Civ Crafting Design Tips

So I've seen a lot of crafters of late, a craze that's returning as of around maybe... a month ago?

Regardless of when or who started this up again (wasn't me), I am more concerned with the design choices. Not necessarily the numbers game. Play testing could fix those to a degree, but what the bonuses are: whether they're worth considering, and whether they are even possible for the FE/UPatch team to even consider, nevermind Joe Shmoe modder!

There's also a certain synergy that a civ needs. It doesn't need every piece to fit like a perfect symphony, but if your Archer Civ has a buff to their FU Paladin, you better have a damn good reason or balancing factor for it.

Let me talk some of my considerations at all times:

Does this civ have a bonus that comes into effect in some way some time before the Castle Age?

Even the gold heavy Turks who are guns and Horse Archers can use their Gold Bonus in the Feudal age to some degree. It's not a large degree, but its there.

Koreans for instance may seem weak, but their bonus to stone mining and Villager LoS are there at the start. The rise of Trush strategies has put them in a better place therefore.

Even AoC Franks had free farm tech... which granted isn't the best bonus around, but it's something.

An example of a civ that doesn't have a bonus that takes effect pre-Castle Age is Realms mod's first draft of Armenians before their resource trickle UT was turned into a (very useful) starting bonus. When Castle Hits, they do start to gain momentum.

Even if the only bonus that comes into play that early is their Team Bonus.

• Why does it matter?

For lack of a better term: Identity! A civ without identity especially early on, is a shell. They are a husk that needs to be filled, but aren't.

Identity is vital for all civs, but at the same time...

Don't frontload bonuses!!

So you have your cavalry civ with +1/1 Knight armor, and they also get passive regen, and a Unique Tech that reduces their gold co... STOP just stop! Ya know that any one of those bonuses can be used to define a Heavy Cavalry civ. In fact, most of the paladin civs barely have a bonus for their paladins. Franks get +12 HP (and 40% creation speed), Huns get a training team bonus, and Persians a +2 vs archer bonus. Spanish and Teuts don't get Pally bonuses but there's quite an incentive to make em anyway because they're paladins.

So make sure the bonuses for the units your civ focuses on doesn't overwhelm them with goodies and segueing from that...

AVOID AT ALL COSTS using negative 'bonuses' to offset good things

+3 Knight damage but more expensive? Fuck that! Break it into +1 Castle/2 Imp of you're worried.

THE EXCEPTION is with villager starts. Feel free to have a slightly different start. Adding or removing villagers deems a civ worthy of resource adjustment.

The only time I've ever strayed from this (and stuck with it over my 15+ years of crafting for fun) is a bonus in the style of AoE1's Palmyran bonus which soups up villagers all around but makes them cost more.

Most definitely never put nerfs in a tech. Why would I research a "Half Price for unit but 25% less HP while doing nothing else to it" tech when I've already a force of 100 of that unit? Answer me, AoE Online!

Unique Techs should NEVER nerf a unit, for if it has a downside, you can't avoid it in Imp/Post Imp settings unless maybe you can turn the tech back off again? Is that a thing? I don't know, but we're on the segue once again, kids!

Don't be afraid to ask the AoKH modders what is or is not possible in the engine?

I do it all the time! Low accuracy melee units? Didn't know it'd work until I asked. Can make a bonus effected by your first building? Didn't know until it was asked.

Make sure to ask before your civ's units revolves around say "Bonuses that take effect while out of combat" or use an 'aura effect' neither of which are even possible for our FE overlords. I don't think the original Ensemble Studios could've done it!

Asking never hurts anyone. It avoids making you look stupid later on.

Let's talk some of my mindsets now:

• Never overshadow another bonus fully: something like half price/research time Town Center Techs (except Age Ups) doesn't infringe as a lesser Viking Bonus as it includes Town Watch/Patrol and more importantly: Loom. On the other hand, the Magyar Scout bonus gets overshadowed by Berbers who get more units and get them cheaper come Castle/Imp. If the Berber bonus was 15% and Magyar was maybe 15/20/25 or even 10/15/20%, that could work too. A flat 20% as well.

The Byzantine and Goth discount for spears is different as the Byz bonus is counter units, as the Goth bonus is infantry. It includes more variety in what the individual bonus entails.

• Don't be afraid, on that note to rehash bonuses.

The Ethiopian 100 food/gold per age is great. What's to stop 100 wood/gold or wood/stone or 50 of all four resources when aging up? It's still original in its application of the mechanic.

Even if your pastoral nomads have 25% faster hunting and 15% faster sheparding, it's still not stepping on the toes of Mongols and Brits because those cibvs eat their favorite meat much better and that makes them specialized at that role.

I have more to add, but for now...

If anyone else has tips, do share.