Procylon's Call to Power Project

[shoi]

Looking forward to the update! Btw, for America, since it is technically from Europe (European settlers), would you still count it as a civ from the Americas or one from Europe?

 

[FiresForever]

Looking forward to the update! Btw, for America, since it is technically from Europe (European settlers), would you still count it as a civ from the Americas or one from Europe?

It is a somewhat tricky one but i am leaning towards it being counted as a Europe civ

 

[chrome-rome]

http://www.mediafire.com/?hol4b34znps91se

Alright CTP fans, I finally feel comfortable enough to release what I have been working on these last few months. There are two files here: the Call to Power file should obviously replace the version that you have installed. I strongly recommend making a copy of the old version in case you don’t like this rendition. The second file is the Gradual Research mod, which is used for all of the tech, building, and unit cost, as well as a few other features. Just move both mods to your mods folder (delete the old CTP after you make your copy) and it should be good to go. This update comes with many changes from the original V9; I'll try to note the most important of them here:

Spoiler :

Pacing (Technologies, Buildings, Units)
In terms of pacing, I have increased tech, building, and unit cost across the board, sometimes by 3+ times the original. This results in techs on the next highest tier taking 11-12 turns to research, those on the same tier 7-9 turns, and old techs under 6 turns. Turns for constructing buildings follow a similar approach, where most new buildings take between 10-15 turns in a developed city. New units average about 7 turns. I realize that this may be a little slow for some players, so it will be adjustable to fit each player’s wants (see the Gradual Research mod attached). I was just tired of blazing through the tech tree. With the present changes, eras actually feel like eras, and the calendar year coincides much more closely with the era.

Specialist
To make the AI more competitive, I removed all specialist prior to the Industrial Era. All buildings after Industrial only have one specialist slot. Now, I am never the first into any era before Industrial, and I have often been beat to even the Digital Era. Since the specialist come much later in the game, I have reworked their yields to be more competitive with worked tiles (these yields have only been eyeballed for balance so more testing may be necessary).

Monopolies
I am in the process of changing the monopoly system from percentage yields to flat yields. This helps as the increased cost from era and/or size is now justified. For example, a small copper building gives 20P, medium gives 30P, large 50, and huge 60. The Monopoly itself gives 140P to all cities, which the sum of all the previous bonuses. In the Classical Era, the small iron building gives 30P, the medium 40P, etc. The Monopolies are now National Wonders so each civ can only build one of each.

The main issue with this approach is that there is not a function for a building to give a flat bonus to every city in your empire. There is a Lua workaround available, but I am not able to wrap my head around it. This could perhaps be a task for some of the more program-savvy . As it stands now, the Monopolies are immensely powerful, as they offer the only yield modifiers aside from the governments. Another problem is that some monopoly classes (happiness)are way too popular. I am seriously thinking about removing some of these duplicates from the game. I mean, when you think about it, what is the difference between Tea and Cocoa?? If we decide that the duplicates can/should go, my personal ideal would be to have one monopoly per era for each of the different yields. Also, I think we can expand this system to include culture and science monopolies in the future.

Buildings
A lot of buildings have been redone to provide flat rates (or per-pop bonuses) rather than percentages. I never liked not knowing how effective a certain building would be, especially with all of the competing multipliers; now, it is easy to see exactly how you will benefit. These are balanced (imo) up to early-mid Modern Era. I think most of the problems with the unbalancing (aside from the Monopolies) came from buildings that were never bad to build. I changed that by adding huge amounts of maintenance to many buildings so that you only build them if you really want the bonuses (becomes obvious in late Renaissance/ Industrial). These cash drainers can be circumvented by going through the Economy Techs for the era to bolster your Gold intake. The idea here is that the newer buildings are much more expensive than the buildings of the previous era(s). I believe I have updated all of the text entries to at least tell you what each building does. Work on the later eras is still in progress.

Culture/Policies
Another huge change is currently underway in the Government/Social Policy area. By removing percentage bonuses from buildings, I changed the governments back to how D originally envisioned them. Each government has a modifier that it add to each yield (food, production, gold, and science(and maybe culture; still thinking)). By removing modifiers from buildings, these percentage increases are actually representative; if you adopt Communism, you will see a 40% increase in production no matter what (aside from the 10% bonus from GA). The problem here is that, with modifiers off-limits for all but the governments, it has become hard to create policies that are distinctive. I think I have done a decent job distinguishing the policy trees from each other, but due to the large influx of policies in Renaissance, there may be some repetition. I have put in corresponding flavors for the policies so that the AI knows what to do. I think you will find that there are now many viable Policy paths, not just Monarchy-Democracy-Corporate-etc. I had an extremely stressful time trying to defend against a Fascist China .Note: I have no idea how balanced the later-era Governments are due to the way the game drastically scales up the yields in Industrial onward and my never reaching late eras due to bug smashing/tweaking. If something is too strong/weak, let me know.

Future Plans

AI
Unless I have overlooked it, I don't think there are any flavors for the Techs. This might explain why AI always beeline through the ages and skip over Social Techs. This will be a massive undertaking, but the result should be a much better AI.

Monopolies
Like I mentioned before, the Monopolies for each respective resource still have their yield modifiers. I need someone to work in LUA to change that to a global flat yield. If you are willing, please post here or PM me. Additionally, the flavors here drastically need to be reworked. A lot of the entries here don't even correspond to legitimate flavors (FOOD instead of GROWTH). I think D burnt himself out when doing those.

City-States
I can't find where D changed the decay rate for the CS but I think it was better before the changes. I've found that with the increased building maintenance, you will only have enough money for a CS if you actively plan for it. I do think increasing the cost of the influence points was a good move, but increasing the decay-rate made them all but useless. I have stopped playing with them until this gets sorted out.

Wonders
I feel that a lot of the wonders are redundant/game breaking. I have tried to fix the most obvious of them, but in the future I think a more thorough examination would be best. Also, the wonder flavors need to be reexamined.

Art
Something minor, but I would really like for the yield icons to revert back to the 1-2-3-4-5 system for culture and science, as the highest tile yields for those resources is around 5 or so.

Balancing
The new patch made me really excited even though I no longer play vanilla Civ. I am impressed because the game seems to be finally at the point where there is more than one clear way of proceeding. Each of these paths are equally correct in the right circumstances. What’s more, the game creates synergies for players continuing down their chosen path to victory. I don’t think CTP is at that stage yet. Especially in the later eras, there are numerous possible routes that a player can take; the problem is that while there isn’t a wrong path to follow, the game is also lacking a “right” path. This is made abundantly clear in the late stages of the game, where you just click on a tech or building because it looks cool. I will be happy when this mod get to the point where each choice the player makes had a concrete thought process behind it. It is for this reason that I am reluctant to add anything to the game, as more variables makes balancing harder.

Please, please, please let me know how you like this update. I believe it makes a more competitive AI and an overall better game experience. It's my hope that this update will have taken care of a few things D was planning to do so that when he comes back, he can hit the ground rolling.

I'm going to be taking a slight break from "modding" before looking over the additions to the new patch. After the patch drops, I'll begin working on the Techs. If anyone would like to help, shoot me a PM. And again, if someone knows Lua and wants to help with the Monopoly buildings, let me know.

Oh, and I have to thank Fires for helping - read: fixing my problems - on the Social Policies; without him, I probably would never have released this.

Have fun players!!

***EDIT***
I added my notes if anyone wants to see how I got to the values I used and my rationale behind some of the changes. They are pretty unorganized, but a few people may get a kick out of reading them. If you are one of those people, I suggest you start reading towards the end, as my earlier entries are just random bits of information. Unfortunately, a sizeable portion of the notes were erased with that **** computer virus, but it should still be pretty detailed.

 

[Karantaner]

I downloaded your new version and I really like it so far. just some questions:
- you said that you removed all the specialists from the building prior to Industrial Age. But in my game the marketplace has two specialist slots.
- the icons for religion are still there, I thought you are going to remove them?
- loading time is quite long - but this was always the case since V7, I think
- is CTP compatible with City State Diplomacy Mod? I really like the idea of that mod. If you don't know I'll try myself

But so far: fantastic job and I'm glad that CTP is back. Now I have to continue my game and teach bloddy Elizabeth a lesson...

EDIT:
- is it intentional that the COG cannot destroy embarked land-units and only bombard them? I just wanted to crush an invasion by Askia and discovered this with horror
- I love the change concerning the unit supply - it is a good idea that you get a production penalty if you have more units than you can support
- specialist again: not only market but also a range of other building still give you specialists like the temple

 

[chrome-rome]

I downloaded your new version and I really like it so far. just some questions:
- you said that you removed all the specialists from the building prior to Industrial Age. But in my game the marketplace has two specialist slots.

I'll look into it. The specialist especially should not be popping up. Are you using the Gradual Research mod? To check, verify that the Market cost 1056P. If it is 920P, it is not activated. You have to enable it after you enable CTP. A really simple way to do this is to enable CTP, then go back to your MOD install directory and open the Gradual Research modinfo. Once opened, press CTRL S to save it. Saving it resets the MOD, so now you can go back to the game and enable it. Now the changes should take hold. Note that if it was not enabled, enabling it will mess up your current game.

- the icons for religion are still there, I thought you are going to remove them?

The icons are all on Fires' side of things. I have absolutely zero experience with Lua/Art. The original plan was to release our changes together but after my crash I felt it was best to release now. Speaking of which though, does anyone know where the vanilla policy icons are located (not the pictures but the actually icons)? I think a lot of them could be used for the new policies which will add a more polished feel (and after working with the policies for so long I'm sick of seeing the same icons )

- loading time is quite long - but this was always the case since V7, I think
- is CTP compatible with City State Diplomacy Mod? I really like the idea of that mod. If you don't know I'll try myself

Yeah loading is a doozy, but a necessary evil. I hope in the future there will be a more streamlined way to load MODs. And I'm not sure about CSD. I would think not; although the units and such would still be present, their order on the tech tree would be different, their cost would be too low, and CS gold gifts would be too cheap. If more people ask about it I'll see if I can tweak it.

But so far: fantastic job and I'm glad that CTP is back.

Thank you. And thanks for the feedback, as I think that's really what this mod needs right now

- is it intentional that the COG cannot destroy embarked land-units and only bombard them? I just wanted to crush an invasion by Askia and discovered this with horror

That must've been fun...I haven't done anything with ships. I rarely use them as I play on Pangaea exclusively, but I'm willing to take a look.

- I love the change concerning the unit supply - it is a good idea that you get a production penalty if you have more units than you can support

Glad you like it but I cannot take credit for this; it was present in CTP (and probably vanilla Civ) before I started tweaking.

 

[Karantaner]

I'll look into it. The specialist especially should not be popping up. Are you using the Gradual Research mod? To check, verify that the Market cost 1056P. If it is 920P, it is not activated. You have to enable it after you enable CTP. A really simple way to do this is to enable CTP, then go back to your MOD install directory and open the Gradual Research modinfo. Once opened, press CTRL S to save it. Saving it resets the MOD, so now you can go back to the game and enable it. Now the changes should take hold. Note that if it was not enabled, enabling it will mess up your current game.

Yes, I'm using the Gradual reseach mod - I had the mod enabled - but at the same time as CTP. so the cost in the game for the Market are indeed 920, which obviously means that it is not activated.

I started now a new game where I first enabled CTP, than Gradual Research and than InfoAddict. But in my new game, the Market also cost just 920P. I must do something wrong - but I do not quite understand your description how to do that - where should I press CTRL S exactly?? Can you describe me how to properly activate the mods - because in the mod browser they are all enabled.

 

[Karantaner]

I managed it - CTP and the Gradual Research Mod are now working fine.

concerning my comment on the COG - Askia's special ability is that his embarked land-units can defend themselves. Thats why I could not crush them but had to bombard them! so everything is fine!

 

[chrome-rome]

Good to hear (especially on that COG bit).

Actually, though I said I was done with modding, I am going to attempt to fill out the tech tree flavors up through Industrial. If it makes the AI better then I will probably get the motivation to continue on.

 

[Terviseks]

this mod is awsome !! I played it and I had no big crashes until future tech eras... but it was a huge world map and when I have to many units, my PC starts to slow the game...
Anyway, in the 2D windows the mod works fine.

You've done a great job, I wish religions policies will be added some times, it could boost the game again.

 

[chrome-rome]

this mod is awsome !! I played it and I had no big crashes until future tech eras... but it was a huge world map and when I have to many units, my PC starts to slow the game...
Anyway, in the 2D windows the mod works fine.

You've done a great job, I wish religions policies will be added some times, it could boost the game again.

Thanks! I don't want to touch religion for several reasons:
1)D already has plans hinged around the D.U.C.K.S. religion mod that will be released sometime after the DLL is available.
2)There wouldn't be much diversity. All of the policies would just have some culture boosting effect.
3)I am still concered about the balance of CTP; even the tweaks that were made, I still think a more balance system is possible. Adding more variables makes finding that balance much harder.

So, for now, I think it best they stay like they are.

 

[Catastrophe90]

- is it intentional that the COG cannot destroy embarked land-units and only bombard them? I just wanted to crush an invasion by Askia and discovered this with horror

That's Askia's UA (Embarked units can defend themselves). Does it work against other nations?

 

[littleot316]

is CTP compatible with R.E.D.? Because as much as i love CTP's system i love the unit diversity in R.E.D.

 

[chrome-rome]

is CTP compatible with R.E.D.? Because as much as i love CTP's system i love the unit diversity in R.E.D.

Welcome to the forums ! I do think the two are relatively compatible. There are probably a few units that are not fit to the R.E.D. scale though. I stopped using R.E.D. when I found that certain units were missing their unit icons... Try it out and let us know.

 

[Karantaner]

That's Askia's UA (Embarked units can defend themselves). Does it work against other nations?

Yes, I figured this out later.... and yes, the cog does work against other nations.

 

[Gregster2709]

Just downloaded v8 from Modhub but I can see or build any buildings ingame. Early Techs are just empty. In later techs I can see some new Units but neither buildings nor wonders. Can anyone help?

 

[Lachlan]

I will try your remaking of CTP Chrome-Rome...

CTP I and II were fabulous, one major flaw : AI

 

[Karantaner]

Just downloaded v8 from Modhub but I can see or build any buildings ingame. Early Techs are just empty. In later techs I can see some new Units but neither buildings nor wonders. Can anyone help?

The version on Modhub is rather old - I wouldn't use that as I think it is not compatible with the last patch. Use the current, updated V9:

http://www.mediafire.com/?hol4b34znps91se

 

[chrome-rome]

I will try your remaking of CTP Chrome-Rome...

Please do. And if you find anything you particularly like/dislike, let me know. And that goes for everyone; feedback is the driving force behind any future changes. Let me know what works, what kinda works, and what's completely broken. It really helps the refinement .

 

[Gregster2709]

The version on Modhub is rather old - I wouldn't use that as I think it is not compatible with the last patch. Use the current, updated V9:

http://www.mediafire.com/?hol4b34znps91se

Thanks Karantaner. Unfortunately the Version 9 doesnt work on my PC. There is a Visual C++ Runtime-Error occuring.

 

[Karantaner]

Thanks Karantaner. Unfortunately the Version 9 doesnt work on my PC. There is a Visual C++ Runtime-Error occuring.

Hm. That's strange. Did you try to load a saved game? I only had that error when I tried that. Also, delete the cache folder of CIV 5. I usually do that to avoid errors when I install a new mod.


feedback after my first finished game with the latest version:
the gradual research mod slows things down significantly. I finished my game in 2050 and I still was in the Industrial Area - and I was the most advanced nation (King dificulty, standard speed). I guess I'll try my next game without that mod. What are your experiences?

I think the game is now better balanced concerning gold. at the end of my game I had a hughe surplus (+10.000/turn) but I think I had even more and the version before the current one.

I had some graphical problems - icons of units disappeard from time to time but they came back after reloading. also the resource icons do not show up if I try to activate them.

I did not have any crash during the whole game and did not notice any major bugs, although I have the feeling that I missed something in the social policies - I have to pay more attention the next time. I think it was one of the policies which should give you +1 happines per city per trade route with your capital.

It was a very entertaining game! Everybody involved in the mod did a very nice job!