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Introduction
Space - the final frontier. While the development of space exploration is incredibly recent looking at the span of human history, it is also become profoundly important.
How should Civilization 4 handle space?
Summary
One of mankind's great achievements in the modern era, space flight has played an important role in shaping the world - from satellites to space stations. Space has always played a role in Civilization, ranging from constructing the Apollo Program to building a spaceship to Alpha Centauri. What directions should Civ 4 take space in?
Related Threads
Table of Contents
1. The Space Race
2. Satellites
3. Diplomacy in Space
4. Military in Space
5. Space Colonization
Conclusion
The Ideas
1. The Space Race
1.1 Multi-tiered space race
In all the other civ games, the space portion of the game happens when you research "space flight" and build the apollo program. Then you immediately jump into building a large spaceship.
I was thinking that the atmosphere could be improved by adding details and such - How about while you are building the Apollo wonder, by making progress it pops up notifications for you and your opponents?
For example at 20% completion you might get the message "Your civilization has launched a manmade object into space", at 40% "You have put a man into space", at 60% "You have put a man in orbit", and eventually "You have put a man on the moon".
Something like this would, I think, make the space race actually seem a bit more like a realistic space race without necissarily making things more complicated. (ixnay)
1.2 Happiness and the space race
The space race should have an influence on happiness and vice versa (if another, enemy nation is winning the space race) (Herzog)
2. Satellites
2.1 Types of Satellites
Research Satellites: Whether it's inward (weather & habitat monitoring), or outward (Hubble and Chandra space telescopes), satellites are important for research. They could give a set amount or a small percentage boost to research. (Laszlo)
Commercial Satellites: Bonuses to commerce through better communications, GPS technology, etc. Prospecting can reveal new supplies of resources like oil and better managing of resources like fisheries and farms (bonuses limited to bonus tiles, aka - whales, spice, etc). (Laszlo)
Television Satellites: Broadcasting over the world over, satellites help spread the owner's culture. The U.S. spends money to ensure outside news coverage in China and Middle Eastern countries. They can't do anything to stop the "propoganda" other than ineffectual bans on satellite dishes. (Laszlo)
2.1.1 Spy Satellites
I think a new unit we could have in the modern age is spy satelites. They would be based in your capital (and move with your capital-essentially indestructible until your civ got wiped out) and they would simply give you the ability to see one large map area and all the units moving there (like a permanent recon mission, with a large field of vision). (GePap)
If not revealing the whole world, spy satellites would at least monitor a large swath of it. Perhaps launching several would allow the civ near-complete coverage. I think that they should be one-time use like missiles, but with an actual lifetime--say, 20-30 turns. They could even have a failure rate at launch that decreases with experience. They wouldn't in fact have to be actual units once you pick their placement, though for the sake of familiarity it might be better to keep it as one.
Increasing resolution. Starts out at city and terrain scale, moves up to include roads and rail, eventually allows individual unit tracking. Happens automatically as technology matures (time and experience with building). (Laszlo)
Remove the fog of war on a selected area. The more satellites you have the more fog you can remove. I wouldn't reveal all units though. I think that some units should remain invisible to satellites, or units remain invisible in certain terrains. Infantry units would barely be visible to spy satellites, and units hidden in jungle would be nigh on impossible to spot aswell. (Dauphin)
Maybe it could reveal all exposed units, while units in cities and fortresses would have limited exposure (say only units that have moved into it this turn and the first unit garrisoned). (Robovski)
In cities it should reveal most, if not all, city improvements. (Dauphin)
Display all units on the ground ina certain area, even in a City. That is a HUGE benefit and more than enough reason to have such a unit. The limitations should be that it is expensive and late in the tech tree, and you assign it one spot on the map, and that is it- so that you could not reuse a single satelite over and over. (GePap)
2.2 Satellite Wonders
The Terrestrial Planet Finder could be required before setting off a colony ship. Wouldn't want to spend all that time and money all to arrive at a barren star, now would we? (Laszlo)
The GPS system as a small wonder- it could be built after a certain number of satelites are built- then you buld it, and as a consequence you could carry out precision strikes, or conversely, the bombardment power of air units and artillery increase by, say, 2. (GePap)
3. Diplomacy in Space
3.1 Outer Space Treaties
Have an Outer Space Treaty that would prevent those who sign it from militarizing space. Of course, you could just not sign the treaty and launch all the orbital weapons you wanted, but risk being shunned by other nations. (ixnay)
4. Military in Space
4.1 Orbiting weapons
Some weapons in space (orbiting nukes) could be cool. (ixnay)
Well, the big question is really how far are you going to let tech advance? If you are only going to have techs up to a bit in the future (like the last 3 games) then space is not going to get hugely developed - but there is scope for play, like the Apollo wonder, satellite technologies, space stations. Space could be militarized as weapon platforms quite easily right now, as could solar power satellites be introduced - these things are more a matter of will and resources as opposed to technical ability right now. (Robovski)
NO Weapons Satellites. I know everybody gets excited about space-based lasers and stuff, but I don't think satellites as weapons make sense to incorporate. Real-life military satellites are many, but they're reconnaissance tools, not weapons. Research into Star Wars-type programs are expensive and haven't been shown effective. (Laszlo)
5. Space Colonization
5.1 What to colonize
As for the space race- I still think the current implementation is silly- if only because the idea of an interstellar spaceship carrying tens of thousands of colonists at the tech level of 2000 is patently absurd. Maybe the grand prize could be to set up a mars base, which is far more probable. (GePap)
It would also make sense that you need to locate a suitable planet to send your 'Alpha Centauri' Spaceship to colonise.. perhaps there could be a few starsystems to colonise at different distances. Each civ could colonise a separate star system, as its unrealistic 2 civs at war would colonise the same planet ,by the time such startravel tech existed. (Admiral PJ)
It's maybe more a theme for an expension, but why not implement real space colonization.
when you progress in space age, you can send a mission to moon and further (as tech progresses) and get another world to conquer, just like earth. (slick909)
5.2 The spaceship
I would like a more complex space ship. (Master Zen)
Conclusion
Spy satellites, satellite wonders, and orbiting weapons... All requests for an expanded space game- but not into 'futuristic' types, but more along the lines of near future- 50-100 years from now. As always, we must remember that Civ is a historical game- it is not Alpha Centauri.