1.29F Redux

[Lewsir]

Well, after putting CIV III away about a week after I got it (back in January), I am finally thinking of firing it up again. I am curious about what changes the 1.29F patch will bring, but I can't easily find a thread on this (apart from the bug thread below that doesn't really say much about the substantive changes). I realize this is old news for many, but I would greatly appreciate hearing what people think are the 5 or 10 most important improvements in 1.29F (relative to the original game).

Thanks!

Lew

[Nikolai]

I haven't read the fixes list compared to the original game, in fact it's so long ago that I don't remember when the different things came, but I can tell you that 1.29f has done the game at least ten times better!

I think the sleep all/wake all command is new, though. In the patch you also get a text file that tells the changes, and I think you also get the fixes from earlier patches listed.

[Lucarse]

Air Superiority and Precision bombing actually work in 1.29

[Lewsir]

Yup I'll go through the read-me and the list of changes, but I doubt that will really give me a sense of what changes matter most.

I certainly hope that the game is more interesting now and less frustrating. Obviously the problem of revolting in captured cities (regardless of how many armies are put there) was a big one and I presume that is fixed. But no clue what else to look for, in terms of important improvements that make the game worthwhile now.

[Skeeve]

Originally posted by Lewsir
Obviously the problem of revolting in captured cities (regardless of how many armies are put there) was a big one and I presume that is fixed.

Yes, it is fixed but be warned that you still need a lot and I mean A LOT of units to totally suppress cultural reversion in big newly conquered cities.

I think the number could even approach 100 units in very large cities with >20 foreign nationals - especially if it is still in resistance.

(I usually try to starve them to death to bring the population down, and then start growing my own citizens )

- Skeeve

[SanPellegrino]

the one thing I like most is the disband city option, but tech whoring makes one game like the other.

[Arrian]

Lewsir,

Corruption has been toned down, both overall and via the addition of the corruption fighting capability to police stations.

The commercial trait has been strengthened: instead of increasing the "optimal city number" by 12.5%, it now increases it by 25%. Additionally, the bonus commerce you get per city on hitting size 7 and 13 has been boosted by +1 to each, IIRC.

The shield cost of building the Forbidden Palace has dropped to 200 shields.

Mobile units no longer retreat 100% of the time when losing a battle. Now their is a chance of retreat, based upon the experience of the unit (elites have a better chance of disengaging than regulars). As before, if the defender is down to 1hp, your attacking unit will stick it out.

The Great Lighthouse no longer allows travel in the ocean (it was never meant to, but a bug allowed it in the original, IIRC) and I think the shield cost was lowered. It is now 300 shields.

The editor has been fleshed out. You can do more with it now. It still isn't as complete as some would like (no events), but compared to the original release editor it's a big improvement.

A few words on culture flipping:

1) it has been toned down
2) culture is still very important
3) if you try to keep a size 25 city full of resistors, you had better have a shitload of troops handy.
4) If you have a city flip, don't freak out and throw the game away. There have been a number of really good threads that have examined the mechanics of culture flipping and focused on prevention. Primarily in the strategy forum, if memory serves. Check them out.

1.29 also includes stack movement. The "j" command will move all units of the selected type, provided they aren't fortified, to a spot you select.

That's all I can think of for now, except to say that (almost all of) the bugs have been fixed. I was concentrating on gameplay changes.

-Arrian

[Lewsir]

Excellent info, thanks guys. Got 1.29F installed last night and will begin a game - probably will try the Aztecs first.