Tech Balance 1.18

[AOS9001]

But maybe it is also a good idea to make Caravels require Gunpowder?

I literally have this change in my revised naval unit tree post that I'm sitting on until 1.18 is in a place where such a thing could remotely be considered. I fully support this change! It's goofy to see Caravels using cannons in combat when you haven't researching gunpowder.

 

[Temujin8k]

I agree with Caravels requiring Gunpowder. I also would've wanted Firearms, honestly, but maybe specially including Arquebusiers in the conqueror stack would work also. Think pre-Firearms Ottoman Janissaries.

 

[Leoreth]

Making some progress in getting the AI to properly use its units offensively. I did not do any of that with Vietnam in mind but look at the results:

Spoiler :

 

[AOS9001]

That is beautiful! All that SE Asia is missing is a respawned Khmer.

 

[SultanRedSnake]

Making some progress in getting the AI to properly use its units offensively. I did not do any of that with Vietnam in mind but look at the results:

Spoiler :

View attachment 715524

Oh no could this mean the end of our beloved Hesperides meme?

 

[CivEnthusiast]

Making some progress in getting the AI to properly use its units offensively. I did not do any of that with Vietnam in mind but look at the results:

Spoiler :

View attachment 715524

An accurately looking Southeast Asia woah

 

[Leoreth]

Oh no could this mean the end of our beloved Hesperides meme?

I thought that the meme was that the city location is bad

 

[AOS9001]

I thought the AI avoided taking Hesperides because it’s such a bad city location, but maybe it’s been afraid the spearman there will attack Alexandria. Let’s play and find out.

 

[SultanRedSnake]

I thought that the meme was that the city location is bad

No doubt but I can't help brewing up some head cannon about the Lone Spearman being the true guarantor of its eternal independence or sumtin like that. There's also the phenomenon of the AI rarely (if ever) improving either the Fish or Citrus adjacent to Alex. The lore is rich

 

[AOS9001]

Check it out - Arabs and Egyptians both cowering in fear of the mighty Independent Spearman, refusing to improve the citrus (though they did make fishing boats).

 

[CivEnthusiast]

Run standart speed regent difficulty 3000 BC scenario Prussia spawn three times. Spain does receive its colonial empire in the Americas very consistently across all three games. In two runs out of three Spain did take over Corduba. Twice Portugal was destroyed, first time by the Moors all of sudden and second time by Spain during the third run.

Besides Spain, France does seem to be consistently getting to the top or near the top by the score by 1700 AD which is pretty accurate regarding France being one of the Europe's leading powers at that time.

China seems to be now experiencing the barbarian pressure during its early turns, it was destroyed by them early on during the second run, though respawned some considerable time later.

Russia is still very afraid of colonizing any further East than the Ob' River, in two runs out of three they never colonized east of the Urals again.

Didn't see much of weird stuff going on regarding the tech.

 

[Lilna]

Run standart speed regent difficulty 3000 BC scenario Prussia spawn three times. Spain does receive its colonial empire in the Americas very consistently across all three games. In two runs out of three Spain did take over Corduba. Twice Portugal was destroyed, first time by the Moors all of sudden and second time by Spain during the third run.

Besides Spain, France does seem to be consistently getting to the top or near the top by the score by 1700 AD which is pretty accurate regarding France being one of the Europe's leading powers at that time.

China seems to be now experiencing the barbarian pressure during its early turns, it was destroyed by them early on during the second run, though respawned some considerable time later.

Russia is still very afraid of colonizing any further East than the Ob' River, in two runs out of three they never colonized east of the Urals again.

Didn't see much of weird stuff going on regarding the tech.

That third save with Spain holding all of Iberia - it looks like Carthage got strangled in the cradle and Rome collapsed before it could settle anything in North Africa.

I've seen this happen a few times in the recent update, and the result tends to be bad for the Moors. Sometimes they'll settle a city in North Africa, but just as often (if not MORE often), they'll send their second settler to Iberia, and be so caught up with fighting the new turbo Spain that they forget to settle anything in North Africa and get wiped out (with the Western Maghreb also remaining unsettled for the whole game, like you can see in that third picture).

A side-effect of this is that in games like these, Spain can crush the Moors no issue (usually before the Portugal spawn date), and then become the holy terror of Western Europe with their high production cities. Here they've gone and eaten half of France, and vassalized what's left in the 1400s. Which, it's not necessarily a bad thing that this happens (RFC is all about interesting ahistorical outcomes after all), but the Moors might be given a settler specifically in Morocco just to stop them from being so miserable in games where the Maghreb is never settled.

Also, this is the first game I've seen where both Byzantium AND the Ottomans failed to spawn (Rome collapsed early, and Persia turned back the Turkish invasions). A very sad Middle East after the Arab collapse, a few centuries of Mongol rule, and then back to more sadness and emptiness. Greece proper has enjoyed(?) 1200 uninterrupted years of indie and barbarian rule. But it should make for a funny steamroller of an Iran game later.

 

[Tigranes]

If Persia survives Arabs she often becomes ridiculously advanced. Completely ruined my Chinese tech goal by 300+ years

 

[Leoreth]

Did Persia hold on to or regain Mesopotamia in this game?

 

[Tigranes]

Did Persia hold on to or regain Mesopotamia in this game?

Yes, as far as I can tell. Here is 1100 AD situation. Only Mongols saved the world from the tech headache.

 

[freethink]

If Persia survives Arabs she often becomes ridiculously advanced. Completely ruined my Chinese tech goal by 300+ years

I am not sure if I see problem with that, I mean yes as China its annoying, but it might be true that Pre Islamic Persia had superpower potential

 

[Tigranes]

I am not sure if I see problem with that, I mean yes as China its annoying, but it might be true that Pre Islamic Persia had superpower potential

Any country teching 1 Era ahead of the rest of the world is a problem. All the events in DoC, including rise of civs with particular techs, assume that the world loosely follows the historical tech progress stages.

 

[Tigranes]

Radar in 1863 anyone? Spain has completely dominated Industrial era, discovering every single tech there first. Definitely needs some balance.

 

[borhap88]

Radar in 1863 anyone? Spain has completely dominated Industrial era, discovering every single tech there first. Definitely needs some balance.

I don't know if that's the case, but I noticed that Spain usually skyrockets when it acquires Cordoba too early and/or if some great wonder, such as House of Wisdom or the Spiral Minaret, has been built in there.

 

[SultanRedSnake]

Radar in 1863 anyone? Spain has completely dominated Industrial era, discovering every single tech there first. Definitely needs some balance.

This doesn't look like Normal speed. EDIT: Verified this save is from a 3000BC Marathon start. Leoreth stipulated that only Regent/Normal games may be submitted for tech balance considerations.