soren
Apr 12, 2004, 02:48 PM
From now to its release, this will be my official cIV idea list. I will make update when the ideas come to me, which can be found at the bottom.
The Purpose of this list is:
a) to inspire the civ community
b) to actually influce the game for the better; for Firaxis to take a serious look at these ideas (and hire me;) )
[Important stuff is now highlighted in Red ]
[Popular idea (determined by feedback) are in Deeppink (Thus far, #31)]
Here goes:
1) Immigration: Immigration is a BIG factor in civilizations. Just take a look at, say, America - if it weren't for it's large amounts of immigration, it would never be as powerful and influential as it now is. Different people coming in contribute to the innovations, etc. of civilizations and nations (perhaps you can acquire new techs when enough people come from a civ to yours which has for a time had those techs). If your people are happy, and you have a government that is appealing to people, other people from other civs will immigrate to you. Your population increases, theirs decreases. Of course, you can set you policies not to allow them in), and it also largely depends on the other civ. And vice versa. Also, when you are at war with another civ, people from that civ living in yours can become unhappy, and if it is a liberation effort, you can have the opposite effect. Maybe even have a statue of liberty wonder, which increases the chances, or maybe when you build it, you can/must give it to another civ as a present (like France to America). And internally, too, people can move form city to city. For business, education, etc.)
2) Introduce the media: the media plays a crucial role in our society! TeeVee, Internet, Telecommunication! For one, you could propagate propaganda to other civs, and maybe they will become more loyal to you. Or do it to your own people, lie to them about wars, but in a democracy/republic, in wars for instance, their effects could be increased war weariness too, as a risk. But it has a lot of other applications other than war. Internet, for instance, increases globalization and the passing of ideas. Perhaps, with the Internet, you can acquire non-technical techs (such as communism, philosophy, as oppose to nuclear power or computers) other than with the standard research, since people share ideas.
4) Terrorism (aka, modern barbarians): You have barbarisms, I know, but I've never seen ancient-style barbarians with axes running around recently. There should be different kinds for different ages: You may have pirates or looters in the Middle Ages, then guerillas and terrorists. But they also work differently. For one, modern barbarians don't have a physical "hut" and other things, and you start them up for different reasons...maybe even have cyber-terrorism...you spend money on defense...when you have an attack, your economy goes down the drain, but also you may use it to your benefit to go to war in demo/republic and use it as a justification.
5) Other leaders: you have the military leader, and they just added the scientific to conquests, why not have others, such as cultural or religious or political? They should all be able to do something unique pertaining to their qualities...maybe even have great naval leaders, like with land military leaders.
6) Civil wars!: not all civs and nations started out in the beginning. For example, America came to be when it parted from England...you can have them when cities are too far, or isolated from the other cities, or your people are unhappy, something like that. I think corruption was put it to diminish the unrealistic omnipotentness of large empires, but this will add something.
7) Satellites: They have them in conquests, in where they reveal the map. They should have many other operations: for example, for a turn, they should allow you to, say, eliminate fog of war in any location on the entire map.
8) Highways and superhighways: as for land transportation: first, you have roads, then railroads? does it stop there? why should it?
9) economics: there is not much of this in civ. people don't realize what an effect this has on civilizations and nation. I'd like to see concepts of tax levels, investments, business cycles, markets, (un)employment...for example, in communism, you have universal employment, but no capitalism…
10) Have something like national parks. Some square are unoccupialbe by cities, like mountains or jungles. So why not create other uses for them, like national parks, which have, for instance, bring in income or make people happy…also have environmentalism…also maybe be able to create nuclear power plants outside the cities, and connect them via power lines.
11) You should have the ability to trade units. Think about real life. It is often that countries give weapons to other nations. You should also be able to loan money, but have interest on it.
12) Have the ability to transport food from city to city. Perhaps a turn is lost if it doesn't make it that turn via transportation. Also, you may even trade it…
13) Oil rigs, it's an idea...
14) It's a neat idea, but borders are not solely determined by cities and culture! You should be able to claim land by other means. Let me ask you: does Alaska have cities with culture to fill all the land? Also, add the ability to trade land, like the Louisiana purchase.
15) Growth is not determined solely by food availability. Especially later, such as in the modern age, food in plentiful in certain places such as in the US or Europe, but people don't want kids. In this time, there should be enough food, and maybe a new tech (refrigeration, for instance) which helps out here (for example, make it so that each person required 1.5 food, or food output is slightly increased), but, for various such as economic reasons, people don't want kids. Another incentive (good economics and employment) to keep the people happy.
16) wind affecting movement of galleys? probably a bad idea...
17) better interface: for example, if i wanted a certain tech, it is damn inconvenient for me to go and ask each other civ to see if they have it. instead, the advisor should tell right away...
18) the future is cool, but i always thought it's better to have a more developed present and past. But maybe just a little into the future, like cloning could increase population, or nanotechnology, which can do something else. If not that far, perhaps some postmodernism, such as String Theory, or Deconstructivism.
19) there are various ways to keep people happy. Now, it's religious buildings and luxuries, which is all good and well, but not good enough. Later, secularism comes, which diminishes the temples effects (It also depends of governments - for example, temples should have almost no effect in communism - gives more viriation in the game which adds to strategy). Looking at luxuries: they make people really happy like in the middle ages, when nobody had baths, so perfume was on high demand, etc., but now, there are other comfortabilities which make people happy…also, if people are unemployed they are happy, religion too…
20) I think it would be cool, and more realistic, if coliseums, instead of having a fixed number of making people happy, have a percentage.
21) black market? Drugs? Terrorism?...Monitoring nuclear and other WMD?
22) the international space station? Olympics? A supreme court or other national institutions? Welfare: money vs. unhappy people rioting…healthcare?
23) more and different governments, like theocracy or oligarcy. And even have variations, like constitutional monarchies, or virtual and direct representation. Also, the anarchy thing is kind of weird, as is the transition. Does America first become facist to support the units and end WW when going to war in Iraq? Perhaps it should be easier to switch to a more liberal government. It should take longer to become fascist from democracy, than become fascist from monarchy. If people near your civ are revoluting, it spreads.
24) A more detailed tech tree!!! …thus more techs, wonders, improvements…such as staue of liberty, String Theory, Hammurabis code, …
25) Have the UN play a bigger role.
26) you have mountains, but don't you find it unrealistic that a warrior can trek grassland as easily as, say, mount Everest?! have special mountains, that only planes, helicopters, and special unites can go through. Other stuff with terrain, such as terrain transformation over large periods of time…
27) forest fires, earthquakes…
28) underground tunnels? like in japan, or the one between England and France? farms...?
29) how your recourses deplete should depend on how much you use them, in addition to them depleting randomly.
30) resources should have other than military applications: just think today - the US, for example, uses oil for not just military, but for us, citizens, who need to drive, heat our homes, fly, etc...later, upon researching certain techs, you could eliminate or diminish this need (THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT AMERICA SHOULD DO!!!). !!!
31) I say you have more buildings that have negative side affects, such as the power plant (which significantly increases shields, but has the chance of a nuclear meltdown). The best example I can think of is universities: instead of producing 50% science, I suggest it produce more, such as 70% extra, but also increase dramatically war wiriness and have more resistance to "bad" propaganda imposed by the gov. For govs which have no WW, theses should create a minute resistance (like with Iran).
32) Viruses: you have diseases from jungles and marshland, why not have viruses? like SARS. the effects: some citizens may die, others will be unhappy (or both). YOu need to stop it before it spreads. maybe hospitals will do the thing, or the human genome project…or just time….
33) Protectorates: you know, like Guam or something. Sometimes, you don't want to destroy a city, or run it…
34): maybe, maybe, have bridges: you need some tech first, and you can only do it across ONE COAST square, and it should be more complex than a simple workers' action...
35) have an education system, or other civic systems.
36) with corruption, perhaps it should be reduced upon the discovery of certain techs, such as nationalism, media, computers….speaking of techs, it's weird that you "research" techs like communism or philosophy…it's more like they're ideas that spread…
37) perhaps the cost of, say, aqueducts should be based on its distance from fresh water…perhaps this should be cheaper with engineering…
38) air-bases are new in conquests. I think there should also be military bases, seaports, etc. as well.
39) people can start revolutions if they are not happy to something like communism, and you must do something about it. No civ has existed for more than a thousand years, there must be more obstacles…..the Russian Revolution as an example…this increases when civs around yours start having these revolutions…
40) for military units, perhaps have moral and "support the troops" effects?
41) this is more of a minor miscellaneous thing, but civ relations (is this already implemented?) should depend also on governments. For example, fascists and commies should not get along, democracies and republics should.
42) another minor, misc thing: terraced hills in the future?
43) another weird idea: the first civ to circumnavigate the globe (this possibility should be available only after magnetism) gets a bonus (such as +1 movement for the next x turns).
44) other ideas: social engineering, natural wonders, the idea that tourism (via national parks, natural wonders, great wonders, etc.) makes other people loose tourism revenue, trading posts, less war (?),
45) get units and resources from private businesses (only possible in certain governments), like the US gets planes from companies, or oil coming from oil companies and well as governments…
46) …and oh so much more!
The Purpose of this list is:
a) to inspire the civ community
b) to actually influce the game for the better; for Firaxis to take a serious look at these ideas (and hire me;) )
[Important stuff is now highlighted in Red ]
[Popular idea (determined by feedback) are in Deeppink (Thus far, #31)]
Here goes:
1) Immigration: Immigration is a BIG factor in civilizations. Just take a look at, say, America - if it weren't for it's large amounts of immigration, it would never be as powerful and influential as it now is. Different people coming in contribute to the innovations, etc. of civilizations and nations (perhaps you can acquire new techs when enough people come from a civ to yours which has for a time had those techs). If your people are happy, and you have a government that is appealing to people, other people from other civs will immigrate to you. Your population increases, theirs decreases. Of course, you can set you policies not to allow them in), and it also largely depends on the other civ. And vice versa. Also, when you are at war with another civ, people from that civ living in yours can become unhappy, and if it is a liberation effort, you can have the opposite effect. Maybe even have a statue of liberty wonder, which increases the chances, or maybe when you build it, you can/must give it to another civ as a present (like France to America). And internally, too, people can move form city to city. For business, education, etc.)
2) Introduce the media: the media plays a crucial role in our society! TeeVee, Internet, Telecommunication! For one, you could propagate propaganda to other civs, and maybe they will become more loyal to you. Or do it to your own people, lie to them about wars, but in a democracy/republic, in wars for instance, their effects could be increased war weariness too, as a risk. But it has a lot of other applications other than war. Internet, for instance, increases globalization and the passing of ideas. Perhaps, with the Internet, you can acquire non-technical techs (such as communism, philosophy, as oppose to nuclear power or computers) other than with the standard research, since people share ideas.
4) Terrorism (aka, modern barbarians): You have barbarisms, I know, but I've never seen ancient-style barbarians with axes running around recently. There should be different kinds for different ages: You may have pirates or looters in the Middle Ages, then guerillas and terrorists. But they also work differently. For one, modern barbarians don't have a physical "hut" and other things, and you start them up for different reasons...maybe even have cyber-terrorism...you spend money on defense...when you have an attack, your economy goes down the drain, but also you may use it to your benefit to go to war in demo/republic and use it as a justification.
5) Other leaders: you have the military leader, and they just added the scientific to conquests, why not have others, such as cultural or religious or political? They should all be able to do something unique pertaining to their qualities...maybe even have great naval leaders, like with land military leaders.
6) Civil wars!: not all civs and nations started out in the beginning. For example, America came to be when it parted from England...you can have them when cities are too far, or isolated from the other cities, or your people are unhappy, something like that. I think corruption was put it to diminish the unrealistic omnipotentness of large empires, but this will add something.
7) Satellites: They have them in conquests, in where they reveal the map. They should have many other operations: for example, for a turn, they should allow you to, say, eliminate fog of war in any location on the entire map.
8) Highways and superhighways: as for land transportation: first, you have roads, then railroads? does it stop there? why should it?
9) economics: there is not much of this in civ. people don't realize what an effect this has on civilizations and nation. I'd like to see concepts of tax levels, investments, business cycles, markets, (un)employment...for example, in communism, you have universal employment, but no capitalism…
10) Have something like national parks. Some square are unoccupialbe by cities, like mountains or jungles. So why not create other uses for them, like national parks, which have, for instance, bring in income or make people happy…also have environmentalism…also maybe be able to create nuclear power plants outside the cities, and connect them via power lines.
11) You should have the ability to trade units. Think about real life. It is often that countries give weapons to other nations. You should also be able to loan money, but have interest on it.
12) Have the ability to transport food from city to city. Perhaps a turn is lost if it doesn't make it that turn via transportation. Also, you may even trade it…
13) Oil rigs, it's an idea...
14) It's a neat idea, but borders are not solely determined by cities and culture! You should be able to claim land by other means. Let me ask you: does Alaska have cities with culture to fill all the land? Also, add the ability to trade land, like the Louisiana purchase.
15) Growth is not determined solely by food availability. Especially later, such as in the modern age, food in plentiful in certain places such as in the US or Europe, but people don't want kids. In this time, there should be enough food, and maybe a new tech (refrigeration, for instance) which helps out here (for example, make it so that each person required 1.5 food, or food output is slightly increased), but, for various such as economic reasons, people don't want kids. Another incentive (good economics and employment) to keep the people happy.
16) wind affecting movement of galleys? probably a bad idea...
17) better interface: for example, if i wanted a certain tech, it is damn inconvenient for me to go and ask each other civ to see if they have it. instead, the advisor should tell right away...
18) the future is cool, but i always thought it's better to have a more developed present and past. But maybe just a little into the future, like cloning could increase population, or nanotechnology, which can do something else. If not that far, perhaps some postmodernism, such as String Theory, or Deconstructivism.
19) there are various ways to keep people happy. Now, it's religious buildings and luxuries, which is all good and well, but not good enough. Later, secularism comes, which diminishes the temples effects (It also depends of governments - for example, temples should have almost no effect in communism - gives more viriation in the game which adds to strategy). Looking at luxuries: they make people really happy like in the middle ages, when nobody had baths, so perfume was on high demand, etc., but now, there are other comfortabilities which make people happy…also, if people are unemployed they are happy, religion too…
20) I think it would be cool, and more realistic, if coliseums, instead of having a fixed number of making people happy, have a percentage.
21) black market? Drugs? Terrorism?...Monitoring nuclear and other WMD?
22) the international space station? Olympics? A supreme court or other national institutions? Welfare: money vs. unhappy people rioting…healthcare?
23) more and different governments, like theocracy or oligarcy. And even have variations, like constitutional monarchies, or virtual and direct representation. Also, the anarchy thing is kind of weird, as is the transition. Does America first become facist to support the units and end WW when going to war in Iraq? Perhaps it should be easier to switch to a more liberal government. It should take longer to become fascist from democracy, than become fascist from monarchy. If people near your civ are revoluting, it spreads.
24) A more detailed tech tree!!! …thus more techs, wonders, improvements…such as staue of liberty, String Theory, Hammurabis code, …
25) Have the UN play a bigger role.
26) you have mountains, but don't you find it unrealistic that a warrior can trek grassland as easily as, say, mount Everest?! have special mountains, that only planes, helicopters, and special unites can go through. Other stuff with terrain, such as terrain transformation over large periods of time…
27) forest fires, earthquakes…
28) underground tunnels? like in japan, or the one between England and France? farms...?
29) how your recourses deplete should depend on how much you use them, in addition to them depleting randomly.
30) resources should have other than military applications: just think today - the US, for example, uses oil for not just military, but for us, citizens, who need to drive, heat our homes, fly, etc...later, upon researching certain techs, you could eliminate or diminish this need (THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT AMERICA SHOULD DO!!!). !!!
31) I say you have more buildings that have negative side affects, such as the power plant (which significantly increases shields, but has the chance of a nuclear meltdown). The best example I can think of is universities: instead of producing 50% science, I suggest it produce more, such as 70% extra, but also increase dramatically war wiriness and have more resistance to "bad" propaganda imposed by the gov. For govs which have no WW, theses should create a minute resistance (like with Iran).
32) Viruses: you have diseases from jungles and marshland, why not have viruses? like SARS. the effects: some citizens may die, others will be unhappy (or both). YOu need to stop it before it spreads. maybe hospitals will do the thing, or the human genome project…or just time….
33) Protectorates: you know, like Guam or something. Sometimes, you don't want to destroy a city, or run it…
34): maybe, maybe, have bridges: you need some tech first, and you can only do it across ONE COAST square, and it should be more complex than a simple workers' action...
35) have an education system, or other civic systems.
36) with corruption, perhaps it should be reduced upon the discovery of certain techs, such as nationalism, media, computers….speaking of techs, it's weird that you "research" techs like communism or philosophy…it's more like they're ideas that spread…
37) perhaps the cost of, say, aqueducts should be based on its distance from fresh water…perhaps this should be cheaper with engineering…
38) air-bases are new in conquests. I think there should also be military bases, seaports, etc. as well.
39) people can start revolutions if they are not happy to something like communism, and you must do something about it. No civ has existed for more than a thousand years, there must be more obstacles…..the Russian Revolution as an example…this increases when civs around yours start having these revolutions…
40) for military units, perhaps have moral and "support the troops" effects?
41) this is more of a minor miscellaneous thing, but civ relations (is this already implemented?) should depend also on governments. For example, fascists and commies should not get along, democracies and republics should.
42) another minor, misc thing: terraced hills in the future?
43) another weird idea: the first civ to circumnavigate the globe (this possibility should be available only after magnetism) gets a bonus (such as +1 movement for the next x turns).
44) other ideas: social engineering, natural wonders, the idea that tourism (via national parks, natural wonders, great wonders, etc.) makes other people loose tourism revenue, trading posts, less war (?),
45) get units and resources from private businesses (only possible in certain governments), like the US gets planes from companies, or oil coming from oil companies and well as governments…
46) …and oh so much more!