Mgoering
Chieftain
I just had this idea today in reading another topic. Nowadays we are talking lot about cooperation. I think it should be included in Civ4.
First of all, it shouldn't be a tech, but a concept. It should be part of the democratic government, such as Republic and Democracy, and totally available with the UN (not matter of the government). You also should be able to do it with the other governments if both have an embassy with the other. However, it will be harder to make them accept a cooperation.
The first area it could be applied to is science. Like I said before, you produce a certain number of scientific points (100 for example). With the techs you have, you can research a certain number of techs (5 for example). You can allocate points to one, two, three, four or all those techs. You can divide it the way you want (20% for all of them for the example), which you can change every turn.
With cooperation, you can research a tech with another civilisation (probably only one, but it shouldn't have any limit in theory). So, you create a scientific joint-venture, which is based on a 50-50 basis. Any civ can change its share every turn. At then end, when the tech is discovered, a summary of the point allocated is made. Lets say you put 63 points and the other civ 37. At his point, that civ must pay you 13 points of science. That amount is payable in different ways. You can ask for scientific point, gold, units, workers, cities or even techs. If that civ doesn't want to pay you, you will not share the tech to that civ, until it has paid the difference. Then it is up to you to decide if their offer balances the difference.
However, in order to avoid all abuse of it. Every part of the venture should put at least 30% of the points.
The second area can be military. I think it was possible in Civ2. More than allowing right of passage or mutual protection acts, military cooperation should be extended to the units. An injured unit should be able to enter in an ally's city to heel, as if it was his civ's city. But even more than that, this unit should be able to stay in that city, in order to defend it (coming in to heel or not). Of course, doing this avoids the possibility for those two civs to attack each other. So, when the civ who welcomed your unit thinks that its city is hardly enough defended by its own units, it can ask you to move away from that city. You can accept or not. But if you don't, your relations with that civ will be weakened. When bad enough, this civ can attack you again and so do you. No matter who chooses to do so, the now enemy units will be automatically attacked by the strongest attacking unit present in the city.
About production. Cooperation is harder to imagine, but lets try. You want to build a cathedral in one of your city. Cost = 160. Your city produced 14 shields. The cathedral will be built in 12 turns. You want it to go faster than that (the unhappiness is large in this city). Of course, you can let it go and rush it after 10 turns for example. But you also don't have a lot of gold and gold per turn. So, you ask to any ally (who has an embassy with you or/and the appropriate government). You have to tell them where and what you are going to build with those shields. That civ will accept to allocate you a certain number of shields, that you can reallocate to that particular production only (to avoid asking shields to build a market and then use it to build a unit or something else), or not. The counterpart can be everything that you can exchange (gold, luxury, science, units, workers, aso).
The limit to this cooperation would be the wonders; otherwise you'll have to imagine to share its effects.
Speaking about food, it can only be different and not in the form of a cooperation. You can buy or exchange for a certain amount of food or food per turn. But then, you can allocate them to every city you want. You can do this from the exchange window. Every exchange item will be represented. When you double click on it, a distribution screen appears and you can allocate the food to the cities you want (in an amount of in per turn).
Here is what I think could be added in terms of cooperation in Civ4. Tell me what do you think about it.
First of all, it shouldn't be a tech, but a concept. It should be part of the democratic government, such as Republic and Democracy, and totally available with the UN (not matter of the government). You also should be able to do it with the other governments if both have an embassy with the other. However, it will be harder to make them accept a cooperation.
The first area it could be applied to is science. Like I said before, you produce a certain number of scientific points (100 for example). With the techs you have, you can research a certain number of techs (5 for example). You can allocate points to one, two, three, four or all those techs. You can divide it the way you want (20% for all of them for the example), which you can change every turn.
With cooperation, you can research a tech with another civilisation (probably only one, but it shouldn't have any limit in theory). So, you create a scientific joint-venture, which is based on a 50-50 basis. Any civ can change its share every turn. At then end, when the tech is discovered, a summary of the point allocated is made. Lets say you put 63 points and the other civ 37. At his point, that civ must pay you 13 points of science. That amount is payable in different ways. You can ask for scientific point, gold, units, workers, cities or even techs. If that civ doesn't want to pay you, you will not share the tech to that civ, until it has paid the difference. Then it is up to you to decide if their offer balances the difference.
However, in order to avoid all abuse of it. Every part of the venture should put at least 30% of the points.
The second area can be military. I think it was possible in Civ2. More than allowing right of passage or mutual protection acts, military cooperation should be extended to the units. An injured unit should be able to enter in an ally's city to heel, as if it was his civ's city. But even more than that, this unit should be able to stay in that city, in order to defend it (coming in to heel or not). Of course, doing this avoids the possibility for those two civs to attack each other. So, when the civ who welcomed your unit thinks that its city is hardly enough defended by its own units, it can ask you to move away from that city. You can accept or not. But if you don't, your relations with that civ will be weakened. When bad enough, this civ can attack you again and so do you. No matter who chooses to do so, the now enemy units will be automatically attacked by the strongest attacking unit present in the city.
About production. Cooperation is harder to imagine, but lets try. You want to build a cathedral in one of your city. Cost = 160. Your city produced 14 shields. The cathedral will be built in 12 turns. You want it to go faster than that (the unhappiness is large in this city). Of course, you can let it go and rush it after 10 turns for example. But you also don't have a lot of gold and gold per turn. So, you ask to any ally (who has an embassy with you or/and the appropriate government). You have to tell them where and what you are going to build with those shields. That civ will accept to allocate you a certain number of shields, that you can reallocate to that particular production only (to avoid asking shields to build a market and then use it to build a unit or something else), or not. The counterpart can be everything that you can exchange (gold, luxury, science, units, workers, aso).
The limit to this cooperation would be the wonders; otherwise you'll have to imagine to share its effects.
Speaking about food, it can only be different and not in the form of a cooperation. You can buy or exchange for a certain amount of food or food per turn. But then, you can allocate them to every city you want. You can do this from the exchange window. Every exchange item will be represented. When you double click on it, a distribution screen appears and you can allocate the food to the cities you want (in an amount of in per turn).
Here is what I think could be added in terms of cooperation in Civ4. Tell me what do you think about it.
