SIMPLE and EASY Ideas for the Patches

[Nikolai]

Hey!
Btw, I don't think Gherald got the subtle meaning of the "dangerously" part...

[potoroo]

Originally posted by DrSpike
I apologise on behalf of Nikolai. He's Norwegian you know.

At least he's not from Barcelona!

[Skybird]

Hi

I would like to see more control over the environment, rather than be stuck with the original map from the start -

So, your workers could develop a late-game ability to terraform, for want of a better phrase - desert can be changed to grassland, arctic to something more useful, oasis farmed / irrigated etc.

Agree that forts need an upgrade, and shouldn't destroy the improvements underneath, so strategic resources can be defended better.

Also, not sure how easy this would be for a patch(!), but it would be interesting to introduce some natural disasters - apart from global warming, there are no volcanoes, earthquakes, flash floods, droughts, meteor impacts- a sad but important fact of living on a planet. The interaction with the terrain is perhaps one area which needs development.

I also feel that options for the ocean in the later game (currently limited to offshore platforms) could be enhanced - water farms, tidal barriers, road bridges linking two peninsulas, gas stations(?), meglomanic Dr. Evil lairs, etc.

And I don't feel there are enough management options for war-mongering. After a protracted global war against the Malinese late in the game, I realised it had taken me 4 hours to get to 1450a.d. and then a further TEN hours to prosecute a successful war up to the point I won by domination in the year 1890. By this point I had lost the will to live, and only gritty, dogged determination to see the damn annhilation through to the end kept me going...

Moving tanks, seals (guns not flippers), bombers, fighters, SAMS, battleships...well, you get the idea, square by damn square, inch by inch, got me thinking there must be a batter way of moving mass-scale armies across the map - so what about a galaxy-equivalent "cargo plane" that can carry troops, tanks, etc, behind enemy lines, or troop carrying ground transport hummers, APC's etc. Transport and ship ranges, bombers and fighter ranges seriously need to be increased, and I want my paratroops back!

We need better options for moving large numbers of troops at speed from one location to the next, perhaps a "general" AI option whereby certain troops etc. can be assigned to the PC to control to attain specific objectives (take out a town, destroy a resource etc.)

I don't want to reach a point (obviously) where all I do is sit back and watch, but the level of painful tile to tile movement needs to be addressed - the rest of the game can be very fluid, but it grinds to a dull, stulting halt once hostilities break out.

Regards
skybird

[padillah]

Originally posted by Skybird
Hi

I would like to see more control over the environment, rather than be stuck with the original map from the start -

So, your workers could develop a late-game ability to terraform, for want of a better phrase - desert can be changed to grassland, arctic to something more useful, oasis farmed / irrigated etc.

I' ve been waiting for this as well. If nobody else does it I'm using the SDK to implement terraforming of some sort. As it is the map generator lodas the map down with desert tiles and, unless you accidentally get oil in them, they are now and forever - worthless.

Also, not sure how easy this would be for a patch(!), but it would be interesting to introduce some natural disasters - apart from global warming, there are no volcanoes, earthquakes, flash floods, droughts, meteor impacts- a sad but important fact of living on a planet. The interaction with the terrain is perhaps one area which needs development.

No way. It's anoying enough when an AI declares war for no reason and takes two of your cities. To just have them dissapear for no other reason than "random volcano"? No thanks.

We need better options for moving large numbers of troops at speed from one location to the next, perhaps a "general" AI option whereby certain troops etc. can be assigned to the PC to control to attain specific objectives (take out a town, destroy a resource etc.)

Don't mean to state the obvious but can't you use the Shift-click stack movement and "Go to" command? Just select the stack you want to move and type "G" then click where you want them to go. If an enemy gets next to them they stop moving automatically and you regain control.

Is that what you mean?

Tom P.

[Mergle]

Originally posted by padillah


No way. It's anoying enough when an AI declares war for no reason and takes two of your cities. To just have them dissapear for no other reason than "random volcano"? No thanks.

No reason? Being able to capture 2 cities sounds like a good reason to me

[padillah]

Well, that's what I meant. The AI attacks for the sole reason that it thinks it can win, to get even more baseless than that would kill some fun for me.

I guess that's why I suck at wars, "because I can win" is the same as "no reason" to me.

Tom P.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by padillah
I guess that's why I suck at wars, "because I can win" is the same as "no reason" to me.

So you only attack when you don't know if you have any chance of winning?

[padillah]

Originally posted by Adagio




So you only attack when you don't know if you have any chance of winning?

No, I mean I attack for a reason - Because I need a resource or because I'm out of land... Hmm, those are pretty much it.

I very rarely attack simply to weaken my opponent. One big factor is that when you decalre war you can't call it off. I've declared war, taken land, taken cities, defeated troops, and the AI still won't talk to me to try for peace.

I don't now how much easier it is in Civ IV because I am still jaded from Civ 2 and 3.

Tom P.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by padillah
No, I mean I attack for a reason - Because I need a resource or because I'm out of land... Hmm, those are pretty much it.

ahhh

Don't you ever attack an enemy to avoid them getting too strong? If I can take over a city, and thereby hinder them from expanding into an area I would like to have to myself, but for one reason or another, I can't build cities there at the moment, then I would be happy to take that city

[padillah]

Nope, I'm not very good at war. I don't build enough units, I overestimate the AI strength, I underestimate the usefullness of simply keeping the AI bust doing something else...

In general, I'm just not very good at war.

Tom P.

[murphy54]

very good point of view

[Gherald]

To learn war, play custom games with the "always war" option.

[KingSpartanPete]

If the player hides the show scores menu, KEEP IT HIDDEN on re loading the game after saves!!!!

[KingSpartanPete]

Put the country name and colours in the trading / foreign advisor screens, incase you dont know which person is leader of which country?!

Seems obvious?!

[patcon]

Two things I would like to see added to the game:
(1) The ability to cede (not trade, not demand, just give) tiles to another civ. In my most recent game I have just annexed several tiles bordering a Roman city. These tiles have no benefit to me - they have no resources, are outside my city boundaries and can't be worked by me, one is even disconnected from the rest of my territory. These tiles had (prior to annexation) been improved and worked by the Romans and now that city's production has been diminshed. I have maintained very good relations with the Romans (only +relations) but now there are unhappy about our close borders. I wish I could just give these tiles back. I know there are concerns about exploits and the ability of the AI to handle the concept, but they've worked out the ability to trade cities and mark tiles, so why not ceding tiles?

(2) An alternative to simply declining a request/demand from the AI, with its "You have refused to help us" diplo hit. Two examples from my current game:
(a) Catherine comes hat in hand, asking for an advanced tech, which I decline. I immediately open a trade window and find that she has 400 gold, which I then accept in trade for the tech originally requested. I get a + for a very generous trade but a much bigger - for refusing to help. Either: recognize you got what you wanted in the same contact; make some token offer for what you want, even if it would normally get you laughed out of the room, and let me be magnanimous; or give me the opportunity to ask for something in return for what you want.
(b) Monty asked me to join him in his fight against Isabella. Now Isabella had been "annoyed" with me all game and I had no trades with her and no reason not to join the struggle. In fact, I already had plans underway to wipe her out as soon as my forces got into position (she was across the world on a snaky-continents-archipelago map), but didn't want to start the war until I was in position. I didn't want my transports attacked en route. I would have loved to say "Be there in 5 turns, good buddy, just hang in there." But no, I get a "you refused to help us" diplo hit, even though I'll end up being the one to do the lion's share of the fighting. OK, I'll also be doing the lion's share of the feasting on Isabella's former empire. Give me an option to say "Be there in X turns" with a big diplo hit if I don't.

[iapetus556]

I would really like to have the option for the "camera" to follow units with the "Explore" order, as they move about. Otherwise they just tend to be forgotten, and you don't necessarily realise what new lands they have discovered.


Also: Cavalry should be able to retreat when attacked, not just when attacking.

Also some infantry units whould be able to retreat (either specially designated ones, or there could be a "light infantry" promotion that would allow it, possibly at the expense of a small combat penalty. This would only work when attacked by other infantry, not cavalry).

Flanking I should be an alternative route to Scouting.

Allowing SMAC/CivIII style bombards would be nice, but probably way beyond the scope of a patch, or even expansion. Instead, as suggested before, improve the ability of artillery to retreat when attacking. (But they shouldn't be able to when defending). To compensate, overall strength should be reduced (possibly significantly when defending).

[potoroo]

Originally posted by patcon
Two things I would like to see added to the game:
(1) The ability to cede...

(2) An alternative to simply declining a request/demand from the AI, with its "You have refused to help us" diplo hit...

Two most excellent suggestions. You've got my vote.

[sparkyal]

I also like the idea of being able to ask if we can negotiate instead of just giving something away. Ceding tiles, sure if you want. I would love to have an option to jion someone while they are at war, like the wait x turns proposed above.

As for the CIV III style bombards. I have to disagree in general. An air force is finally worth it! In CIV I/II/III the air force was completely worthless. I could do naything only better with ART or the navy. Now, for BB's only I would like to see them have the ability to attack land targets. Maybe not destroy them, but a Battleship should certainly have the ability to damage land units (like giving BB's the abilty to bombard like planes, but with a range of 1).

sparky

[ironbreaker_23]

I like to decline open borders but it seems that ghandi and napolean to name the top two cant accept no. It slows the game down to comedic levels when this is always happening. I wish they shut the hell up.

[Yaga]

Originally posted by patcon
Two things I would like to see added to the game:
(1) The ability to cede ...
(2) An alternative to simply declining a request/demand from the AI,...

I'll echo the sentiment of these being two great suggestions. In general I would like to see a larger diplomacy tree when the AI comes making demands instead of "Yes / No". To build off patcon's example -- Catherine comes asking for Optics, which "I'm not ready to trade just yet," as it were, but I have three or four other techs I would be willing to give her -- and I'll let her take her pick.

Similarly, I'd love for th AI to keep a counter on how much I'm annoyed at them -- I would love, instead of just "No," to say, "How dare you make such demands upon me!" so that they would know I'm REALLY REALLY annoyed. This might also fix the "Open Borders" requests we see so often.

Lastly, perhaps not too simple -- a way to cash in on your 'favor'. Say that Kubla came to me for aid in defending his homelands from Tokugawa and not only did I declare war on Toku, but I also gave Kubla Iron, Horses, and whatnot to help him sustain himself. Perhaps Kubla might then be willing to trade Astronomy with me as soon as he gets it, but I'd like to throw in my "favor" score int he trade -- sort of let Kubla know that if he *doesn't* trade astronomy with him then we are instantly no longer friends, and I certainly will *not* help him next time Toku comes calling...

[padillah]