Mod Idea: Panning For Gold

[The Rusty Gamer]

I had this idea of creating a mod where you could pan for gold.

New buildings: Panning Sledge, Panning Shed, Panning Station

These could only be built on colonies that include at least one river square.

You could arm (say) two colonists with a panning sledge which produce +1 gold each or put three in a panning shed (+2 each) and four in a panning station (+3 each). Convert natives, well aware of this beautiful sparkly yellow shiny stuff, could be "experts" and produce double. This could produce +24 gold per turn maximum, not much but every bit helps. You wouldn't want to make it too powerful to remove the necessity of trade in the game.

Another approach would be to allow colonists to work the river squares for gold. The output would increase with the various buildings much like fish do when you build docks and/or pioneers could improve the output.

This idea could add to the variety of the standard game.

Another layer could be added in which that panning for gold effects the markets (causes inflation).

Of course, I don't have any idea how to make squares or buildings yield gold. Can anyone help?

[johnmcd]

Makes sense, would be good if the output was unpredictable until you started. If you find a Klondike somewhere, expect all the other colonist nations to found towns by you and a rush of colonists to the docks back in Europe.

[armyjournalist]

The way I would do it is to make a mod where you could equip a "prospector" with tools much like a pioneer. Then you could take the prospector out of the colony and have him prospect for gold. This would be more realistic; most prospectors went on expeditions away from towns for long periods of time where they were exposed to the natural hazards; many of them got lost (and so many "lost gold" tales abound in the Wild West to this day).

There really wasn't that all much gold found in the New World during the colonial days except for Aztec/Incan booty, though that didn't stop tons of governors from searching for it. The "major" gold finds happened post-colonial era. (Of course, there was, and still is, plenty of gold to be found in the Americas)

[Zealot]

Originally posted by armyjournalist
The way I would do it is to make a mod where you could equip a "prospector" with tools much like a pioneer. Then you could take the prospector out of the colony and have him prospect for gold.

I believe that game is called Settlers 2.
Great game though.

[armyjournalist]

*mutters about gaming archetypes*