Role Play Challenge, TNG: Mad Scientist, A New World Order

Welcome to the next Mad Scientist RPC, TNG. These games are meant to be educational and fun. This one is definitely fun, but perhaps educational in regards that if I can make a mod anyone can (see my past problems in past RPCs).

Here we have a very simple mod that will definitely change how the game is played. I decided all the traits were not up to my satisfaction, and I decided to change the world of Sid into the world of MAD! Yes, I delved into the XMLs and hacked away, changing every single trait in a way and adding 2 new ones! I tinkered with a few UUs that I have always found offensively poor, but kept all buildings the same except for which are built faster by certain traits! I also changed the National Wonders to be build 100% faster with a certain trait, just for atmosphere! Does this add more challenge? Who the hell knows, it's fun! I altered some leaders traits, and kept others, and frankly I don't remember who is who anymore!

I will post the starting screenshots here, describe the game setting, state the rules, and use the second thread to post all the changes I made in the mod.

I am also attaching the mod file zipped for anyone to open and put into their Mod folder in the BTS section under program files. I am sure many kind posters can describe what to do better than I can, frankly I don't know what I did or really what I am doing. I can tell you the mod works!

Settings

Radnom Leader
Emperor Difficulty
Fractal Map

Rules:
There Aint None!
Seriously, it is a fun and unusual game, let's see how is shakes out however I do plan to write up like an RPC and perhaps I will add an RPC story line as I go along.

Our completely Random Leader



I considered reloading as he's the leader I planned to use in the RPC after this, but what the hey, his traits are different.

The start is pretty decent



Normal play we would go Animal Husbandry and look for cottaging the floodplains. However, see our trait changes first!

Here are the save and modpack

 

First of all, let me state the UUs that I have altered

Ballista Elephant: A Normal War Elephant that is resourcelss (Yes Khmerian elephants appear like magic, just like camles)
Bowmen: +25% versus melee but start with Shock, thus the shock is retained upon promotion.
Camel Archer: now 20% withdrawl (They ar emagical afetrall!)
Hwacha: No longer have a bonus versus melee but they can kill units outright (Ah, the Vanilla/warlords days!)
Muskateer: 10 strength muskets but 1 movement
Numidean Archer: 6 strength, +25% versus melee, free flanking I
Panzer: 3 movement
Phalanx: Still +100% versus chariots but they do start with the formation promotion.

OK, let's talk traits!

FINANCIAL
+1 commerce/3 Commerce tiles (thus no bonus for sea tiles unless you build the colossus)
Double production of Banks (classic Vanilla) and Corporate executive
Double production of Wall Street

PHILOSOPHICAL
+50% Great Person PRoduction
+2 free beakers per city
Double production of Universities/Observatories/Labs
Double production of Oxford

INDUSTRIOUS
+25% to World wonders (NOT National Wonders)
+1 hammer /4 hammer tiles
Double Production of Forge/Factory/Levee
Double Production of Iron Works

AGRESSIVE
Free Combat I to melee, gunpowder, Naval
Double production of Barracks, drydocks
Double production of the Heroic Epic

CHARISMATIC
-25% XP needed for promotion (same as before)
+1 happy face per monument/collesium/broadcast tower
Double production of Collesium and broadcast tower
Double Production of the Globe Theater

EXPANSIVE
+2 Health
+50% Worker production
Double production of Granery, Aqueduct, Grocer, Hospital
Double production of the National Park

CREATIVE
+2 culture
50% production bonus to all cathedrals
Double production of library, theater
Double production for hermitage

SPIRITUAL
No Anarchy
Double production to temples and missionaries
Double production to Red Cross

IMPERIALISTIC
+100% Great general production (Same)
+50% production of settler
Double production of stable and airport
Double production of West Point

ORGANIZED
-50% upkeep (same
Double production of courthouse, market, public tansportation
Double Forbidden Palace

PROTECTIVE
+100% great General production within culture borders (same as Geat Wall)
Free Drill I and CG I (same as before)
Double production of wall, castles, bunkers, bomb shelters
Double Mount Rushmore

SEAFARING
+50% final trade route yield (thus a 6 comemrce trade route is now 9)
Free flanking I to naval
Double production of Lighthouse, Harbor, CustomeHouse
Double Maori Statues

SECRETIVE
+1 ep/city
+1 food/5 food tile
Double Jail, Agency, Bureau, Spies
Double NAtional Epic

They all work, however the balance is still in question. Also I am not sure how well the AI will use these, perhaps I will get some advice on how to tweak that. However, I am only an XML person!

EDIT: Editted to add double production to spies for Secretive

 

Now that I posted the SECRETIVE trait, we can talk start. The floodplains will become 5 food if farmed and with Biology, thus they get an extra 1 food from the trait. Do we still cottage them?

 

I'm tempted to suggest going spy heavy and stealing your way to victory. If you like it, farming the fp would seem the right directionn.

-abs

 

Looks like this will be a fun game

 

Interesting alterations there, would be fun to play some variation on the traits I'll have to give this mod a go myself. I can see why they took out +50% production of banks from financial, +1 commerce is overpowering enough!

The floodplains would become 6 food with biology wouldn't they, not 5? So nothing changes until later in the game. Farm one maybe if there's no other food resource, but cottage the rest.

 

Hope you have more food around elsewhere. I'd say settle and then decide what to do. If you don't have much other cottageable lands, then cottage these FP. If you're stuck in a jungle belt, then farming for the powerhouse later tiles will be big. Or cottage now and farm over them later.

 

When you say double, did you forget to write production or does it really mean 2 national wonders?

 

+50% FINAL TR yield ? Seafaring is good on all maps then .

PRO still sucks. SPI is weaker relative to other traits despite stronger overall. Expansive is nice. IND and PHI are now INCREDIBLY strong.

But hell, the AIs only get emperor bonuses, and I'm good at adapting. We don't need much adjustment to use CHA, but for secretive we are pushed towards a bulb shot to the renaissance and then a flip to EP. Maybe I'll do the cottage carpet strategy just to be different here.

 

@TMIT. I found PHIL not as stronge as you may think, but IND very stronge. About time IND got a proper bump for higher levels.

@ Yared, double production, not 2 Natioanl wonders.

@Inso. Yes, 5 food normally, 6 with Secrative

 

who is imp/Pro and I hope they get the great wall, 3x GGpoints.

While cottage may be optimal, who cares your mad! Play up the new Secretive angle and farm the FP's. Early game it will still be good for whips and settler pump.

 

Okay. I don't understand though how being Secretive would give you more food I would've added it on Expansive and given Secretive some other trait.

 

Hmmm.... So you have bonuses to promotions, espionage, and food... Seems like that would lead to a tight (i.e., not sprawling) empire with relatively few, highly-promoted units. It'd certainly be interesting to see He of the Massive Stacks making do with a compact army!

In terms of the start, though, I'd say that settling in place seems like a fine proposition. From there, it's all a matter of your surroundings/neighbors.

 

At first I only had the espionage but that was not enough and more espionage was overpowered. Then I thought Secrative means special agricultural skills known to only these Celts that are never passed on to other civilizations (They bury fish with the seeds but don't tell anyone). Maybe a bit of a stretch but there is some use expecially for those games where your isolated and extra espionage is a complete waste.

 

Charlemagne is still IMP/PRO

So Charles with the Great Wall ,means GG bonus for defensive battles of

+100% normal bonus within culture
+100% Protective
+100% Great Wall
+100% Imperialistic

Yes I specifically know some civilizations can really abuse their traits

Genghis is still IMP/AGG so he get's discounted GERs

Ragnar is SeaFaring and Agressive, go figure the power of Viking ships!

 

I believe, if my eyes don't fail me, that in Brennus's list of traits, secretive is spelled wrong. The irony of it all. If we ever mod mad into the game, his traits will be Roleplaying and Misspelling.

 

Well, are you gona play as a Role or just Madscientist?

 

Well, your gonna just have to wait and see!

 

Hey mad, did you change any of the AI XML tendencies? Like nowarprobs and such?

 

No. All that stuff is as it was.