we are all part of something greater than any single one of us. Once someone accepts this belief, it is easier for The Consciousness to gain access and control over them.
Refining Council(Elder Council)
Spoiler :
The Consciousness mostly relies on sheer quantity of minds to draw its strength from. However, it has found that developing some individual minds in a controlled fashion provides it with a purer, more powerful quotient of mind energy per individual. It allows certain select Ydilic people to discuss issues, as a way to develop the quality of their minds. If anyone's ideas are too radical, The Consciousness quickly reasserts full dominance.

This is the same as a standard Elder Council but provides 1 unhappiness also.
Obsidian Gate
Spoiler :
Same as standard Obsidian Gate but also provides Connection
Subservient Population
Spoiler :
The people of Ydil are controlled by The Consciousness. They live in state of euphoric bliss doing the bidding of The Consciousness. Without The Consciousness, they can be unsure of what to do or even resort to violent barbarism.

The Subservient Population provides 10 unhappiness. However if the city has the Connection resource, then this is more than countered by 25 happiness.
 
Just out of curiosity, wouldn't a unique palace resource work as well as a python-generated building, without having to generate the building in the first place?

Although I suppose it'd end up roughly the same in the end.
 
seems interesting :D
 
Just out of curiosity, wouldn't a unique palace resource work as well as a python-generated building, without having to generate the building in the first place?

Although I suppose it'd end up roughly the same in the end.

I'll look into a palace resource approach. I think I've a tendency to use too much python in my modules, so I want to get the xml and existing code do the work wherever they can in this one. A palace resource might work...

The palace could give a free building in every city, which has a base very negative unhappiness but then an even larger happiness bonus for the palace resource "Connection"/"Hive Mind". This would avoid python checks each turn to add/delete buildings.

Edit: This approach works.
 
"no unhappiness from population" is not enough of a bonus ?
 
Sounds interesting, but it seems you haven't given this civ enough bonuses to make up for the decreased GP generation malus.

Yes, the lack of GP will be one of the challenges for this race.
I've learned that trying to use buildings along with the trait to push GP rate down more than -50% causes ctd, so the GP won't be quite as limited as I'd originally planned.

Hopefully, I'll be able to balance it with other civ aspects.

I'm considering that as well as giving them a beaker for killing enemies, I'll also give them a hammer towards a Wonder (if there is one in production). Most of their wonders are developing the thought patterns in the hive mind to apply the technology they've researched to give free promotions, so boosting production of these from kills seems appropriate.

I think that they'll be a bit of a slow burner civ; relatively weak in the early game but able to churn out masses of highly promoted troops towards the end.
 
Is it possible to give them a unique unit version of a great person that can't actually do anything?
 
idea : all GP (or only some types, you'll want GS and Gprophets for getting the holy shrines/academies) are "great Citizen" UU GP : can settle as a free "citizen specialist" : the one that gives 1:hammers:
it represents a body that is stronger than the mean, and can work much more than a normal body/host

Or maybe those UU can "only settle" and settle only as a "normal specialist" instead of a "great specialist"
It could become a different way to nerf GP, without changing the GP-rate....
(instead you could even boost their GP rate)
 
Theory and mechanics for Ydil Great People

The dominant minds that form the core of the hive mind become more powerful the more subservient minds that are linked into the hive mind. As a consequence, the dominant hive mind tends to try and crush those that display individuality. Most individual personalities are quickly squashed by exposure to the collective hive mind. However, particularly strong personalities have managed to develop in the stifling Ydil environment. Ultimately, these people escape to other lands or choose to become one with the dominant hive mind core. These infusions of fresh personality help the hive mind to continue to grow and develop.

In a nutshell, I'm happy to have some GP, provided there are not too many.
Occasional GP fusing with the hive mind also fits with the continuing acquisition of Traits.
I don't think the Ydil need a unique kind of GP.
I might specifically link acquisition of some Traits to settling of GP.
 
Not exactly a hive mind, but if you want to give them units that aren't the default units, maybe the old AD&D Modrons might provide some inspiration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modron_(Dungeons_&_Dragons)

http://www.lomion.de/cmm/modron.php

http://planewalking.dungeons.ru/denizens/modrons/modrons.htm

I plan on using humanoid units as much as possible. For one thing, having the hive mind in control is no reason for outward appearances to be different. Secondly, I'm useless at modding unit graphics, so any highly unusual/original looking model is out.

I could use a good unarmed combatant for the immortal unit. If anyone knows of some suitable unit graphic, please let me know.
 
I've decided on the Ydil fort commander (came up with it while trying to work out the best way for their Hall if Mirrors equivalent).

The hive mind is most powerful where many people gather. Thus, they favor cities as a civilization. Their influence is present in rural areas but is weaker.
Some people have been found to be more receptive to the hive mind's control. By grouping several of these in an area, the hive mind's ability to influence consciousnesses there is increased.

Fort commander replacement is the Locus of Influence.
It has Mind3 to dominate and control passing enemies.
The people who make up the locus seem like ordinary people and so the unit is invisible. It is also territorial, blocking enemies from entering the tile.
Once detected, the ordinary people who make up the locus, can not really defend themselves against trained soldiers, reflected in a defence value of 1.
 
Invisibility... Against the AI, it's over-powered. Against other humans, it's rather useless.

Make I ask what made you decide on the name Ydil?
 
I plan on using humanoid units as much as possible. For one thing, having the hive mind in control is no reason for outward appearances to be different. Secondly, I'm useless at modding unit graphics, so any highly unusual/original looking model is out.

I could use a good unarmed combatant for the immortal unit. If anyone knows of some suitable unit graphic, please let me know.

I wasn't really thinking about the graphics, just the units and their organization/hierarchy, but completely understand if that's not a direction in which you want to go.
 
People in Ydil are subject to extreme mind control.

Ydil appears perfect. There's no crime. All citizens appear content with their lot. There is no dissension against the "leader". All reports from ambassadors and other visitors are glowing and filled with superlative praise. In Erebus, it seems to be a truly idyllic place.

The reason I called it Ydil is so that the associated adjective is Ydilic.

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Originally, I planned on not having any fort commanders, the Locus seems to fit the mind control aspect of the civ though. The reason for the invisibility is that an attacker would not know who to kill and would effectively have to slaughter all of the local inhabitants. The other tribes of Erebus would be unaware of the hive mind guiding the Ydil.
Keeping the flavour, I could allow Evil AI civs who are at war with the Ydil to see invisible units in Ydil territory. This would allow them to deal with the Locus menace (by killing everyone).
I'll block the Ydil from building forts so they'll only get Locus in claimed forts (or for one turn durations from the mirror equivalent building).

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Mind Control, Power and Politics
The Ydil mind control is reflected in several aspects;
  • No individual xp and global promotions.
  • No individual heroes.
  • Ydil units are immune to capture in their home territory and enemy units defeated in their home territory have a 5% chance of being converted.
  • Ydil units outside their territory (disconnected from the hive mind) may become confused and some confused units may become Crazed.
  • If they get their hands on the Crown of Command, they get a unique building, which grants a civ wide boost to the chance to capture.
  • The Ydil don't suffer from war weariness. Those fighting them suffer 10% more.
  • Foreign ambassadors become their tools. As well as providing extra votes in councils and beakers, I'm going to create a "Favourable Reports" blind, never hostile unit in a rival civ which will give a gradual boost to diplo relations. Killing an ambassador will result in the death of the associated Favourable Reports, with diplomatic consequences for those who killed the ambassador with the civ that he was reporting to.
  • Fort Commander is the Locus.
  • Hall of Mirrors equivalent building may cause an adjacent enemy unit to be temporarily mind controlled (in game they are dominated by a one turn duration summoned Locus).
  • Cities connected to the hive mind have no happiness problem. Cities which are disconnected from the capital (hive mind) will be very unhappy and unproductive.
  • I'll probably stick in some python to increase the chance of such remote cities going barbarian.
  • I'm planning on a "Friendly", promotion available for tier 4 units. This would stop attacks, similarly to fear (but would not have the scatter effect), on the basis that people do not want to attack those they perceive as their friends. It could be countered by anyone with a minion promotion, True Seeing, having the Crusade civic, etc

What I'd like some help with is coming up with a suitable world spell. Originally, I was thinking of having them be able to have everyone else dogpile an enemy but this would only work with AI players and there's probably enough political power plays going on for them already with the ambassadors. What I'm considering now is halving the xp of all units in the world. This would have no effect on Ydil and minimal effect on low level units but it would delay high level units from gaining new promotions for a long time. Does this seem good or does anyone have any other suggestions?

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Regarding the modron, I could certainly see Ydil using a caste system but I think of the hive mind as trying to conceal their existence. They would have drones working and appearing very similar to other workers. They might adopt aristocracy, with a figurehead king to fit in with the expectations if those they deal with. They would consciously try not to appear alien as the rest of Erebus is more vulnerable to the hive mind's control if they are unaware of it.

I didn't necessarily see the hive mind as lawful. I was going to start their leader as neutral and then let it develop. I am considering giving the insane trait to the hive mind (with lots of Crazed units) if OO is adopted as the state religion.
 
What I'd like some help with is coming up with a suitable world spell. Originally, I was thinking of having them be able to have everyone else dogpile an enemy but this would only work with AI players and there's probably enough political power plays going on for them already with the ambassadors. What I'm considering now is halving the xp of all units in the world. This would have no effect on Ydil and minimal effect on low level units but it would delay high level units from gaining new promotions for a long time. Does this seem good or does anyone have any other suggestions?
maybe "all units in the world get +1 level or +2 level", Ydil units are boosted to level 4.
(but not the promotion pick associated with getting a level).
it boost Ydil by allowing them to access the "level-associated" tierIV units (make them all level-associated)
It is mitigate for other civs: mages/archmage/marksmen are slightly easier to get... however you lost 1-2 promotions in the process.
those lost promotions are a real pain in the ass for everybody, even if only 1 is lost. newly-born units (even with 9xp) which were level 3 (5xp), waiting for 1xp for next promotion (10xp) now need to reach 17xp for the next promotion. (and 26 if 2 levels)
further, this is even more damaging for people who rely on high-xp units... as getting 1level without promotion can cost 50xp or more
 
Is there a limit on the number of unique buildings a civ can have? It seems to max out at 38 net new buildings. Any NONE buildings have to be identified first.
If there is, is there a simple way to increase it (I'm not a dll modder)?

It looks like I'll have to make the free promotion buildings not bUnique in the BuildingClassInfos. This would make them visible on the tech trees for other civs. These civs would still not be able to build them as they can not be directly built. Even at that, there would not be enough unique buildings available for all of the Ydil promotion wonders.

The original xml design;
Promo Wonder gives one free Promo Building in all Yidl cities.
Promo Building gives one free Ydil Promo (has tier prerequisites) to the Yidl Units.
Ydil Promo has 100% chance of randomly applying the standard Promotion (wouldn't want Mimics doubling their power and it keeps the new promotions simple).

The above works fine until I run into this unique building limit. I was quite happy maximising the xml use and minimising the python in this mod. If I can not get more unique buildings, then I'll need to use more python.

Alternative design;
Ydil wonder building provides multiple promo buildings in Ydil cities, e.g. Body Wonder provides Body1, Body2 & Body3 buildings.
Subsequent steps would be the same as before.
The promo buildings would be bUnique but would not be assigned to Ydil and so would not appear on the tech tree or the Ydil civilization screen. I'd also make them bGraphicalOnly so they would not show in the Civilopedia (all necessary info would be given on the wonder building Pedia entry).
As the buildings are given through python (onBuildingBuilt), there's also the possibility of removing them through python, if a city lost connection with the capital, i.e. doesn't have the Ydil unique bonus provided by the capital.
I could cycle through all Ydil cities each turn, deleting all promo buildings if the bonus is not available. If the bonus is available and the city is missing any applicable promo buildings, I could have them created. (If cycling like this, I wouldn't also use the onBuildingBuilt hook.) Keeping the python check at the city/wonder level should not slow the game turn down noticeably.

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@Calavente
I'll already give the Ydil units levels based on either techs researched or aged (i.e. Reflecting that the hive mind has aged and gained experience). This is necessary to allow them to use the standard tier units.
Giving all non Ydil units extra levels as part of the world spell is similar to the halving xp idea. Your approach would affect the lower tier units more but would have less impact on the very high level units. It would really slow down the next promo for the high level units. I don't think it's an issue that the units can tier up sooner as even at the higher tier, they still suffer from the promo hit. I think I'll go for this unless there's other suggestions. I just need to come up with a good lore explanation for it.
 
They can't recon, no heroes, no RELIGIOUS heroes, huge GP reduction, can't gain XP and must devote production to unit upgrades that seem dramatically unlikely to keep up with actual upgraded units - a stack of four level 10s is generally more than a match for ten level 4s, let alone what happens when a group with heroes hits a group with no heroes - and their unique civ benefit is that provided you build roads to every new city, which risks your workers from going insane, they have no unhappiness without any unique growth options?

I mean maybe there's something crazy you're holding in the wings but it sounds like these guys would get creamed on even middling difficulty, let alone against an actual person.

As an unrelated note, could you use foreign ambassadors to troll the Clan into starting a war with barbarians by constantly sacrificing them to the rampant leashed minotaurs or whatever?
 
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