Social Engineering vs Civics

[Overcast32]

Originally posted by Son of David




But OTOH would this have been so if people didn't know anything other than an existence of slavery? If they didn't know that other people like them lived as freepersons?

I mean, we don't always see something unless other people have it.

So if every civ in the game has slavery or serfdom, the slaves won't become unhappy - since no one adopts emancipation, since the world doesn't know anything but slavery.

True enough - that being the case, wouldn't a scaling benefit/cost system work out well for Civics?

So... In the early ages, slavery stays as it is now. Later, as you progress through the ages, it starts to create unhappiness. I guess that's already implemented to a point with unhappiness is you *aren't* running emancipation late in the game, but it might serve to add a level of realism to the civic(s).

[_BuRjaCi_]

Civ4 semes to copy a lot from SMAC ( if only it had better AI ...) but nothing comes out as good ( the UN anyone?), civics come close but I like the punishment of AC

[JackRudd]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
I don't see that as a cost, since you will be in one of the choices at all time anyway (barring aranchy). The only real cost is maintenance if there's no negative modifiers.

No, the real cost is what you lose from the previous civic when you switch out.

For example, you're in Organized Religion and you discover Philosophy. The relevant question is something like "is it worth giving up 20% of my building production rate to get a 100% increase in my Great Person production rate?". It's the same whenever you have the opportunity to switch out of one non-starting civic to another.

[Qwertqwert]

I think all the ones that have no maintiance should have some some penelty. A good one for slavery would be that for every 5 citizens in a city, 1 can't be used. And I forget if there is one for State Property, but if not it could be a diplomatic penelty with everyone who has Decentralism, Free Market, or Environmentalism.

[The_Reckoning]

Originally posted by Locutus
As I remember SE, it was mostly about detailed policy making, comparatively minor internal policy decisions (a little more economic freedom here, a little more attention to the environment there). Civ deals with the big picture, large ideological decisions such as slavery, free religion, hereditary rule, free market economy, etc. On a conceptual level, civics are much more suited for a grand historic strategy game like Civ.

Yeah, there's not much difference between a police state, a theocracy and a democracy...