Game: Fall from Heaven 2
Released: 2006
Played: 2016
Personal rating: I started to write this review, then realised I'd not yet installed it on my new computer; this review is now three weeks late.
Fall from Heaven is a (self-described) "Dark Fantasy mod for Civilization IV" (the "2" is for a complete rewrite, rather than being a sequel). The available civilisations include fairly mainstream gold-loving dwarves, tree-loving elves and orcs with a chip on their shoulder, but also such delights as golem-builders, insane clowns and a surprisingly liberal state run by a gold dragon in the form of an ageless 12-year old boy. Also the previously mentioned apocalyptic cult, vampires, pirates and another apocalyptic cult that want to resurrect the god of winter. And murderous angels and demons. That's just for starters. Every civ has unique mechanics, much deeper than the "traits/UU/UB" of Civ IV. All this is backed by an extensive in-game lore - I love the way that the mechanics and lore blend to let you play each game as a story, letting you shape the fate of the world of Erebus.
In addition, there are extensive, interesting changes to the overall mechanics. Religion is far more fundamental than in Civ IV, with stark differences in the abilities tied to each one. There is a huge range of spells, both priestly and arcanc, available for those who want to put in the effort to get them. The tech tree is genuinely a tree - it is possible (in fact necessary at higher difficulties or in MP) to ignore whole branches and specialise in priests, wizards, horsemen, archers, hunters or just people who hit things. Barbarians are a deadly threat from the first few turns, and the game has an Armageddon Counter that can turn the world into a literal hell-hole if allowed (or encouraged) to get too high.
There are undoubted flaws. For a mod, it's astonishing, but not as polished as the base game. It's not really balanced - given the right starting terrain and a bit of luck some civs can rapidly reach dominant positions (actual in-game snowballs are available in the right circumstances - see PBEM 1). The AI doesn't really know what to do with all the toys it has available, so good players (not me) can dig themselves out of ridiculously deep holes. Tholal's "better naval AI" mod-mod - somewhat misnamed, as it affects far more than just boats - is a definite upgrade and gave me a couple of nasty shocks after I installed it. Many civs are terrain dependent (elves need trees, pirates need coast, winter cults need ice), so you're better off running the custom map scripts rather than the mainstream ones, and the one installed with the mod is peculiar; it's common to be completely cut off by sea and mountains to start with. Again, there are third-party alternatives that improve matters, but it feels less smooth than vanilla Civ. However, it remains a fun, different take, and might actually be my favourite version of all.
Note that there is a further mod-mod used here on RB - "Erebus in the Balance". I've not played it, but there are PBEMs and SGs on the site worth digging up for both EitB and the original FFH2. A new PBEM started only a few weeks ago, after a fun variant SG. Not a bad history for a ten-year old game built by people in their spare time, even if based on an existing framework.
Released: 2006
Played: 2016
Personal rating: I started to write this review, then realised I'd not yet installed it on my new computer; this review is now three weeks late.
Fall from Heaven is a (self-described) "Dark Fantasy mod for Civilization IV" (the "2" is for a complete rewrite, rather than being a sequel). The available civilisations include fairly mainstream gold-loving dwarves, tree-loving elves and orcs with a chip on their shoulder, but also such delights as golem-builders, insane clowns and a surprisingly liberal state run by a gold dragon in the form of an ageless 12-year old boy. Also the previously mentioned apocalyptic cult, vampires, pirates and another apocalyptic cult that want to resurrect the god of winter. And murderous angels and demons. That's just for starters. Every civ has unique mechanics, much deeper than the "traits/UU/UB" of Civ IV. All this is backed by an extensive in-game lore - I love the way that the mechanics and lore blend to let you play each game as a story, letting you shape the fate of the world of Erebus.
In addition, there are extensive, interesting changes to the overall mechanics. Religion is far more fundamental than in Civ IV, with stark differences in the abilities tied to each one. There is a huge range of spells, both priestly and arcanc, available for those who want to put in the effort to get them. The tech tree is genuinely a tree - it is possible (in fact necessary at higher difficulties or in MP) to ignore whole branches and specialise in priests, wizards, horsemen, archers, hunters or just people who hit things. Barbarians are a deadly threat from the first few turns, and the game has an Armageddon Counter that can turn the world into a literal hell-hole if allowed (or encouraged) to get too high.
There are undoubted flaws. For a mod, it's astonishing, but not as polished as the base game. It's not really balanced - given the right starting terrain and a bit of luck some civs can rapidly reach dominant positions (actual in-game snowballs are available in the right circumstances - see PBEM 1). The AI doesn't really know what to do with all the toys it has available, so good players (not me) can dig themselves out of ridiculously deep holes. Tholal's "better naval AI" mod-mod - somewhat misnamed, as it affects far more than just boats - is a definite upgrade and gave me a couple of nasty shocks after I installed it. Many civs are terrain dependent (elves need trees, pirates need coast, winter cults need ice), so you're better off running the custom map scripts rather than the mainstream ones, and the one installed with the mod is peculiar; it's common to be completely cut off by sea and mountains to start with. Again, there are third-party alternatives that improve matters, but it feels less smooth than vanilla Civ. However, it remains a fun, different take, and might actually be my favourite version of all.
Note that there is a further mod-mod used here on RB - "Erebus in the Balance". I've not played it, but there are PBEMs and SGs on the site worth digging up for both EitB and the original FFH2. A new PBEM started only a few weeks ago, after a fun variant SG. Not a bad history for a ten-year old game built by people in their spare time, even if based on an existing framework.
It may have looked easy, but that is because it was done correctly - Brian Moore