The GameCivilization 4 is the most recent game in the Civilization series (Colonization doesn't count, STFU) which is one of the best known turn-based strategy / 4X franchises in the genre. There's a wikipedia link there, go find out yourself if you live under a rock and have no access to the internet!
The ModRise from Erebus (hereby known as RifE) is a mod of Civ4 (technically modmodmod, but we'll get to that) which is built off the backs of an earlier two mods (Fall from Heaven 2 and Fall Further) and is an absolutely amazing. Fall from Heaven 1/2 were amazing mods, but this has improved of the formula greatly due to a variety of bug fixes and additions to the game.
RifE converts the game to a "dark fantasy" setting, where you can choose from about 30 factions - all of which are very diverse gameplay wise. Within the game, the diversity increases tenfold, as religion, magic and leader bonuses all rapidly change how it plays.
Now, how about we get off me riding these guy's dicks and get onto our first choice!
First Choice: The Faction[/u]
Okay, ladies and gents, the first choice we have is the faction. This is a very major choice, and will determine whether the gameplay is boring or not for the entire game.
Here is a link to all the factions. I've not played most of them, but here are my recommendations:-
Archos - The Archos are basically spider guys, and they get a hell of a lot of fun when they get to mid game. You'll find out why if we play them.
Clan of Embers - These orcs are just crazy, and they basically absorb barbarian units using their special ability. A lot of conquest etc.
Illians - They use massive magical rituals which damage themselves (and pretty much everyone else) in an attempt to make their leader become the new God of Winter. They are batshit crazy.
Legion of D'tesh - An empire of the undead, the D'tesh require CONSTANT warfare in order to survive. We'll be at war with pretty much everyone near the mid-game. Therefore, fun!
Mechanos - A steampunk faction with it's own machine cult. HELL YES. I have never played it, but it will be awesome.
Oh, and by the way, guys. You have THREE votes, and the ability to remove your vote whenever you like. Feel free to recommend a leader and playstyle, too.
On the Game Mode / MapI'll either be using PerfectWorld2 or Erebus Continent for the map gen. We'll be using flavourstart (puts you in a factionally appropriate place to start the game) as well as all the bonus features, raging barbarians, more animals and events and the world will start out frozen and thaw out over time. (Rapidly changing the gameplay.)
We'll be playing on a setting one or two below Marathon (forgot the names) and I'm undecided on the difficulty, we'll see after we decide on faction.