I think we need an Early Era expansion to make up for BNW.

BNW I quite like for the most part, but it`s the kind of expansion that only gets enjoyable really late in the game. It can be quite boring until you get there.

I think the Devs should make an indepth Ancient\Classical expansion to make use of the means and ways of that time to help show how interesting things were then and the ethos of the time. Gods and Kings doesn`t do it, that just really added Leaders and scenarios.

A AOW or Ancient Old World expansion.

IMO, the early game is already quite interesting. From exploring with your scouts, planning future cities, adapting your strategies depending on who your neighbors are, and without much units that persistently asks you orders, the early game passes quickly. What they focus now is that transition to the industrial age from the renaissance. This is the part that, in my opinion, needs to be looked into.

a bronze age expansion is great, put tin resource to trade, and remove copper from luxury. Then the hunt for copper can be started. Add the minoans for a bronze trader specialist civ.

Socratatus said:

BNW I quite like for the most part, but it`s the kind of expansion that only gets enjoyable really late in the game. It can be quite boring until you get there.

I think the Devs should make an indepth Ancient\Classical expansion to make use of the means and ways of that time to help show how interesting things were then and the ethos of the time. Gods and Kings doesn`t do it, that just really added Leaders and scenarios.

A AOW or Ancient Old World expansion.

Click to expand...

Early game is still the most interesting for me, although BNW really bridges the gap. G&K added religion, a massive addition especially to the early game. Also, the CS quest system introduced in G&K is more impactful in the early game, with the late game still dominated by GPT more than quests. This, combined with an already pretty lively early game, establishing your cities, setting up the infrastructure, meeting AI and establishing relations, and playing the most important part of the game, makes me pretty content with it. In a future expansion I'd prefer it to focus on the game as a whole rather than a time period.

I think we could use something in the middle of the game, really. The early part is interesting enough and the later part once Ideologies and the World Congress start kicking in is interesting enough. But there's a part, roughly made up of the Classical and Medieval eras that can be slightly dull, unless you are involved in a war.

I've thought for a long time that health and the environment would be a good theme for the third expansion (if they make one ofc). You could combat global warming and prevent eco-protest unhappiness by founding national parks in undeveloped areas -- turning the late game into a hunt for unclaimed desert and tundra! Finally there'd be an actual reason for the AI's mad settling spree. Oil spills from offshore platforms could devastate the economy of yours and neighboring civs... Calls for a new spy action maybe. Canals could be built and maintained, and mountains made into hills and terrain raised from the sea at prohibitive cost (something to use your late-game ginormous gpt for!). Icebreaker ships could open new trade routes through the ice-bound polar areas. Etc etc... It's the most logical expansion area that's left, with the most unexplored territory (pun intended ). Ofc there's nothing stopping them from adding a few new things to the ancient, classical and middleage eras, nor from balancing the existing mechanics of the game (useless Honor tree and unfoundable Deity religion, I'm looking at you).

i think a fairer starting point of the game is in grave need when starting at different era. e.g. when starting at medieval era, you were given only 2 settlers and enough points to enact 3 social policies !!! if you played the game from the beginning, by the time you got to the medieval era, you would normally have had more than this!

this way, I would be more motivated to start at different eras and enjoy BNW without having to go through the earlier eras

The one thing I'd like to see reworked in the early era is warfare, right now its rather punishing to persue war early game and it makes most early UU life span terribly short.

Warfare in general could be improved a lot in a third expansion, hopefuly ranged units and siege can finally be balanced, as well as casus belli to have wars that make sense.

As for eras that could be improved or expanded, I agree that the transition from renaissance to industrial is the one that really needs to get looked into, and adding an Enlightment era that has a lot of incentives to expand like mad (through vassals and colonies) would be really interesting.

Interesting views, chaps.

I beg to disagree. If anything, BNW has made the early game much more interesting; now I spend a lot of time during the first 50 turns looking at the mid to end game and the possibilities, and try to influence from the early stages... no more "guaranteed suicidal rush from the AI, destroy army in defense, go to offense against undefended cities, win". Now THAT was boring...

Instead of another expansion, I would prefer them to focus on the AI now... it has become so much better, but when you look into the code, there is so MUCH potential in there... I wouldn't even mind if they decide to charge for a "Skynet" DLC as long as they truly deliver a top notch AI (within the expectable range, of course).

I would like a new expansion to add in this order:

1. Political movements, elections and different leaders
- Different organisations are active in your country. In democracies there are elections and other organisations can win causing trouble for you. This could for example change your UA or something like that. You can use different methods of surpression but it can cause unhapiness, be very costly, etc. In dictatorships there are no elections but political dissidents can still grow if you don't focus on what people want, are too repressive, etc. This should however not be cooked down to something stupid like "freedom=democracy, order & autocracy=dictatorship". All ideologies should be able to have a democratic system or a dictatorship. Some fascist movements today (at least claim to) support demcracy, some order-oriented countries like Venezuela are a lot more democratic than a lot of liberal contries (the EU Trokias occupation of Greece right now for exampe) and a lot of "freedom"-oriented countries like puppetstates of the US in Latin America, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. can hardly be called democracies.

This would also mean the implementation of different leaders. Leaders should die and be replaced at least at every new age. And when political movements appear (don't know if they should be there from start or appear at a certain age) there should be a possiblity for a leader to be replaced through revolution or election. If there are early dissidents they could for example force a change in social policies?

Other civs should be able to use spies to increase support for other political movements in your civ. Separatists should be able to appear and make cities leave your civ if they win over you militarily or politically. The World Congress should be able to vote for support to dissidents in your empire or joint military action against a movement trying to grab power, etc.

A lot of my ideas are probably stupid or already well covered by other funtions in game. I'm just throwing out a system I would really like to have better implemented.

2. Environmental issues

The environment should be an important part of late game. Sanctions through the UN, global projects against fossile fuels and for the preservation of natural environments (a resolution that gives gold/tourism for unimproved tiles maybe?), etc. Feels like a big miss to not have this implemented better.

3. Health system

Ties in well with both the above mentioned systems as well.

4. Joint militairy actions

Already mentioned in my first category but even if that one isn't implemented I would really like to be able to coordinate militairy actions to free an occupied city state, support a civ or CS under attack, peace-resolutions through UN that can be ignored but then forces other civs to support an action against the warmongerer with troops, etc.

I feel that the early game is already very interesting and there is already so much stuff to do that you must look at the opportunity cost of one thing compared to another. Your hammers and science are both limited so you must choose your techs and buildings/units wisely.

If anything there's already too much stuff to do in the early game compared to your available hammers and income.

Build a wonder or get settlers? Shrine, Granary, Worker, Caravan? which to get first? Or scouts/units? Build roads, improve lux or improve hammers? There's a lot going on and limited hammers/time.

Combine that with the fact that the choices you make will affect the rest of your game greatly. Getting the pyramids will improve your workers the entire game. Snagging that spot to settle will give you that strategic location that could be pivotal 30 - 50 turns from now in battle.

The first 50 turns are the best in the game IMO.

G&K was an early era expansion.

Trade routes? Defending against barbarians ?

Using peity to get a early religion?

More sociol policies to open new strategies

In the renaissance starting to create tourisme and getting theming bonusses with wonders.

the early game is interesting.

When they announced BNW they reinvented G&K as the "early game" expansion - it plainly wasn't designed that way, and indeed had a very explicit Renaissance theme in its publicity, but it's now the way the designers see the game - they had a 'bare bones' vanilla and expansions that focused on the 'early game' and 'late game'.

And, as others have said, I agree that BNW adds more to the early game either than it does to the late game or than G&K added to the early game. The early-game tech choices are well-balanced and focused on different victory conditions, as are most of the early buildings (and 'resource-linked' buildings, Circus and Mint, are more important with limitations to their respective output), and there are of course additional unit and building options at that stage. You can define your playstyle by the choices you make from a much earlier game stage.

I'd prefer a third expansion focusing on something separate from 'era' - let's say the game is now complete for all eras with its two expansions, so instead of an "era" expansion make a third expansion that homes in on empire management.