What would you put in an expansion?

[JackRudd]

Hmmm, I think I've found the nice use for the Terracotta Army. Napoleon + Pentagon + Terracotta Army + Barracks + Theocracy + Vassalage:

Out of the box COMMANDO MUSKETEERS!

[Adagio]

Not if it gives the defense bonus instead

[Adagio]

A few years ago I had another idea, one that doesn't effect gameplay though:

The idea is that the game writes a history book for all players. This history book can be read both ingame, but it will also be saved on the computer (together with the replay file) so it can be read later

This history book will only include major events, and be civ specific
Here's an example on how some of it's outcomes could look like:

German history book:
On May 7th 1876 we decleared war on India, two months later our Panzers conquered their capital Delhi. Spain didn't like this, and quickly joined the war against us

Indian history book:
May 7th 1876 was the day the backstabbing Germans attacked us. Because of our lack of military power we needed friends, quickly. After months of negotiations between Isabella and our leader Ghandi, Spain decided to join our side as our capital fell to Germany

World history book:
1876 was the year, when German panzers started a war in India. After Delhi fell, Spain joined the war, fighting against Germany


Each civs history book will try to look at diplomacy to make a realistic story, while the world history book will be neutral, and not call any of the civs names or anything


It'll be diffecult to make this though, not the coding itself, but to get a good amount of lines for the game to pick, so a history book doesn't come up with the same lines over and over again

[Adagio]

It probably wouldn't be worth the effort put in it, but it could be a nice read, to see the game from the other civs perspective

[Loader2k]

I think the history book is an excellent idea. It has been said
"every game of civ tells a story" and civ should use that
strength.

[johnmcd]

I'm all for that sort of fancy nonsense addition. It's the kind of stuff artists and writers can do while the coders are doing the tweaks to everything else. Heck, testers could do it between builds or something.

[Adagio]

And I'm pretty sure that after the release fans will also contribute

[CerberusIV]

The naval warfare side could use some improvements.

I'd like to see a new unit - the Missile Cruiser - which comes with Rocketry, has strength and movement in between a destroyer and a battleship but has a 40% chance of hitting air units.

Destroyers and subs should be the only units able to see subs but only have a 50% chance per turn of doing so (destroyers kill my subs too often for my liking and I've yet to see an AI sub. Do they build them?).

Subs should have a % chance of being able to choose their target from a stack, say 40%. If they succeed they get to attack a unit of the owners choice (usually a loaded transport). If they fail they take on the strongest defender (and probably die). Whether they succeed or fail should only be clear after the attack is started so you have to take a chance attacking with subs but may get through the escorts.

For something more radical I'd like destroyers and submarines to be able to lay minefields in coastal tiles and water tiles within a city's cultural radius (your cities or those of a civ you are at war with). A minefield would only be visible to the player who laid it and would have a chance of damaging/sinking ANY ship that enters that tile. Minefields would vanish after a random number of turns (to simulate being swept or identified and avoided). If a neutral player (anyone you are not at war with) loses a ship to your mines that would be a -1 to relations "You attacked our shipping".

[CerberusIV]

Other people have mentioned promotions for air units and I'd certainly like to see that.

Fighters and jet fighters should start with a basic 30% chance of intercepting attacking air units. If they are based in a city with the airport improvement this should be increased by 10% (Rather than introduce an airbase improvement it is simplest to assume the airport represents the runways, radar and air control for both civil and military use). Air units built in cities with airports should start with 4 exp.

Possible promotions could include:-

Intercept - increases the chance of making an interception.

Evasion - reduces the chances of being intercepted (would also reduce the chance of being hit by ground units like SAM infantry).

Air tactics - makes interceptors stronger (inflict more damage)

Formation - makes units on bombing missions stronger against interceptors (take less damage).

Dogfighter - +50% vs fighters.

Precision bomber - +25% when attacking units.

Naval strike - bonus when attacking ships.

The missile cruiser suggested in my previous post would fit in with some of this.

[CerberusIV]

Another idea (yes, I have lots of them today).

Great Generals. Military leaders have always been prominent in history but there is no Marlborough, no Patton in this game.

Obviously they can't be generated like other Great People, great soldiers come from the battlefield, not the classroom. They could be generated (% chance) whenever a unit wins a battle or there could be a hidden counter to which points are added whenever your unit wins and a Great General is spawned in your nearest city. Random chance is better as a cumulative total would favour warmongers.

They could do several things. They could help research techs with military application - lots of choices between archery and composites.

They could create a Military Academy in a city which would generate some beakers, some culture and give 2 exp points to units built in that city.

They could rush military wonders - Heroic Epic, West Point, Mount Rushmore, Pentagon.

If stacked with several units they could be expended to give experience to all the units on that tile (with limits to the total amount of experience and the maximum amount per unit).

They could be used with another Great Person to start a GA.

[Lambiorix_be]

I would like to deepen the military 'diplomacy' further

Suppose I am next to relative powerfull civ that I want to get rid off (or I just want more space for my civ). I want help from a civ on the other side but I do not want them to take cities I want. So an evil treaty should be possible in which I and my fellow civ divide the cities of my future ennemy or maybe appoint geographic areas in which the 2 civs can attack. So I am trying to recreate the agreement made between the USSR and Germany when the invaded Poland (but this has happened a lot in the past with the most extreme when Spain and Portugal divided the world).

That's the general idea. How to incorporate it into the game I leave to the real smart Civ people