Question re:modding and religion

[Aussie_Lurker]

I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming game and all the cool new features-like religion especially-which will be in the game, as well as the modding power of the game. So, that got me to thinking-(1) does anyone think that it will be possible to mod religions such that they can be given or acquire certain traits? (2) do you think it will be possible to mod the game such that a single tech can grant 2 or more religions to Found-but where selecting one locks out the other?
Needless to say, I hope and pray that the answer to both questions is a big YES, because I have big plans for the religion component of my game! I mean, I completely understand the reasons why they are giving religion a 'vanilla flavour' in the first instance, but it would be nice to incorporate features that allow players to further 'personalise' the religion they choose.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

 

[vbraun]

I don't see why those ideas would be impossible, so I bet you will be able to do that, and much more.

 

[Zurai]

It all depends on how many hooks they leave us to attach our Python code to. I'm betting on "yes" to the first and "maybe, with a lot of work" to the second.

 

[vbraun]

Actually the second would be a whole lot easier then the first.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Well I certainly hope so too, because I envision this model where the founder of a religion can select the traits which define his/her vision of the faith-i.e. how ecumenical or orthodox, how militant or pacifistic, how dogmatic or scholarly-that kind of thing.
My thought was, select (or get given) two traits about the time you found the religion, then once every X turns, you get the option to change one trait.
How does that sound to you, Vbraun-doable? If so, do you think it will make religion even more interesting? I am curious what you think !

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

 

[vbraun]

It would take quite a bit of time and effort but it should be 102% possible.

 

[Zurai]

Not neccesarily. I can think of several fairly straightforward ways to do the first that would only involve being able to know whether a civ follows that religion or not. I can think of ways to do the second as well, but they require more hooks and more work.

Of course, I could also be misunderstanding exactly what Aussie meant by "given or acquire certain traits" and "single tech... grant 2 religions... choosing one locks out the other".

EDIT: crossposted. My response was to Vbraun's response to me.

 

[vbraun]

Well it all depends on how complex you want to make the triggers for the traits.

For the second one all you would have to do is figure out if one of the religons has been founded, if one has been don't allow the second. At max it would be 3 if statments.

 

[Zurai]

For the second one all you would have to do is figure out if one of the religons has been founded, if one has been don't allow the second. At max it would be 3 if statments.

The only potential problem with that is how hard coded "The first civ to research a religion technology founds that religion" is. If it's too hard coded, you would found BOTH religions associated with a tech when you were the first to discover that tech.

Actually, I lied - the other potential problem (with both) is AI. You have to teach the AI how to use all the fancy new toys you give it. Fortunately we WILL be able to do that, unlike in Civ3. You don't know how much I gnashed my teeth at not being able to make the AI use units that had some but not all worker abilities.

 

[vbraun]

The only potential problem with that is how hard coded "The first civ to research a religion technology founds that religion" is. If it's too hard coded, you would found BOTH religions associated with a tech when you were the first to discover that tech..

Nothing will be hard-codded.

 

[Zurai]

It's extremely hard to make a game with NO hard coding There'll be plenty of stuff that's hard coded; what matters is how much effort it takes to subvert that hard coding with Python

 

[vbraun]

It's extremely hard to make a game with NO hard coding There'll be plenty of stuff that's hard coded; what matters is how much effort it takes to subvert that hard coding with Python

The only thing that will be hard-codded is the game-engine, otherwise everything will be written in accessible python files. At least thats what I got from all the Civ4 articles.

 

[Zurai]

We can certainly hope so. It would make a lot of the things I want to do MUCH easier if I don't have to jump through hoops to circumvent hard coded restrictions.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Well, if it helps (and with no knowledge of Python whatsover), what I had in mind was:
If you choose to found a religion, then you get a pop-up screen (this will be a UI issue I believe), in which will be the various 'traits'. In many ways it could be arranged like a civics screen, but with only 2-3 options for each 'category'. So a player might choose 'Fundamentalist' under 'Attitudes to Other Faiths' and 'Scholastic' under 'Attitudes to Science'.
Each selection would have an easy bonus/penalty structure. So Fundamentalist might grant a bonus to resisting city conversion by other faiths, but a happiness penalty to any mixed-faith cities. 'Scholastic might give a bonus to your science rate, but might reduce the happiness or gold producing potential of your religious buildings (to represent the less superstitious nature of your people).
Hope that makes sense.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.