What is your favorite thing about VP?

[Stalker0]

Vox Populi has changed SO many things in Civ 5, that it really is a brand new game. But of all the myriad of changes that have taken place, which is your favorite?

Lets ignore AI for the moment, as that is a large continuous effort behind the scenes. Instead, talk to us about a change or a system that you think was just a massive improvement to gameplay.


For me....its the CS quest system. The quest system is a real gem, some have argued Civ 6 even copied elements of it. The system

• Promotes immediate short term goals: They say the best strategic games are a blend of short and long term strategy, and quests give you immediate goals to focus on that you might have otherwise ignored.
• Makes the CS system dynamic: Without the quest system, CS play would just be slamming diplo units at a CS until its yours. The quest system gives it life, makes CS ownership dynamic and interesting.
• Provide fun flavor for instant bonuses. Part of the conceit of VP is the move away from per turn yields to more instant ones. The quest system provides a way to do that in an engaging and flavorful way that makes sense in play.

While there have been numerous changes that improved the game, the quest system was a mini revolution to me.

 

[Chinag]

Definitely agree on the CS quests system! I tried one vanilla game some time ago and holy cow I forgot how they functioned then!

My personal favorite is the design behind the new Social Policies Trees.

I'm a sucker for Skill trees and cool passives, and the Vox Populi legitimately scratches that itch for me. So many mutations to try, so many unique nodes that greatly changes your playstyle and goals!
Changing it from vanilla by giving you a choice of 3 policy trees for each "generation" is a really good balance decision, as it allows you to design for distinct playstyles and the expected era for a player to unlock those policies.
Having starters and a scaling bonus is also an interesting and nuanced change, as it rewards both going deep in a social tree and for going wide.

Another shoutout is to the Local Happiness system, way more interesting than Vanilla's

 

[y10]

I think they did a really good job filling in the awkward gaps in the unit promotion lines. I really like the idea of unit supply too.

 

[usadefcon1]

AI is good enough to take a city from me.

 

[Dinkov]

The way the AI plays the game for sure. First, it is actually smart and can win a game against a me, if it has better conditions (start, neighbours, available land, etc.). And second, it doesn't just start with more cities, workers, warriors and tech, so that I just play a catch-up game for a few hours and then dominate afterwards.

 

[CppMaster]

Lets ignore AI for the moment

No, lets not! AI is one of the best things of VP.
Also, I like that VP fix the problem of optimal 4 city Tradition strategy in Vanilla. Now you are not punished as much for eXpansion in a 4X game

 

[zeofig]

Apart from the AI, I like how there are lots of interesting strats and synergies that you can try. Some are better than others of course but there are lots of fun combinations.

 

[andersw]

Lets ignore AI for the moment.

No, this is the thing, not only a competent AI but an ai that doesnt do stupid stupid stuff, they protect workers and settles, they make meaningful religions, the diplo is sensible and ai doesnt behave in pure dogpile fashion.
This is what most other games suffer from they can code new things but they are not able to code their AI to use what they just added.

Policy variation and scaling!!! there is not one way to play the game.
You can play tall and small or you can play wide both are very much winnable options.

 

[rkkn]

the social policies and civ UAs are way more interesting and meaningful

It gives me a lot more variety and choice in how to play and makes coming up with different builds and strategies more fun

 

[smorgasborgas]

I Love the cs Quest system. its such a great idea. It's also why I didn't like how fragile the CSs were (I changed the alliance defense boost to 500%. They can be conquered, but not until around the industrial era, when it's feasible to liberate them).

I think (maybe in a separate mod) that if you conquer a city state it should just become your ally rather than just become part of your empire. venice and austria can get more yields to make their UA special.

 

[Patee]

I Love the cs Quest system. its such a great idea. It's also why I didn't like how fragile the CSs were (I changed the alliance defense boost to 500%. They can be conquered, but not until around the industrial era, when it's feasible to liberate them).

I think (maybe in a separate mod) that if you conquer a city state it should just become your ally rather than just become part of your empire. venice and austria can get more yields to make their UA special.

World Congress Reformation

Overview World Congress Reformation (WCR) is a Vox Populi exclusive mod that improves the diplomatic and flavor aspect of the World Congress. Requires the full package of Vox Populi. Changes to Overall Gameplay Adjusted the new Delegate System. Matching the strong influence of a strong nation...

forums.civfanatics.com

Have a look at this mod

 

[stii]

No, lets not! AI is one of the best things of VP.
Also, I like that VP fix the problem of optimal 4 city Tradition strategy in Vanilla. Now you are not punished as much for eXpansion in a 4X game

Hey sometimes it is optimal to build 3 cities!


but yes the AI is the best thing about this mod.

 

[phantomaxl1207]

How much value each new Technology gives: there's plenty of little boost sprinkled about to give each Tech more value.

 

[N.Core]

I love the expanded modding capability, but that's CP. But I like how VP takes benefits from all those extended capabilities.
For VP, I think it's the new variety of building capabilities and sane unit lines. No more boring building mechanics from one building to another.
Instant yield can be adjusted though, scaling with era mechanic also could be improved because it's limiting mods that are trying to add more eras into the game.