What are the most simple, unnofficial additions/mods?

[RPGary]

Hey there folks!


Got a question here for you. Are there any specific mods/scenarios/civilizations you would recommend on the basis of how simple and Faraxis-esque they are; nothing too game-changing, just additional content that looks polished enough that it could be sold as part of an official expansion pack? I'm not looking for some major overhaul of the original game, just something along the lines of a new Civilization that is in the style of the game's developer's ones.


Thank you for any recommendations!

 

[starmanbeta]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=359

Legends of the Revolution is what you're looking for. It's easy to download and install, and it's very well done.

 

[Alternator]

He said he does NOT want a complete overhaul, and Legends of the Revolution pretty much qualifies.

Other than BUG/BAT, which are more information and graphics than gameplay tweaks, I don't know of any minor stuff offhand.

 

[phungus420]

This is a direct quote from the OP:

Are there any specific mods/scenarios/civilizations you would recommend on the basis of how simple and Faraxis-esque they are; nothing too game-changing, just additional content that looks polished enough that it could be sold as part of an official expansion pack?

BUG/BAT is what you want if you don't want to change anything at all in BtS, but do want an excellent interface. It wouldn't fall under the Rubric of "official expansion pack". Major overhauls are mods like Rise of Mankind, Planetfall, and Dune Wars. As far as an official expansion type mod that's well polished, which is exactly what the OP asked for, starmanbeta is right on the money. LoR is polished, and installs easily (just double click), is bug free in single player (unfortunately it doesn't work in MP yet), and if you don't like an introduced concept in it, like Revolutions or Legendary units, you can just turn them off; just like how you can turn off Vassals and Espionage in BtS.

 

[RPGary]

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions! LoR definitly seems good so far, just having a few minor problems with an addon. Thank you again!

 

[cardgame]

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions! LoR definitly seems good so far, just having a few minor problems with an addon. Thank you again!

This is a direct quote from the OP:


BUG/BAT is what you want if you don't want to change anything at all in BtS, but do want an excellent interface. It wouldn't fall under the Rubric of "official expansion pack". Major overhauls are mods like Rise of Mankind, Planetfall, and Dune Wars. As far as an official expansion type mod that's well polished, which is exactly what the OP asked for, starmanbeta is right on the money. LoR is polished, and installs easily (just double click), is bug free in single player (unfortunately it doesn't work in MP yet), and if you don't like an introduced concept in it, like Revolutions or Legendary units, you can just turn them off; just like how you can turn off Vassals and Espionage in BtS.

Spoiler :

also, RFC could perhaps be considered an UXP. Give it a try

 

[RPGary]

What's RFC?

 

[Cusanus]

Rhye's and Fall.

 

[cardgame]

of Civilization

 

[Willem]

I'll second the recommendation of BUG. It's an excellent addition to the game without changing any of the core mechanisms. It's just adds a vastly improved interface. I wouldn't even want to play the game without it anymore.

 

[phungus420]

BUG is used as the UI in many mods, because it is superior to BtS's UI. Of course it also has had a lot more time to be developed, and is a hobby project not subject to the constraints firaxis is under as a company. That said it makes no changes to base BtS. BtS has been around for a while now, and there are alot of improvements that have been made to the base game; some of which greatly enhance things. For instance there are now Revolutions (allows cities that get fed up with an empire's management to rebel, spawning armies and causing civil wars), or Barbarian Civs (allows barbarian cities to settle down and form entirely new civilizations), inquisitions and other new concepts available.

After playing BtS for years, you may enjoy trying some of these enhancements. And that's what the OP stated, they wanted something like an expansion pack. Legends of Revolution is exactly that, and is very stable, easy to use (it's click and play) and doesn't change much from the base game; just as much as BtS did to vanilla civ. There are also many other great mods out there. Rise of Mankind is the second most popular mod, and it adds in pretty much everything that's been created by modders. This means RoM has 5 times the techs and units as BtS, which may be too much for many users, but it's the biggest and best mega mod out there if that's what you're looking for. Also Planetfall and Dune wars are great and stable remakes of the game in a sci fi setting for those interested in sic fi. There is also the History of the Three Kingdoms mod, which is probably the best historically themed mod out there, and is every bit as interesting and is as well designed as the more well known RFC.

I guess I just don't understand why 2 posters felt the need to come in and recommend an unmodified mod component, BUG, when that's not what the OP asked for; and there are so many great mods out there. BUG is great, it's also used by many mods (LoR uses it), because it's such an improvement to the UI. But it's still just BtS; after 3 years try something new, you wol't be disappointed if you pick one of the mods I just listed, and there is always the modpacks forum to browse, which has literally hundreds of mods available, probably one of which is tailored to your interest.

 

[Willem]

I guess I just don't understand why 2 posters felt the need to come in and recommend an unmodified mod component, BUG, when that's not what the OP asked for;

Because of these lines?

"...nothing too game-changing, just additional content that looks polished enough that it could be sold as part of an official expansion pack?"

"I'm not looking for some major overhaul of the original game"

It sure sounds to me like the OP doesn't want something that drastically changes the game, like Revolutions. BUG fits in very well with both of those comments.

 

[phungus420]

If you think an UI change with absolutely no changes to gameplay is in line with what an official expansion pack is, then you have a problem with reading comprehension. Not much more to it then that. BUG is what you want if you set a limit to only firaxis created gameplay, No modifications. Asking for something that looks like an expansion pack is obviously wanting gameplay changes, or are you really going to assert BtS has no gameplay alterations from Vanilla, (if so I ask you WTH espionage and Vassals are). Willem have you ever checked any of the more coherent and well done mods, like LoR, Planetfall, or History of the Three Kingdoms?

 

[phungus420]

This time with relevant parts bolded, since the above poster obviously missed it:

Are there any specific mods/scenarios/civilizations you would recommend on the basis of how simple and Faraxis-esque they are; nothing too game-changing, just additional content that looks polished enough that it could be sold as part of an official expansion pack?

 

[cardgame]

LoR definitely changes the game, but only so much as BTS changed it from vanilla. When the OP said game-changing I think they meant really far-out mods like Dune Wars, perhaps, and some of the ingame ones like FFH.

 

[PieceOfMind]

To the OP, check out PIG if you haven't already. It doesn't add much "additional content" and it's not pitched as an unofficial "expansion" (like LoR is) but it perfectly fits the description "nothing too game-changing". You can read a better description of PIG in the pdf attached to the first page of the linked thread.