Making Cradle 3+ fully compatible with the Apolyton Edition

[Kull]

Level 3 Food TIMP - "Advanced Farms": Available with L10 Agricultural Revolution and buildable on Grassland, Plains and Desert. All three TIMPs are from LOTR, except the color of the farmland is different. In addition, the Desert Farm has been modified to add Palm trees along the edge of the field.

The attachment shows all three Advanced Farms (Grassland, Plains and Desert), R-to-L below Miletus:

​

[Kull]

Level 2 Food TIMP - "Farms": Available with L3 Water Lifts and buildable on Grassland and Desert, the two current TIMPs were taken from the LOTR Mod, but both have been significantly revised. The Grassland TIMP now uses the "in-process" farmland graphic which has 2 green quadrants and two brown, indicating that half the land is fallow. That will be the centerpiece and also replaces houses with huts, adds trees, and removes the "rock border fence" as a further indication of primitive early farming.

The Desert TIMP has been replaced with the "African Village" style previously allocated to the L3 Advanced Farms, with the added change that the trees along the border are now Palms rather than Deciduous.

To simplify the ButtonBank graphic, there's now a new one based on the "green and brown" quadrants in the grassland TIMP, but without the huts and trees (see top image, left column in the "Status Report" attachment).

This attachment shows both Farms (Grassland and Desert), R-to-L below Miletus

​

[Kull]

Revised Food TIMP system:

Similar to Mines, the "Land Food System" did not require wholesale changes, but the alterations were quite significant. The L1 "Pasture" has been enhanced, and while L2 Farms and L3 Advanced Farms are mostly the same, they feature new graphics. L4 Mega Farms is one of the new TIMPs (and will be reviewed in detail) while L5 Hydroponic Domes features several alterations.

Level 1 Food TIMP - "Pasture": The original pasture is still available with L1 Domestication, and can be constructed on Plains, Dunes & Hills. As discussed in the previous post, this TIMP also serves as "Early Farms" and can be built on Grasslands with the discovery of L1 Agriculture. This has a new graphic which features a pair of huts adjacent to a tilled field.

The attachment shows both the original Pasture and the new Early Farms, L-to-R below Miletus:

[Kull]

Granaries and Early Farms:

Before examining the revised Land Food TIMP system, let's review a small but significant change to the Tech Tree. All the early Buildings (Bazaar, Ziggurat, Shrine, Walls) are available at Levels 1 or 2, while Granary is Level 3. Yet historically the Granary preceded most of them, and should be one of the first buildable structures. As an additional indicator of the problem, it was usually possible to reach the Dynasty Gov-type before Granaries were even available.

While not a perfect solution, the chosen fix was to shift the Granaries Advance to L2 and move Water Lifts (which holds the "Farms" TIMP) to L3 (see attached). The pre-req Advances are fine (except with respect to each other), while the research costs have been modified to match their new levels (they are still sequential Advances in the "Environment" series). In addition, we'll alter one of the Dynasty pre-reqs to Granaries (the old pre-req of Brick Making is still part of the chain), thus ensuring they are researched before Dynasty.

The main downside to all this is "Farm" TIMPs have now shifted out to L3, when in reality that was also a very old technology. Accordingly, I'm going to add a new feature to the "Pasture" TIMP, allowing them to be constructed on Grassland with the discovery of L1 Agriculture. This is a very cheap improvement (100) which adds a modest +5 to the Food level. Although they have a unique graphic and appear as "Early Farms" on the Tech Tree and in the Great Library, the name will appear as "Pasture" when you see them on the map (similar to how "Carbon Sink" is really just a version of the "Mega Mine").

Files Changed: Advance.txt, advancelists.txt, tileimp.txt, GL.txt, and the Tech Tree

​

[Kull]

Level 4 Production TIMP - "Mega Mines": These are buildable on all designated terrain-types with L21 Global Economics. The original CtP2 graphic appears on Hills and Dunes, a modified version is used for Alpine and Brown Mountains, a third image (an edited version of the CtP1 space station) appears on Polar Hills and Mountains, and a grey-colored oil pumper is seen in Deserts (see attached). The final Mega Mine graphic is the one used for Carbon Sinks (as previously discussed here)

With that, there is far more visual diversity associated with Mines, even though - it must be emphasized - the underlying benefits remain the same at each level. On the other hand the PW costs have been significantly reduced on the early levels (which brings them more in line with AE).

PW Cost (Old):
Mine Shaft: Dunes +1200, Hills +1500, All Mtns +1800
Mines: Dunes +900, Hills +1200, All Mtns +1200
Adv Mines: Desert +1500, Tundra +1500, All Hills +1800, All Mtns +2400
Mega Mines: Desert +1800, All Hills +2400, All Mtns +3300, Tundra/Glacier N/A

PW Cost (New):
Early Mines: Dunes +400, Hills +600, All Mtns +800
Mines: Dunes +700, Hills +900, All Mtns +1000
Adv Mines: Desert +1500, Tundra +1500, All Hills +1200, All Mtns +1800
Mega Mines: Desert +2000, All Hills +1500, All Mtns +2200, Tundra/Glacier +3000

Files Changed: tileimp.txt, tilerefund.slc, uniticon.txt, traits2.slc, gl_str.txt, tips_str.txt, Feat_str.txt, sounds.txt, Great Library, and the Tech Tree.

​

[Kull]

Level 3 Production TIMP - "Advanced Mines": First available with L15 Modern Metallurgy, this is yet another upgrade TIMP that's buildable on the same 6 terrain-types as the earlier levels. Once again there are three graphics, one of which is the original CtP2 mine shaft (used exclusively on Alpine Mountain terrain). With the discovery of L17 Oil Refining, Advanced Mines are buildable on Desert terrain (the graphic is an Oil Derrick) while L18 Corporation extends availability to Tundra terrain (with an Oil Pumper graphic) (see attached).

[Kull]

how can I acquire this mod?

It's not released yet, but definitely getting close.

[thistleknot]

how can I acquire this mod?

[Kull]

Level 2 Production TIMP - "Mines": These become available with L7 Iron Working, use "open pit" graphics, and all are buildable on the same 6 terrain types as Early Mines. From a visual coherence perspective, the LotR Mod mine graphic (used at this level) has the same "rock border" used by several of the "Farm" graphics featured in the roughly contemporaneous "Advanced Farms" series. In addition, the metal scaffold has been replaced by the wood struts from the AOM graphic, and those are featured in all three of this level's mine graphics (see attached).

[Kull]

Revised Production TIMP system:

Unlike the Commercial TIMP system, Mines did not require a complete overhaul and there are still four levels, but the alterations were quite extensive. The major change (other than additional graphics) was to shift "Mine shaft" graphics from the second level of Mines to L1, and move the "Open Pit" graphics from Level 1 to L2. There were several reasons for this:
- The "open pit" is the underlying look for the existing mine TIMPs used in L3 and L4, so it's a more coherent sequence to use pits for the last 3 levels instead of going "pit-shaft-pit-pit".
- The new Shaft graphics from Civ3 are all smaller and look fairly primitive. Plus the reality is that large open pit mines (at least in early times) were primarily used for exposing and then excavating large sections of rock - things like marble, granite or sandstone. Conversely, the earliest forms of mining were tunnels of the sort used to obtain flint nodules or follow veins of metal into a hillside (thus "shafts"). Of course historically it wasn't "either/or", as both types co-existed in history and still do.
- For this reason the name of the first level will also change, from "Mine Shaft" to "Early Mines".
- Another major change is to remove buildability from the Plains terrain-type, primarily to keep it largely devoted to Food TIMPs.
- Lastly, the original CtP2 shaft graphic is modern in appearance, with a timbered entrance and a metal cart on rails. Accordingly, that graphic is more appropriate for a later era, and will shift to L3. That also means a new ButtonBank graphic is needed.

Level 1 Production TIMP - "Early Mines": Available with L2 Mining, these can be constructed on Dunes, Hills (2 types), and Mountains (3 types). They use three Civ3 "mineshaft" graphics borrowed from the Modern Times Mod, with one dedicated to Dunes, another in Hills, and the third in Mountains (counterclockwise from Pylos in the attachment). A new ButtonBank graphic was also created using the "Dunes" version.

​

[Kull]

Level 4 Commerce TIMP - "Urban Area" (as shown in the attachment above): These become available with L20 Advanced Urban Planning. Similar to "Suburbs", this uses the third level "Modern City" TIMP graphics. Once again we restrict construction to the tiles immediately surrounding the city, but now we extend buildability to all terrain types except Mountains and Glaciers. Visually the result is a city surrounded by tall high rises and then a series of lower structures, but all with similar art.

Taken altogether, this results in a map which contains a vast amount of pleasing visual diversity, and utilizes a Commercial System that mirrors the one seen across the world, from the earliest of times until now, and on into the future.

Finally, while the depiction of the four Commerce Levels has radically changed, the PW costs at each level remain fairly close to what they were:

PW Cost (Old):
Trading Post: Grass/Plain/Forest/Jungle/Desert/Glacier/Swamp/Tundra +600
Latifundia: Grass/Plain/Forest/Jungle/Br.Hills/Hills/Desert/Swamp +1200
Township: All except Glacier +1500, Tundra +1800
Nature Preserve: All except Glacier/Tundra +2100

PW Cost (New):
Village: Plains/Forest/Jungle/Swamp +500
Town: Plains/Forest/Jungle/Swamp +1000
Suburb: Grass/Plains/Desert/Forest/Hill +2000
Urban: All except Glacier/Mountains +3000

Files Changed: tileimp.txt, tilerefund.slc, uniticon.txt, traits2.slc, gl_str.txt, tips_str.txt, Feat_str.txt, sounds.txt, Great Library, and the Tech Tree.​

[Kull]

Level 3 Commerce TIMP - "Suburb": First available with L16 Electricity, these feature the existing "Modern City" TIMP graphics used by all small cities once CtP2 (and Cradle) enters the "Modern Age". The L3 ButtonBank image has three of these structures, thus completing the "1-2-3" visual effect. Suburbs can be constructed on Plains terrain, but are no longer restricted to the immediate environs of cities since we're truly in the era of "suburban sprawl". L19 Mass Transit allows suburbs to be constructed on Desert and Grasslands, Forest with L20 Advanced Urban Planning, and lastly Hills become available with L21 Global Economics. While the others use a mix of the Modern City TIMPS, this final graphic is the CtP2 "Outlet Mall".

The attachment shows Argos with a Modern Era City Style (size 40+), and this time it includes the Level 4 image adjacent to the city ("Urban", discussed next) while clockwise from there we see three Suburbs on Grassland, Plains (also Desert & Forest), and Hills.

​

[Kull]

Level 2 Commerce TIMP - "Town": This is similar to the "Township" which existed in earlier versions of Cradle, but now it fits into the proper time sequence. First available with L10 Feudalism, these can be built on Plains terrain, but again only in the circle of tiles immediately surrounding a city. This uses the Cradle township graphic. With the advent of L12 Banking, towns can now be built on Forests and we have a different graphic which uses "houses" similar to those seen in the Township, but now with a "Trading Post" as the central structure. A pair of these same houses are used in the L2 ButtonBank image. The final "town-granting" Advance is L20 Advanced Urban Planning, and this allows them to be built on Jungle and Swamp terrain (using the previous two graphics). As with "Villages", all this is explained in the associated GL entry.

The attachment shows both Town images, clockwise from Argos: Plains (plus Jungle) and Forest (plus Swamp).

​

[Kull]

Level 1 Commerce TIMP - "Village": First available with L2 Pottery, it can be constructed in Forest & Jungle terrain (each with a different "village graphic). Historically villages could be found on many different terrain-types, but in the early stages of the game we want the AI to utilize Plains & Grasslands for Food while Hills & Mountains are reserved primarily for Production. The new art is borrowed (and modified) from a few Civ3 images, but in general we're talking about "huts" and you'll see similar imagery associated with the initial land farms (more on those at the appropriate time). Accordingly, the Level 1 image on the ButtonBank is a single hut (as you can see in the attachment to the "Status Report" post).

With the discovery of L6 Aqueducts, villages can now be constructed on Plains terrain, but since the AI can't help itself and sprawls these everywhere, they are restricted to "Plains terrain adjacent to the City" (using the new "NextToCity" tag in tileimp.txt). Finally, the discovery of L10 Feudalism allows villages to be constructed in Swamp terrain, and here we utilize a 4th graphic. Obviously a sequence in which different Advances trigger buildability on additional terrain-types isn't intuitive, so the new GL entry for Villages explains the system in great detail.

The attachment shows all four Village images, clockwise from Argos: Plains, Forest, Swamp, Jungle.

​

[Kull]

New Commercial TIMP System:

I wanted to introduce the new TIMPs (Advanced Trawlers and Mega Farms) before getting into the systemic revisions made to the Tile Improvement system, but as you can see from the prior posts, the discussion was simply too disjointed. The Ocean Farms systems was completely rebuilt earlier and has the fewest number of new changes, yet even there it was impossible to talk about the new level without delving into other affected areas. In that regard, Land Farms and the others are even worse, so let's start over and begin with the biggest system change of all - the Commerce TIMPs.

As I mentioned in Item 6 of the Status Report, most Tile Improvements are hard-coded to provide three primary effects: Food, Gold, or Production. Of those, the basic premise for food (Farms or Boats) and production (Mines, both Ocean and Land) works quite well, but those for Gold were much less realistic. In both the original CtP2 and AE, the Commerce sequence begins with L1 Trading Posts, upgrades to L2 Outlet Malls, and finishes with the L3 Nature Preserve. The first two make some degree of sense since they are basically stores, but the third level has no connection to the other two, and frankly the idea that a "Nature Preserve" is the top level economic structure in any real-world commercial system is just laughable. Equally bad, the time frames for each level are completely out of synch with a game which starts in 4000 BC. Level 1 is a structure found historically in frontier America circa 1700 AD, Level 2 is a commercial system which originated in the 1960s, while Level 3 has roots going back to the early 1900s. Just a terrible, terrible mix.

And Cradle isn't much better since that also begins with the same 1700s era structure but then segues into a Roman enterprise from 2000 years earlier (the Latifundia) and then moves on to a system which arose in Europe during the Middle Ages (Township) before finishing with the same top level structure I derided earlier.

OK, so what then? Well, if we consider the matter historically, there's no doubt that commercial activity - from the beginning - has occurred in and has emanated from, human settlements. And certainly CtP2 recognizes that, because the primary economic engines of the game are the cities which are the foundation elements of every empire. What's missing are the smaller settlements, and those will become the Commercial TIMPs of Cradle 5.​