Broadly speaking, the core idea is to take the modern world mod back in time and enable much earlier start dates. To do this I'll be using a multi release strategy - essentially what that means is I'll be releasing milestone versions as I go along. As I am using my Modern World mod as a base and because that requires some tweaks to make it compatible with a historical mod, this release roadmap will also include updated vanilla Mod World versions. To be fair, many of these updates are long overdue and have been on the roadmap for a while - needless to say life does not always afford you the luxury of tons of time to just spend working on things you would like to, but hey, that's all the apology I'll give for falling behind on my promised updates to ModWorld. With lockdown and all this working from home, I do however now believe I have the capacity to take on these updates as well as the new versions all in one go.
The new Mod will come in two flavours:
- One that begins in 1950 called "The Fabulous Fifties"; the 1950's herald the birth of true consumerism and TV advertising, the invention and start of the proliferation of the age of electronics all the way to the digital age; the beginning of an age of plastics and mass production.
- A second one will cover the 1900's onwards (and will ultimately incorporate the 1950's and MW Mod) "The Naughty Noughties"; the birth of mass retail, the first tentative steps of feminism and emancipation (cosmetics/fashion), the rise of Hollywood and the multi media industry; inventions such as the radio, vacuum, air conditioning, teddy bears and the inexorable rise of the automobile changed us forever.
I will be adding screenshots and all the relevant links as we go along, so look out for updates soon.
Roadmap: (the order here is not 100% fixed and I may still move some things around depending on what I get done):
***Available Now: MW Release version 2.0: Updated companies, logos, people and specialisations. +maybe overhauled billionaire list if I have time (this version includes an installer) ***
- MW Release version 2.1: Updated product list & types, including start dates and phase outs, new industries (some experimental), new buildings +new graphics (this is partly a test version for MWR with all the required updates to the core Mod)
- MWR50 Beta version 1.0: First 1950's version, including updated scripts and tweaks for running a historical mod. This mod will require some significant playtesting, but I plan to enlist player help to catch anything obvious and for feedback.
- MWR50 Release version 1.0: First 1950 release version, hopefully play-tested, balanced and bug free. Including full product transitions into Mod World.
- MW Release version 3.0: Updated MW with lessons, innovations and playtesting learned from the MWR project. These elements will be put to good use to propel MW into the next decade; gameplay focus now shifts to 2020+, adding environmentalism, viruses and new products and classes.
- MWR00 Beta version 1.0: First 1900's version, includes embedded 1950's version, but without fully clean transitions.
- MWR00 Release version 1.0: First release version of 1900 Mod. Hopefully this will include full and clean transitions all the way to Mod world 3.0.
I will be using some fairly untried and untested (at least in full battle) tricks to make the historical mods work, so some of you may need to rethink how you play the game. The AI is also largely untested in how it copes with some of the modding innovations, so I'll be leaning heavily on David and the developer team to help me get this thing launched and the AI competitive. Either way, I plan to enjoy the journey and hopefully the result will be worth the effort. I will post updates and screenshots as I complete the various steps.
MW 2.0 version now live and available over at Mod DB. https://www.moddb.com/mods/modworld
Features:
- Real Logos added for both players and AI.
- New fictional Logos added
- Real Faces added
- Real CEO's mapped to their real life companies
- Companies mapped to their real life expertise
- Complete Product class overhaul
- Some products have their production inputs refined and updated
- Around 16 entirely new products and manufacturing chains (including Bauxite -> Alumina -> Aluminium)
- Updated Billionaires list from 2020 Forbes list
- Real Internet sites listed
- Upgraded Automobile sales building (to cover increased demand)
There are two versions available and I've created a page on ModDB for all the versions of my Mod:
General Page: https://www.moddb.com/mods/modworld
Please choose the modworld-mod-installer for the release version of the game.
OR
Please choose the modworld-mod-installer-beta for the Post release Beta version of the game.
Just run the installer to install the Mod in the correct folders ready for use.
Disclaimers, tips & known issues:
- Compatible with Capitalism Lab versions 5.1.30 or later only ***IMPORTANT: Set "Competitor Startup Capital" to "Massive" for a better game experience
- The expertise piece is not 100% yet; whilst I pulled all of the screenshots from the same game, at least 50-60% of the companies in that game were not correctly assigned. This goes back to some of the expertise and new game settings overriding the Mod settings and is something David and the Enlight team have signalled a willingness to look at in due course. As of now, this is as close as it is possible to get without significantly altering the coding.
- Due to the above behaviour, some CEO's may be shifted to other companies, setting off a potential chain reaction (musical chairs style); this will likely also be fixed if the above gets fixed.
- There are simply not enough real life female CEO's to satisfy the games desire to place them, so often the game will still use fictional female CEO's to staff up real companies. I'll find and add more real life female execs for the new version.
- I won't lie, with this level of complexity, game speed becomes an issue; there are some tips on the forum to improve speed, but late game its a bit of a crawl. I still enjoy it though as I get more time to manage my empire, but you've now been warned, so no complaining
- Some Logos may still be wonky and the small Icons are currently often just copies of the full size logos rather than specially adapted. This will be fixed in the 2.1 version. If you see any that don't work, those will also be fixed with later updates.
- The script I bundled is for my taste, so its a suggestion only. I typically disable CES in order to play on the real world map, but feel free to bump the number of cities up to 15 (from 10) if you use this DLC. 10 cities is the maximum without it.
- I think you'll need the newest game version to enjoy this fully; the AI improvements really rock and multiple warehouse levels is nirvana !
- It was intended that 2.0 would include a switch to tech for most of the important consumer electronics/computers (as opposed to simple R&D), this has been moved to v2.1 as there is currently a start date bug that needs fixing by the programmers first.
v2.1 will be coming soon - and its a cracker !!!!!!
That said, it requires a special patch to run it and David and the team are still unsure about releasing that into the general pop. Ongoing discussion on that.
So, to tease a few features:
- Full service industry (Healthcare, lawyer service, Travel companies, Hotels, Transportation, Financial services)
- Full internet & software overhaul (too much to list)
- Mobile apps
- 20+ new graphics for retail/services & manufacturing
- Utilities
- Construction
- Defence contracts
- Sports teams (if I get around to it)
- Complete manufacturing overhaul (if this works as intended - mind blown !)
- Software integration
- AI improvements
- 100's of new products and chains
- A full list of new techs to open up new products (R&D no longer as simple)
This is of course purposefully light on detail. I will try and put out a beta version over the next month, but as this will require the special patch to run, it would be good if any of you that are interested declare so below, and hopefully Enlight will see fit to allow those interested to have a go with it. I have to be honest and say speed & build space and all the other concerns that crop up with mods will be big topics, but that's why the testing is important. The v2.1 will eventually lead to the first retro version, which will extensively use the new techniques that I've pioneered with these 2 ModWorld core updates. Thanks !
