AU501: The Power of Seafaring

[alexman]

notyoureither, the AU mod does affect AI research choices. The choices are supposed to be more random, so you can't rely on them all to go for Iron Working as before, for example. AI civs also take into consideration their traits when deciding which tech to research next, which is not done in stock.

The AU mod definitely doesn't affect the free tech from huts (I have received WC insted of pottery before ion stock), and it doesn't affect the beaker cost to research any tech other than Philosophy and Republic.

Cort Haus, the AU mod is not supposed to affect your game experience much compared to stock, although it will probably make the game seem a bit harder than the same difficulty under stock rules.

[ducki]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
1. Has the C3C AU mod been widely tested by many players on many maps for those esoteric balance issues which can significantly affect the game?

This is our first game with this version of the mod, but many of the changes have been tested before and elsewhere, though Conquests is a whole new fish, so we're likely to find ... oddities that we remedy in a later version of the mod. It's not competitive here, it's all about learning, so that's not as big a deal as on something like CFC's GotM.

2. If I opt for the stock rules, but everyone else plays the AU mod, my game is worth little if there is no-one to compare it with.

Actually, the opposite is true. Even if just one player plays stock Civ, that gives us a (admittedly limited) baseline with which to compare the modded version. If we make these changes and noone plays stock, we have nothing to which we can point and say "See how much better the mod made this?" or "Wow, that doesn't really help at all, let's change it back!"

And again, it's not really competitive - aside from the yearning to be praised on your own gameplay by the old pros here - so every game is worth reviewing, even if it includes an Ancient Age defeat, since there's always something that someone here will notice as interesting, clever, risky, or odd.

I'm thinking that if I do play the AU mod, I'll be learning more about that than the Seafaring trait.

You'll also have to unlearn a little bit. For example, Sea squares were modded to cost 2 movement points to enter. Seafaring has 3-move curraghs. I forgot the change and was going to use moves 2 and 3 to pop into the sea and look about, then right back out, just like a normal game - except my curragh didn't let me move back out! "Eeek! What happened?!?" I moaned. Then, I remembered something about movement, checked the mod thread and sure enough, I forgot to read the readme.
hehe.

Seriously, though, I really like C3C even without the mod. The mod keeps you on your toes, though. I think it does result in a stronger AI and more interesting decisions for the player, though.
Either way, AU Courses are a great way to compare gameplay with others without worrying about score or victory date and just concetrate on improving your own gameplay.

Let your hair down and have at it!

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by ducki

Even if just one player plays stock Civ, that gives us a (admittedly limited) baseline with which to compare the modded version. If we make these changes and noone plays stock, we have nothing to which we can point and say "See how much better the mod made this?" or "Wow, that doesn't really help at all, let's change it back!"

Good point, duckie. I'm aware of the AU philosophy, having enjoyed several, but I'm also aware of that strategic comparisons between games with different rules have their limitations.

I think I'll go with the standard rules for this AU game, and maybe try out the mod on a random epic game.

[Dominae]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
1. Has the C3C AU mod been widely tested by many players on many maps for those esoteric balance issues which can significantly affect the game?

No, this is probably it's first test game. You're all guinea pigs. Does that scare you?

2. If I opt for the stock rules, but everyone else plays the AU mod, my game is worth little if there is no-one to compare it with.

I'm thinking that if I do play the AU mod, I'll be learning more about that than the Seafaring trait.

Well, knowing the map and the changes in the AU mod, I'm confident that your experience will not be that different. At the very least you'll still learn about the power of Seafaring.

alexman's flavors create what is probably the biggest discrepancy from stock, which is why I wanted to test them seperately at first. Then again, without someone playing the stock game, we have no way of telling if the mod is working as intended!


Dominae

[nbarclay]

Originally posted by alexman

Cort Haus, the AU mod is not supposed to affect your game experience much compared to stock, although it will probably make the game seem a bit harder than the same difficulty under stock rules.

The feel of naval exploration is very different in the AU Mod. Under the standard rule, curraughs and galleys routinely move into back out of sea and even ocean tiles during the course of the turn. With the AU Mod, they move faster staying inland. Suicide runs with ships are also significantly less practical. So a comparison of when contacts were obtained between a standard rules game and an AU Mod game would be very much "apples and oranges."

I'm also highly skeptical that there is a valid basis for comparing performance in the early tech race between standard rules and the AU Mod. I won't spoil anything beyond saying that the tech race thus far has had a very different feel to it from any standard rules game I've ever played (including archipelago map ones).

[Catt]

I won't be able to download and start until tomorrow at the earliest.

Re: the "which tech comes from a popped hut" query: I just recently tested whether or not you can get an SGL from a tech "discovered" from a hut -- the test involved popping hundreds and hundreds of huts. From that experiment it appears that the tech a hut gives is heavily weighted towards the cheapest available tech, but that any available tech can be given. The two additional rules at play are: (1) no more techs once you enter the Medieval Age, even if you haven't discovered optional Ancient Age techs; and (2) you will not pop the tech you're currently researching (even at 0 beakers) unless that tech is the only tech available to you, in which case it is possible to pop your researched tech (i.e., if you research Writing at 0 beakers, and discover all techs other than Writing and its following techs, you will eventualy pop Writing from a hut).

Catt

[donZappo]

Originally posted by Catt
I won't be able to download and start until tomorrow at the earliest.

Re: the "which tech comes from a popped hut" query: I just recently tested whether or not you can get an SGL from a tech "discovered" from a hut -- the test involved popping hundreds and hundreds of huts. From that experiment it appears that the tech a hut gives is heavily weighted towards the cheapest available tech, but that any available tech can be given. The two additional rules at play are: (1) no more techs once you enter the Medieval Age, even if you haven't discovered optional Ancient Age techs; and (2) you will not pop the tech you're currently researching (even at 0 beakers) unless that tech is the only tech available to you, in which case it is possible to pop your researched tech (i.e., if you research Writing at 0 beakers, and discover all techs other than Writing and its following techs, you will eventualy pop Writing from a hut).

Catt

Gonna leave us hanging, Catt? Did you get any SGLs from goody hut techs?

[Myrddin]

I can't seem to get the files to extraxt - I'm using XP and am probably missing something obvious - any suggestions?

[vmxa1]

Yes find WinZip and use it. The XP extract is quite lame. I use to have that all the time.

[Master Zen]

I will give it a shot with the new AU mod although I have no clue what new goodies it has

[Arnelos]

I'm going to play it without the AU mod and see what that's like first. Then, time permitting, I'll play with the mod.

[Arnelos]

um... Dominae, the stock zip file is EMPTY

I guess I'll play with the mod afterall

[Arnelos]

Ok, the mod zip file has nothing in it but folders, no files

Am I the only one having that problem when trying to download it here?

[Arnelos]

MZ sent me the mod zip and Kloreep sent me the stock game zip.

I have no idea why when I try to download the files, I get an empty zip file.

[Cort Haus]

Arnelos, I got the files out of the stock zip fine with winzip.