Alright, followers of Project Civ (and frankly anyone who wishes to share his opinion,) I want to talk to you about the project that I, myself, will be taking on: Project Civ's Greece.
Sparta will get slight tweaks, Athens will be introduced, and the civ most like Greece at present will be Macedonia (If you're from the region in the north of Greece, cheer! If you're from the Former Yugoslav Republic, cheer!)
Sparta will take the Hoplite from Greece. The hoplite will have the same strength as any other spearman, but it will receive a 20% Bonus vs. Pre-Medieval Units. This means it will have the same 13 strength as the hoplite, but will hold a candle to swordsmen and be absolutely crushed by roman legions. Swordsmen would be a rather ineffectual sidegrade to Hoplites, as they only have 8/10 of a strength point over hoplites when facing pre-medieval units. Spartan Hoplites begin to suffer crushing defeats once medieval units show up to the fight.
Sparta will retain its Syssitia Hall (though it may have slight balance changes performed upon it,) and may see it's UA played with a bit. Leonidas will remain the leader.
Athens will take the colours and UA from Greece. I've only really designed a UB for Athens: The Odeon, a throwback to Civ 4. Basically think of it as a stronger Amphitheater. Pericles will lead the Athenians.
Macedonia will take the Leader and other Unique Unit, the Companion Cavalry, from Greece. In addition, their other Unique Unit will be the Sarissophore, another spearman replacement. The Sarissohpore has the standard 11 Strength of the Spearman, but will receive a 20% Bonus vs. Spear Units. "Spear Units" can be defined as any unit having the Bonus vs. Mounted Units promotion. Yes, this means Sarissophores will be the only ancient unit that can hold a candle to the Spartan Hoplites. By the way, the Bonus vs. Spear Units comes from the fact that the spears of the Sarissophores, the Sarissa, was near the long extreme of the spectrum of spear lengths seen in ancient phalanx formations (the Sumerians with their hook-spears were in the ballpark of Sarissas' length.)
It is worth noting that Athens will be one of those hodgepodges (like Polynesia or Greece itself) of other cultures that wouldn't stand on their own in Civ: That is to say, Athens will pretty much represent the Delian League. By the same token, Sparta will be a representation of the Peloponnesian League. Both Civs will be a representation of their Peloponnesian War Era factions.
Macedonia, on the other hand, would be a representation of its immediate post-Philippian Era self. Pella as capital, having wide swathes of Epirus and Thrace; you get the picture. I still haven't decided on a colour scheme yet.
Lastly, there's the subject of "Panhellenic Sanctuaries" as historians call them sometimes. Places like Olympia (home of the ancient olypmics,) Delphi (where one went to query the Oracle,) Delos (where the delian league sat,) and Samothrace (Where there was an important temple on a mountain,) and Dodona (where another Oracle was queried, this one was generally held to be inferior only to the Oracle at Delphi.)
Sparta as the Peloponnesian League controlled two of these sites. Athens as the Delian League controlled another two. The Molossians controllled Dodona.
The fact that Sparta controls Olympia and Delphi doesn't sit well with me. Neither does Athens controlling Samothrace. So I'm thinking of introducing AT LEAST Delphi as its own Religious City-State, if not Olympia as a Cultural City-state. Suggestions?
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Working on colour schemes for Macedonia. Input wanted! I personally like Row 2, Column 1 and Row 3, Column 2.
![[GandK]](/images/icons/gandk.gif "Gods and Kings [GandK]"){kind=icon}
- Provides 2 additional Happiness (2) and Artist Slot (2) over the Amphitheater, which it replaces. Costs 25 additional hammers (125) to build.
