A Better America

America's UA is not situational and I think the term is being used incorrectly in this context. Manifest Destiny is merely boring and doesn't add anything particularly powerful to your game like Babylon's Ingenuity UA or Poland's Solidarity UA does. While you may not ever have to purchase land tiles, getting them cheaper is always nice. And +1 sight on land units is hardly a bad bonus, it's just a bit weak compared to other 'blanket' bonuses like Bushido or The Great Warpath.

Does having a comparatively weak UA make America a weak civ? Yes and no. Yes because there are other civs with much more versatile (less 'situational') abilities, and No because the UA is still inherently useful and there whether or not you take advantage of it. But the fact that weakness exists and greatness persists would probably make America a candidate for a buff or a change to their UA to make them just as competitive as the rest.

Civs on the same level of 'situational UA' would be Spain and Denmark. Those two civs could really do with a change, even if their UA suits them thematically the same way America's does. I can't figure out how to get the most out of either of them most of the time.

Is Egypt's UA situational? Of course it is, since it only applies to you when you're building a wonder. I don't think anyone will call Monument Builders a weak UA however. And if you pick Egypt, you are probably going to try and build lots of wonders anyway. America is no different, but their schtick is grabbing lots of cheap land that they can see more of. An appeal to the imperialist-minded player that wants to know the lay of the land. In this case I like to think that people are nitpicking at Manifest Destiny because they can't see it as being competitive with other more flexible UAs or UAs that are suited to their playing style. At the same time, I can agree with some of them but I can't agree that Manifest Destiny is a bad UA. Weak, but not bad.

I think pwnerers idea for the UA is solid. America being pioneers in the whole ideology thing, giving them free tenets regardless of if they are the first to pick the ideology is accurate and balanced.
The rest of Manifest Destiny can stay the same.

pwnerer said:

My idea to buff America is this:

Replace Temple with LIBERTY BELL- A cheaper temple that starts as +1 Faith +1 Happiness
When America discovers Printing = +1 culture
When America discovers Economics = +1 Gold
When America discovers Scientific Theory = +1 Science
When America discovers Radio = +1 tourism

UA: Manifest Destiny - scouts get +1 visual range, purchasing land half price, when ideology is discovered, America gets 3 Tenents regardless of being first or not.

UU: Minutemen-leave the same

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Really like those, just not sure about the 3 tenents since you'd immediately get a second tier tenent - which can be very powerful, such as being able to pop out 6 Foreign Legion or +34% Science from factories.

Again, I feel 'Manifest Destiny' is the most accurate description of the US.

What people need to focus on in designing UA buff is to think of things that works around this, especially around the Louisiana purchase and America's expansion westwards.

Tile buying just seems such a crappy bonus. Hence something to do with city state bonuses, trade route bonuses (increased growth to cities) , and possibly 'cultural assimilation' component that reduces revolt time when a city is taken over could work as a better combination of traits for the UA.

I think America is pretty great. Not top tier like Maya, Poland, or Shoshone, but certainly second tier. The tile discount is ok, a good synergy with liberty, but its the sight bonus that's really great. And the B17 is pretty nice considering its an improvement of an already staple unit. It's good in the way that China's UB is good; it's a small bonus but its one you'll most likely use, a lot.

Minutemen are one of the best melee UU when you consider the role that melee units have in human strategy, as the best way to improve them really is to make them more mobile.

I would like to see more of a 20th century America. The only thing that gives America that feel is the B17, everything else is colonial/early America.

America is known for being a superpower, and 18th century America was basically nothing. The only reason why America won the revolutionary war is because they were thousands of miles away from Britain, and America had help from other European powers. But Britain was probably 100 times more powerful than America in 1800. 1000 years from now America won't be remembered as the country that "defeated" Britain, America will be remembered as the 20th century superpower.

The American Century - From 1900 until 2001 you experience a unique golden age that improves culture, science, tourism, production, and gold by 15%.

shattergod said:

The American Century - From 1900 until 2001 you experience a unique golden age that improves culture, science, tourism, production, and gold by 15%.

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That is a good idea. It could even go from 1850-2000, because America started to become powerful in the mid 1800's, and that's when massive immigration began. There should also be a combat bonus.

aluelkdf said:

That is a good idea. It could even go from 1850-2000, because America started to become powerful in the mid 1800's, and that's when massive immigration began. There should also be a combat bonus.

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Would mess up Quick, Epic, Marathon games

My Idea is not to change anything at all but if they did;
Leave the UU's alone and add a stock exchange replacement, the NYSE twice as expensive to build but each city with a NYSE
receives +2 gold per specialist