(RFC3E) Welcome to RFCEurope Enhanced Edition

[voigt]

RFCEurope Enhanced Edition (RFC3E)

As I like a lot this mod and seen that's RFCE is not in active development for few years, I decided to work on a fork of this mod for the past months. My main goal is to bring the experience of this mod closer to the RFC DoC one.
I've been in touch with people who played the old RFCE++ modmod, and I would like to include some of its features.

For the moment, here's what's been done so far:

• Added the BUG and BULL mods
• Added Blue Marble terrains
• Added some extra soundtracks from RFC DoD
• Some minor tweaks, chore tasks and large refactoring of the codebase (thanks to @Leoreth 's work in RFC DoC)

I plan to work on the following changes:

• New gamespeed / new difficulty level
• New civs (Serbia, Bohemia, Crimea, Lombardy, Egypt from RFCE++)
• New techs and civics, rebalance of unique power and starting points
• Adding personal unions and Holy Roman Empire features from RFCE++
• New timepoint (like 1500AD)
• Switching to the RFCEurope map with extra eastern lands (see here)
• Maybe extend the time period to the industrial era (very hypothetical)

How to install this?
The code is in my GitHub repository.
You can either:

• cloning the repo in your MODs location (you can use your favorite git client like GitHub desktop or the CLI. The main branch corresponds to this fork, the original mod is located in the original branch)
• download a zip version in the release section of the repository.

The recommended way is to clone the repository, which allows you to get the latest changes by performing a git pull operation on the main branch.

Here's the GitHub tutorial for Github Desktop, here's for Git itself. This is also a nice introduction for git and GitHub.
With GitHub Desktop, you can do most of thing as a user of a git repository (which is fetching new changes (ie. commits) and moving between branches).
This post can be useful about how to use GitHub Desktop.

When you customize the BUG mod settings, you apply changes to the default config files. This will make the pull operation impossible. You will need to stash your settings before performing the pull operation. You can then restore your settings. Here's a tutorial to do so with Github Desktop.

Other infos

A complete list of all features can be found here.
Province stability maps (and others) can be found here.

Spoiler screenshots :

Spoiler maps :

Base

Bonuses

Terrains

Every suggestions is welcome!
Same for bug and issues (don't hesitate to post an issue on GitHub if you have an account there!)

 

[HNation]

Very cool! I'm not super-experienced, but I'm happy to help as much as I can.

A couple of remarks

1. The expanded map I posted wasn't the proto-map. It was the current map with the extra eastern lands of the proto-map added. The proto-map didn't include Iceland, Azores, Canaries, Madeira. The new eastern lands still need a lot of work, but the proto-map is a good starting point.
2. I would strongly recommend against extending the game into the industrial era, at least for now.
3. Until the map is finished, I would recommend against adding a 1500 AD scenario, because every map change would need to be manually re-added to the new scenario. It's much less labor-intensive to get the expanded map to a good point first, and then make another scenario. (This is how Leoreth did it for DoC, he got the big map good before making the other scenarios)
4. Are you going to use my mod-mod that changes it to 650 turns (3 turns/year 500-800, 2 turns/year 800-1700, 1 turn/year 1700-1800)? Another option is to use 600 turns as the standard speed, 900 for epic (like SoI), and then 1800 for marathon. 600 turns could be (3 turns/year 500-950, 2 turns year 950-1700, 1.333 turns for year 1700-1800). Absinthe did want to speed up the 1700-1800 era. This would mean 150 turns from 500-950, 375 turns from 950-1700, and 75 turns from 1700-1800. Since turns per year are defined by month in the XML, it would mean that from 1700-1800, there are 16 months per turn.
5. I would recommend adding all of Serbia, Crimea, Tunisia, Egypt, Sicily (Absinthe wanted to add all of these), Seljuks (see my next point), Ireland, Lombardy, Bohemia, Armenia, and Georgia. Perhaps a Wallachian civ could be nice, too, but it might get cramped.
6. With the extended map, I'd recommend a Seljuk civ instead of Rum. Rum was, after all, a Seljuk state, and this way, the parts of Western Persia that are on the expanded map can have a real civ in them instead of just indies/barbs (a Seljuk civ without Rum doesn't have enough land to be viable)

 

[voigt]

About (1), I made a mistake about the name of the map you posted previously, I edited its name in the post.
For (2), the industrial era, it's very hypothetical and would require most of the other planned features to be added before working on it. So, it's definitely not something that's coming at the moment.
For (3), it makes sense. Adding the new map before adding another scenario would be better. Also, since I want to work on adding the mod BUG (and platybuilder) first, once that's done, I'd like to use platybuilder to switch from CivBeyondSwordWBSave to txt files (as in RFC DOC).
For (4), I've already started work to the addition of epic and marathon gamespeed. You can see in the "files changed" tab the changes I've made to the distribution of turns across the era. This can be discussed, of course. Adding gamespeed would require edition of the python and C++ codebase.
For (5) and (6), I completely agree with you.

Also, I'd like to take this time to ask, what do you think about:

• removing the mercenary gameplay. I've never really used this feature in Civ4. I think removing it would make the python codebase more easier. Also, RFC DOC removed this a long time ago.
• removing the ability for naval units to travel foreign seas without open borders.

 

[HNation]

About (1), I made a mistake about the name of the map you posted previously, I edited its name in the post.
For (2), the industrial era, it's very hypothetical and would require most of the other planned features to be added before working on it. So, it's definitely not something that's coming at the moment.
For (3), it makes sense. Adding the new map before adding another scenario would be better. Also, since I want to work on adding the mod BUG (and platybuilder) first, once that's done, I'd like to use platybuilder to switch from CivBeyondSwordWBSave to txt files (as in RFC DOC).

All of this sounds good

For (4), I've already started work to the addition of epic and marathon gamespeed. You can see in the "files changed" tab the changes I've made to the distribution of turns across the era. This can be discussed, of course. Adding gamespeed would require edition of the python and C++ codebase.

I'm not sure how I feel about marathon gamespeed. It works in DoC because that mod covers 5020 years, it might be excessive in RFCE, for the same reason it wasn't included with SoI.
I would recommend increasing the number of turns in standard, as well. I've already made a 650 turn one, I can also make a 600 turn one if you'd prefer. Absinthe was going to do this but then he left.

For (5) and (6), I completely agree with you.

Also, I'd like to take this time to ask, what do you think about:

• removing the mercenary gameplay. I've never really used this feature in Civ4. I think removing it would make the python codebase more easier. Also, RFC DOC removed this a long time ago.

Bad idea. I use it in pretty much every RFCE game I play. There are a lot of cool regional units only accessible through the mercenary screen, and mercenaries were ig in medieval Europe.

• removing the ability for naval units to travel foreign seas without open borders.

I don't agree with this, either. This just makes naval travel more difficult for no reason.

Also, the eastern part of the map still needs some work. A lot of the rivers and terrain don't match up with the existing map, and Mesopotamia has way too much grassland.

 

[Krieger-FS]

Great work with the modmod!

Just a suggestion regarding new civs: how about the Khazars? They would fit perfectly in the new map area and could make the early game more interesting!

 

[voigt]

All of this sounds good

I'm not sure how I feel about marathon gamespeed. It works in DoC because that mod covers 5020 years, it might be excessive in RFCE, for the same reason it wasn't included with SoI.
I would recommend increasing the number of turns in standard, as well. I've already made a 650 turn one, I can also make a 600 turn one if you'd prefer. Absinthe was going to do this but then he left.



Bad idea. I use it in pretty much every RFCE game I play. There are a lot of cool regional units only accessible through the mercenary screen, and mercenaries were ig in medieval Europe.

I don't agree with this, either. This just makes naval travel more difficult for no reason.

Also, the eastern part of the map still needs some work. A lot of the rivers and terrain don't match up with the existing map, and Mesopotamia has way too much grassland.

Ok, got it for mercenaries and naval travel in foreign seas.
As for the new map, I used my script to render all the map elements (see here). There is indeed some discontinuities in the feature and terrain maps. For example, dense forest/grassland in the Urals. I also see differences in southeast England between the original map and the new one.

Great work with the modmod!

Just a suggestion regarding new civs: how about the Khazars? They would fit perfectly in the new map area and could make the early game more interesting!

Thanks! Yeah totally, adding more central asian civs would be neat!

 

[stillblackadder]

Really looking forward to the new civs and mechanics in the mod! Currently playing through some civs on the most recent version and noticed couple of bugs.
1.Research gets bugged in all the yesteday saves I got - impossible to make a turn without freezing

2. It seems to be impossible to redirect the crusade? I got almost 3000 by the time of the first crusade as Venice but did not get prompted (could some AI be hoarding gold?)
3. I get this error on both Burgundy and Venice playthroughs - could be a reason for both bugs?

 

[voigt]

@stillblackadder I've fixed the issue (3), you can check it by pulling the main branch. I have also the freezing of (1), I don't know why this bug occurs... I've never experimented this kind of freeze. I have to investigate the crusade functionality, maybe there's a regression with the refactoring I did.

 

[HNation]

@voigt can you add more music to the Soundtrack? For example, this song, written by King Henry VIII

 

[stillblackadder]

@stillblackadder I've fixed the issue (3), you can check it by pulling the main branch. I have also the freezing of (1), I don't know why this bug occurs... I've never experimented this kind of freeze. I have to investigate the crusade functionality, maybe there's a regression with the refactoring I did.

Thanks for the quick fix! Regarding the research bug - I seem to be getting it every time I try to load the save after I closed the game. I mean savefiles work fine as long as I do not close again - if I restart the application all of them are suddenly broken. Does it happen to anyone else? Could it be because I downloaded the files as zip?

 

[voigt]

@stillblackadder ok thanks for the details. It may coming from the save game file parser. I will work on it.
I really recommend using the git version with GitHub desktop, it's much easier to get updates.

 

[voigt]

@stillblackadder I've been able to fix the issue with existing savegame. The bug was caused to the game modifier setup at the start of the game.
I made a new release for this fix.

 

[stillblackadder]

@stillblackadder I've been able to fix the issue with existing savegame. The bug was caused to the game modifier setup at the start of the game.
I made a new release for this fix.

Thank you! I will take a look at it as soon as I will finish the game I have on the "original" branch. It is actually great to be able to switch between branches

 

[Hickman888]

I'm a few turns in, and my Calendar still isn't popping up. Bug?

Spoiler What Year is it? :

 

[voigt]

This is not a bug. I've changed the technology that reveals the date (and centering the map). It's no longer the calendar, but map making, because before the 11th century, nobody knew the calendar system we use today.

 

[gilgames]

Really looking forward to the new civs and mechanics in the mod! Currently playing through some civs on the most recent version and noticed couple of bugs.
1.Research gets bugged in all the yesteday saves I got - impossible to make a turn without freezing
View attachment 690412
2. It seems to be impossible to redirect the crusade? I got almost 3000 by the time of the first crusade as Venice but did not get prompted (could some AI be hoarding gold?)
3. I get this error on both Burgundy and Venice playthroughs - could be a reason for both bugs?

View attachment 690414

You can't redirect the first crusade, only the later ones.

 

[gilgames]

RFCEurope Enhanced Edition (RFC3E)

As I like a lot this mod and seen that's RFCE is not in active development for few years, I decided to work on a fork of this mod for the past months. My main goal is to bring the experience of this mod closer to the RFC DoC one.
I've been in touch with people who played the old RFCE++ modmod, and I would like to include some of its features.

For the moment, here's what's been done so far:

• Large refactoring of the codebase (thanks to @Leoreth 's work in RFC DoC)
• Added Blue Marble
• Added some extra soundtracks from RFC DoD
• Some minor tweaks.

I plan to work on the following changes:

• Adding the BUG mod
• New gamespeed (Marathon and epic like in RFC DoC)
• New civs (Serbia, Bohemia, Crimea, Lombardy from RFCE++) / Ireland (maybe indy celtics with Rum and Egypt from RFCE++)
• New techs and civics, rebalance of unique power and starting points
• New timepoint (like 1500AD)
• Adding personal unions from RFCE++
• Adding Holy Roman Empire features from RFCE++
• Switching to the RFCEurope map with extra eastern lands (see here)
• Maybe extend the time period to the industrial era (very hypothetical)

How to install this?
The code is in my GitHub repository.
You can either:

• cloning the repo in your MODs location (you can use your favorite git client like GitHub desktop or the CLI. The main branch corresponds to this fork, the original mod is located in the original branch)
• download a zip version in the release section of the repository.

The recommended way is to clone the repository, whoch allows you to get the latest changes by performing a git pull opération on the main branch.
A complete list of all features can be found here.
Province stability maps (and others) can be found here.

Some screenshots

Spoiler screenshots :

View attachment 690104View attachment 690105View attachment 690106View attachment 690107

Maps

Spoiler maps :

Base
View attachment 690108
Bonuses
View attachment 690109
Rivers
View attachment 690110
Terrains
View attachment 690111

Every suggestions is welcome!
Same for bug and issues (don't hesitate to post an issue on GitHub if you have an account there!)

It's really cool that you want to revive this wonderful mod. It's also appreciated to make a modmod. But...

Adding new civs might be too early
The civics were mostly fine, I don't think they need a serious touch
Not a fan of the rfce++ unions.
Techs, it was fine, but if you want to update them I have nothing against it.
The 1500ad seems pointless to me
Extend to industrial era, is a definitely no
Extra land to the east: we had an extended discussion about it before, and the concluion was: it's not worth it. Adds too little to few nations for a lot of work.

My biggest concern is that some nations are still unbalanced. Russia is unplayable as the latest SVN version and turkey's first uhv is super luck based. The 2nd also risky and the last is too easy.

Nonetheless I am looking forward to see this mod thrive again.


A long time player.

 

[Lycidas]

It's really cool that you want to revive this wonderful mod. It's also appreciated to make a modmod. But...

Adding new civs might be too early
The civics were mostly fine, I don't think they need a serious touch
Not a fan of the rfce++ unions.
Techs, it was fine, but if you want to update them I have nothing against it.
The 1500ad seems pointless to me
Extend to industrial era, is a definitely no
Extra land to the east: we had an extended discussion about it before, and the concluion was: it's not worth it. Adds too little to few nations for a lot of work.

My biggest concern is that some nations are still unbalanced. Russia is unplayable as the latest SVN version and turkey's first uhv is super luck based. The 2nd also risky and the last is too easy.

Nonetheless I am looking forward to see this mod thrive again.


A long time player.

I echo gilgames's appreciation -

That said, I really would welcome the addition of the Bohemian and Serbian civilizations from RFCE++ -I thought they made the Balkans and old HRE empire so much more engaging to play.

One tweak that I do think needs considering is when playing England there are moorland tiles which can't be settled -places in the Midlands or even further south that in reality were and are populated by historical cities. Maybe it was about avoiding England becoming too powerful -perhaps that could be mitigated with a negative event on the grassland to reduce the food yield?

 

[gilgames]

I echo gilgames's appreciation -

That said, I really would welcome the addition of the Bohemian and Serbian civilizations from RFCE++ -I thought they made the Balkans and old HRE empire so much more engaging to play.

One tweak that I do think needs considering is when playing England there are moorland tiles which can't be settled -places in the Midlands or even further south that in reality were and are populated by historical cities. Maybe it was about avoiding England becoming too powerful -perhaps that could be mitigated with a negative event on the grassland to reduce the food yield?

As England you can build there cottages or workshops but quite powerful. I don't see a problem that you can't place cities there.
Englands city placement is a tricky one anyway. I also don't really like that you have to destroy France in order to achieve uhv 2. Yes it's historical, but no AI france can survive that.

 

[voigt]

Adding new civs might be too early
The civics were mostly fine, I don't think they need a serious touch
Not a fan of the rfce++ unions.
Techs, it was fine, but if you want to update them I have nothing against it.
The 1500ad seems pointless to me
Extend to industrial era, is a definitely no
Extra land to the east: we had an extended discussion about it before, and the concluion was: it's not worth it. Adds too little to few nations for a lot of work.

@gilgames I'm align with most of your opinions.

So, to give you the big picture, here's how I plan the future development of RFC3E:

1. Add BUG improvements on the C++ codebase (aka BULL mod) + some improvements made by Leoreth over the C++ and Python codebase. These are just chore tasks, but they're essential before adding “real” things to the mod (which may only take a few weeks).
2. rewrite the stability feature (with also collapse and respawn behavior)
3. actually modify existing features, adding new items / features (rebalancing, new civs etc...)

About civics, I'm thinking only of renaming some of (legal, government, maybe theocracy) and adding a 6th civic for each category.
For UHV, I think there are too many conquest victory conditions (even though I like them and think this is the time and place for it). That why, I think we could add more cultural and economical victory conditions.
For instance, we could remove Ile-de-France and Orleans from the first english UHV and adding the requirement of an amount of gold to the second UHV (something like 7000 gold by 1776?) Same thing for France, I don't think that only holding Jerusalem is worth a UHV, this could be replaced by a cultural victory condition. In overall I'm agree with @gilgames, achieving UVH shouldn't involve the destruction of another civ.
About the rebalancing, I'm thinking about adding more changes over the time in the type of province for some civilizations (like France, England or Byzantium for instance). This would be a better way to fit the mod with the history of the european continent.
For new civs, I tought about the following: Bohemia / Serbia / Lombardy / Egypt (from RFCE++), also Switzerland, Florence, Napoli(?), a dedicated Tunisa civ(?). As for the previous point, I'm aiming to add more civs that actually exist in European history, but not especially those that lasted. I'm thinking of all the ancient and classical civilizations in RFC DOC that we know didn't survive the end of the classical era. That's why I'd like to improve the beginning of the map with additional civs. Apart from Lombardy (as in RFCE++), I don't have any specific civs in mind.
Finally, extra land to the east: I agree it's a lot of work, but it would make things completely different. I mean, we could have a civ dedicated to the Mongols (Timur), playable or not. But I don't think that's something we're going to do. So maybe 4 or 5 more columns might be worthwhile, to add more space to the Arabs and be able to turn around the Black Sea. But it's certainly not a priority.