This is just a suggestion, but after playing through a variety of 'longer' games (marathon, 15-20 ai), i think i can speak with some degree of experience.
Narrow gaps between large landmasses get really crowded. Im not talking single tile 'straits' like historical bosforus or malakka or the english channel, but 3-5 tile area's. Given the scale of the maps, these areas should be significantly free to trade.
Ocean tiles (not coast, but ocean), are useful for moneymaking late-game because of their increased yield with seaport, lighthouse, and especially so with maoi's and colossus, but in general, they are a cash cow, even for a major land-power.
Access to the ocean, generally speaking, should have tremendous value. Both historically and in nominal terms of the current games iteration, the Ocean is a route for expansion, opens up the potential to create naval units, and ofcourse is good money. Furthermore, a variety of structures can only be built along the coast.
What i'd propose is this:
- Somehow, eliminate cultural expansion to Ocean Tiles for everyone. This would allow for more 'free seas' space for the discuss of seapower.
- Coast tiles would still be ownable, and since the quantity of overall sea tiles would be reduced, coast's stats should be increased. Move from 1 food/2 gold to 3 food/3 gold for all coast, with the obvious increases from lighthouse, seaport, and all other units preserved. This is a rough balancing, obviously.
Its just something to consider. Because the alternate is having the 4 or 5 ocean tile radius around every capitol all taken by the medieval era, which can squeeze out a lot of oceanroutes in a fashion that isn't all that useful or fair.
Narrow gaps between large landmasses get really crowded. Im not talking single tile 'straits' like historical bosforus or malakka or the english channel, but 3-5 tile area's. Given the scale of the maps, these areas should be significantly free to trade.
Ocean tiles (not coast, but ocean), are useful for moneymaking late-game because of their increased yield with seaport, lighthouse, and especially so with maoi's and colossus, but in general, they are a cash cow, even for a major land-power.
Access to the ocean, generally speaking, should have tremendous value. Both historically and in nominal terms of the current games iteration, the Ocean is a route for expansion, opens up the potential to create naval units, and ofcourse is good money. Furthermore, a variety of structures can only be built along the coast.
What i'd propose is this:
- Somehow, eliminate cultural expansion to Ocean Tiles for everyone. This would allow for more 'free seas' space for the discuss of seapower.
- Coast tiles would still be ownable, and since the quantity of overall sea tiles would be reduced, coast's stats should be increased. Move from 1 food/2 gold to 3 food/3 gold for all coast, with the obvious increases from lighthouse, seaport, and all other units preserved. This is a rough balancing, obviously.
Its just something to consider. Because the alternate is having the 4 or 5 ocean tile radius around every capitol all taken by the medieval era, which can squeeze out a lot of oceanroutes in a fashion that isn't all that useful or fair.
