Health in Civ 4?

[Lord_Davinator]

AIDS... don't forget AIDS... oh and don't forget diarrhea..

[Wernazuma III]

I don't think pandemics should be included in Civ 4 more than in Civ3 ("disease"). Just think them as being incorporated in normal pop growth.
But epidemics - hell, yes! And make them hurting badly!
Furthermore, I'd like to see disease/exhaustion for troops without "supply line" in enemy territory.

[Naokaukodem]

Health is for the wealthy who don't look at the poor if you as me. Unhappiness is for the wealthy who looks at the poor... Well just set up walls between "karma classes" then!

[Lawrence of Arabia]

plagues are a must -it will force you to decide if you want you're large empire to be isolated (little chance of getting plague from elsewhere) or internationalist, where you can grow huge, but lose 1/2 of your power in one turn to plague.

and plague could reduce the chance that if you get an early lead you will win the game. more ups and downs in your empire.

[Whoha]

If we add disease we also have to add responses to take to them. Who wouldn't quaruntine/destroy an infected population here?

Disease doesn't really add anything("disease has struck! do something about it [yes/no]?")

[alva]

This isn't in the epic game btw - you have to enable it (it is in the Middle Ages conquest, though).

I hope it will be in Civ 4.

[Dauphin]

I just hope the disease model chosen doesn't get annoying. See Culture flipping, and whack-a-pollution..

[Addled Platypus]

I would like to see this as a opt in


My .002 worth

Would you add more advances to help reduce the amount of people infected?, add more medical type city improvements?


Look at our world today, major diseases dont slow down warfare enough to make a impact.

I am would not play this, just because of another layer of something to build with no real benifit.

[Paddy]

Originally posted by Dauphin
I just hope the disease model chosen doesn't get annoying. See Culture flipping, and whack-a-pollution..

well said

[Didymus]

Originally posted by Platypus Rex
Look at our world today, major diseases dont slow down warfare enough to make a impact.

Spanish Flu, anyone?
What about the depopulation of Africa due to AIDS?
The Black Death?

However, with one comment I must agree. What strategic choices follow from inclusion of a disease model? Very few that I can see, so it prolly isn't going to be in the game.

[Quezacotl06]

Some ways I see it being applied would be to add pressures to population control, and have more flavor in foreign trade. Even biological warfare.

A Plague could be an invisible trade good, one that you don't need the civ's permision to export. For example, civ1 has a plague, and its hurting them. Civ2 has no plague. But if Civ1 has a trade route with Civ2, then undoubtably the plague will make its way to Civ2, and now they both have the plague. A plague could be hiding in a jungle of yours for quite some time before you bulldoze it for road, and now the plague makes its way into cities that are connected by road to the plagued tile, and to cities of ur trade partners.

EXAMPLE OF PLAGUE AS A STRATEGY
Ok, you're a european civilization, who has just settled into america. You encounter the iroquois. They have trade routes with the aztecs and the mayans. Secretly, you hate all their guts. But will you declare war on them? NO!
You've suffered bubonic plague before, your hospitals have them well under control. But you still have it. So what do you do? You say, "here, take this silk, out of the goodness of our hearts!" And indian-friend says "thank you". Turns later, the bubonic plague emerges in full ferocity on another continent, eventualy reaching the aztecs, but the mayans to a lesser extent (having a hospital or two of their own).
THIS TOTALY MIMICS HISTORY! Except it was with tuberculosis and small pox and the like. Best of all, when you're negotiating, foreign advisor-friend says "they've been known to have terrible diseases. I don't trust them on our roads and docks!"

But how to distinguish between spreading disease intentionaly or accidentaly? I think once you discover medicine, you should be able to detect where certain diseases are (no longer invisible on the map), and also be able to choose to spread the disease to your trade partner or not.

And once you discover medicine, you can also detect if a particular civilization is giving you the disease, and whether it is intentional or not (The spy we ordered to plant ebola was caught. Ghandi was not pleased.) This ensures that later on, ppl wont just be sending diseases to ever other civ on the planet, because it can be counted as an offensive by the time you reach the industrial revolution.

Also, when you get espionage, you can order spies to have biological warfare. It gives espionage a more offensive edge, and smaller civs a better chance of hitting hard.

[Vince278]

The way they do it in CtP was good. Plagues spread along trade routes with affected cities. It struck fast, spread fast, then burned itself out after doing considerable damage.

[Straybow]

Originally posted by Whoha
If we add disease we also have to add responses to take to them. Who wouldn't quaruntine/destroy an infected population here?

Disease doesn't really add anything("disease has struck! do something about it [yes/no]?")

Except often the reaction has a positive reinforcement instead of a deterrent effect. In Europe they would burn villages that suffered severely from the plague. The rats bearing the fleas that spread the plague would scatter and eventually arrive in nearby towns...

Quarantine in krankhauses helped, but was more of a cultural response than scientific or command response.

[Addled Platypus]

STD's anyone?

[Chuckles]

I love civ1 random events. They may have been a popular excuse for reloading but they were fun as a lot of the game can be quite predictable in stretches.