[BTS] What is the best mod for those seeking "Civ IV, except better"?

[Mrdie]

A lot of mods for Civ IV clearly focus on fantasy, or specific aspects of history, or realism, or some other effort to use the game engine to turn the game into something different (and, of course, fun in its own right.)

However, I'm wondering what sort of mods people would recommend that don't really change the base game, they just focus on improving it. Better AI, better balancing, perhaps a few new features and new civilizations but otherwise coming across more like an unofficial expansion pack rather than a total conversion or drastic changes.

 

[Nightinggale]

Better AI, better balancing, perhaps a few new features

Sounds like a description of K-mod.

 

[duckstab]

In addition to K-Mod, which is what I usually play by default, there are those mods which specifically focus on AI improvements, like Better BAT AI. I sometimes fire up Revolution DCM, which adds some interesting new mechanics around empire stability, and is highly configurable in terms of other features. To me it feels the most like an expansion pack because it doesn't radically change things like the tech tree.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Honestly I say just pick up plain old BUG. It's basically just an interface upgrade but it makes all the difference.

 

[Leoreth]

I see no reason not to play K-Mod. Its philosophy is to keep game mechanics completely untouched (your mileage may vary on some small decisions but generally it sticks to that) and only improve on AI, performance and interface improvements. It also includes (a modified variant of) the previously mentioned BUG mod. It should be considered the default Civ4 BtS experience at this point..

 

[devolution]

Here's another vote for K-Mod, join the AI revolution

Update: I now fully embrace AdvCiv instead

 

[zeebo1]

I researched this topic recently. Civ4Reimagined is another one that is based off k-mod and has improved AI. History Revisited looks interesting to me too. It adds some new techs and resources, so feels more like an expansion pack.

This post was pretty helpful to me.

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/mod-recommendations-for-a-noob.571790/#post-14380103

 

[Unmnemonic]

I use BUFFY. It includes BUG or at least some version of it; UI is mucho improved over vanilla BtS. It is used for BtS Game of the Month play.

I'll check out K-Mod; sounds like a winner!