Civ 4 - the list of ideas for Firaxis

[Kickbooti]

More ideas

Workers

I don't mind workers, it is nice to be able to interdict improvments. But I think that workers should be able to be formed into 'armies.' I generally cluster a number of workers together to accomplish their tasks more quickly. The 'move stack' button is nice, but still akward. Just allow us to stack workers on a semi-permanent basis and do the work multiplication automatically.

Foreign Investment

Nothing is more frustrating that not being able to trade with some resource-rich, backwater hole becuase they haven't developed ports, or roads, etc. I would like to see the option for foreign investment.

If you have good relations with a country, there should be a mechanism by which you can offer to build a harbor for them to facilitate trade.

If they are too backward to do it themselves, they would obviously lack the sophistication to run it. So your civ would manage it in as expressed by a percentage of the trade going to your civ as profit.

This would work well with the +/- cultural idea that could replace the Civ3 'absolute' cultural model. If your country is a major force in trade it will increase your cultural influence.

Perhaps you could even negotiate 'mineral rights.' If coutry A has excess iron, perhaps country B would pay for the right to trade that iron to coutnries C and F.

Trade

I would also like to see the ability to trade tangible items. It would be nice if the AI were more ameniable to trading cities. I have tried trading the industrual 'heart' of my cive to another for one of their cities to see if they would do it. Never. European histroy shows that that isn't realistic.

Also, I would like to be able to trade/sell units. Sort of like the old lend-lease program, or even the amrs sales of the modern era. I'd gladly trade two of my antiquated iron-clads to a sailing-ship civ for 20 gp per turn, or for the mineral rights on the aluminum they can't detect yet.

Dynamic Diplomacy
'If/Then' treaties would be nice.

If you have a transcontinental civ, it may be in your interest to see civ A remain strong in a partucular region, but not in their island holdings across the globe.

I would like to have treaties along the lines of "If Civ A attacks cities 1, 2 and 3 of Civ B then we go to war." Or even mutual protection pacts against certain countries rather than simply a blank check.

[khai]

Units / General

What worried me in previous Civs is the lack of ocean usage. It only worked as a natural limit for the settlers.

I would like to see that nice oil on the ocean tile. And just imagine that you build a oil rig in your port city (or some ships that carries the parts of rig and then assemble it) and you claim that oil it should not only give you this resource but also some decend bonus to production or maybe even some to the trade.

Think of the strategy possibilities of such a structure. You must defend it, becouse it could be captured.

It would make the ocean more colorful (and I don't mean the black colour of an oil spillage ).

[Bisonbison]

Unique Units for different civs

I like the idea of UUs, but not the fact that they always belong to the same civ. If I pick the romans, I don't want to have to have the best swordsman game after game after game. I say, let the way an individual game develops determine who gets what Unique Unit.

The first civ to discover a Unique Unit tech (like Iron Working) would have the option of activating that unique unit or not. If they did, then their one and only UU in the game would be Legion or what have you, and no other civ could claim it. If they decided not to take it, then the second civ to discover Iron Working would have the option and then the third Civ and so on, and Civ A could hold out for a UU further up the tech tree.

That alone would make me play with Civ characteristics on.

[ThePlagueRat]

I would rather have a Unit workshop like they had in SMAC.
Just a bit different:

Unique Item!
To make a Unique Unit you should have the structures to
create certain items for the unit, like a smith, and resources like iron, then you can make for instance a uniqe Roman Shield (while others would get a lesser Iron Armor) to put on your phalanx to make them a Legion, then add spears. If you want to make them more offensive just add another weapon if you got one. Then you would create your own version, making them even more Unique. Then you can save that config for later...

I like better the idea of a structure and resources to get the items (both within trade network), instead of just requiring a tech, in which you had to get in SMAC, e.g. from Synthmetal to Plasma armor you just needed techs.

[khai]

Resources

I think that there should be more impact placed on resources. They should not only be required for building units.

My idea is that when you have lets say 5 horses in your possesion, then you should get a +1 to movment of mounted units. It could be explained that you have the best breed in the world , and they are stronger.

The same applies to iron --> get 5 of them and you can smelt the pure iron --> +1 to defense...

Then you could play the game like in a real world, where resources matter a lot. There's been many wars for resources.

[Trifna]

Maybe this thread should be closed so that the posts go where they now belong: the more specific "The List" discussions.

[Guynemer]

Lord knows I've said this a lot, but it still needs to be said.

Civ3 did a lot of things right, lots of improvements: civ-wide economic unit support, strategic/luxury resources, golden ages, unique units, real differences between civs, culture... this is but a short list.

It left some things behind in SMAC that I rather liked (social engineering, unit workshop, planetary council), but may not have worked quite so well in a history-based game as opposed to scifi.

But there was one thing left behind in SMAC that definitely, absolutely Civ3 needed. It was what made SMAC more fun than Civ3 ever was.

Flavor. The little extras. Things that didn't make a lick of difference to actual gameplay, but made all the difference to a more enjoyable experience. Secret project movies. Quotes for new buildings and techs. Yeah, it's window dressing--but presentation is important.

Bring back the flavor to Civ4!

[Temlakos]

Improved worker model

Originally posted by Solver
The problem with the worker model is, it becomes too slow and too tedious.

Moving each worker by hand and assigning oders is too slow. That can become boring and tedious. Also, even when automated, it takes them all a while to move and carry out their actions - which goes far to make the game run much slower. Those who have played Civ 3 with 16 or more civs in a game will know what I'm speaking of - just all the Workers are enough to make it slow.

I don't object so much to individual workers building infrastructure where you need them to, and distinctions among industrious workers, slaves, and improved worker efficiencies over time.

But in the interest of realism, we ought not to have one worker type throughout the game as the Jack of All Trades.

I propose a new type of unit that I call the Combat Engineer. He'll cost twenty shields and one population point to build. And he and only he will be allowed to build fortresses and airfields--or else he will be able to build them twice as fast as the native "civilian" worker for the civilization that builds him. That means that he'll still work twice as fast if his civ is Industrious as if it isn't. Combat engineers will also be allowed to pillage, and to build roads or even lay rail twice as fast as an ordinary worker. Load one into an army and this army will be able to build a road as it moves.

Oh, BTW--as to stacked combat: I agree that the CTP stacked-combat model is definitely to be preferred. I would implement it by allowing you to load artillery into an army and have it deliver a ranged-attack punch before the marauders wade in.

And why shouldn't you be able to unload your troops from an existing army, upgrade them, and then reload the army and move on? Do Great Military Leaders really outlive their usefulness because they can't understand new technology? I'd like to ask General George C. "Blood and Guts" Patton what he'd think of that.

Temlakos

[Temlakos]

Other ideas:

Why stop at Armies? Why not use some of those Great Military Leaders to form Fleets and Air Wings? Frankly, I never have thought that the game designers--of *any* of the Civ flavors, including CTP--really understood sea or air power. The very poor performance of the AI in the fielding of navies and air forces reflects this. So also do the capabilities--if you call them that--of sea and air units in these games.

CTP came the closest to implementing a decent air attack mechanism. This is, of course, a variation of their ranged-attack stacked-combat technique, using fighters in place of infantry and bombers in the place of artillery. (Actually, fighters in CTP or Civ are more like fighter-attack planes.) Civ III achieved its first baby step toward the proper use of aircraft with its Air Superiority, Bombing Run, and Re-base Mission orders to air units (which I assume represent air *groups*). But if you really want to simulate air combat as we understand it today, you send bombers with fighter escort and have them fight together. And you do not, as CTP did, have the ridiculous spectacle of ground troops, armed with nothing better than small arms, shooting down fighters.

Temlakos

[ThePlagueRat]

Old idea comeback:

- Hire a sexy actress to play foreign minister.

And:

- Stop making silly looking leadehead animations.
I would rather have photos of apolytoners from the picture thead here: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...35#post2647235

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Stefu
However, we should at least go through The List and see what proposals could be reused. At least go through the Essential Civ3 List - many good proposals in there that went unheeded.

Originally posted by Asmodean
What do you guys think my good night reading is these days
Asmodean

Hi Asmodean, do you still have a copy of the List?

[The Big Mc]

Originally posted by ThePlagueRat
Old idea comeback:

- Hire a sexy actress to play foreign minister.

I second that motion plus can we have alternates so we can personalize the council.

[Kramsib]

Hi everyone, the Spanish Civilization Community in Apolyton has made this list of ideas for Civ IV. We want join this project with our communal contribution.

Some of us have some more ideas but we all subscribe the following list.

MAP AND TERRAIN.

1. Terraform options.
2. Channels, straits, … (We refer to those square vortex which are passable both, naval units and terrain units, like in Civilization II ).
3. Multimap (like Civilization II Test Of Time).
4. “Add” button for creating new terrain types in the editor.
5. “Add” button for creating new square improvements.
6. Place names. It would be good to have the option to put the place names in game (and obviously when editing an scenario).
7. Sailable rivers, fords, bridges, cliffs, … for localised scenarios in reduced areas.

UNITS

8. A more realistic combat system which includes hit points and supported damage.
9. Include an option in the editor to create air units in a Civilization II style.
10. Allow barbarians to take cities. Allow negotiations with barbarians to avoid an attack or pay them to attack other civ. At least, make this an editable option in the editor.

DIPLOMACY

11. More editable options for scenarios. Not only war and locked alliances, but also mutual protection pacts, embargos, … trade exchanges too.
12. New diplomatic options like asking a civ to do an action against or in favour another third.
13. The ability to edit the attitude of every civ for a scenario.
14. The ability to trade military units, not only workers.
15. It seems a good option to extend the idea of locked alliances to other treaties, like locked embargoes or locked mutual protection pacts, …

ESPIONAGE

16. More options, bribe cities, bribe units, poison water deposit, introduce nuclear artefact.
17. Use special units for subversive actions.
18. It seems to be good to combine the Civ III diplomatic system with special units to carry out the dirtiest covert operations.

GENERAL

19. More info in the advisors’ windows. The domestic or the commercial advisor could show info about the costs per city or per kind of building, which civ we are reciving money from, which civ we are sending money, …
20. Use continuous percentages instead of intervals of tens.
21. Include an indicator of the quantity of gold accumulated and the gold left to get an advance.
22. Include more leaderheads per civ, wonder movies and animations for conquest of cities, victories, civil disorders, “we love the leader days”, advisors, …

23. EVENTS.
24. Allow the editor to modify savegames / use savegames to create scenarios.
25. Bring back the Civil Wars in which a Civ were divided into several factions when its capital was taken.
25. bis When a city is far enough from the capital city and fells in civil disorder, it could proclaim its independence, thus beginning a civil war.
26. When a city flips there should be a fight among the garrisoned units and the revolted citizens. The CTP system is a good idea to get inspired.
27. The ability to bring food to other cities.

[Bonaparte]

So far I hear a lot of good ideas, but remember, in order for players to use all these ideas suggested here they'll need time...you don't want to spend a lot of time working on something only to have it become obsolite or unnecessary before it's done...Maybe the advancement through the techs should be slower and more turns should then be added.

Oh, and in case it hasn't been mentioned I'd like to see expanded and alternate tech trees...every game I play I end up researching the same techs in the same order and, frankly, that gets tiresome.

[DarkCloud]

Bump for more miscellaneous ideas!