Space Colonization modmod

[Shadowclaw]

So I will play on V4 for now. I am in the middle of Galactic era. Some suggestions:

- add, please, some anti-revolution buildings to space colonies.
- Galactic era is cool for space colonies, but not for Earth cities. There are almost no buldings for Earth cities in Galactic Era.

 

[Faustmouse]

I'd love to see what's in there but my hard drive crashed and now I don't have Civ4 anymore. I have the CD laying around but by disc reader is also gone...

 

[Arakhor]

You can buy Civ IV cheaply online these days.

 

[pepper2000]

- add, please, some anti-revolution buildings to space colonies.

I haven't been playing with Revolutions, so I don't know what it's like. I'll work on that for V6.

- Galactic era is cool for space colonies, but not for Earth cities. There are almost no buldings for Earth cities in Galactic Era.

That's sort of the idea, since by the Galactic Era, your attention should be moving away from Earth and toward the Solar System and Galaxy. But if you've got some good specific ideas, let me know.

I'd love to see what's in there but my hard drive crashed and now I don't have Civ4 anymore. I have the CD laying around but by disc reader is also gone...

That's happened to me before, and hard drives know when it is the most inopportune time. Hopefully you'll be back in action soon.

 

[pepper2000]

V5 is up now. And so here is roughly where things stand with development.

Every time I post a new version, I think to myself, "I hope the next one is the last". And while V6 probably won't be the last, it is gratifying to see that this project is coming together.

The most important tasks of my list as as follows:

- Get a map or a map script that has all the space terrains ready to go and laid out in a reasonable way. It probably won't happen for V6. Better yet * hint * hint * I won't have to do it at all.
- I'm thinking I'll try to do the bulk of building consolidation for V6. I just barely started with V5. The tedium of working through long and cumbersome build lists in Earth cities in the late game really is a problem, and I very much look forward to solving it or at least making it more bearable.
- More creative units. For instance, I'm thinking of a magsail trading ship that can go between the planets and trade resources. I'm still working out the details of this system.
- New civics. Maybe a new class of civics for space colony governance. I'll try to do all that at once, maybe or maybe not in V6.
- I'm still not satisfied with the balance for space colonies. In general, their science and gold output will be buffed, which might be needed to make up for losses from building consolidation. I also want a steeper cost gradient between tech levels for space buildings, so that industrial buildings will be more important.
- Features and worker actions in space. For instance, a captured asteroid could be brought next to a cislunar colony, and that panel could be worked for a big production bonus. Especially terraformed terrains for the Moon and Mars.
- Finally get all the Lunar stuff working properly.
- There's still a backlog of new buildings to be added.
- More space units, including the space equivalents of missiles, nukes, and dropships. Because everything is cooler in space.
- A bunch of miscellaneous changes, fixes, etc.

This is all probably too much for one version, but as always I'll see how many of these things I get to before I decide it's enough for one version.

My business looks like it might be going into a busy phase this summer. That's good news for me, coming out of a spring lull, but that means less time for modding. Modding is more fun but the business is more important. And I do have a lot of other non-C2C projects I want to take on, so I am thinking in terms of trying to find a good stopping point, rather than have this project go indefinitely. So, I'm guess V7 or V8 is as far as this goes.

 

[Thunderbrd]

What kind of business do you run?

 

[pepper2000]

I'm trying to build out an energy policy think tank. We are winding down a major contract right now, which has given me extra modding time, but negotiations are under way for the next big thing.

 

[Thunderbrd]

I'm impressed. Do you have a website or something I could get more info on it through?

 

[pepper2000]

It's very rough, but you can take a look here.

 

[Thunderbrd]

It's very rough, but you can take a look here.

Very interesting stuff. How does the organization profit? Consulting fees?

 

[pepper2000]

Very interesting stuff. How does the organization profit? Consulting fees?

Yeah, the big project earlier this year was a consulting project. I can't share the details yet because it isn't quite done. But I'm thinking of shifting gears and setting up a 501(c)3. My philosophy is that there are many serious challenges related to energy (sufficiency of supply, especially in the developing world; climate change; land use are the big three), but reliable information is not readily available to policymakers and most advocacy organizations are in need of a serious reality check as to what can be done. But before that can be done, I have to organize the material on the site and present calculations and writing that portray the big picture in an understandable format.

Believe it or not, Caveman 2 Cosmos had a role in making this project come about. In the summer of 2012, I was in the middle of a postdoc (I'm a mathematician by background), and it became evident that I would not have a future in academia. I had been a fan of Civ 4 for a long time, but it was then that I first tried C2C, the only major mod that I have played. I was immediately fascinated by all the technologies (then mostly empty) in the future eras of C2C, and I really had no idea at the time about what was actually under development. Almost obsessively, I began reading about what was under R&D in the realms of artificial intelligence, robotics, space exploration, energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and everything else I could find.

After several months passed and the obsession didn't subside, I realized that I had to follow this line of thinking for the career change that would be required when I finished the postdoc. I did a data science program and tried unsuccessfully to get a job in Silicon Valley. After a few other false starts on other projects, my business partner approached me, with some start-up money, to do this energy research project.

To really get energy right, it has to be about more than keeping gas prices low or switching out coal fired power plants for solar panels. We have to recognize that energy is at the heart of the world's economy and is the key to unlocking a prosperous future.

Funny how things work out sometimes.

 

[Thunderbrd]

That's really awesome! You'd probably really like to take a role in developing energy as a property with us at some point. Not that I'm in a position to be proposing opening up any more cans of worms at the moment.

I'm deeply impressed by your assessment. I've personally loved how our futuristic tree has developed. I've been coming to some interesting conclusions about the future of humanity based on a great deal of wide research in a similar manner. I'm currently trying to encapsulate a lot of those thoughts in some timeline aggressive sci-fi based on our modern world. We all have our ways of bringing the insight to manifest in useful ways to our society. Mine is through sharing the thoughts while yours is so incredibly boots on the ground application based. It's wonderful to see that in action.

Please keep me posted on your progress! Where are you actively applying this stuff btw?

 

[pepper2000]

After a very busy hump in the business and a major (and now resolved) crisis, I finally managed to catch some downtime and am working of C2C modding again. V6 is a ways off, but at least I'm working on it now. And at long last, the building consolidation will be implemented.

 

[kenneth1221]

Hi pepper. I've looked through this thread and I must say that this mod seems really fascinating, and that I would love to try it. However, I have a few questions that I hope aren't too much trouble to answer.

Is your mod folded into C2C proper yet?
Can it be thrown into an existing game, or will that not work b/c of a need to generate new terrain?
Is there a functioning map script, or are predesigned maps required?
Do you need any help with anything? I unfortunately lack heavy-duty coding skills, but if there's anything I could do to help consolidate the list of buildings or fill in some of the out-of-the-way civilopedia entries, I would be glad to (barring that, of course, you don't want to do all of it yourself--there's a lot of design work that you've clearly put a lot of thought into, and you seem really passionate about the subject material!)

 

[pepper2000]

Hi kenneth.

Is your mod folded into C2C proper yet?

Not yet. For now, download the file here and put it in the Modules/My Mods folder. That should be easy enough. I could add the modmod to C2C proper, but I've decided to wait until at least one more version for that. And some people have expressed leeriness about a big batch of content in the late game that they don't ordinarily reach.

Can it be thrown into an existing game, or will that not work b/c of a need to generate new terrain?

I haven't tried, but my guess is that adding the modmod to an existing game would mess up terrains. Well, there's only one way to find out.

Is there a functioning map script, or are predesigned maps required?

Try Eman's map on the maps and scenario's page. I haven't tried it myself because my computer can't handle Gigantic maps. Otherwise, you'll have to do it yourself in Worldbuilder.

Do you need any help with anything? I unfortunately lack heavy-duty coding skills, but if there's anything I could do to help consolidate the list of buildings or fill in some of the out-of-the-way civilopedia entries, I would be glad to (barring that, of course, you don't want to do all of it yourself--there's a lot of design work that you've clearly put a lot of thought into, and you seem really passionate about the subject material!)

Thanks a lot. The one thing that comes to mind is that it could really use some more units. I threw in a few units in the previous version, but there's no master plan there. Right now the building consolidation is mostly done, barring testing.

 

[Thunderbrd]

I've got a very extensive unit expansion plan for naval and I know of a lot of things I want to do for late game land units. Next version that may get some more focus.

 

[pepper2000]

I've got a very extensive unit expansion plan for naval and I know of a lot of things I want to do for late game land units. Next version that may get some more focus.

That would be great. I'm thinking specifically of units in space, though. For now I'd just like to see the bare minimum for interplanetary and interstellar warfare.

 

[Thunderbrd]

That would be great. I'm thinking specifically of units in space, though. For now I'd just like to see the bare minimum for interplanetary and interstellar warfare.

Naval leads directly into that. That's not to say that it fleshes it out entirely. The naval lines upgrade into planetary and solar system fleets but not so much into the intersystem/intergalactic stuff.

Since it blends into space vessels, it might be worth having you check out the naval unit plans:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17se6XWheM40HVwFeKnVwzUcxaM5WvLny42OrG-OTQQQ/edit#gid=0

 

[pepper2000]

Ah, I see how that goes. That looks like a good plan, and it's not too hard to imagine how it could be extended to the interstellar period.

 

[kenneth1221]

Thanks a lot. The one thing that comes to mind is that it could really use some more units. I threw in a few units in the previous version, but there's no master plan there. Right now the building consolidation is mostly done, barring testing.

I'll have to play through your mod and try to get back to you on those. I have ideas, but I need to see what you already have.

Speaking of maps, may I ask what the plan for mapscripts is in the future? Will maps continue to be different terrains all on the same map, or some sort of multimap, or is that all too far in the future to say for sure?