Thursday 8 October 2015

How the mod "A New Dawn" for Civilization IV made me a barbarian

Introduction

A New Dawn
Rise of Mankind: A New Dawn for Civ IV is a total conversion mod which affects almost every part of the game, partly using their own ideas but also adapting ready-made modules such as the Revolutions mod. By adding new technologies, religions, mechanics and nations they have managed to produce an exciting new beast which plays similarly to (Beyond the Sword) BtS, but which adds many more strategical and tactical considerations that the end product feels new and fresh, not to mention challenging.

A tale of three cities

For hundreds of years my mighty kingdom had ruled a significant corner of the known world, keeping both friends and foes at arms reach. However, because of the penalties associated with controlling too big an empire without sufficient administrative technology I was forced to abandon my usual position of Enlightened Despot, honed through many hours of BtS, in favour of the role of the Bad Guy.

Every journey begins with a single step

At first, I felt that my neighbours were keeping at a reasonable distance, leaving me plenty of space for expansion. However, as the centuries passed, their settler voyaged ever closer to my small, but peaceful realm consisting of three cities.

This would not do. A king must protect his borders and ensure that his people live without fear. The kingdoms Sphere of Influence and the peace inducing, neutral borderlands must be preserved. No man in an island, but the people sleep sounder knowing that no armies can sneak up on them unaware. At this point I turned to my Military Advisor and asked where the cutting edge of military research was at the moment. His reply was "horses". The docile animal shown to me was not so impressive while grazing, but when a rider mounted the beast the combined effect was stunning. This would give us an advantage over our enemies both in power and mobility. This would form the basis of a mighty host with which to secure the surrounding plains from encroaching invaders.

Surround and destroy

A new mechanic which is added by the mod is that of encirclement. It goes something like this: The more you can surround your enemy, the greater your attacking bonus. Having units on horseback means that you can take full advantage of this fact. How convenient that our army is made up of almost all cavalry!

As soon as my mighty host rode out onto the plains it was clear that the enemy would not be able to protect their plethora of newly founded cities. Their roads were poor, their defences weak and their soldiers spread out. Feigned attacks would draw the defenders away from vulnerable cities and then the riders would swoop in for the kill.

A desolate landscape

High horses of morality and the fall into depravity

In a normal game of Civilization IV my Enlightened Despotic avatar would benevolently spare the lives of the citizens and Welcome Them with Open Arms to my kingdom built on Tolerance, Equality and Freedom. The only consequence for my ever growing empire would be some temporary financial difficulties due to the increase in administrative costs, while the cities grow enough to pull their weight.

Not so in A New Dawn.

Here, every city has a rebellion-meter which upon conquest would start to rise and rise until the cities break away, spawning huge armies as they do. While I could probably handle the new cities rebellion in the short term, it would put a serious strain on my core cities as well, perhaps enough to make them rebel as well.

Knowing this, my rule took on a much more barbaric and sinister nature. No longer did my cities produce taverns, fountains, scriptorium or any of the other excellent buildings which the mod adds. My once blooming kingdom turned its industry and efforts to just training more and more soldiers with which to scourge the plains and keep my enemies at bay. No stone was left upon stone, no lives were spared. All captured cities were put to the torch in the name of distrust and fear of rebellion. Soon ruins marred the once beautiful country side and only the wind can be heard roaming fields which were once filled with growing crops and blooming orchards. To tread this desolate landscape only leads to a meeting with the veiled riders simply known as The Swift Death.

Aftermath

Of course, this is just a game.
No lives have been lost, no real cruelty committed.
What has happened though, is that a mod has given me a new experience in which I was forced to go out of my comfort zone and re-examine how I use a feature which in the Vanilla game were merely a convenience for when "the AI settled in the wrong place" or "the game is nearly over". By introducing limitations, such as the revolution counter, the character of the game changes and controlling territory becomes more difficult. Leaving it at that would of course be fine, if a bit shallow. However, the mod also introduces a set of new rules for forts which enables them to exert control over the eight tiles surrounding it. In addition, soldiers can claim space and will hold it for as long as there is a unit to occupy it. Thus a new layer of strategy is created where forts and armies are placed in order to claim resources, city sites and create buffer zones.

If you feel as excited about this as I do, go check out the mod at their website:http://anewdawn.sourceforge.net/

Development is ongoing and the mod forum is very much alive.

Let's Play Crusader Kings II - The Bosonids Part 6 and Closing words

Closing Words

Sadly, I never got to far into my campaign as the more-or-less good Bosonid-family. Mainly I have been distracted by illness in my family which has affected us all greatly. Thankfully things are getting better although it will continue to be a struggle for my family.

Part 6 - Going Forth

What is in a name?

The unhappy lord of Monaco
After the events of last episode we find ourselves in the position as lord of Nice which has the monastary of Nizza as its capitol. This means that, since we are a duke rather than bishop-prince, we do no collect all the taxes due to us. This quibbling about titles forces us to find ways of remaking it into a proper feudal province by rather unsavoury means, in this case murder. Luckily for us the province contains the castle town of Monaco, unluckily for the lord of Monaco we need his title to convert the province. That means he has to go. The man is childless so upon his death the title will revert to his liege, ie. us. It is with a heavy heart that the Duke signs the assassination order since the man we are about to have killed is a staunch supporter of our reign.

Rebels abroad and abound

While we have been busy ousting useless vassals and ordering assassinations, some vassals in Lotharinga has been grumbling about their liege and his intention of letting his son take over when he dies. This grumbling has now reached a fever pitch and resulted in open rebellion which splits the country into two camps: one supporting the current heir and the other fighting to put an elective monarchy in place. However, this faction is rather small and will find it a difficult and lonely battle.

Lotharinga is not alone in acquiring rebels. A small Christian uprising in the mountains of the Pyrenees threaten the Muslims on the Iberian peninsula. Though small, this might nudge Asturias to declare war on the Umayyad and start the Reconquista.

"Magyars feel hungry, settle to farm."

While one kingdom is in turmoil another is forming: The Magyars have ceased their roaming and have settled around the Carpatian mountains, creating the kingdom of Hungary. The country is precariously positioned between Bulgaria in the south and Great Moravia in the north-west and will have to work hard to survive since they will find no allies in their neighbours who are Orthodox and Catholic, respectively, while Hungary follows the Tengri beliefs.

Hungary

In other news Boson, our heir, has come to us with a request that we find him a suitable bride. The young man is apparently itching to start a family and continue the fine traditions of murder and intrigue of his grandfather! So be it, we shall send out for portraits of the most eligible girls in all the Christian kingdoms and find one to match our young suitor

As the portraits start coming in on wagons, I realise that our king has two daughters one of which would make an excellent wife for my grandson. However, she is only 14 years and my impatient boy will not wait for her to mature and a betrothal would surely mean that the king will come back the day before the wedding and suggest that it be matrilinear and refuse to go through with the original wedding plans. Besides, Italy is agnatic and so there is no inheritance to be gained from marrying them. Still, she could be all right for one of his siblings to establish an alliance... But to find young Boson a mate we shall clearly have to look further afield.