I still have to see I really don't see it. I've been told that there is no more espionage (not to say that it couldn't be modded in), and as for diplomacy with non-alligned nations I imagine it would be more of a race to see who could give minor civs and city states the biggest cash present. I mean, it would be neat to see all of that take place in some kind of 'civ simulation', but what would you actually 'do'? Build nuclear weapons and hope the other side doesn't use them? SLowly rebuild EUropean infrastructure? Watch proxy wars be fought out between Asian/African/S.American/M.East states that would probably only cover half a dozen tiles each? I don't think there's much of a mechanism to simulate civil wars (Greece or Cuba, for eg) and even if there is, what kind of fun is it to sit on the sidelines and toss money at the side that's friendliest to you?
I think I'd much prefer a series of cold war scenarios that breaks down individual conflicts or regions with American/Soviet civs represented only as off-screen presences, like colonization. You could have situations like:
*Central America during the 70s with civil wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador Guatamala
*The Middle East from the birth of Israel to the Iran-Iraq War
*Civil war in Angola or Mozambique
*The Horn of Africa with the conflict between Etiopia and Somalia, with Eritricean and Tigrean rebels thrown in for good measure
*Indochina in the 60s and 70s, with everyone from N/S vietnam, the Khmer Rouge, Laos and Thailand
*The Korean War
and the list goes on....But maybe I've missed something in the 'complete earth cold war scenario'?
I love you. Anyways, some basic scenarios that should be shipped in a strictly scenarios EP (no gameplay changes) are:
Ancient World: From Iberia to the Euphrates, control the Romans, Macedonians, Persians or Egyptians (possibly others) through a millennium of legacy. Start date approx 800 BC, end date approx 200 AD.
Rise of Europe: Take control of the Franks, Anglo-Saxons, the Byzantines, or the Huns as Rome crumbles into the ground. Start date approx 350 AD, end date approx 1050 AD.
Reconquista: Be the Spanish, Portuguese or the Moors as Christianity and Islam divides the land. Start date approx 1050 AD, end date approx 1500 AD.
French and Indian War: Take control of Colonial England, France, or various native tribes as the war preceding the War is fought. Keep your taxes low. Start date approx 1700, end date approx 1783.
Napoleon: The world's most cunning general must take control of a riotous France and lead the most formidable army since Rome. Play as France, England, Prussia, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Sweden, Portugal or Spain. Start date approx 1793, end date approx 1815.
Civil War: A nation divided. Can you lead the South to independence or the North to unity? Start date June 1860, end date Jan 1868.
Vietnam: The French have been fighting and are aiming to take Dien Bien Phu in the North. Play as the Viet Minh, the USA/South Vietnam, or France as war breeds war in the jungle. Start date July 1954, end date July 1975.
World 2010: A United States in depression, fractured Russian states, pirates in Somalia, an unstable Middle East, and a strengthened EU could lead to WWIII. Start date Jan 1, 2010, end date May 1, 2013 (2012 taking into account the transfer from modern to Gregorian, which should be 4/21/13) Each turn is a fortnight. (1, 15)