Louis XXIV
Le Roi Soleil
I got this idea from danielshannon's thread. Since I just played the Ancient Wonders scenario, I agree that having wonders unlocked by completion of a policy is a great idea. That being said, I don't like going with the wonders that weren't concept. So here are my ideas for actual wonders that fit well into these categories. The goal was to have it match the theme of the tree as well as be close in era to it.
Tradition - Petra. I almost put the Sphynx and then I remembered this. It's just a really cool city with lots of rock carving stuff (for lack of a better discriptive phrase). Buildings and the like. I think it's just a very neat, but less known building that truly does qualify as a wonder of the ancient world.
Liberty - Pantheon. Seems quite obvious here. It's the most prominent symbol of Athenian democracy. It was built during its heyday. And it's quite a good-looking building.
Honor - Terra Cotta Statues. The clay statues from the tomb of Qin Shi Huang are really, really cool. Every soldier is different and there are thousands of them (I think, don't remember the number). Plus, it fits well with the martial nature of this achievement.
Piety - Solomon's Temple. I don't think you can go wrong with this famous Jewish temple. It's iconic, it's important, it's the center of a religion that spawned two of the most important religions in the world.
Patronage - Palace of Lorenzo de' Medici. Not sold with this idea, but I think something involving the Renaissance in Italy is the most logical. The Medicis were patrons for Michelangelo, Cellini, and many others. I could also see the Duomo in Florence, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, or something else in either of the two cities. Alternatively, something involving diplomacy makes sense. The problem is the most obvious example (Marco Polo's embassy) isn't really all that concrete and is better represented by a great person.
Commerce - I've drawn a blank here. There's got to be something impressive built related to colonial empires. If not, financial institutions of the time (I was going to go Bank of England, but I don't want England in the title). I'll think about this some more.
Rationalism - Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. The Great Exhibition seems like a good tribute to the height of scientific achievement of the era that this policy represents. The exhibition showcased industrial and scientific achievement. The whole thing was placed inside a giant glass building (which was impressive for the time).
Freedom - Arc de Triomphe. I figured this should be something from early Independent America or Revolutionary or Napoleonic France. It's a bit more militaristic than necessary, but I don't think that's a bad thing. The idea is it honors those who died defending the liberty of the revolution. I suppose the cliche of freedom isn't free fits along these lines.
Autocracy - I have to admit that, while I feel I can think of things for this, I'm not comfortable with any suggestions. Nazi architecture is very disconcerting and so can Stalinist architecture (plus, I'm using Stalin for the next one for one of his more noble efforts). Maybe something non-western? I feel I've made this list very one-sided.
Order - Moscow Metro. I feel there's a different name, but I can't remember it. If there's no better name, probably shouldn't have it (don't like having a city name and a wonder of the same name). But it's a great work of Soviet architecture. It's a tribute to the proletariat, so it fits for Order. And it looks quite cool. It's also the second most used metropolitan rail in the world, iirc. Alternatively, the Three Gorges Dam might be a possibility. Probably the most impressive work of Chinese communism.
So what are your thoughts? Obviously, I'm missing Commerce and Autocracy. Does anyone else think it's a good idea to have wonders for those who complete policy trees?
tl;dr version: What wonders would you have for completion of policies?
Tradition - Petra. I almost put the Sphynx and then I remembered this. It's just a really cool city with lots of rock carving stuff (for lack of a better discriptive phrase). Buildings and the like. I think it's just a very neat, but less known building that truly does qualify as a wonder of the ancient world.
Liberty - Pantheon. Seems quite obvious here. It's the most prominent symbol of Athenian democracy. It was built during its heyday. And it's quite a good-looking building.
Honor - Terra Cotta Statues. The clay statues from the tomb of Qin Shi Huang are really, really cool. Every soldier is different and there are thousands of them (I think, don't remember the number). Plus, it fits well with the martial nature of this achievement.
Piety - Solomon's Temple. I don't think you can go wrong with this famous Jewish temple. It's iconic, it's important, it's the center of a religion that spawned two of the most important religions in the world.
Patronage - Palace of Lorenzo de' Medici. Not sold with this idea, but I think something involving the Renaissance in Italy is the most logical. The Medicis were patrons for Michelangelo, Cellini, and many others. I could also see the Duomo in Florence, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, or something else in either of the two cities. Alternatively, something involving diplomacy makes sense. The problem is the most obvious example (Marco Polo's embassy) isn't really all that concrete and is better represented by a great person.
Commerce - I've drawn a blank here. There's got to be something impressive built related to colonial empires. If not, financial institutions of the time (I was going to go Bank of England, but I don't want England in the title). I'll think about this some more.
Rationalism - Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. The Great Exhibition seems like a good tribute to the height of scientific achievement of the era that this policy represents. The exhibition showcased industrial and scientific achievement. The whole thing was placed inside a giant glass building (which was impressive for the time).
Freedom - Arc de Triomphe. I figured this should be something from early Independent America or Revolutionary or Napoleonic France. It's a bit more militaristic than necessary, but I don't think that's a bad thing. The idea is it honors those who died defending the liberty of the revolution. I suppose the cliche of freedom isn't free fits along these lines.
Autocracy - I have to admit that, while I feel I can think of things for this, I'm not comfortable with any suggestions. Nazi architecture is very disconcerting and so can Stalinist architecture (plus, I'm using Stalin for the next one for one of his more noble efforts). Maybe something non-western? I feel I've made this list very one-sided.
Order - Moscow Metro. I feel there's a different name, but I can't remember it. If there's no better name, probably shouldn't have it (don't like having a city name and a wonder of the same name). But it's a great work of Soviet architecture. It's a tribute to the proletariat, so it fits for Order. And it looks quite cool. It's also the second most used metropolitan rail in the world, iirc. Alternatively, the Three Gorges Dam might be a possibility. Probably the most impressive work of Chinese communism.
So what are your thoughts? Obviously, I'm missing Commerce and Autocracy. Does anyone else think it's a good idea to have wonders for those who complete policy trees?
tl;dr version: What wonders would you have for completion of policies?
