CaptainPatch
Lifelong gamer
I think that the trade route length limitation is far too short. For example, during the Marco Polo era, the Silk Road (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road) extended for 4,000 miles. That would be significantly more than the two, three, or four cities away that Civ V/BNW allows.
Now, there is of course the factor that the longer a route is, the greater the risk that a barbarian or enemy will plunder the caravan marching by. But running that risk should be a judgement of the player as opposed to a rule limitation. ["... you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?"]
Tempus fugit and suddenly there are roads all over the place. Lengthy routes across wide open spaces is one thing, but when travelers are on a road, well, there's this temptation to roll on to the next town... and the next, and the next after that. (It's the main reason Polo's journey lasted for as long as it did.) So how about: A city may establish a route that is connected by roads of any length? (With cities strung together like pearls on a string.) But just like a route being broken by a barbarian plundering the caravan, if a road is destroyed or city razed anywhere along the route, the route is broken. Of course, the longer the route, the greater the probability of that happening.
Now, there is of course the factor that the longer a route is, the greater the risk that a barbarian or enemy will plunder the caravan marching by. But running that risk should be a judgement of the player as opposed to a rule limitation. ["... you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?"]
Tempus fugit and suddenly there are roads all over the place. Lengthy routes across wide open spaces is one thing, but when travelers are on a road, well, there's this temptation to roll on to the next town... and the next, and the next after that. (It's the main reason Polo's journey lasted for as long as it did.) So how about: A city may establish a route that is connected by roads of any length? (With cities strung together like pearls on a string.) But just like a route being broken by a barbarian plundering the caravan, if a road is destroyed or city razed anywhere along the route, the route is broken. Of course, the longer the route, the greater the probability of that happening.