I would chime in with the addition of several more civs (posted on
this other topic):
Spain
Unique Unit:
Conquistador, replaces knight. Can be built without acess to horses and has an additional radious of vision, thus being an awesome expeditionary force.
Unique Unit:
Tercio, replaces musketman. Inmune to city fire, halves damage from bombardement. Ideal for city sieges.
Special ability:
Non plus ultra. Cities in the borders of your empire generates 75% less unhappiness. Useful for stablishing remote colonies and / or expanding your empire at the expense of others.
However, I have to admit that the Siglo de Oro special skill sounds awesomesauce in concept... but a little too vainilla (too much similar to the Persian's one) and perhaps too much overpowered. What about a little modification?
Siglo de Oro alternative version: Units gain a +25% combat bonus during golden ages, each 5 turns of golden age your civilization generates a great artist. That way:
1- You have a civ which relies heavily in golden eras without following the Persian model, adding variety and flavour
2- Spain has still to favours the piety social policies, which help to create golden eras
3- Its decadence / golden periods gets more crucial since they also affects their military outcomes.
4- It reflects Spain's literary output very well and encourage the players to prolongate the lenght of their golden eras rather than their number... say, mandate of heaven over reformation, not to mention that it makes Spain + Louvre / Hermitage a really poweful combo
Inca
Special ability:
Children of the sun - Natural wonders generates double amount of culture and happiness, gold tiles generate 2 culture, thus allowing the Inca empire to became a cultural powerhouse early on.
Unique unit:
Quechua, replaces warrior. +1 aditional movement, +50% strenght if garrisoned inside a city or if located on a friendly road. Great unit for defending a large empire early on, and its strategic points afterwards.
Unique building -
Terrace. Replaces granary. It makes mountain tiles to produce 3 food. Self explanatory.
Mongols
Special ability: Give them the
German special ability and give the Germans something remotely historically accurate.
Unique unit:
Keshik, replaces chariot archer. +25% strenght and bombardement against cities, can move after firing. Yep, if you plan to make an early game rush and forge a ginormous empire this is your unit.
Unique building:
Gher, replaces stable. Mounted units starts with an additional promotion (extra movement). Synergy!
Portugal
UU -
Nao, replaces caravel. +1 aditional vision, it requires Optics instead of astronomy, thus enabling the Portuguese to explore and stablish oversea colonies way earlier than other civs.
UB -
Feitoria. Replaces harbour. Yes, I know, shamelesly stolen from Civ 4. However, the effect of this building here is that Overseas trade routes generates +2 production, thus making it essential for your civ to stablish colonies overseas rather than colonize your own landmass.
Special ability -
Noble people of the sea (in reference to their athem's quote "nobre povo do mar"). Portuguese recieve a gold bonus for discovering natural wonders and ruins. Coastatal and sea adquisition tiles cost a 75% less, thus making the Portuguese a great civ for explorers and founders of remote maritime colonies
Netherlands
UU -
East Indiaman. Replaces Caravel, it has a strenght of 12 instead of 10 and a bombardement of 10 instead of seven, thus allowing for a natural cycle of sea domination (Portuguese rules the sea first, then the Dutch, then the English).
UB -
Grondzeiler. It replaces windmill. It can be built on any kind of city, not only on cities located on hills. Most emblematic building of Holland, me thinks.
Special ability -
Hanseatic leage. Every city state that you have met and is not on war against you generates trade routes with your cities as if they were a part of your empire. Maritime city states generates one military (mercenary) unit if allied with you each 10 turns, each 25 if they are just friendly, thus showing the Dutch reliance of commercial aliances not only for a financial, but also from a militaristic point of view.
Byzantines
UU -
Cataphract: Replaces knight, it has additional hitpoints (not sure of how many since we don't know about this parameter, but I think that it is a cool way to represent their heavy armour).
UB -
Theodosian wall. Replaces wall. Your citiy defenses can fire twice a turn.
Special ability:
The city of cities (in reference to the title that travellers and merchant gave to Constantinople): Your capital grows at double rate and has a +50% bonus at producing wonders. In addition to simulate the greatness of Byzantium and the dependence of the whole empire on that city, it also rewards the adoption of the tradition social policy branch
Malinese
UU -
Farari ("Braves"). Elite calvary units, they were extensively trained nobles with free citizens under their command. Replaces knight, it adds a +10% strenght bonus to the infantry units that surrounds them that can add up until a cumulative of +30% bonus. In order to compensate a Farari overdose, they are slower to produce than regular knights, so they have to be employed wisely (do you concentrate them in order to create more poweful shock units or spread them so they cover a larger battlefront?).
UB - Mud Madrasha. Replaces university. Adds a +15% to the appeareance rate of great people
Special ability -
Golden caravansarai. Every gold, silver, copper and salt resource tile generates an aditional gold and culture point for the city that works them. Not only reflects mali's great cultural output, but also translates very well the dependence of their empire upon these resources.
Coming next: Additions