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

[Mjmd]

RtR actually reverted back I believe. In general I don't think it is an issue. However the Kremlin magnifies. Having built Kremlin twice it is VERY VERY GOOD. I looked at Commodores whip numbers during that game and I think he was checked out. I consider it one of the cornerstones of late game play atm. When Xist got it in the greens game that is when I knew the game was over. And the tech also has a rare GP type great spy which can be key to getting a 3 GP or 4 GP GA. So while a dead end it pays off pretty well for getting to first.

[Qgqqqqq]

If you wanted to, you could also make nukes a category that cannot be rushed (with pop or gold).

[xist10]

I don't think a nerf to big whips or the inability to (pop) rush nukes wound increase the time till nukes are build.
In the PB79, I "whipped" my nukes, but I used mostly the bit ineffective overflow whipping.
If I whipped 5 or 6 pops directly, I would be maybe one turn faster ?

As such, I don't think that will be a solution to nukes - and I have no idea how I could programm this.
So I do veto that.
I could nerf whipping in general, but while I agree that whipping is good, I don't think we need that right now ?
Nukes are the only unit where there is a risk for big whips - wonders already have a nerf.

And I disagree that Communism is bad as tech.
State Property is a good civics if you don't get a corp, Kremlin is imo up there with the best wonders and even the spy for the first researched should be enough incentive to research it.
Great Spy are relativ rare in most games.

And I don't think the gamover in the PB79 was the Kremlin.
That was a devasting advantage, but I needed (at that time) the Kremlin to compete with the production from Miro. I did catch up and even had a bigger build up than Miro, but I don't really think I would be able to push much furthern without nukes (in a reasonable timeframe).
Add the even greater risk, that coldrain (or Gira) do intervene if I slowly start overpowering Miro and I don't think the game was a foregone conclusion - before I nukes the fleet and got the nuke ban with a remaining arsenal for me.

[Tarkeel]

I missed this when it was first posted, sorry.

UTF-8 doesn't really work with ä or â and similar characters, because ä is stored over 2 byte and UTF-8 reads only one byte. - 0xc3 is the first byte for most special character.

This is not entirely correct. UTF-8 is designed to handle unicode symbols of 16 bits, in a variable byte encoding. The error message implies that the function actually doesn't support UTF-8, only 7-bit ASCII (which is identical to the one-byte symbols in UTF-8).
(There's also the whole issue of unicode being able to use several symbols to encode one character, but that's outside the scope of this discussion)

Another idea for making nukes a bit more balanced is to SIGNIFICANTLY increase the cost of Manhattan Project. It would force the player for whom it is advantageous to introduce nukes into the game to pay a steeper price for this and give his opponents a better free-riding opportunity.

I support this, FWIW. I also support that the main problem is the Kremlin-fueled whipping of nukes.

(Added the missing Gavagai quote)

[civac2]

We could reduce the efficiency of nuke whips in the same way as wonders. This reduces the dominance of nukes in the late game and also stealth-nerfs the Kremlin.

[xist10]

I do veto even whip efficiency for nuke too.
I can take a quick luck, but I don't think is possible.

And sorry, I'm not that sure how many standards exist for symbol encoding - or what standard is what.
I didn't care much for precision there.

[xist10]

CtH 5.0.1 can be downloaded here.

Complete changelog is in the zp file.
Changelog (in comparison to CtH 5.0.0):
Ruins can be destroyed by air (same defence as forts)

Sumer UB cost increased to 100 from 90
America UB GPP decreased to 1 from 2

Kremlin loses the bonus from stone

Tactical Nuke cost increased to 1000 from 750
ICBM cost increased to 2000 from 1500

Manhattan cost increased to 3000 from 1500

Submarine rework 2.0
New Unitclass Submarine (more or less identical with Naval)

Submarine with nuclear missiles (renamed Submarine, in place of Attack Submarine) needs Rocketry, Combustion, Radio and Uranium.
24 strength, 50% retreat chance, 6 movement, can carry 3 missiles. Cost 200 (up from 150).

Hunter Killer Submarine (renamed Attack Submarine, in place of Submarine) needs Radio and Oil or Uranium.
30 strength, 50% retreat chance, 7 movement, +50% against Submarine units, attacks Submarine units first, can carry 1 GP, Cost 200


I'm not 100% sure on the submarine rework, but I think this more or less the best option. Name change is maybe a bit too much, but that should explain the intended rules a bit better ?
I needed the new unitclass to implement the attack first for the Hunter Killer Submarine
I wanted to switch the graphics too, but I get a CtD during the game start if I do that ?

[BING_XI_LAO]

I was deciding on my pick for a game, and wow, a lot of the vanilla civilisations are boring. Is the German UB seriously just a Factory with +2 hammers? wtf. It might as well not exist. Give them +2 free engineers to represent the Mittelstand. Buff all the other shit that doesn't matter to match. Salon +1 free artist. WAOW. How much LSD would it take to envisage any kind of strategy around that.

Also, HRE vs. Zulu. Would you prefer -20% maintenance from the barracks, or -25% from the courthouse? How about 2 move spearman, or a pikeman with 100% anti melee bonus? Farming or Mysticism to go with Hunting? Zulu is better in every way. Landsknecht's bonus could be +100% attack against cities or something. ooooh but that would be asymmetrical!!! It would distinguish the pick from other civs!!!! Yes of course. And it would still only be on par with the Chu Ko Nu. Worst case, make it 75%.

Half of the civs should be juiced up big time. Don't you guys have a massive dataset of what people have picked? Or more saliently - not picked. Why are Camel Archers giga dogshit when we have Cataphracts and Keshiks to show us what a cav UU should look like? It's because +2 priests from the Madrasa is so OP and leverageable?

Maybe RtR is more my speed? This shit's lame as fuck, you guys are picking the good vanilla nations like Rome, China (that actually have something unique to offer) and leaving the generic ones on the shelf.

*apologies if this reads like an LLM, I've been developing a parasocial relationship with Grok

[Mjmd]

Ya if you want major changes than RtR is the answer. Look how much of an issue we've had trying to balance America which everyone agreed was bottom tier in base. Others like Arabia I think have succeeded as it has won a pitboss (I have to admit I forgot about this change until I was playing base game with a friend and totally thought my knights could heal while moving and then wondered why they were too weak to take a city when they got there). But main point of this mod is mostly just to fix the worst.

There is a reason though I always put random block as a pick method up. Its a way to see different civs / leaders.