Undertanding (mod question)

[lbloom]

I'm new here and don't get mods completely. I realize they change how your game is constructed and played but m not sure how to create one or how use one created by others.

I like marathon games but am completely flabbergasted about building units. In my first game I'm into the information era and it takes 57 turns to build a biplane. That means that it takes 57 years on marathon speed to build an airplane that IRL would take not much more than a day. The build time for units is completely out of whack with any even minor relationship to reality. I do realize it is a game but when it takes decades to build even a simple infantry or similar units it makes no sense even in a game

The other thing that is crazy is that here I am in the information age and there are still crossbowmen and other pre renaissance era military units running about. So are there already mods to fix these problems or is there some way to create a mod to fix it?

 

[AppleDumplingHead]

People discuss the concepts a lot and you're not alone in the way you view it. You can say "it's a game and these are game mechanisms for balance", or you can see previous age military units simply as significantly weaker modern elements, as a crossbowman in the information era might be a smaller, less trained, less equipped 3rd world military thug group.

Similarly, cities contribute science, faith, culture, money per turn, but what they produce (orange gears) isn't literally what they are only producing over time, simply the end result product over a period of time in addition to all that science, faith, culture, money. "A plane" in the game is probably more like a small air battalion, as 2 "jets" on an aircraft carrier is closer to 30+ vehicles flying multiple sorties. You "can" have them done "in a day" if you buy them outright, or if your city has ample production tiles and bonuses, it could produce such an "entity capable of this military manifestation" in significantly fewer turns than 57.

So, you can look at it how you like, with a bit of imagination. Really, though, much is to do with game balance.

 

[teks]

It takes hundreds of years to cross the ocean, thats the best. Think of it as an annotated history...and a game.

If your really into a more deep and realistic approach, realism invictus for civ IV can't be beat. The full unique unit rosters for all 18 civs are gorgeous, however, its depth is a double edged sword. Expect a very long learning curve. Also, it'll still take hundreds of years to cross the ocean, and planes such wont be build in short order either.

Their are also some really in-depth total war mods, but thats a whole different beast.

 

[lbloom]

Thanks to both Teks and Appledumpling for their efforts to enlighten me about my question.

 

[lbloom]

I've look at the modding tools and realize that I would be much out my depth to attempt writing them. But one more question. Is it even possible to mod the turn structure so that 12 turns happen before the year progresses? That would at least make the creation of new units more sensible. It seems to me that once the tech for, say aircraft is obtained, and any other needed techs along with required resources such as aluminum or oil are gained, building even a squadron of aircraft should not take more than a few years.

Anyway I truly appreciate the answers in the thread thus far and look forward to learning more from the more experienced players.