Much greater role for Electricity, oil and power plants

Much greater role for Electricity, oil and power plants

The role of electricity should be expanded beyond simply being a step on the tech-tree. I think a power grid would be an excellent city improvement. A power grid improvement would bring a shield and initial happiness bonus and also reduce corruption. A power gird would disperse electricity making lights, phones, elevators, etc possible. improving economic possibilities and quality of life. In order for an electricity grid to exist, there would need to be coal or later uranium. As mentioned above, if coal or uranium is lost the electricity grid would shut down and benefits would be lost. An electricity grid could also fall into disrepair if there is not enough gold to keep it running and its benefits lost.

New concept: INITIAL HAPPINESS. Things like power grid and combustion would make people initially happy (as they would now have Cars, Lights and Telephones). The happiness bonus should be limited to the first generation, as everyone born into life with lights assumes that is the status quo and isn't overly endowed with joy. Subsequently loosing Electricity or Oil would make people extremely unhappy and constitute a national emergency (see NYC power blackout or August 2003 and 1970's energy crisis)

All of this would change the dynamic of resources as being something needed for society's maintenance instead of the creation of its infastructure.

Well, I have an idea. To build a power grid you would need a power plant in the city first. This is more realistic. There's a few ideas in there I could drop and a few I could expand upon. With a little fleshing out this idea could be a great addition.

Might be necessary - you are right. The grid just disperses the energy - doesn't make it. Finally, you and I see eye to eye.

hmmmm... A good idea a little more thought and a great idea, anyways minor adjustment, why not make it so the Power Plant was a small wonder and you could build X number for X number of cities and a city improvement would be power grid, building the power grid would give you the effect that the power plants were in that city, and as for the loseing idea makeing severly unhappy is good but that would mean that every civ would need oil or what not and that isnt always so--thats the only problem i see but overall this is a good idea

Not sure what you mean with the small wonder. Can you try explaining again? What I think changes with the potential for unhapiness when you loose oil for example is that when a nation reaches a standard that oil becomes a way of life, taking it away is not acceptable. It makes the retention of resources over time very, very important and certainly more realistic. Look how oil has it's grip on our world? I sometimes get bored at the end of the game and this would certianly liven things up. I wonder if anyone know how to mod somthing like this?

A small wonder in civ 3 like a intel agency or iron works, well you could build more then one power plant depending on the amount of cities you have, then each city with the power grid improvement could benifit from the power plant -so long as on the same continent, the power plant would do what you said in the first post and the power grid woul allow other cities to get the same without the power plant

electricity should also increase a city's line of sight

I think I do understand what Colonel is getting at, and I do agree!
What I think he is saying that you have a 'Power Plant' Small Wonder which automatically grants a power grid in X-cities! To build the power plant would require that you have the appropriate resource to fuel it! Alternatively, the Power Plant Small Wonder could simply ALLOW for a power grid to be built in X-cities, but you still have to build them yourself! When you reach the city limit, then you have to build another power plant in another city! As was previously suggested, a power grid would grant a reduction in Waste, as well as boosting happiness, wealth and food/shield output! A power Grid should also increase the Max. Population that the city can support! Losing your power grid or the Power Plant to run it would cause very detrimental effects for that city! Of course, losing a power plant, in this system, would be even MORE detrimental!
Lastly, to have this system, you would need something between Small and Great Wonders! One that can be built X times by a single civ! Perhaps you could limit it by city #! i.e. if you have 4 cities, you can build 1 power plant, 8 cities gives you the ability to build 2 etc etc!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

I'm going to have to disagree with this. For one thing a power system is not as centralized as you make it out to me. If you lose the city with the small wonder, then what? The whole national power grid falls? I'm sorry but that is even more unrealistic than many aspects of civ currently is. I feel that the current model is fine.

OK, to avoid any confusion, I would like to give a blow by blow description of how I feel power stations should work:

1) First, obviously, you have to build a power station-which will often require resources and/or a specific terrain type in your city radius! Theoretically you could build a power station in EVERY city, but this would be economically unfeasible, and would put undue strain on any required resources (making it more likely for them to disappear).

2) Each power station type can furnish X cities, regardless of size! So a Fusion Reactor could furnish 8 cities, a Fission reactor around 6 cities, a coal station around 5, a gas station around 4 cities, and a solar/wind power system around 2 cities!

3) Each type of power station has benefits and penalties, whether higher maintainance costs, or specific resources, or prerequisite improvements or specific terrain, or low number of cities per station!

4) Once you have a power station, a city can benefit from its power if it has TWO things a) it must be connected to the trade network via road/rail and b) a power grid improvement built in that city!!

5) A power grid improvement would have a 'lighbuld' icon next to it if it is recieving power!

6) A functioning power grid boosts the effects of certain improvements/wonders, whilst being required to make certain other improvements functional! It also boosts happiness by around 5-10%, and increases the maximum size of the city!

7) The combination of effects stated in (6) help to a) reduce corruption/waste and b) increase the cities wealth!
Hope this explains my point of view a bit better !

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.