A new mod enters the ring - Introducing "Close to Home"

[Charriu]

Don't worry Amicalola. I was mainly concerned to bring everybody up to speed with my planning. You may have seen that I started a thread with a proposed changelog. Here want to give you some additional feedback and thought about those changes:

• Workshops base hammer output increases by +1 hammer, removed the +1 hammer from chemistry
  

I already mentioned this change on a lot of different spoiler threads. Civac already mentioned this above. Basically there was never a really good reason to build workshops when they are unlocked with Metal Casting. You basically converted a grassland tile into a plains and a plains into a plains hill. With this the workshop actually has some reason to be build early.

War Weariness: War weariness decreases faster during peace

• War Weariness: Gets the same reduction during war and peace. That reduction is also increased compared to BtS. Eliminating a player won't remove WW towards that player
  

We already discussed War Weariness a few pages ago and to me this looks like the best solution for now. At the same time I want to mention that I haven't forgotten about Tarkeel's change to reduce the jail, but with this change I first want to see how this implementation works out before implementing the jail change.

• Known tech bonus now unlocks with Alphabet
  

Give more meaning to Alphabet, make it possible to hide your early rushes towards a critical military tech.

• Reducing the cost of specific wonders to the following values:
  Statue of Zeus: 250
  Temple of Artemis: 300
  Chichen Itza: 400
  Angkor Wat: 400
  Shwedagon Paya: 400
  Hagia Sophia: 400
  Versailles: 600
  Notre Dame: 500
  Parthenon: 300
  Statue of Liberty: 1250
  

All of these wonders aren't really built that often. By reducing their cost I attempt to change that somewhat. I know that some will see this as a nerf towards IND, but it actually isn't. INDs wonder bonus is a lot better with the early game wonders. The advantage is almost non-existent with mid and late game wonders as normally the player who gets the tech first has the best chance to build the wonder or the player who just drops a great engineer on a wonder. So in that sense IND isn't really harmed here in anyway.

Oh and I know that this makes the changelog way longer, but overall it should be managable as those are all reductions.

• Circumnavigation: Unlocked by Optics, +1 trade route in all coastal cities harbor gives +50% extra in trade income bringing it up to +100% extra trade yield instead of +1 movement and can be achieved by everybody (due to the way the code works this is aquired the turn after Optics is researched)
  

Discussed some 10 pages ago. Basically the idea is to reduce the economic effect of my circumnavigation change. This might be an overnerf, but we will see. At the same time I will keep a close look at PROs performance with change as this is hurting that trait more then others.

• Sid's Sushi Co.: Food bonus per resource 0.25 instead of 0.5 and culture bonus per resource 1 instead of 2, maintenance costs halfed, available at Refigriation
  
• Cereal Mills: available at Biology
  
• Mining Inc.: Hammer bonus per resource 0.75 instead of 1, maintenance costs 3/4 of original
  
• Creative Construction: available at Steam Power
  

Moving the two worse corporation to an earlier date to make them more appealing. Discussed with Tarkeel a long time ago.

Environmentalism: Available at Biology instead of Medicine, remove Corporation costs, +1 commerce on water tiles

Giving water based empires an option to keep up with the other economy types later on.

Industrious: +100% production of national wonders

Together with the reduced build speed from resources this brings IND back to its BtS national wonder speed with resources.

[Charriu]

Looks good. Frigates are the only thing left at Chemistry.

That bothered me too, but for now it's the smaller evil. At the same time I may find something to add to chemistry with the next release. After all this isn't a final proposal.

[Amicalola]

Circumnav change is interesting, had thought you planned to just move the route to harbours. Might have gone from too strong to too weak, but I guess that's for testing to decide. Changes look good, like the industrious buff.

Will ktb happen at all before alphabet, or just visibility?

[civac2]

Another thing I noticed but forgot to mention is that the new circumnavigation is a buff to EXP. Harbors without EXP aren't worth it. It would be 2-3 base commerce for 80 base hammers or 54 hammers with forge and OR. Maybe in the capital.

[Charriu]

Circumnav change is interesting, had thought you planned to just move the route to harbours. Might have gone from too strong to too weak, but I guess that's for testing to decide. Changes look good, like the industrious buff.

Will ktb happen at all before alphabet, or just visibility?

No KTB won't happen at all before alphabet.

Another thing I noticed but forgot to mention is that the new circumnavigation is a buff to EXP. Harbors without EXP aren't worth it. It would be 2-3 base commerce for 80 base hammers or 54 hammers with forge and OR. Maybe in the capital.

That's true, but I have no problem with that. On the contrary I think this is a plus for the change.

[Tarkeel]

I think the only change I'd make, is to add "from XXX" on the changed wonder costs.

[Charriu]

I think the only change I'd make, is to add "from XXX" on the changed wonder costs.

I can do that with the next version.

[BING_XI_LAO]

Can Alphabet be reduced in price given that it's now needed to enable the rubberband tech mechanic? IE it's needed for a player that's behind to catch up - do you want to put up too much of a steep barrier to that mechanic? Also, it doesn't have spies, even if it's now great for the tech bonus.

[civac2]

Alphabet is already reduced to 250 base cost from 300. Don't forget also that Alphabet is an alternative route to Currency.

[Mjmd]

I believe my statement was "what problem are we trying to solve by moving KTBs to alaphabet"? I don't think that question was ever answered. It seems like we are changing a key game mechanic to make a tech more relevant?

Currently ToA, Notre Dame, and Parthenon are all being built at least some games. While I like the reduction to the rest as they never get built or very rarely, I'm less sure these reductions are good. I think moving more wonders into marginally good range is good for industrious, but moving already marginal wonders up, will make industrious worse.