Opportunities

[Delgar]

Hey Thal, no worries man. I was supposed to do some work just now but had no motivation so decided to do this instead - it's way more fun to come up with opportunities for Civ 5 than to deal with the pressures of reality...

Anyway the opportunities themselves are still valid (I think), it's just the effects that have to change since we can't affect diplomatic modifiers, so I suppose it still works out?

Alright, look forward to your feedback Actually I'd be happy to write opportunities for every single thing in the game, in fact I'd be happy to write 2-3 opportunities each so that every game feels different i.e. you won't always get the same story for Scouts (although the effects won't differ by much I guess?)

 

[Thalassicus]

I'd be happy to write 2-3 opportunities each so that every game feels different i.e. you won't always get the same story for Scouts (although the effects won't differ by much I guess?)

This is a really good idea, and the system I designed can support it. If you can write more stories that would be great! The "popular warrior/archer" ones in particular are very bland, but I couldn't come up with anything better at the time.

 

[Delgar]

Alright I'll give this a go. Erm, can an opportunity trigger after a warrior/archer kills x number of barbarians or clears x number of barbarian encampments? If so...something like this:

[7] Warrior/Archer's exploits in the field are capturing the attention and admiration of the local tribes (triggers after your warrior/archer clears x number of encampments or kills x number of barbarians )

Description: Your warrior/archer has heroically overcome the threat of numerous barbarian hordes and has established a fearsome reputation among the local tribes, who are so awed by his exploits that they proffer their services/assistance to your empire.

Compassion: The local tribes offer to impart to your workers more efficient techniques for improving the land (cost 150 gold, one of your workers gains 10% speed to tile improvement)

Ruthlessness: The local tribes offer to teach your warrior/archer the ways of pathfinding so that he may traverse the treacherous terrain more smoothly (cost 150 gold, your warrior/archer gains a "no movement penalty" bonus for rough terrain)

Local decision: Let your warrior/archer mingle with the locals and enjoy a feast and celebration (warrior/archer heals completely if injured - which he will be if the opportunity triggers the turn after he has killed a barbarian or cleared an encampment)

I realize that the choices don't exactly fit the Compassion/Ruthlessness structure you laid out...will this be a problem? If so I will try to keep to the Compassion/Ruthlessness theme you set out.

 

[Thalassicus]

Yes, I think it's possible to track kills. The overall goal is to feel like we're making challenging moral decisions about the fate and society of our civilization. It doesn't specifically need to be compassion/ruthlessness. Most of the earlier ones are simpler decisions between swords (military) and plowshares (workers). Your example fits the military/economy theme.

 

[Delgar]

Ooh, just saw a post on city growth and I got a bit of inspiration. This is one for the modern age...

[8] Population-related opportunity (will trigger in the modern age, maybe after Globalization tech is researched?)

Description: The pressures of juggling work and family and trying to make ends meet have led many people in <city_name> to forgo starting a family. The mayor informs you that unless something is done, fewer local children will be born and we may have to rely on immigrants if we want to continue sustaining or growing the population.

Compassion: Introduce a slew of measures that provide bonuses for families with a second and third child, and establish a rule that abolishes overtime work. Live long and prosper! (+250 gold, +3 food in city)

Ruthlessness: Launch a city-wide campaign that emphasizes the important role that each citizen must play in order for <civ_name> to remain competitive in the modern global economic landscape (+250 gold, +2 gold in city)

Local decision: Let your mayor handle the problem (+1 food in city)

 

[wobuffet]

Re: affecting diplomatic relations with AI major Civs, given that the .511 patch notes say

&#8226; Track trades between players and allow that to positively influence relationships (the better the deal for the AI, the stronger the modifier). Particularly useful for bribing a hostile AI.

, would the following kludge be possible?

1. Human (Civ X) clicks Opportunity option to improve diplomatic relation with Civ Y
2. Civ X gets 300
3. Civs X and Y automatically engage in a one-time trade deal: 300 straight from Civ X to Civ Y, improving Civ Y's demeanor towards Civ X
4. 300 deducted from Civ Y's treasury

 

[Thalassicus]

I'm not sure, but that's a good idea. I haven't researched trade deals much because it's mostly core AI stuff. Some of it is not, however, and that part might be possible. I'll look into it later.

 

[Zaldron]

Isn't trade deal attitude both temporary and non-stacking?

 

[Delgar]

Alright, so here's an example of what I wrote for plantations.

Currently it's this:

Description: Demand is rising for the crops of a plantation near {2_city}, where workers harvest the fields for low pay.
Option A: Enact laws to improve pay and conditions for workers.
Option B: Lower trade barriers to strengthen the export economy.
Option C: Let the plantation owners handle this.

I'm proposing a couple others below, just for flavour:

[9] Plantation-related opportunities

Description: Thanks to the excellent weather conditions and your skilful workers, your <resource_name> plantation has been yielding bumper crops for the past several years.
Option A (Compassion): To celebrate the many years of bountiful harvests, you decide to create an annual holiday festival to commemorate the occasion and throw a celebration and big feast (cost 150 gold, +3 food in city or plantation tile)
Option B (Ruthlessness): The abundant crops are worth their weight in gold and your advisors suggest hoarding the <resource_name> and tightly controlling its supply to the citizenry, thus driving up prices (cost 150 gold, +2 gold in city or on plantation tile)
Option C (Local): Let the plantation owners handle the situation (+1 food in city or plantation tile)

[10] Plantation-related opportunities

Description: Your citizens have reported a significant increase in their quality of life and overall health after years of consuming the crops from your <resource_name> plantation. Rumours are persisting that the crops have magical healing properties.
Option A (Compassion): Commission a specialized and highly trained team of scientists to identify the root cause of the benefits that arise from consuming the <resource_name>. The research could be beneficial to our understanding of future technologies (cost 150 gold, +2 science on plantation tile)
Option B (Ruthlessness): Invest in advanced infrastructure and increased manpower to support higher crop yields so that greater benefits can be procured (cost 150 gold, +2 food on plantation tile)
Option C (Local): Let the plantation owners decide (+1 food on plantation tile)

 

[Delgar]

Me again. I promise to stop if anyone thinks I am spamming. But I am just having fun doing this...

[11] Crime-related opportunities (ancient to renaissance eras)

Description: Citizens of <2_city> are up in arms as there has been an alarming increase in the number of thefts and burglaries in recent years. Many suspect the city governor to be in cahoots with the thieves, as they appear to be everywhere and have a disturbingly high influence on the city&#8217;s affairs.
Option A (Compassion): Launch a full-scale investigation into the allegations against the governor, and channel funds towards the creation of a special anti-crime unit to eradicate the thieves once and for all (cost 250 gold, +2 happiness)
Option B (Ruthlessness): Establish contact with the leader of the thieves guild and make a compromise: allow the thieves guild to continue running as long as &#8216;contributions&#8217; are made towards national spending (cost 200 gold, +3 gold in city)
Option C (Local): Let the city governer resolve the crisis (no reward)

[12] Crime-related opportunities (industrial to modern eras)

Description: The mafia in <2_city> are making their presence felt. Gang wars, extortions, bank robberies, assassinations and various other crimes are leaving the citizens helpless and fearful for their personal safety. The situation is getting out of hand, and drastic measures need to be taken soon.
Option A (Compassion): Strike a compromise with the mafia; as long as they curtail their activities and avoid the loss of human life, allow them to continue operations. Part of the compromise involves the establishment of a thriving black market, and &#8220;contributions&#8221; towards the national treasury are made on a regular basis (cost 250 gold, +2 gold in city)
Option B (Ruthlessness): Declare a state of emergency and deploy the national guard to destroy the mafia and reassure the populace (cost 250 gold, +2 happiness)
Option C (Local): Let the city governer resolve the crisis (no reward)


I admit this one is a bit unrealistic though. Have there been instances in history of governments collaborating with crime lords??? Hmm.

 

[Thalassicus]

If you have the time, copy these to the "Triggers" tab in CivVModding.xls. After doing that, you can optionally add more details on the "Trigger Code" tab. I created it to scan that stuff and automatically generate most of the xml necessary to add things to the mod. It saves literally hours of time.

 

[Delgar]

Sure thing I'll do that tonight when I get home

 

[Delgar]

Ok, before I go on any further, I better clarify: Can the mod identify the difference between an improved resource (e.g. improved gems) and the improvement (mine)?

Because I am writing an opportunity for an improved resource (Gems) but I don't know whether the the mod will recognize the difference...

 

[Thalassicus]

Yes, we have these capabilities:

GetPlotType: water, land, hills, mountain.
GetTerrainType: coast, ocean, grassland, plains, etc.
GetImprovementType: farm, mine, barbarian camp, city ruins, ancient ruins, etc.
GetFeatureType: forest, floodplains, atoll, natural wonder, etc.
GetResourceType: gems, fish, etc.

You can see more things for plots by clicking here, then halfway down click "Plot" to see a list of all our capabilities. Or click here to go directly.

 

[Delgar]

Yay. Thanks Thal. Ok, off to start writing now...

 

[albie_123]

I admit this one is a bit unrealistic though. Have there been instances in history of governments collaborating with crime lords??? Hmm.

Too many to list

I really like these ideas. Just remember that yield values are not necessarily equal. 1 =/= 1 , for example.

 

[Delgar]

Alright so I've added 4 entries to the file, editing both the Triggers and Trigger Code tabs. Before I go on any further, I'd better post the file so that someone can make sure I am not making a serious error...

 

[Delgar]

Oh yes, before I forget, is there a way to slow down the alerts from disappearing? The ones that appear in the top center of the screen. They usually disappear so quickly that I never have enough time to read them...

 

[Jorlem]

How detailed can the conditions be? For instance, could I propose a random event that can only happen to a civ that has no cities built on tundra, and units that are currently walking on tundra outside of the civ's cultural borders?

Also, would it be possible for events to cause tile 'improvements'? I'm wondering if it could be possible to bring back volcanoes, like civ 4 had. It probably wouldn't be too different from fallout from nukes, I imagine.

 

[albie_123]

If they're possible, I'd love situational / more complex opportunities.