The List: Category manager sign-up thread

[Asmodean]

Originally posted by Elias
Units and combat are so realated it is hard to tell one from the other pease help.

I think that what distinguishes the two categories are, that units are about units - i.e. what units should we have in the game, what should their stats be, what abilities should they have, etc.

Combat is about the technicalities of combat. I.e. stacked or not, tactical or strategic, etc.

Asmodean

[Q Classic]

i'll volunteer for radical ideas or game atmosphere?


shouldn't modability be folded into customization?

[Asmodean]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
i'll volunteer for radical ideas or game atmosphere?


shouldn't modability be folded into customization?

It should. An oversight on my part

You're included as threadmaster for Game Atmosphere.

Asmodean

[Robert]

I did the city improvements for civ3 list,
so pherhaps I should volunteer for this city improvements-job as well.

[ThePlagueRat]

Hmm, radical ideas...
I guess I will manage the reactionary ideas!
You see I miss the civ2 femme fatale foreign minister.



Btw, will Firaxis actually consider this list?
They did not last time, when they delivered some crap called civ3.

[DarkCloud]

Hmm... here a link to another LIST for civ III (compiled by SidGames) although I bet many of the ideas overlap with Apolyton's list

"This is a suggestions list written by Peter Jackson on behalf of SidGames.Com and the newsgroups. It is an update of one written by Daniel Garland. "

http://www.pjackson.demon.co.uk/Civ3d.html#Air%20Units

[Nikolai]

In my thread for "Terrain and terrain improvements", DarkCloud has asked if we should have a separate thread for resources or as a part of aforementioned thead. I think we should have a new thread for that, but ideas on this issue is welcome in the terrain thread for now. I could have the responsibility for a new thread however. What do you think?

[DarkCloud]

Also, I think the Scenario Ideas and Modability things should be combined into the Scenario Editor section- because that would reflect the relative levels of interest that the Scenario Editor section has received (and Ideas are related to the editor)... and how Modability and the Scenario Editor are also quite related... because for something to be MODable, there needs to be Scenario editor tools...

[Tassadar500]

I would like to take Scenario Ideas

[Filippo]

No "Tech Research" group ?
I think it's the oldest feature of the game still unchanged and the one that needs to be revamped the most. As it is now it's quite sturdy and plain, not funny enough and not challenging enough. It's the issue n. 1 in the game for me.

[Trifna]

Asmodean, I think that since some categories aren't covered right now, it could be a good idea to start these threads while having officially no thread master yet. It would be written in the first post that anyone wishing to help could moderate this thread, and say what this is asking from him.

[Nikolai]

Asmo haven't posted on this site since 16/12-03...
But I agree witho you Trifna. Maybe we could do it like this untill he's back: One post what topic one want to cover here, so that it is "official" and known, and then one can staret the thread?

I could take the recources as I've mantioned, if so.

[coreman]

Tech tree...

Hmm...What if some of the techs in the tree had some asymmetric effects higher up in the tree, where there could either be some tech end-points that shut off other parts of the tech tree, or certain techs altered the ease of researching other techs while making some other techs harder to research...

What would be a good example?

Well, there is the whole nuclear research tree. What if researching nuclear physics-based tech increased radioactivs-based pollution, morale, etc.?

Or, say if you're playing a historically religious culture, it could be decided that certain tech trees have different effects within the culture at different times in the game, such as a Religious culture gets slightly accelerated research for some religious-based techs and retarded research for...oh, commerce-related techs (and vice-versa for a Commerce-based society, perhaps it does not like Religious research?), diplomacy, etc.?

This could spread out the tech rush map equation even further.

Also, maybe there should be periods of enlightment as well as Golden Ages, in phases of the game (time based? tech based? relative size of culture-based)?

Plus, it would be nice to do some sort of unit customization like in SMAC. Maybe not so extreme, but perhaps some techs that improved existing units after refitting, rather than whole new units, say Diesel RRs vs Steam RR (cost is to build the RR, and the type of loco affects the travel speed), much like it does in real life, or techs that improve, say, the attack ability slightly of older units, while making them weaker (thinking more along the lines of Modern Armor makes existing Tanks have perhaps a slightly increased chance to hit, while being more susceptible to modern weapons, which is...like real life)...

Diplomacy: Why is it that after a certain point, all the computer players are essentially just allied against the human player? It sucks that if I'm allied or haven't pissed off a comp player, and trade it a tech, that it quickly is traded to all the other computer players. Not so realistic. Maybe it "improves" game balance, but it sucks. It would be nice if some combinations of AIs would maintain their animosities against each other.

Is there a way to add some Bayesian logic to the AI, and store those results (based on completed games) on your computer? That would give it some learning ability between games (and perhaps allow the downloading of new AIs that are much tougher or do things differently)?

And bring back cool WoW movies! Give a real sense of accomplishment for getting a WoW, especially some of the ones from CivII that had a bit of a dig to them (pointing out the negative sides to the tech/social commentary).

And... better build queue management. Saved queues are good (might as well throw some canned ones in). Perhaps make it easier to start cities later in the game, sort of like one of the techs that make cities start at pop=3, well, how about some that provide some basic infrastructure in modern cities (at a higher cost, think of it as the costs for "building to code"), or is that too EuroAmerican-centric?

At some point, especially in the end-game, a new city may take a few turns more to build (hey, that's the ticket! change the amount of time for a city builder to finish building the city...modern cities take 3 turns to establish, middle-age ones take 2 turns, and stone age ones take one turn, but a middle-age city might start out with a granary, and a modern city will probably start out with a granary, police station, and water system/aqueduct.

Sure, there are plenty of old towns today that don't have much "modern" stuff, but they also haven't changed much in the last 50-100 years, either. With modern builders today able to build master-planned communities of 5000 to 10000 homes, along with infrastructure (stores, roads, amenities), in a few years, building a city is much more different than it was 100 years ago.

And has there been thought about how to model lines-of-communication in the game? Maybe minor wonders should include things like The Telegraph, The Wireless, etc.?

Or how about going back all the way to Colonization, and having "Special Leaders" that bring certain benefits to the society if they're in it? Say you get Rush Limbaugh, and your diplomacy goes funky; Noam Chomsky - for awhile you get a tech bonus, but it dies because he gets too involved with political arguments, but you can't get rid of him, because it will have negative morale effects). Benjamin Franklin. Marquis de Sade. Hernan Cortez. Sir Francis Drake. Ho Chih Minh. Maybe float them around like in MOO2.

As far as different social plans, it seemed like in CTP, choosing to be a granola only had a benefit in the End Game, where the Park Rangers could turn your 30+ city into a 9-square park. What if some of these choices could be spread out slowly earlier in the game? Instead of an overt bonus/penalities for being a granola (or choosing certain granola techs/facilities over others), you might get some subtle benefit/penalty that really affects others who choose differently depending on circumstances - say a granola only has a 5% drop in food production in a Dust Bowl, whereas a more industrialized society has more significant effects, unless they've spent resources on other techs that mitigate against this but are of course more resource-intensive in other ways.

Or perhaps setting up minor civs that can be "colonized", you oversee them, they send benefits to your colony, and you can treat them well (but less profit), or bad (more profit, but they might culture-flip or revolt much easier, lowering reputation internationally), perhaps tying some of them to key terrain bonuses.

Create bonus terrain features that could be considered as Wonders, but they have to be discovered/conquered, or could be a part of your civilization if prehistoric - Ankor Wat, Ayer's Rock (sorry, don't know the aborigine name for it), Victoria Falls, Grand Canyon, Loch Ness, Seven Cities of Gold, Mt. Fuji, Devil's Tower, etc...that will have to be conquered or otherwise require significant exploration resources to add to your civ (and be slightly easier to take over, but of course, the new owner will have much less benefits).

[Trifna]

Nikolai:
Ok. So you take the ressources :P

Even if I am not the thread master of the other subjects, if no one takes them shortly, I'll start the threads so that people can put their ideas there. We'll have to find people to organize these threads thereafter.

Any comment? Someone willing to take a thread since we're at it?

[Nikolai]

If not all subjects is taken, I guess I can take one more. But first let's see how much interest it is in this from others.