Leaders?

[Gen. Atkinson]

One feature in all of the previous civ games is the fact that all the leaders NEVER DIE!!! In principle I have no problem with this as the player is, for all intents and purposes immortal; and as a result so are the AI civs.
What would be nice, is if a leader has a certain life span, or political life. It always seemed silly that when you have a revolution the leader is the same as the one that is deposed. Or if you are in a Republic or Democracy, the leader never has to go through any kind of election, and never has to defend his seat in office from political rivals.
If there was for example a random name generator that activates everytime a leader dies.
Also the nature of the leaders death can be expanded, for example, assassination by a spy, losing an election, revolution, heresy!, madness, illness, in battle, or good old fashioned old age.
Just an idea, no clue if this has been discussed before.

[GAZ082]

There is no point to change leaders, they dont have bonuses like in Europa Universalis. Besides, the leader is your avatar, if he dies, you die.

[Gen. Atkinson]

I don't mean for them to have bonus's, just the option to die.
I do realise that if my avatar dies, I die, but that is not what I meant.
What I was trying to say is that every few turns a new leader should succeed the old, otherwise, there would be no need for government types, apart from a new form of despotism.
Other games can do this with little difficulty e.g. the Total War series. Although in these games you require an heir, or successor, in civ it would just be a nice change.
It may, for example, trigger a revolution, or something.
Just an idea.

[Adagio]

In CIV the leaders have personalities so in theory they could make leaders change once or twice each game so at one point in the game the Germans (with Hitler as leader) could be a war-loving people, but if you manage to take their capital (or somehow assasinate him) there is a chance for the leader to be replaced by some other one

Of course this requires that each civ has at least 2-3 leaders, but as we know it's only about half of the civs that has 2 leaders, the other civs only has 1

[Gen. Atkinson]

My point exactly.
One way to get around the only 2-3 leaders thing, is that as a nation evolves, so does it's ideologies, usually this involves a change in leadership. What was I saying?
Ah, yes. As a nation evovles, it's leaders changes countless times, as does the country's name e.g. the Roman Empire is now Italy, Persia is now Iran and its neibours, Babylon is now Iraq, Egypt has gone through several changes over the years, thousands of years since Thebes was founded.
Carthage is now Tunis. Germany was the Holy Roman Empire long before Bismark came on the scene, and before that was the homeland of the Goths.

As I said at the start, a random name generator for each civ, with appropriate names for each era, or government type. That way, you are not limited to only the famous leaders of history. For one thing, I hate having to play as Elizabeth I if I ever play as the English, even if I customise my civ at the start.

[Max Sinister]

I forgot who wrote it (and where), but if you wanted Civ to be really like history, you had to play the game (as single player!) with ten other people - they don't have to be smart, or interested in the game, or fully understood it. At the beginning of each turn, you roll a die to decide who'll play.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Gen. Atkinson
... Persia is now Iran and its neighbours,
Carthage is now Tunis. Germany was the Holy Roman Empire long before Bismark came on the scene, and before that was the homeland of the Goths.

'Persia' was only 'Persia' to people who didn't get that the empire wasn't named after one of provinces- the 'Persians' referred to themselves as Iranians, deriving from Aryan.

As for Germany being the home of the Goths, that's unproven. Gothic mythology has them emigrating from an area in modern day Scandinavia, and archaeological evidence shows them in modern day Poland. Eventually some of them ended up establishing a state in the Crimea, of all places. But on the other hand, Gothic language is related to German, so...

There were certainly Celts in modern day Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia and Switzerland, however, as cognates of words for salt in place names indicate.

Hallstatt, Hallein, Alesia in France- they all show the importance of how control of the salt trade and salt mines played a part in the rise to power of the Celts. Now if only they could have unified...

[GeoModder]

Now if only they could have unified...

... then they wouldn't have been Celts.

[Last Conformist]

Unification is overrated.

[DerSchwarzfalke]

... says the man with the European Union flag

[Addled Platypus]

Originally posted by DerSchwarzfalke
... says the man with the European Union flag

[Addled Platypus]

Originally posted by Gen. Atkinson

As I said at the start, a random name generator for each civ, with appropriate names for each era, or government type. That way, you are not limited to only the famous leaders of history. For one thing, I hate having to play as Elizabeth I if I ever play as the English, even if I customise my civ at the start.

so no more civ traits at all?

have it be a point sysytem?
all traits have the same value?

Example:
we would get 10 points to spend on the traits

Industrious
Sea fairing
Expansionist..etc..etc

and the effect of the discoveries you would have at the begging?

One cant have all the marbles in the bag at first

[GeoModder]

Originally posted by DerSchwarzfalke
... says the man with the European Union flag

However 'unified' the Union may appear from the outside, those who live in it have a better view on it's inconsistencies.

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by DerSchwarzfalke
... says the man with the European Union flag

The only reason we're uniting is that family quarrels are the nastiest ones.

The serious point is that political unification isn't necessary for cultural/political strength and expansion. Pre-WWI Europe would be a good example, as would Classical Greece.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Platypus Rex
so no more civ traits at all?

have it be a point sysytem?
all traits have the same value?

Example:
we would get 10 points to spend on the traits

Industrious
Sea fairing
Expansionist..etc..etc

and the effect of the discoveries you would have at the begging?

One cant have all the marbles in the bag at first

No, individual leaders actually do have traits.