AlpsStranger
Jump jump on the tiger!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2009
- Messages
- 5,820
I was one of Civilization V's most vocal defenders based upon the pre-release information, and I still feel that the game is, viewed as a whole, quite good. I enjoy the general direction they are attempting to take the series. The execution, however, does have a few glaring problems at the moment. I am sure these can be corrected if proper remedial action is taken. If it is taken quickly then these issues may even be forgotten before they have time to fester.
I have what I consider a reasonable suggestion for fixing the clearly imbalanced "ignore happiness" strategies that I see cropping up. This argument is being made purely on its own merits as I am not a person of note in the community. I ask that this thread be used to discuss the merit of this suggestion and not devolve into personal attacks or debates about the quality of Civilization 5 as a whole. You can do that on the *entire* forum outside of this post for all I care.
Stop reading now if you do not agree with the following.
- Ignoring happiness should not be a viable playstyle. It exists outside of the bounds of the intended mechanics.
- Prolonged and severe unhappiness should be something close to a lose condition.
- Civilization 5 should use mechanical devices common to Civilization 5, not Civilization 4.
The anarchy bucket itself is actually quite simple. Whenever you cross the Very Unhappy threshold the raze icon appears in place of the golden age icon. (Golden Age bucket is kept, but is hidden for clarity) The value is, just to throw a number out there, X/100. Every point of unhappiness beyond the threshold for very unhappy is placed in the anarchy bucket. The anarchy bucket points can only be depleted by positive happiness values.
So what happens if it fills up? You enter anarchy. Anarchy should be devastating and even a single turn in such a state should seriously reduce your chances of winning the game. I would suggest something like the following:
- Research Stops
- Military units cannot be built or purchased
- Every city begins to raze itself ( cities that cannot be razed will raze down to 1 population )
- 5% of your military, rounded up, deserts and flips to barbarian
- Cities take severe health damage, as if under siege
- AI civilizations, sensing weakness, are very likely to attack
- Claimed tiles begin to recede fairly quickly
- 10% if your tile improvements, at random, pillage themselves
Nobody should be able to endure anarchy as part of any kind of wonky exploit. Keeping your happiness in the black is a core part of Civilization 5.
I have what I consider a reasonable suggestion for fixing the clearly imbalanced "ignore happiness" strategies that I see cropping up. This argument is being made purely on its own merits as I am not a person of note in the community. I ask that this thread be used to discuss the merit of this suggestion and not devolve into personal attacks or debates about the quality of Civilization 5 as a whole. You can do that on the *entire* forum outside of this post for all I care.
Stop reading now if you do not agree with the following.
- Ignoring happiness should not be a viable playstyle. It exists outside of the bounds of the intended mechanics.
- Prolonged and severe unhappiness should be something close to a lose condition.
- Civilization 5 should use mechanical devices common to Civilization 5, not Civilization 4.
The anarchy bucket itself is actually quite simple. Whenever you cross the Very Unhappy threshold the raze icon appears in place of the golden age icon. (Golden Age bucket is kept, but is hidden for clarity) The value is, just to throw a number out there, X/100. Every point of unhappiness beyond the threshold for very unhappy is placed in the anarchy bucket. The anarchy bucket points can only be depleted by positive happiness values.
So what happens if it fills up? You enter anarchy. Anarchy should be devastating and even a single turn in such a state should seriously reduce your chances of winning the game. I would suggest something like the following:
- Research Stops
- Military units cannot be built or purchased
- Every city begins to raze itself ( cities that cannot be razed will raze down to 1 population )
- 5% of your military, rounded up, deserts and flips to barbarian
- Cities take severe health damage, as if under siege
- AI civilizations, sensing weakness, are very likely to attack
- Claimed tiles begin to recede fairly quickly
- 10% if your tile improvements, at random, pillage themselves
Nobody should be able to endure anarchy as part of any kind of wonky exploit. Keeping your happiness in the black is a core part of Civilization 5.