Unit promotions from ancient ruins--a game-breaker when it happens?

[eewallace]

I had heard of this before but never experienced it...

Had my first chinese scout luck into goodie huts that gave unit promotions and ended up with a chinese rifleman in about 500 BC. This unit (with a backup archer and general) cleared my whole small continent (2 other civs, 7 city-states) and basically allowed me to sprawl a lovely empire that built a spaceship and took off while the remaining civs were still working on the concept of indoor plumbing or something.

It was kind of amusing, but it removed all challenge from the game.

 

[CTH]

It is a bit broken... I would suggest something like max 1 upgrade per unit or perhaps upgrade to your tier+1 or something like that

 

[lschnarch]

I have had a game in which the Americans got a rifleman in turn 33 (epic speed).

Sorry, but such things are completely ridiculous and a complete funkiller.
The only thing which I regret is not to have continued the game, because I am sure the AI would have fortified the unit in a small town at the borders...

 

[Peng Qi]

It wouldn't be broken if the AI knew how to deal with it. A mob of weaker units will kill one advanced one.

 

[Guardian_PL]

It's definitely a broken feature and should be removed from the game. You'll get a map and barb camps, I'll get 2xupgrade - now I have an all-terrain crossbow while you have a scout. Come and defeat me

 

[player1 fanatic]

The problem is that already advanced unit (which you can't build) can be "advanced" again to even further advanced unit.

For example, if you have bronze, getting pikemen from spearmen is ok. But it's not ok to get from that pikemen a riflemen from next hut.

 

[Venger]

Yes, it's hopelessly stupid in current form - frankly, ruins shouldn't do more than give you an ancient era unit bump - it's not like you are going to find ruins with rifles in them for crying out loud. If your unit is already a spearman, then give 80 gold. Simple. One line of code. And apparently out of reach for the release. Clowns. I tell you, they are clowns...

 

[da6d]

The problem is that already advanced unit (which you can't build) can be "advanced" again to even further advanced unit.

For example, if you have bronze, getting pikemen from spearmen is ok. But it's not ok to get from that pikemen a riflemen from next hut.

easily fixed, change the upgrade back to +10xp...

or better yet just drastically reduce the frequency with which ruins give upgrades...

amusing and a bit broken, but at least this is an easy fix

 

[lschnarch]

Actually, I think these things were intended.

I am pretty sure they were trying to install some kind of "cool" feature for the early years, as the GDR is clearly meant to be a "cool" feature for the late game. Yuk.

 

[alvan]

I think they should make it so that most ruins harbor gold and that other nice(r) features should be more sparse. One game I can get 2xCulture or 2xTechnology or whatever, another game = gold, maps and barb locations.

The ruin search should be: "Lets go out and farm some gold while exploring!" with the occasional bonus of "Oh sweet, I got some culture!"

 

[Biz_]

warrior to spear to pike is OK

beyond that it's pretty broken

 

[the streak]

It shouldn't go more than 1 era ahead, I agree.

 

[drachasor]

Weapons to fight the Goa'uld!

 

[JoxerNL]

there's a few good mods already out preventing this from happening.

 

[aMoralAtheist]

Easy to fix imho. A unit can only advanced too one military tier beyond where you are. Ie, a chariot archer hits a hut, and you don't have horseback riding it can become a horseman, but not a knight, since that's too spots ahead. See? That way its still beneficial but not game breaking.

 

[}{ELL/\/()]

the best that i have found was I had my first horseman turn into a knight, even that felt OP

 

[Adam7Eight]

Unit promotions from ancient ruins--a game-breaker when it happens?

Absolutely. You couldn't seriously consider playing on after getting upgraded to Mech Infantry in 1000BC... could you? Well, maybe for the lulz.

Definately, a game breaker.

 

[dexters]

Best way to fix this is to make only 1 instance per game.

 

[Jury-6]

It's game-breaking alright, and the fact that it was either overlooked or simply allowed for the final release is just one testament in countless many of the sad development process this game went through.

 

[Licinia Eudoxia]

I like it, it's pretty neat. I've played a lot of games and getting riflemen that early is ridiculous serendipity, rare enough that I find it more amusing and entertaining when it happens.

It's not remotely reliable enough to be 'game-breaking,' in my opinion, but then, I don't play super serious, competitive tournament Civ. Is that gameplay more common than I thought?

My two best encounters with it were my opening scout getting two camps to become a Chu Ko Nu, right as he stumbled into Alexander the Great's first and only city. I laid siege to that city, but I don't know that I'd have been able to do it against a real player or a better AI at all. I had to send two more warriors to even get the city.

My other was in an Archipelago map, I had a knight scouting islands that became a Tank. Then got killed by a Barbarian Trireme or Galley out of nowhere as soon as he left the island.