So in the past few years some of my friends and I had been working on a balance mod that flowed out of our gameplay. I felt it'd be nice to share how we (very naively) edited the game. Also, purely out of self-serving interest, I want to record the changes we made in an organized fashion. The largest changes we made were heavily enhancing the trade route economy, large changes to renaissance combat, and a complete rebalance of workshops and tile improvements. Most of the other changes aren't very interesting and can be skipped. Here goes:
Traits
Added leaders to fill in the gaps, PHI/IND and CRE/CHA
Civs
Civics
Buildings and Wonders
Tech Changes
Unit Changes
Tile Improvements
Traits
Financial
+1 commerce on tiles with 2
100% Cheaper Bank
+1 commerce on tiles with 2
100% Cheaper Bank
Philosophical
+100% GPP
100% Cheaper University
+100% GPP
100% Cheaper University
Max 1 turn of anarchy
Expansive
+3 Health
50% Cheaper Workers (only 25% for fast worker)
100% Cheaper Granary, Aqueduct, Hospital
+3 Health
50% Cheaper Workers (only 25% for fast worker)
100% Cheaper Granary, Aqueduct, Hospital
Protective
Free Drill I promo (melee, archery, gunpowder)
Free City Defender promo
100% Cheaper Walls, Castle (We buffed castles and walls, more on that later)
Free Drill I promo (melee, archery, gunpowder)
Free City Defender promo
100% Cheaper Walls, Castle (We buffed castles and walls, more on that later)
Aggressive
Free Combat I promo (Archery, Gunpowder, Mounted, Melee)
+50% Great General Emergence
100% Cheaper Barracks, Stables, Drydock
Free Combat I promo (Archery, Gunpowder, Mounted, Melee)
+50% Great General Emergence
100% Cheaper Barracks, Stables, Drydock
Charismatic
+1 Happiness
+1 Happiness Monument, Broadcast Tower
-25% XP for promos
100% Cheaper Courthouses
+1 Happiness
+1 Happiness Monument, Broadcast Tower
-25% XP for promos
100% Cheaper Courthouses
Organized
-50% Civic Upkeep
35% Cheaper Settlers
-50% Civic Upkeep
35% Cheaper Settlers
Cheaper Lighthouse and Factory
Imperialistic
+100% Trade Route Yield
100% Cheaper Harbor, Jail, Airport (which got buffed a lot)
+100% Trade Route Yield
100% Cheaper Harbor, Jail, Airport (which got buffed a lot)
+1 Happiness from jails
Spiritual
No Anarchy
100% Cheaper ALL Religion Buildings
50% Cheaper Missionaries
No Anarchy
100% Cheaper ALL Religion Buildings
50% Cheaper Missionaries
Industrious
+1 hammer on tiles with 5
+35% Wonder and National Wonder Production
100% Cheaper Forges
+1 hammer on tiles with 5
+35% Wonder and National Wonder Production
100% Cheaper Forges
Creative
+2 Culture
+100% Team Wonder Production
100% Cheaper Library, Colosseum, Theatres
+1 happiness from Theatre, Colosseum+2 Culture
+100% Team Wonder Production
100% Cheaper Library, Colosseum, Theatres
Added leaders to fill in the gaps, PHI/IND and CRE/CHA
Civs
All starting techs left as is. Will only references changes, if UB/UU not mentioned, assume left as is from base BTS. If base units got buffed, changes will still be mentioned here.
America: Kept as is, only used in modern starts.
Arabia: Camel Archer - Archery Unit that has 25% chance to withdraw from combat over knight, does not require any resources. However, loses flank attack ability. Madrassa: 2 scientist and priest slots, +1 happiness from incense.
Aztecs: Jaguar warrior now has guerilla 1 promo.
Babylon: Garden gives additional +1 food.
Byzantines: Cataphract now 105 hammers instead of 90. Hippodrome gives +3 mounted unit XP.
Carthage: Numidian cavalry now starts with Blitz and Flanking.
Celts: Gallic warrior gets guerilla 1 and 2.
China: Reduced max collateral damage of Cho-Ko-Nu, Replaced artist slots in Pavillion with 1 free artist. (Might be a mistake...)
Dutch: No change
Egypt: Obelisk decreases maintenance by 10%.
England: No change
Ethiopia: Oromo warrior: 10 strength now as part of musketman changes, +1 Exp point from stele.
France: Musketeer 10 strength as part of musketman changes, +25% great person gen from salon, no free artist.
Germany: For modern era only, didnt change.
Greece: No change
Holy Rome: No change
Inca: 20 hammer quechuas and only +1 culture on terraces.
India: Mausoleum and all jails now comes with Ethics, a new tech we added that comes after philosophy (more on that later). Gives an additional +1 happiness and +10% production in a city over BTS jails.
Japan: no change
Khmer: Ballista Elephant causes up to 20% collateral (like cho-ku-nu).
Korea: Hwacha now 3 strength as part of siege unit rebalance.
Mali: Mint gives a merchant and a engineer slot.
Maya: Holkan is now an archery unit that has drill 1 in addition to 100% vs. mounted and immune to first strikes.
Mongolia: Keshik starts with Blitz
Native America: No change
Ottomans: Janissary has 10 strength as part of musket buff.
Persia: Apothecary is now 30 hammers cheaper.
Portugal: Feitoria gives all trade route modifier not foreign trade route modifier as part of overall customs house change.
Rome: Praetorians are now 7 health but can chop forest, chop jungles, build roads, and build forts.
Russia: Late game starts, no changes
Spain: Conquistador gets blitz, castle gets +2 trade routes as part of castle rebalance.
Sumeria: No change
Vikings: +1 trade route from trading post
Zululand: Impi now has +200% vs. gunpowder units, starts with pinch and morale, but only has 1 movement point.
America: Kept as is, only used in modern starts.
Arabia: Camel Archer - Archery Unit that has 25% chance to withdraw from combat over knight, does not require any resources. However, loses flank attack ability. Madrassa: 2 scientist and priest slots, +1 happiness from incense.
Aztecs: Jaguar warrior now has guerilla 1 promo.
Babylon: Garden gives additional +1 food.
Byzantines: Cataphract now 105 hammers instead of 90. Hippodrome gives +3 mounted unit XP.
Carthage: Numidian cavalry now starts with Blitz and Flanking.
Celts: Gallic warrior gets guerilla 1 and 2.
China: Reduced max collateral damage of Cho-Ko-Nu, Replaced artist slots in Pavillion with 1 free artist. (Might be a mistake...)
Dutch: No change
Egypt: Obelisk decreases maintenance by 10%.
England: No change
Ethiopia: Oromo warrior: 10 strength now as part of musketman changes, +1 Exp point from stele.
France: Musketeer 10 strength as part of musketman changes, +25% great person gen from salon, no free artist.
Germany: For modern era only, didnt change.
Greece: No change
Holy Rome: No change
Inca: 20 hammer quechuas and only +1 culture on terraces.
India: Mausoleum and all jails now comes with Ethics, a new tech we added that comes after philosophy (more on that later). Gives an additional +1 happiness and +10% production in a city over BTS jails.
Japan: no change
Khmer: Ballista Elephant causes up to 20% collateral (like cho-ku-nu).
Korea: Hwacha now 3 strength as part of siege unit rebalance.
Mali: Mint gives a merchant and a engineer slot.
Maya: Holkan is now an archery unit that has drill 1 in addition to 100% vs. mounted and immune to first strikes.
Mongolia: Keshik starts with Blitz
Native America: No change
Ottomans: Janissary has 10 strength as part of musket buff.
Persia: Apothecary is now 30 hammers cheaper.
Portugal: Feitoria gives all trade route modifier not foreign trade route modifier as part of overall customs house change.
Rome: Praetorians are now 7 health but can chop forest, chop jungles, build roads, and build forts.
Russia: Late game starts, no changes
Spain: Conquistador gets blitz, castle gets +2 trade routes as part of castle rebalance.
Sumeria: No change
Vikings: +1 trade route from trading post
Zululand: Impi now has +200% vs. gunpowder units, starts with pinch and morale, but only has 1 movement point.
Civics
Gov't
Hereditary Rule: Medium upkeep
Representation: High Upkeep
Police State: +1 hammer from gulag (Tile improvement, will be detailed later).
Universal Suffrage: NO change.
Legal:
Vasslage: XML tag: <iGoldPerMilitaryUnit>-1</iGoldPerMilitaryUnit>. Doesn't show up properly in civpedia, but I'm pretty sure it worked in game. Not that we used vassalage much at all...
Nationhood: NO change
Bureaucracy: No change
Free Speech: No change
Labor:
Slavery: No change
Serfdom: Farms, Workshops, Cottages all grow 100% faster, high upkeep, no worker bonus.
Caste System: +1 hammers on all but the highest workshop upgrade (more on this later, but workshops now grow like cottages instead of with tech)
Emancipation: No bonus to cottage growth, instead +1 hammer from all levels of cottages except Towns, and +1 gold to all farm levels (farms grow too, with three tiers)
I think switching Emancipation bonus to Serfdom makes it more useful and provides an interesting sort of tradeoff between caste system and serfdom in terms of the hammer economy which we buffed very very heavily.
Economy:
Mercantilism: +100% hammers from trade routes, but no foreign trade routes. No free specialist. (If leveraged properly, gives an easy 10 additional hammers per turn in each city. If fully exploited, can be pushed even higher)
This only works in conjunction with changes to YieldInfos xml, specifically this tag under production: <iTradeModifier>1</iTradeModifier>. Makes the basic mercantilism trade route +1 commerce +1 hammer.
Free Market: +100% from trade routes. (NO longer do you get the hammer though).
State Property: +1 Food only from top level of workshop upgrade and watermills.
Environmentalism: I forget the BTS original, so here's the full benefit list: +10 health, +1 free specialist, +2 happiness and health from public transportation, +3 gold on forest preserves.
Religion:
Only Theocracy changes, gets +1 happiness from state religion.
Hereditary Rule: Medium upkeep
Representation: High Upkeep
Police State: +1 hammer from gulag (Tile improvement, will be detailed later).
Universal Suffrage: NO change.
Legal:
Vasslage: XML tag: <iGoldPerMilitaryUnit>-1</iGoldPerMilitaryUnit>. Doesn't show up properly in civpedia, but I'm pretty sure it worked in game. Not that we used vassalage much at all...
Nationhood: NO change
Bureaucracy: No change
Free Speech: No change
Labor:
Slavery: No change
Serfdom: Farms, Workshops, Cottages all grow 100% faster, high upkeep, no worker bonus.
Caste System: +1 hammers on all but the highest workshop upgrade (more on this later, but workshops now grow like cottages instead of with tech)
Emancipation: No bonus to cottage growth, instead +1 hammer from all levels of cottages except Towns, and +1 gold to all farm levels (farms grow too, with three tiers)
I think switching Emancipation bonus to Serfdom makes it more useful and provides an interesting sort of tradeoff between caste system and serfdom in terms of the hammer economy which we buffed very very heavily.
Economy:
Mercantilism: +100% hammers from trade routes, but no foreign trade routes. No free specialist. (If leveraged properly, gives an easy 10 additional hammers per turn in each city. If fully exploited, can be pushed even higher)
This only works in conjunction with changes to YieldInfos xml, specifically this tag under production: <iTradeModifier>1</iTradeModifier>. Makes the basic mercantilism trade route +1 commerce +1 hammer.
Free Market: +100% from trade routes. (NO longer do you get the hammer though).
State Property: +1 Food only from top level of workshop upgrade and watermills.
Environmentalism: I forget the BTS original, so here's the full benefit list: +10 health, +1 free specialist, +2 happiness and health from public transportation, +3 gold on forest preserves.
Religion:
Only Theocracy changes, gets +1 happiness from state religion.
Buildings and Wonders
Walls: Now give +25% trade route bonus.
Castle: Now gives two trade routes, unlocked with Construction, obsolete with corporation.
Jails: Come with ethics, give +15% production at the cost of 1 unhappiness. The war weariness changes are the same as in BTS.
Customs House: +100% trade route yield on all trade routes, not just foreign.
Angkor Wat: +1 food, commerce and hammers from priests. Can turn 2 citizens into priests.
Cristo Redentor: 1 free tech, no other impact
Great Wall: Free walls in every city, in addition to normal bonus.
Hagia Sophia: +1 Free engineer in the city in addition to worker bonus.
Spiral Minaret: Free islamic temple in all cities, no other benefit (we don't play with choose religions, so this makes late religion more spicy).
University of Sankore, Free islamic monestary in every city, no other benefit.
Castle: Now gives two trade routes, unlocked with Construction, obsolete with corporation.
Jails: Come with ethics, give +15% production at the cost of 1 unhappiness. The war weariness changes are the same as in BTS.
Customs House: +100% trade route yield on all trade routes, not just foreign.
Angkor Wat: +1 food, commerce and hammers from priests. Can turn 2 citizens into priests.
Cristo Redentor: 1 free tech, no other impact
Great Wall: Free walls in every city, in addition to normal bonus.
Hagia Sophia: +1 Free engineer in the city in addition to worker bonus.
Spiral Minaret: Free islamic temple in all cities, no other benefit (we don't play with choose religions, so this makes late religion more spicy).
University of Sankore, Free islamic monestary in every city, no other benefit.
Tech Changes
Added Ethics, which comes right after Philosophy and allows direct access to constitution (Ethics OR Nationalism work for const.) Enables Gulags and Jails. Costs only a bit more than Phil.
Moved Gunpowder to come after Engineering and decreased the tech cost. Now, however, gunpowder gives Pike and shot (will be detailed in the next section). requires Feudalism.
In the place of Gunpowder is now Flintlocks, a more expensive tech that gives only Musketmen, which are now buffed. Requires education.
Music is no longer required for miltiary tradition, but it was made more expensive. Tech costs were rebalanced overall, making the path to cuirs comparable to musketmen.
Moved Gunpowder to come after Engineering and decreased the tech cost. Now, however, gunpowder gives Pike and shot (will be detailed in the next section). requires Feudalism.
In the place of Gunpowder is now Flintlocks, a more expensive tech that gives only Musketmen, which are now buffed. Requires education.
Music is no longer required for miltiary tradition, but it was made more expensive. Tech costs were rebalanced overall, making the path to cuirs comparable to musketmen.
Unit Changes
Swordsmen have 15% city attack now, up from 10.
Overall, siege units got nerfed.
Catapults are now 3 strength with 75% city attack.
Trebuchets still have 4 strength but only 65% city attack.
Cannons have 8 strength and 100% city attack.
Pike and Shot are a 75 hammer gunpowder unit that come with gunpowder (now after engineering). Has 8 strength and is immune to first strikes, with a 50% bonus against mounted units.
Knights have a 25% attack bonus against Pike and Shot (not defense).
Musketmen are in the same spot int he tech tree but under the tech name of Flintlocks. They now have 10 strength and start with CG1.
Cavalry has three moves and starts with blitz.
Grenadiers cause collateral damage up to 30%.
All naval units have 1 additional base movement point.
Overall, siege units got nerfed.
Catapults are now 3 strength with 75% city attack.
Trebuchets still have 4 strength but only 65% city attack.
Cannons have 8 strength and 100% city attack.
Pike and Shot are a 75 hammer gunpowder unit that come with gunpowder (now after engineering). Has 8 strength and is immune to first strikes, with a 50% bonus against mounted units.
Knights have a 25% attack bonus against Pike and Shot (not defense).
Musketmen are in the same spot int he tech tree but under the tech name of Flintlocks. They now have 10 strength and start with CG1.
Cavalry has three moves and starts with blitz.
Grenadiers cause collateral damage up to 30%.
All naval units have 1 additional base movement point.
Tile Improvements
Camps give an extra food for fur and ivory.
Forts now give a 75% bonus.
Lumbermills give 2 hammers (and 1 commerce on rivers) right off the bat, no other bonuses with tech.
Gulags: +1 Food, +1 Production (+1 from police state), +1 commerce on rivers. Only can be built in tundra.
The Workshop and Farm Changes:
Base Workshop: -1 food, +2 production(+1 caste)), upgrades in 15 turns (normal speed) to Smelter
Smelter: -1 food , +3 production(+1 caste)), upgrades in 45 turns (normal speed) to Factory
Factory: -1 food (+1 from state property) , +4 production(+1 caste)), upgrades in 60 turns (normal speed) to Industrial Center
Industrial Center: -1 food (+1 from state property) , +5 production)
Base Farm: +1 food with irrigation, +1 commerce with Emancipation, +1 Food with biology, upgrades to Estate in 50 turns
Estate: +1 food and +1 commerce with irrigation, +1 commerce with Emancipation, +1 Food with biology, upgrades to Latifundia in 100 turns
Latifundia: +1 food and +1 commerce and +1 hammer with irrigation, +1 commerce with Emancipation, +1 Food with biology
Forts now give a 75% bonus.
Lumbermills give 2 hammers (and 1 commerce on rivers) right off the bat, no other bonuses with tech.
Gulags: +1 Food, +1 Production (+1 from police state), +1 commerce on rivers. Only can be built in tundra.
The Workshop and Farm Changes:
Base Workshop: -1 food, +2 production(+1 caste)), upgrades in 15 turns (normal speed) to Smelter
Smelter: -1 food , +3 production(+1 caste)), upgrades in 45 turns (normal speed) to Factory
Factory: -1 food (+1 from state property) , +4 production(+1 caste)), upgrades in 60 turns (normal speed) to Industrial Center
Industrial Center: -1 food (+1 from state property) , +5 production)
Base Farm: +1 food with irrigation, +1 commerce with Emancipation, +1 Food with biology, upgrades to Estate in 50 turns
Estate: +1 food and +1 commerce with irrigation, +1 commerce with Emancipation, +1 Food with biology, upgrades to Latifundia in 100 turns
Latifundia: +1 food and +1 commerce and +1 hammer with irrigation, +1 commerce with Emancipation, +1 Food with biology
"I know that Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but I want just that sort of man to command my cavalry on this expedition."
- William Tecumseh Sherman
- William Tecumseh Sherman
![[Image: noidea.gif]](https://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/images/smilies/noidea.gif)
In this game that's going to help us because he's going to go to the negotiating table with twitchy eyes and slightly too wide a grin and terrify the neighbors into favorable border agreements, one-sided tech deals and staggered NAPs."