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Not that this will ever be implemented in Civ3, but I was wondering why this series of games has relied on such a ridged structure of upgrading units. For instance, the leap from Cavalry to tank, or warrior to Legion, feels like too much of a "leap" in improvement.
I would suggest borrowing a system of upgrading units from RTS games like Warcraft where as you research a new "tech" upon completion every unit of a given type is given a small bonus, for example we'll say a +1 attack to warriors for discovering such and such a tech, or a +1 movement, then at some point in the tech tree it would be more advantagous for the player to build the pikemen or legion over the improved warrior (perhaps a lower cost or better stats). So rather than having hundreds of different units that need hundreds of new graphics you have the same graphic with altered stats.
What I'm getting at is a series of incremental upgrades that would set an early musketeer apart from a late modle musketeer. Perhaps the change would only be slight, but enough to suggests a small edge over the earlier modle. The unit would look the same, but it's stats could be modified in smaller increments rather than the larger jumps from say pikemen (or whatever unit come just before musketeers) to musketeers. The same would go for an early modle tank being weaker (I don't know how significantly) than a late modle tank.
I think the problems this would solve would be that there wouldn't be a tech that winds up being the end all to be all once you accquire it as a civ that isn't far behind you would still have units that are nearly comparalbe and you wouldn't have ancient units destroying modern units as the modern units would have several small, but significant advances. Nor would you have to constantly upgrade units as they would be automatically upgraded by the discovery of a new tech, the cost for the upgrade could be considered to be in the cost of researching the new tech.
I would also imagine that this would create different tech b-lines as some people might prefer an upgraded air attack over an upgraded howitzer attack, or better infantry defense for that matter.
This not need only apply to units as an imporved city walls tech, improved banking tech, better airport tech, etc., etc., would also add different b-lines and ways to play.
Or I suppose we could leave the system as it is as it seems the differences between units aren't all that much. Just a thought anyhow.
Suggestions, critiques, flames?
I would suggest borrowing a system of upgrading units from RTS games like Warcraft where as you research a new "tech" upon completion every unit of a given type is given a small bonus, for example we'll say a +1 attack to warriors for discovering such and such a tech, or a +1 movement, then at some point in the tech tree it would be more advantagous for the player to build the pikemen or legion over the improved warrior (perhaps a lower cost or better stats). So rather than having hundreds of different units that need hundreds of new graphics you have the same graphic with altered stats.
What I'm getting at is a series of incremental upgrades that would set an early musketeer apart from a late modle musketeer. Perhaps the change would only be slight, but enough to suggests a small edge over the earlier modle. The unit would look the same, but it's stats could be modified in smaller increments rather than the larger jumps from say pikemen (or whatever unit come just before musketeers) to musketeers. The same would go for an early modle tank being weaker (I don't know how significantly) than a late modle tank.
I think the problems this would solve would be that there wouldn't be a tech that winds up being the end all to be all once you accquire it as a civ that isn't far behind you would still have units that are nearly comparalbe and you wouldn't have ancient units destroying modern units as the modern units would have several small, but significant advances. Nor would you have to constantly upgrade units as they would be automatically upgraded by the discovery of a new tech, the cost for the upgrade could be considered to be in the cost of researching the new tech.
I would also imagine that this would create different tech b-lines as some people might prefer an upgraded air attack over an upgraded howitzer attack, or better infantry defense for that matter.
This not need only apply to units as an imporved city walls tech, improved banking tech, better airport tech, etc., etc., would also add different b-lines and ways to play.
Or I suppose we could leave the system as it is as it seems the differences between units aren't all that much. Just a thought anyhow.
Suggestions, critiques, flames?
). I was coming at this from a game play perspective and couldn't quite understand why they hadn't taken this approach before.
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