Rebalancing Civ4: RtR Mod

[flugauto]

Here is the link to 2.0.3.8

Changelog from 2.0.3.6 is as follows:

Alphabet decreased in cost to 250 (same as Maths)
Metal Casting decreased in cost to 300 (same as Alphabet originally, and of Monarchy)
Byzantium starting techs changed to Fishing/Myst
Vikings: Berzerkers no longer gain C1 for free, Trading post gives Flanking 1 (not Nav 1)
Celts: Civilopedia states which units gain Guerilla 2 promotion (please check I got it right, I said melee, archery, recon and gunpowder units recieve it but I've not thoroughly tested this yet).
Germany: Assembly line should be identical to base BtS except available at Steam power not the eponymous tech.
Barracks culture should double after 1000 years.
Swords: +50% city attack up from 10%.
Archers: +30% against swords
Trebs: enabled at Machinery
Free Speech: Low cost
State Property: Medium cost (same as Free Market)
PHI: +150% Great Person production, up from +100%
Maximum number of players is now 34, up from 18.

Any problems I'll get to in the morning, now I'm going sleep.

"Archers +30% against swords" bonus is not right.

[Krill]

Thanks. That should be fixed now. I'll upload the next version of the mod with the fixes this evening (bit more time for testing) and to add in some of the stuff I forgot to do with FS like bringing it forward to Lib (again).

[plako]

Thanks. That should be fixed now. I'll upload the next version of the mod with the fixes this evening (bit more time for testing) and to add in some of the stuff I forgot to do with FS like bringing it forward to Lib (again).

FS change is unnecessary (Growing towns just takes time) and I think it better in SciMet for cottage economies that could potentially skip both Liberalism and Communism for a long time or totally.

[Krill]

Thanks. That should be fixed now. I'll upload the next version of the mod with the fixes this evening (bit more time for testing) and to add in some of the stuff I forgot to do with FS like bringing it forward to Lib (again).

FS change is unnecessary (Growing towns just takes time) and I think it better in SciMet for cottage economies that could potentially skip both Liberalism and Communism for a long time or totally.

Main reason to move it forward (although Lib doesn't have to be the target tech) is that by having it available later than FM removes a lot of the choice over what civics to use. If it is available around the same time as FM, then the player has the option of only revolting once to either FM or FS, but with FM available earlier it's more a question of "Do I revolt to FM and then revolt later to FS?" to which the answer is probably going to be "Why bother" under a lot of circumstances.The problem is though what techs would it fit on? The only real options are Lib, or maybe Constitution (on the way to Democracy, US and Emancipation). Or maybe both civics on Economics is advantageous?

Don't forget, FS started off on Lib anyway. Moving it back there is moving it closer to base BtS anyway.

[plako]

It just feels yet another nerf to cottage economies. Now they could at least save some beakers skipping techs that are important to Specialist and workshp econimies.

Other thing:
I did go through the events and quests and here would be my suggestion i.e. keep positive events and decently rewarded quests and remove all the rest. If this gets support I could remove the events below so it would make more sense to enable Events in our games.

Remove (Bad or relevant mainly/only with AI):
1. Forest Fire
5. Washed out
10 Careless apprentice
11. Famine
12. Slave revolt
15. Farm Bandits
18. Fugitive
19. Pestilence
21. Faux Pas
22. Joyous Wedding
23. Wedding Feud
24. Left at the Altar
26. Tornado
29. Looters
30. Brothers in need
31. Hurricane
32. Cyclone
33. Tsunami
34. Monsoon
35. Blizzard
36. Volcano
37. Dust Bowl
42. Clunker Coal
43. Sour crude
50. Mining accident
52. SetbackS
54. Great depression
55. Bermuda triangle
70. Influenza
71. Solo Flight
77. Ancient olympics
78. Modern olympics
80. Earth day
92. Cigarette Smoker
93. Heroic Gesture
94. Great Mediator
99. The Huns
100. The Vandals
101. the Goths
102. The Philistines
103. The Vedic Aryans
104. Holy ritual
132. Spoiled grain
135. Industrial fire
155. Slave revolt warning
160. Defecting agent
161. Jail
162. Spy discovered
163. Nuclear protests
165. Broken Dam
169. Toxcatl
170. Dissident Priest
172. Rogue station
174. Impeachment

Remove or nerf (Too good):
9. Hymns and sculptures
20. Marathon
28. Bards tale
64. Federal reserve
139. Partisans
167. Golden Buddha

Keep (positive):
2. City Ruins
3. Happy Hunting
4. Motherload
6. At the sword
7. Man named Jed
8. Inspired Mission
14. Airliner crash
17. Horticulture
25. Spicy
27. Baby Boom
38. Parrots
39. Jade
40. lack pearls
41. Saltpeter
44. Truffels
45. Sea turtles
46. Tin
47. Prairie dogs
48. Ice Sculpture
49. Appleseed
51. Breakthrough
53. Running bulls
56. Patron of Knowledge
57. Master smith
58. Rural farmers
59. Money changers
60. Bowyer
61. Horseshoe
62. Champion
63. Motor oil
65. Electric company
66. Hindenberg
67. Comet Fragment
68. Subway
69. Gold rush
72. Antelope
73. Whale of a thing
74. Hi yo silver
75. Wining monks
76. Independent movies
79. Interstate
81. Freedom concert
82. Axe Haft
83. Tower shield
84. Smokeless powder
85. Stronger fittings
86. Firing Pins
87. Rifled Cannon
88. Metal Decks
89. Long Range Fighters
90. Halberd
91. Reinforced Hull
95. Forty Thieves
96. Ancient texts
97. Waters of life
98. Impact crater
105. Security tax
106. Literacy
107. Farm Plows
108. Stained glass
109. Marble statues
110. Crab cakes
111. Boilers
112. Personal Computers
113. Fuel additives
114. Hamburger Joint
115. Tea
116. Fashion
117. Thoroughbread
118. Girls Best friend
119. BAnana split
127. Miracle
128. Esteemed Playwright
129. Favorite son
130. Secret knowledge
131. High warlord
133. Angel of mercy
134. Chilly Flight
136. Laboratory
137. Experienced captain
138. Heresy
140. New Dynasty
141. Crisis in the Senate
142. Too close to call
143. Charismatic
144. Friendly locals
154. Civ game
156. Immigrants
157. Healing Plant
158. Great beast
159. Controversial Philosopher
164. Better Coal
166. Rabbi
168. Preaching researcher
171. Pasture Built
173. Anti-Monarchists

Keep Quests:
16. Holy Mountain
120. Horse Whispering
122. Classic Literature
123. Master Blacksmith
124. Best defense
126. Crusade
145. Greed
146. War Chariots
147. Elite swords
148. Warships
150. Noble Knights

remove or nerf Quests (too good, questionable or obsolete because of other changes):
13. Blessed sea
121. Harbomaster
125. Sports league
149. Guns Butter
151. Overwhelm
152. Corporate expansion
153. Hostile takeover

[Krill]

Comment to Plako: I feel that if the "Too Good" events and quests are removed then that's a fine list. The only things I add are for the following events:

28 Bards tale: gives way too much culture, if that's in a new city it's almost like getting an artist bomb down for almost zero investment.
72 Antelope: large bonus if early, increase tech requred to pop maybe? ie AH not Hunting.
73: Hi Yo Silver: ditto above, change to BW?
82-91: Someone will get fucked over by this, but whatever.
139 Partisans: I can see gaining 10+ rifles as a bit of an unreasonable bonus for losing a city TBH.

(Although coming up with edits to the "Too Good" events and quests is fine too)

[Krill]

It just feels yet another nerf to cottage economies. Now they could at least save some beakers skipping techs that are important to Specialist and workshp econimies.

So for some discussion on this, where would FS be best positioned in the tech tree to alleviate this problem (because it's a good point). FWIW, I'd rather not do any crazy stuff like giving FS a bonus to villages or anything else.

[plako]

SciMet is ok to me. In PB13 type game Free Market is so much better that it will take a long time before Free Speech can surpass Free Market (typically way beyond SciMet). In Pangaea types of maps you've a valid option to skip Economics and go straight to SciMet, if you've lots of towns coming.

[plako]

Just to be clear. You're ok with bad events and would only remove too good events i.e. these:
9. Hymns and sculptures
20. Marathon
28. Bards tale
64. Federal reserve
139. Partisans
167. Golden Buddha

Quests:
13. Blessed sea
121. Harbomaster
125. Sports league
149. Guns Butter
151. Overwhelm
152. Corporate expansion
153. Hostile takeover

And you would change these:
72 Antelope: large bonus if early, increase tech requred to pop maybe? ie AH not Hunting.
73: Hi Yo Silver: ditto above, change to BW?

[Krill]

Just to be clear. You're ok with bad events and would only remove too good events i.e. these:
9. Hymns and sculptures
20. Marathon
28. Bards tale
64. Federal reserve
139. Partisans
167. Golden Buddha

Quests:
13. Blessed sea
121. Harbomaster
125. Sports league
149. Guns Butter
151. Overwhelm
152. Corporate expansion
153. Hostile takeover

And you would change these:
72 Antelope: large bonus if early, increase tech requred to pop maybe? ie AH not Hunting.
73: Hi Yo Silver: ditto above, change to BW?

Ah no, your entire first list of bad events I'd remove as well (I wasn't even aware that was up for discussion, they need deleting before anything else can be done to events). Then I'd probably delete those two lists as well, and finally change numbers 72 and 73.

I looked at the quests, The Harbourmaster, Sports League and Guns/Butter are fixable in as much as the GA if you built the wonder needs changing to something like + free units and +settled great person or specialist (really lots of basic things work here, just need to be on a level of the other bonuses like the free happy, gold or bonus to granaries etc), and Harbourmaster can be rewritten to give either gpt, fpt, hpt, happiness or stuff.

Blessed Sea, Overwhelm, they just need deleting (don't fuck with naval warfare IMO, and 20 cities converted to state religion/free Great Prophet/so many free temples is insane). The other two obviously affect corps so are irrelevant and deletion is cleanest.