[WIP] Peng Qi's "Unofficial Patchpack"

[Peng Qi]

After years of thinking that this game came so close to perfect and complaining that I wish they'd just finish it, I've decided that the only way it's ever going to be finished is if I finish it. I know there are a couple of other "unofficial patch" mods, but they strayed too far from the base game for my tastes. What I'm trying to do is hold onto the majority of the base game (and its design goals) while tweaking things to my liking.

Additionally, I've decided to make each category of changes its own independent, self-contained mod, compatible with all of the other parts of the pack. This way if other people are trying to find an unofficial patch the way I did for so long and don't like some little change I make, they can just download the parts they like instead of having to use the entire thing.

They'll be grouped into two categories: One category which I consider to be "essential" changes, and one which I consider to be "personal" changes. Anything that I'm not 100% convinced makes the game objectively better will go in the "personal" category.

I'm also going to ask some other people for permission to add their mods to these lists. I know technically I don't need permission to advertise someone else's mod here, but courtesy is best.

I intend to work entirely through the Steam Workshop, but I'm not married to it, just in case Valve explodes or something.

This thread, however, isn't just advertising! I'd also like to hear everyone's suggestions for ways the game can be improved! I can't guarantee I'll like all of them, but I want to hear all of them anyway! Plus, I may need some help with finding or creating assets; I'm basically learning to write XML as I go, and I have zero past experience. Plus, I'm not actually particularly interested in learning to do the art side of things, so I'll be drawing on assets other creative people have already made or are willing to make for me for that aspect.

So that's what it is! I'm gonna reserve the second post for "the things upon which I'm currently working." It will change often! It will also have component requests if anyone feels like helping by either finding said assets or creating them!


Included "Essential" Components:

• Delnar_Ersike's Artificial Unintelligence
• Peng Qi's Industrial and Modern Tech Tree Tweaks

Included "Personal" Components:

• None!

Currently Planned Components:

• Completed Scout and Chariot upgrade trees.
• Arctic (Snow and Ice) Terrain Rework
• AI Improvements (Lots of mods already exist for this; I'm gonna explore a bunch of them to find the best one and ask its creator if I can use it!)
• Improved City State Interactions
• Social Policy/Ideology tweaks
• Culture and Tourism tweaks
• Terrain improvement tweaks

 

[Peng Qi]

Current Project: Snow and Ice terrain improvements.

Next Project: Completed Scout and Chariot upgrade paths.

I'm still ironing out what the completed upgrade paths should be. Current rough draft (suggestions welcome):

Scout Upgrades

1. Medieval; Adventurer? Axe-wielding unarmored man? Might be able to just use Seaxmen from Fall of Rome scenario.
2. Renaissance; Explorer? A generic "conquistador" on foot?
3. Industrial; Skirmisher? Non-uniformed riflemen; could feasibly use Minutemen model but would still need icons/graphics for it.
4. Modern; Recon. Maybe a Rambo-looking guy to make him look distinct from other infantry?
5. Information+; SpecOps? Maybe converted SEAL model from Civ4?

Chariot Upgrades

1. Classical/Medieval; Generic Mounted Crossbowman/Archer?
2. Renaissance/Industrial; Cuirassier?
3. Modern; SPG? (I found a StuG model but it's got German icons on it; need generic)
4. Information+; Harrier Jet? Could use Jet Fighter as filler but really would like proper harrier model.

Just realized we need a few more boats to truly complete all the unit paths:

Missing Ranged Ships

1. Ancient/Classical; some kind of Galley

Missing Melee Ships

1. Byzantine Ancient; Triremes enabled for them once ranged ships brought online for others.
2. Medieval; Hulk?
3. Information; Stealth Destroyer?

(More information coming.)

 

[Peng Qi]

Updated mod list to include Artificial Unintelligence.

 

[HorseshoeHermit]

If you're adding a missing ranged ship please make sure Byzantium gets an Ancient melee ship. Their Dromon makes them unable to threaten coastal cities and that is dumb.

As far as I ever learned, mounted archery is not generic. That may be an obstacle.

You should work with the Community Patch for your changes, then. It has AuI and the base for the Pick N Mix mods, which allow for all kinds of good stuff and headache free modding. I'd nearly assume this is what you are in fact doing... but... are you?

I'll be following this mod package. I've learned my own dll mod is eclipsed by the Community Patch, when I went and forked it, but I still have the Exploration Policy track rewrite to develop, plus Social Policy 'tweaks'.

The word 'tweak' could mean 1 000 000 degrees of difference between you and me, but I am hopeful we could collaborate. At the least, my enthusiasm for your Modern Era Warfare mod makes me want to at least work compatibility into my own.
I believe introducing more combat units is the most mathematically involved part of your ambition. I can point you to extremely effective game design essays.

 

[Peng Qi]

If you're adding a missing ranged ship please make sure Byzantium gets an Ancient melee ship. Their Dromon makes them unable to threaten coastal cities and that is dumb.

Absolutely. I might even just turn Barbarian Galleys on as buildables in the meantime.

As far as I ever learned, mounted archery is not generic. That may be an obstacle.

Indeed. That's why I was considering mounted crossbowmen, who are extremely rare (possibly even mythical) historically but would at least look visually distinct from all the mounted bowmen. I seriously doubt anyone has a ready model for that though.

You should work with the Community Patch for your changes, then. It has AuI and the base for the Pick N Mix mods, which allow for all kinds of good stuff and headache free modding. I'd nearly assume this is what you are in fact doing... but... are you?

Is the Community Patch separate and distinct from the Community Balance Patch? Because I really don't like almost all of the changes they made in the balance patch part of their project. That's actually why I started doing this; so I could have a "patch" that doesn't include a bunch of far-reaching changes to gameplay.

The word 'tweak' could mean 1 000 000 degrees of difference between you and me, but I am hopeful we could collaborate. At the least, my enthusiasm for your Modern Era Warfare mod makes me want to at least work compatibility into my own.

To me, "tweak" means extremely minor changes. For example, my current plans for tweaking the arctic region are:
1. Allow workboats to traverse ice ocean tiles (already done but not public).
2. Allow Fur and Deer to spawn in arctic regions.
3. Possibly add one new arctic resource (walrus). Not 100% sure on this one, but I feel like arctic regions need an "anchor resource" to make pre-Industrial settlements occasionally viable. Alternatively I may just clone deer and make a special version of them (Caribou?) that only spawns in snow tiles that gives +1 production over normal deer.

I'll read through any design docs you send me. Note my true passion is actually design, not coding (I'm an extremely novice coder), so the primary focus of this project is to finish the game while staying within the original design goals of CiV.

Oh, and I'd love any number of collaborators, provided they all want to stay with the original game's design goals! Even if you don't and have something that might add, I can always make a third list of "fun mods" or "alternate methods" that could exist independent of and possibly incompatible with other bits.

 

[JFD]

Is the Community Patch separate and distinct from the Community Balance Patch? Because I really don't like almost all of the changes they made in the balance patch part of their project. That's actually why I started doing this; so I could have a "patch" that doesn't include a bunch of far-reaching changes to gameplay.

Absolutely the CP and CBP are seperate. I don't like all the changes myself, and so I rely only upon the CP for my Piety & Prestige mod, which gives me access to a tonne of my API methods, as well as (I think) the improved AI that is inherent in the CBP.

 

[Peng Qi]

Absolutely the CP and CBP are seperate. I don't like all the changes myself, and so I rely only upon the CP for my Piety & Prestige mod, which gives me access to a tonne of my API methods, as well as (I think) the improved AI that is inherent in the CBP.

I'll have to look into it. If I like everything in the CP part, I might consider it the "base" for the rest of this and post stuff in their forum.