[Patch 17] New resource buildings are overpowered (and how)
TL;DR: Your 185 food are not a glitch, it's your cereal colonies. You may also notice all of your provinces got a much higher bonus from Buildings public order than expected; this effect is caused by dye/wine/marble and can reach +20 or more in the late game. This will also appear in new patch 17 games, global bonuses just grow that large.
Long version:
It may not be fashionable to say it in this forum, but I like Rome II. Not because of a feature in particular, it is the sum of a simple but surprisingly delicate management system with a heavy focus on combat. Maybe some other games do it better, but I like this one. Sue me. The beta would have been a better time for this analysis, but I was on holiday with no Internet until a few days ago. I am by no means a game designer, though I do have some experience in balancing on a mod for an other game.
Patch 17 brought interesting changes to the faction traits. I feel some traits may be unbalanced in that they remove an entire aspect of the game (Baktria's Multiculturalism), or too powerful (+2 recruitement slots for Rome) - but I only play single player, where balance is less of a concern. Whatever the case, this certainly makes factions more unique, which I like. Difference between factions is more replayability.
On the other hand, the "every region" bonuses brought by the new resources buildings are so powerful in their current form that most of the "management" disappear entirely. I will take a guess and say these bonuses were added to make resources more strategic locations. Until patch 16, resources were helpful by providing income through Trade, and they gave noticeable bonuses in the province, but you wouldn't go out of your way to grab one unless an economic victory is at hand. With a buff, "rich" regions become prizes instead of just an other area of the map. So far, so good.
Things go pear-shaped once we get to the numbers. Cereal colonies are the worst offenders; I will use them as an example. If a level 4 cereal colony gave +1 food per region (as the Egypt trait), or even per province, it would be worth the effort to get one in the late game. Food gets scarce when you reach tier IV, and a few dozen food means more upgraded buildings. This scales very quickly: Marc Antony gets +2 food per region from Cleopatra in the Emperor Augustus campaign, and basically, his faction doesn't have to worry about getting hungry. Now, in patch 17, cereal colonies give +1 food per region for every level of every cereal colony you have. With all due respect, this should never have gone past beta testing. A single colony feeds half your empire; some factions can easily get three. The campaign map was obviously not designed for a game where every resource building turns into a wonder at tier I, and then gets better. Nor were the faction traits: with not just one, but two cereal colonies in its home province, Egypt is the last faction that needs a +food trait.
On closer look, it seems that one bonus per resource (usually the most iconic one) was simply extended to the entire world, full stop. Apart from Marble thankfully giving happiness instead of cheaper construction, I didn't find any other change or tweak. All bonuses stack, meaning you won't have to care about food or public order by turn 100. Is the player supposed to get rid of these management aspects? It was one of the core mechanics of the game. That's what province management was all about!
I've played "only" a few hundred hours on the TW series, so I don't feel qualified to advocate for a specific fix. Possiblities include giving a (smaller) bonus at higher tiers only; preventing bonuses of the same type from stacking; making the bonuses affect adjacent provinces instead of the whole empire... As currently implemented, these new bonuses make entire building chains obsolete - and this is not hyperbole. If it is intended, I would very much like to hear the reasonning behind such a dramatic change.
Regards,
Telenil
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Originally Posted by Tenerife_Boy
