Hi guys.
I have been thinking recently about the way cities are founded in Civilization, and the problems it poses (like idiotic choices by the AI to found cities in snowy islands, ICS etc.)
I found an alternative way this could work in a future Civ game (not that I have delusions that it will). I wonder what you guys think.
So, let's think how cities get founded in real life. People originally settled where there was abundant food or where there was something to do: along a trade route, near workplaces like mines or factories, etc. In terms of Civilization, that would mean resources.
My idea is that the player don't directly control city placement, maybe except for the first city. Let the player improve resources (he would have to be able to work resources outside his borders of course) and draw benefits from them. There would be an algorithm in place where cities would "pop up" spontaneously near resources. Also near unimproved ones... And with the new trade route mechanics, along trade routes as well. Maybe along roads and rivers, too. You get the picture.
Cities would be semi-autonomous: you would have to work for control over them. If they pop up near an unimproved resource or along a trade route far from your borders, they could work like city states do now. If they pop up around your roads or improved resources, you would control them.
However, I imagine that cities could join an empire or defect if presented with the opportunity. What I am thinking about is that the strong states we have now is a pretty new concept. Earlier in history, if a king wanted to go to war, he needed to negotiate it out with his own nobility. Changes of allegiance weren't that uncommon. Not sure how exactly this could be implemented, but I think it would be an interesting twist on the current way things work.
What are your thoughts?
I have been thinking recently about the way cities are founded in Civilization, and the problems it poses (like idiotic choices by the AI to found cities in snowy islands, ICS etc.)
I found an alternative way this could work in a future Civ game (not that I have delusions that it will). I wonder what you guys think.
So, let's think how cities get founded in real life. People originally settled where there was abundant food or where there was something to do: along a trade route, near workplaces like mines or factories, etc. In terms of Civilization, that would mean resources.
My idea is that the player don't directly control city placement, maybe except for the first city. Let the player improve resources (he would have to be able to work resources outside his borders of course) and draw benefits from them. There would be an algorithm in place where cities would "pop up" spontaneously near resources. Also near unimproved ones... And with the new trade route mechanics, along trade routes as well. Maybe along roads and rivers, too. You get the picture.
Cities would be semi-autonomous: you would have to work for control over them. If they pop up near an unimproved resource or along a trade route far from your borders, they could work like city states do now. If they pop up around your roads or improved resources, you would control them.
However, I imagine that cities could join an empire or defect if presented with the opportunity. What I am thinking about is that the strong states we have now is a pretty new concept. Earlier in history, if a king wanted to go to war, he needed to negotiate it out with his own nobility. Changes of allegiance weren't that uncommon. Not sure how exactly this could be implemented, but I think it would be an interesting twist on the current way things work.
What are your thoughts?