Two new spell ability added

[Grand Seeker]

Dimension II: teleport: similar to paratrooping.

Polymorph:
This is a spell which I in D&D find very very fun. It is not a combat spell but
basicly a versality spell which allows you to solve any problem ahead.

Make a shapeshifter which has three or more forms:
1. Form: bear or wolf or whatever you feel like as a basic combat unit
2. Form: Shark (able to attack see units)
3. Form: Eagle (able to rebase)

With these three forms you have a unit which can be put anywhere, and can
attack both land and see units. Which can give you the ability you want the most, when and where you want it. To make shapeshifters even more versile you could add in forms which gives
'guardsman' promotions
'high retreat abilities'
or basicly anything you find fun to add.

Also, shifting form counts as casting a spell, so you could not shift form more
than once per turn.

To compensate for the versality a shapeshifter should have somewhat low
strength (compared to the technology needed)

 

[Vehem]

Dimension II: teleport: similar to paratrooping.

Polymorph:
This is a spell which I in D&D find very very fun. It is not a combat spell but
basicly a versality spell which allows you to solve any problem ahead.

Make a shapeshifter which has three or more forms:
1. Form: bear or wolf or whatever you feel like as a basic combat unit
2. Form: Shark (able to attack see units)
3. Form: Eagle (able to rebase)

With these three forms you have a unit which can be put anywhere, and can
attack both land and see units. Which can give you the ability you want the most, when and where you want it. To make shapeshifters even more versile you could add in forms which gives
'guardsman' promotions
'high retreat abilities'
or basicly anything you find fun to add.

Also, shifting form counts as casting a spell, so you could not shift form more
than once per turn.

To compensate for the versality a shapeshifter should have somewhat low
strength (compared to the technology needed)

When you say "added", I'm guessing you mean "things you'd like to be added"?

That being said - I actually really like both of these. Teleport via Para-drops is nice, neat and easily implementable, plus it fits Dimensional very nicely indeed. The shape shifter idea is also fairly neat - provided that the actual shape-shifting action takes your whole turn (sets the moves remaining to 0/HasCasted/HasAttacked after use). The rebasing is definitely useful, being able to switch to an aquatic creature to traverse the seas is likewise and as you said, the options for different forms offering fixed-promotion sets is quite interesting.

Might this be one for your modmod Magister - doesn't really fit in mine, but it sounds up your street?

 

[Grand Seeker]

Yes. And sorry about the title. Is it possible to change it?

provided that the actual shape-shifting action takes your whole turn

Yes I agree very much. It should take the entire turn.

 

[TheJopa]

Make a shapeshifter which has three or more forms:
1. Form: bear or wolf or whatever you feel like as a basic combat unit
2. Form: Shark (able to attack see units)
3. Form: Eagle (able to rebase)

I wanted this for Druids for a long time!

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I'm not sure it would be so easy for a spell to use the paratrooping mechanic. I could easily give this ability to a specific unit, but I don't think that a promotion can give the ability (without SDK changes). A spell would probably have to rely on python, and wouldn't be nearly so neat.

I already added a dimensional 2 spell, which creates the equivalant of a temporary (requires caster) obsidian gate. I was planning on adding dimensional 3 spell that create a summon with a large cargo capacity and air drop range, so you could teleport a stack of units.


As for the polymorph, I think if I were to add something like that I would probbaly limit it to a hero (or a promotion that only a hero can get). I would probably just borrow the code that Sureshot used for her Rith hero in her old modmod (at least I would if I hadn't lost everything on my hard drive just before Christmas. I guess I could probably still download the modmod again without the old version of FfH, since I'm not trying to actually play it but just to steal some code.)

 

[xienwolf]

Well, if you have to expend your entire turn, then the Dimensional 1 spell works better than the avian form (after you get an obsidian gate I suppose), as I know that I would primarily use it to run away when things go bad. And water walking works quite nicely to allow attacking at sea, so I'd assume that in your shark form you must gain significant movement bonuses to make it better than that option.

It could be quite interesting though, and I think that I would like to see it as a completely new branch of magic if it were done (as in, now we would have Sorcery, Summoning, Divine & Shapeshifter). One could fairly easily come up with 2 forms appropriate to each of the spheres, especially if you consider the aspect of the sphere and not just the element.

EDIT: Magister, Sureshot's old mod-mod might no longer be available after the uploader hack job Hopefully it is since it was posted long ago though.

 

[Vehem]

I'm not sure it would be so easy for a spell to use the paratrooping mechanic. I could easily give this ability to a specific unit, but I don't think that a promotion can give the ability. A spell would probably have to rely on python, and wouldn't be nearly so neat.

True - had a look into it and the best way would be a small SDK change. Setting Mages to iDropRange 3 and ArchMages to iDropRange 5 (giving them the ability inherently) and then adding a python hook to;

bool CvUnit::canParadrop(const CvPlot* pPlot) const
{
	if (getDropRange() <= 0)
	{
		return false;
	}

	if (hasMoved())
	{
		return false;
	}

	if (!pPlot->isFriendlyCity(*this, true))
	{
		return false;
	}

	return true;
}

in the DLL that checks that the unit has the right Dimensional promotion, blocking them if not. This would also allow more powerful casters to teleport further. We'd also probably need to remove the "in city" check.

That being said "small SDK changes" are still SDK changes.

Well, if you have to expend your entire turn, then the Dimensional 1 spell works better than the avian form (after you get an obsidian gate I suppose), as I know that I would primarily use it to run away when things go bad.

Hmm - it would still be fairly useful in that you can select any city to rebase to - which means you can relocate incredibly quickly around the empire/to different continents.

 

[Grand Seeker]

I actually dont think shape-shifting would be that overpowered. It realy depends on the combat strength of the different forms. For example the forms could have

Bear : strength 5, movement 1
Wolf : strength 4, movement 2,
Eagle: exactly as eagle (or raven...)
Shark: strength 5, movement 6

and if this unit comes in the same time as you get units with strength 8 units (compare to assasins) they're not that insanely strong.
Also, if it takes 1 turn to shift form you have to

1st : shift to eagle,
2nd: rebase
3rd : shift to bear (or whatever you like)
4th: do your stuff.

If it fits the theme of the nation, I would realy enjoy the ability to have many shapeshifters...


waterwalking versus shark-shape shifting:

Dissadvantage shark: to be able to enter sea, one has to be in a city,
(its the only land-title a sea unit can be in) and spend 1 turn turning into shark before it can enter the sea. Maybe the shark could be faster and maybe higher strength than the normal mage. And also a shark cannot transform into a bear while at the sea, so you cannot use them to invade a forrign contigent unless you have a city there. So waterwalking is in many ways better. BUT, the waterwalking unit does not usually have the ability to rebase... And the shark is faster, and maybe stronger?

 

[BeefontheBone]

EDIT: Magister, Sureshot's old mod-mod might no longer be available after the uploader hack job Hopefully it is since it was posted long ago though.

Reasonably sure I'll still have the installer in my disorganised downloaded crap folder if you need it.

 

[MaxAstro]

Dissadvantage shark: to be able to enter sea, one has to be in a city,
(its the only land-title a sea unit can be in) and spend 1 turn turning into shark before it can enter the sea.

Actually, that's not true, unless you limited the spell to only be castable in cities. If a unit ends up on a terrain it isn't supposed to be in, it can still move as long as there is a valid terrain adjacent to it. So if you turn into a shark on a land tile, you'll be able to move into any adjacent sea tiles.

You can test this with the Slavery civic and Octopus Overlords: Use a Drown, attacking from water, to capture a slave. The slave will appear on the water, but be able to move onto the adjacent land tile.

 

[OzzyKP]

I think shapeshifting would be a fun mechanic to add to a new unit instead of adding it to a mage or druid. A shape shifter unit would be fun. Make it a UU.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I was originally thinking that if I added it it would have to for a new hero (available to anyone), but I was just thinking that it might be interesting for Yvain too.

At high enough levels I'd want it to turn into powerful Beast Units instead of animals, which would be too strong for anyone except for a hero. Also, It would be very awkward for anyone but a hero, since it would be essentially impossible to let it return to its original unit that way (well, I could make multiple promotions that are identical except for allowing a different humanoid form, but I don't feel like it.)

 

[Caradoc]

Didn't there used to be a unit something like this? Rik-something or another. Actually, it changed animal forms as it got EPs.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

In Svartalfar's Modmod there used to be a shapeshifter hero-Rith.

Originally it had one spell that would switch it back and forth between the strongest two forms available to it, with stronger animals made available with higher combat promotions. I complained about this implementation (only having combat promotions help and being unable to make a strategic choice of what animal you want annoyed me), and so she changed it so that the promotion allowed several different spells (1 per units it can become, including its humanoid form), which had different prerequisite level and tech requirements. These were mostly animals (lion, wolf, panther, bear, giant spider, elephant etc), but also included a couple summons (sand lion, Kraken, maybe something else too) and a Green Dragon.

 

[Grand Seeker]

"MagisterCultuum", why not make two versons of shapeshifters?
One hero shapeshifter with more powerfull forms, and one more comon with only animal forms?

One could also allow for promotions which gives access to somewhat more powerfull animals/beast than the original.

Actually, that's not true, unless you limited the spell to only be castable in cities. If a unit ends up on a terrain it isn't supposed to be in, it can still move as long as there is a valid terrain adjacent to it. So if you turn into a shark on a land tile, you'll be able to move into any adjacent sea tiles.

You are probably true, but it sound strange turning into a bear while at sea.

 

[Grand Seeker]

lion, wolf, panther, bear, giant spider, elephant,sand lion, Kraken,Green Dragon

You got the kraken which allows you
to move in water, and you got the elephant for defence only which are different from the other forms, but still this list of forms is to alike, and I assume once you have green dragon its stupidity to use any other form.

You need only one and two basic combat forms, and the others should
be utility forms which gives you something usefull but at the cost of less
combat power. Abilites which might be neat:
-one or two basic combat forms (dire bear and dire wolf)
-Guardsman promotion (guardian Bear )
-High Retreat ods (Celestial/fiendish panther )
-Fire imunity (tiny fireelemental )
-Water-movement (kraken or sharkt)
-Rebasing (eagle)
-worker abilities (?) (golem ???)
-ability to form wolfs-dens (outside cultural boarders) (wolf)

Then you could use it as a realy mobile protection versus assasins,
you could use it as mobile sea warfare unit, defensive units which is unefected
by fireballs. But you cannot do everything at the same time.