I have a history timeline book I bought when I was a kid, and I distinctly remember the tiny potrait it had for Kublai Khan. It looked exactly like the one in BtS (or vanilla's QSH). So I like the change, though it's going to take quite a while getting used to it now.
I'll try and find a image of that potrait if I can.
Please do! Someone (presumably you) mentioned such an image in a past thread, and I've tried to find it online and failed. I'd love to see it! I've collected suspected source images for most of Civ 4's leaders, but not yet managed to find one that matches Kublai's leaderhead well.
I don't quite like the winding up a punch animation on the BtS Qin. But the actual appearances of both I like now in BtS.
It fits his personality well. By the end of his life, he was extremely paranoid. My theory is that when you approach him, he momentarily thinks you're an assassin.
I'm not sure why people think Qin would be more wimpy or not warlike. Look the guy up.
I wish people would. Real life Qin Shi Huang strikes me as much more warlike than Kublai Khan - the former unified the whole of China by force, the latter mostly consolidated the empire his grandfather had already carved out. He improved the Mongolian empire's infrastructure and promoted the arts. While Qin Shi Huang did also have builder tendancies, I'd say he was more of a warmonger than Kublai. Neither were exactly peaceful, of course.
People seem to get hung up on their nationalities - the assumption seems to be that a Chinese leader couldn't possibly be a warmongering brute, and surely all Mongolians are only interested in war and don't care about civil issues. I wonder if this might be why the leaderheads were accidently mixed up in the first place.
One thing I think Firaxis did get wrong with Qin is his wonder-building probability (30%, which is barely over average, and equal to Kublai). This is a guy who built a new palace in his capitol every time he conquored a city. We're talking about the whole of China here - he conquored *a lot* of cities, and ended up with a heck of a lot of palaces. Then there's the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army, his burial site which is believed to contain rivers of mercury...Qin was extravagent. This really ought to be reflected with a high wonder-building tendancy, to rival Ramesses and Louis. Also, Qin gives a hidden +1 diplomatic modifier towards all foreign leaders, which is why he's comparatively friendly in the game. What on earth is the justification for that?
