Smoother Difficulty 1.4

[Jason Farber]

Is it possible to give the AI resources, so they are able to upgrade units? Also, is there any way to give the AI certain technologies that they don't pursue to alleviate the problem of dead end technologies?

 

[RushSecond]

Really? How did you figure this out? Can we see it in any files we have access to?

To test the era-scaling bonuses, I gave them to myself so I could more easily see the bonus % it was giving. Due to an unrelated bug I eventually fixed, at one point I was getting +280% science. Yet my 6.2 science still only doubled to 12.4 science per turn maximum. This acted the same for all the yields, and by checking the world rankings I could see the AI was being affected as well.

Is it possible to give the AI resources, so they are able to upgrade units? Also, is there any way to give the AI certain technologies that they don't pursue to alleviate the problem of dead end technologies?

Well those are separate problems that are already solved by other mods. Try my new Unit Class Rebalance, it doesn't give AI resources but it allows them (and you) to create any unit without its resource, and it gets a combat penalty instead for not having the resource. There's also plenty of mods that tie up the tech tree; I use HBBalance but if you want a more standalone tech tree update you can try MadDjinns Tech Tree.

 

[Zuntrix]

Hi Rush love the mod. But is it possible for me in this new version to remove the AI difficulty combat bonus vs players? So they have 0 combat bonus vs players no matter what difficulty. I would like to try that out and see if it feels better. If your code is not designed to change that, no worries

 

[RushSecond]

Sure. Open up SmootherDifficulty.xml and find these lines

<TraitModifiers>
       <Row TraitType="TRAIT_LEADER_MAJOR_CIV" ModifierId="IMMORTAL_COMBAT"/>
       <Row TraitType="TRAIT_LEADER_MAJOR_CIV" ModifierId="DEITY_COMBAT"/>
</TraitModifiers>

Get rid of the two lines in the middle and instead add a new line so it looks like this

<TraitModifiers>
       <Delete ModifierId="HIGH_DIFFICULTY_COMBAT_SCALING"/>
</TraitModifiers>

That will remove all combat bonuses from the AI.

 

[Zuntrix]

Sure. Open up SmootherDifficulty.xml and find these lines

<TraitModifiers>
       <Row TraitType="TRAIT_LEADER_MAJOR_CIV" ModifierId="IMMORTAL_COMBAT"/>
       <Row TraitType="TRAIT_LEADER_MAJOR_CIV" ModifierId="DEITY_COMBAT"/>
</TraitModifiers>

Get rid of the two lines in the middle and instead add a new line so it looks like this

<TraitModifiers>
       <Delete ModifierId="HIGH_DIFFICULTY_COMBAT_SCALING"/>
</TraitModifiers>

That will remove all combat bonuses from the AI.

It works. Thanks man

 

[Shifted]

Thanks for the mod Rush. Was wondering how do you set the combat bonus exactly? I noticed that the modifier arguments look the same for both immortal and deity, so not sure how you specify the actual value. I wanna lower them, but not completely remove them.

 

[RushSecond]

Well it's tricky because the default function for adding combat strength has built-in difficulty scaling; it automatically gives +1 combat strength for each level after prince, by using the "extra" value in the ModifierArguments table.

<Row>
      <ModifierId>HIGH_DIFFICULTY_COMBAT_SCALING</ModifierId>
      <Name>Amount</Name>
      <Type>LinearScaleFromDefaultHandicap</Type>
      <Value>-1</Value>
      <Extra>1</Extra>
</Row>

This is what gives the default 1-4 combat strength without mods. My mod then uses this function twice again. One adds +1 combat strength at Immortal and Deity, and the other adds another combat point at Deity.

<ModifierArguments>
  <Row>
      <ModifierId>IMMORTAL_COMBAT</ModifierId>
      <Name>Amount</Name>
      <Type>LinearScaleFromDefaultHandicap</Type>
      <Value>1</Value>
      <Extra>0</Extra>
  </Row>
  <Row>
      <ModifierId>DEITY_COMBAT</ModifierId>
      <Name>Amount</Name>
      <Type>LinearScaleFromDefaultHandicap</Type>
      <Value>1</Value>
      <Extra>0</Extra>
  </Row>
</ModifierArguments>

I'm realizing now this isn't the best solution, because it's not very intuitive and because further testing in-game shows me that the tooltip isn't displaying the stacked buffs correctly (the units ARE getting the full +6 on Deity, but the bonus strength breakdown is still displaying +4). Next time I update this I'll have to re-do most of this to fix the tooltip error.

 

[Swiss Halberdier]

Thanks a lot RushSecond for your informations about the combat scaling!

Are my modifications below correct?

Spoiler :

If I would set Value to -2 instead of -1, then the AI would only have a +2 combat strength instead of the normal vanilla +3 combat strength on the difficulty Immortal?

<GameInfo>
   <ModifierArguments>
       <Update>
           <Where ModifierId="HIGH_DIFFICULTY_COMBAT_SCALING" Name="Amount"/>
           <Set Value="-2"/>
       </Update>

   </ModifierArguments>
</GameInfo>

If I would set Extra to 0, then the AI would not scale any combat strength at all after the difficulty Prince?

<GameInfo>
   <ModifierArguments>
       <Update>
           <Where ModifierId="HIGH_DIFFICULTY_COMBAT_SCALING" Name="Amount"/>
           <Set Extra="0"/>
       </Update>

   </ModifierArguments>
</GameInfo>

If I would set Extra to 2, then the AI would have a +4 combat strength on the difficulty Immortal?

<GameInfo>
   <ModifierArguments>
       <Update>
           <Where ModifierId="HIGH_DIFFICULTY_COMBAT_SCALING" Name="Amount"/>
           <Set Extra="2"/>
       </Update>

   </ModifierArguments>
</GameInfo>

 

[RushSecond]

I'll break down how I understand this row, found in the default Leaders.xml

<Row>
      <ModifierId>HIGH_DIFFICULTY_COMBAT_SCALING</ModifierId>
      <Name>Amount</Name>
      <Type>LinearScaleFromDefaultHandicap</Type>
      <Value>-1</Value>
      <Extra>1</Extra>
</Row>

The default handicap is always prince. The Value field gives that much strength to every difficulty where this modifier has met its requirement (prince or higher). The Extra field gives +1 strength to prince, but counts +1 more strength on each successive difficulty as well (+2 to king, +3 to emperor, etc). Value and Extra are added together to get the final result, so at prince you get 1(extra) -1(value) = +0 strength, at king you get 2(extra) -1(value) = +1 strength, etc.

So for your changes:

If I would set Value to -2 instead of -1, then the AI would only have a +2 combat strength instead of the normal vanilla +3 combat strength on the difficulty Immortal?

This would affect every difficulty prince and higher. Prince would have -1 strength, king would have +0, emperor +1, etc.

If I would set Extra to 0, then the AI would not scale any combat strength at all after the difficulty Prince?

Correct, although because value is still -1, all difficulty levels prince or higher would have -1 strength.

If I would set Extra to 2, then the AI would have a +4 combat strength on the difficulty Immortal?

This would result in prince having 2(extra) -1(value) = +1 strength, king having 4(extra) -1(value) = +3 strength, etc going up by 2 strength on each difficulty level.

The reason this is so complicated is that Firaxis wanted a function that can set the combat difficulty (and other bonuses) linearly with a single modifier, in that pattern of adding the same amount more on each difficulty level. But that means it kinda becomes a nightmare if you want to set different difficulty levels to exact amounts.

 

[Swiss Halberdier]

Great and thanks again a lot for your very informative explanations! Now it's much clearer how this works with the together added values "Value" + "Extra".

So I guess if I would want that the AI doesn't get any bonus to the combat level on the difficulty level Prince and all the higher levels, then I could modify it like this below. That the combat strength is exactly 0 for Prince and all other higher levels.

Spoiler :

<GameInfo>
   <ModifierArguments>
       <Update>
           <Where ModifierId="HIGH_DIFFICULTY_COMBAT_SCALING" Name="Amount"/>
           <Set Value="0" Extra="0"/>
       </Update>

   </ModifierArguments>
</GameInfo>

 

[Moriboe]

Great! I always hate having to play the catch up game from the start.

 

[Antonius B]

2 questions:

- do the modifiers depend on the era the human player is in or the one the AI is in ?

- what happens in multi-player games if there's a mix of AI and human players ?

 

[Reffie2]

I like this mod, because I lost a game on deity where I started 6 hexes away from Greece. Greece immediately attacked me with 5/6 warriors before I could even finish my first slinger. Even if you play with fewer players per map, you can still get unlucky with spawns and they just rush you.

What I don't like is the 95% culture/science boost this mod gives. That is too much. If both me and the AI have 10 cities, I have to build about 5 campus districts to compete with their single campus district. In fact, I saw the AI just ignoring campus mostly since they get tons of science per turn anyway. Or am I reading the first post incorrectly? 95% science boost means the techs requires less science or do they get more science per turn?
Also, the first post talks about the AI keeping up with production, but I haven't seen anything in this mod that gives them a production boost.

 

[Atlas627]

Everyone is going to play at a different skill level, and it may be possible for none of the difficulties to match your skill level. Its pretty easy to go edit the xml file in this mod to adjust the boosts.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Also, the first post talks about the AI keeping up with production, but I haven't seen anything in this mod that gives them a production boost.

In Leaders.xml you can find

Spoiler Leaders.xml (excerpt) :

            <ModifierId>HIGH_DIFFICULTY_PRODUCTION_SCALING</ModifierId>
            <Name>Amount</Name>
            <Type>LinearScaleFromDefaultHandicap</Type>
            <Value>0</Value>
            <Extra>20</Extra>
        </Row>
        <Row>
            <ModifierId>HIGH_DIFFICULTY_PRODUCTION_SCALING</ModifierId>
            <Name>YieldType</Name>
            <Value>YIELD_PRODUCTION</Value>
        </Row>
        <Row>
            <ModifierId>HIGH_DIFFICULTY_GOLD_SCALING</ModifierId>
            <Name>Amount</Name>
            <Type>LinearScaleFromDefaultHandicap</Type>
            <Value>0</Value>
            <Extra>20</Extra>
        </Row>
        <Row>
            <ModifierId>HIGH_DIFFICULTY_GOLD_SCALING</ModifierId>
            <Name>YieldType</Name>
            <Value>YIELD_GOLD</Value>
        </Row>
        <Row>
            <ModifierId>HIGH_DIFFICULTY_FAITH_SCALING</ModifierId>
            <Name>Amount</Name>
            <Type>LinearScaleFromDefaultHandicap</Type>
            <Value>0</Value>
            <Extra>8</Extra>
        </Row>
        <Row>
            <ModifierId>HIGH_DIFFICULTY_FAITH_SCALING</ModifierId>
            <Name>YieldType</Name>
            <Value>YIELD_FAITH</Value>
        </Row>

These are vanilla values, and I think they are high enough: the AI already gets +20% to production and gold per difficulty level above Warlord.

 

[Reffie2]

Thanks for the info. I think some AI prefer science over others, which makes it seem like they are out of control.

I also want to say that this mod is a must have. I played a game on deity without mods. I started next to Montezuma, about 10 hexes away on a huge map. I even removed one AI slot so that everyone has more room to expand. But I still spawned very close to the Aztecs. Montezuma attacked me immediately with eagle warriors while I couldn't even finish my first slinger. You can't even build a scout on the first turn, because they can attack you right away. The best thing you can do is start a new game, or better, use this mod.

 

[clack]

Hello. Thank you very much for your events!
One question. Is it possible to increase these values only at a certain age?
For example, a bonus for science in the ancient era in the 30% and 100% - in the industrial era.
AI at the end of the game fall short of my technology.

 

[Atlas627]

Hello. Thank you very much for your events!
One question. Is it possible to increase these values only at a certain age?
For example, a bonus for science in the ancient era in the 30% and 100% - in the industrial era.
AI at the end of the game fall short of my technology.

Yep, you can easily go into the "by era" file in the mod and change the values.

 

[RushSecond]

Been busy doing non-civ stuff for a while, but I'm back and have updated Smoother Difficulty to fix the previously mentioned tooltip errors.

2 questions:

- do the modifiers depend on the era the human player is in or the one the AI is in ?

- what happens in multi-player games if there's a mix of AI and human players ?

It depends on the game era, which is set by the civ that is leading in tech or culture. If one civ has reached Industrial while everyone else is in Renaissance, then all AIs get the tech/science bonus granted by Industrial era. It's not ideal, but I couldn't find a way to have it dependent on era separately for each AI.

In multiplayer, each AI has its own difficulty level you can set, and that determines the bonuses for that AI. An Immortal AI will have +4 strength while an Emperor AI has +2 strength, etc.

What I don't like is the 95% culture/science boost this mod gives. That is too much. If both me and the AI have 10 cities, I have to build about 5 campus districts to compete with their single campus district. In fact, I saw the AI just ignoring campus mostly since they get tons of science per turn anyway. Or am I reading the first post incorrectly? 95% science boost means the techs requires less science or do they get more science per turn?
Also, the first post talks about the AI keeping up with production, but I haven't seen anything in this mod that gives them a production boost.

It sounds crazy but they really do need that much science/culture to be competitive in the late game. I've now won my first Deity game against a runaway Pericles who had hundreds more culture per turn than everybody else, by making it my mission to reach important military techs and slowly chip away at his cities until I whittled him down to nothing. I certainly don't think this mod makes the game too hard.

As for production, I used to try giving even more production than vanilla, but have since discovered that any bonuses over 100% don't really work.

 

[White Out]

Love this mod and use it as if its a necessary update.

Question though, would you consider making another mod that has very gradual increases starting at settler? So for instance settler would be vanilla, no bonuses, and what you have as prince now would be say, warlord?

Second question, how does era scaling work? So ignoring Deity and Immortal... I understand how the bonuses to gold and culture work... how do the era scaling work?

Third question.. and sorry for this becoming a bit of an inquisition lol... is it possible to scale back the monetary bonuses period? Like say if all I wanted to do with this mod was to give the AI a bonus to culture and research and perhaps a little production, is that moddable?

Thanks in advance for any insights and more importantly for a great mod