A Better America

[dexters]

I don't think there any other ideas for an American UA that is as perfect as increased growth from trade routes. It fits American history and uses BNW mechanics in an interesting way. What else needs to be said?

The problem of course is the AI will invariably have more happiness until the ideologies kick in and the playing field evens out abit. Even then you have to follow the dominant ideology or become the dominant ideology yourself to reap the happiness rewards and inflict 'dissent' on others.

For that to work, there has to be a tourism/ideology component to it. Even then it's only awesome on the final half, just like the B-17 is awesome but games by then are already won, especially on the higher difficulties.

The question then is

Do we want more 'highly situational' UA to replace another highly situtional UA the Americans have?

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

I was thinking of just dropping the requirement for less happiness and reducing the bonus somewhat. Maybe it would even require a DOF and/or Open Borders. Tweak as necessary for balance.

 

[kb27787]

Just thought of something...
New UA: World Police
Whenever USA goes to war via defensive pact with another civ, influences with all neutral and friendly city states increases one time by 30, and tributes demanded from city states when America is at war for above reason only incur half influence loss; America receives 1 additional WC delegate and +2 happiness for all ongoing defensive pacts with civs.

This gives incentive for America to shelter civs with only one snow city left XD even by offering them another snow city where their enemy cannot reach.

 

[dexters]

UA name should remain manifest destiny.

Just give it a stronger city-state focus.

I think SS-18 ICBM's idea of a bonus to growth from trade route could be workable if the bonus applies to any city states & to Civs with lesser happiness where a trade route is established. That should open up more options.

If I was designing it I would just make it 10% growth per route and drop the happiness qualifier. Otherwise it would create a situation where the player could potentially have two bad choices. Go for a little bit more growth or trade with another Civ because a Civ-Civ trade route offers more gpt and also gives beakers, which can be quite substantial when playing on high difficulty levels and is often used as a way for the human player to catch up to the AI.

I would also make it such that a trade route established by another to America will add some growth,say 5%, and generate a little bit more gold for the Civ owning the route. A kind of transfer of money back home type of deal

 

[caketastydelish]

None of the ideas in the OP were very good (no offense) but I just had to stop reading after 'national debt'.

edit: I mean come on. Tons of countries have had a national debt besides America, and on a per-capita basis I'd say Greece is in even worse shape than we are. Besides being a stupid UU in terms of ability, it's even more stupid historically. Besides the factor that there have been TONS of countries/empires/whatever before America that have had a national debt, America's national debt being a problem is a very recent thing... in the clinton years we actually had a surplus, it wasn't until Geroge Bush Jr. made it a debt and Obama made it bigger. America has been a country for like 250 years now, and you're basing your UU on something that has been going on for more like 20 years.

 

[Altisma]

America
American cities can expand into neighboring territories through culture or purchasing. 50% bonus to tourism, Scouts/Explorers start with the +1 sight upgrade.
(Buying tiles owned by another Civ causes that gold used buying goes to them.)

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

I think SS-18 ICBM's idea of a bonus to growth from trade route could be workable if the bonus applies to any city states & to Civs with lesser happiness where a trade route is established. That should open up more options.

Not my idea. Just lending my support to an immigration-based American UA. Even Rhye's and Fall of Civilization IV had a similar mechanic.

 

[Enrico Swagolo]

After Internet is researched, military units can scream 'MURICA. It lowers the strength of nearby enemy units and increases strength of allies by 10% for 2 turns, but has 20% chance of the unit performing 'MURICA turning into Ancient Era Brute. Each Brute increases your overall faith output by 20%, but lowers your Culture/Science by 10% until it's disbanded.

 

[BillDon]

Unique Ability- World Police- Military unit gifts to city states produce more influence Unique Unit- Pioneer- Replaces settler-plus 2 sight and does not halt growth when built.
Unique Building- Immigration center- replaces factory- does not require coal. +2 production, +10% production. Has one extra specialist slot of your choice.

edit: a lot of the above ideas were drawn from several previous posters, especially pioneers.

 

[Resipsa]

America's national debt being a problem is a very recent thing... in the clinton years we actually had a surplus, it wasn't until Geroge Bush Jr. made it a debt and Obama made it bigger. America has been a country for like 250 years now, and you're basing your UU on something that has been going on for more like 20 years.

I think you need to learn the difference between debt and deficit

 

[Polisurgist]

I think you need to learn the difference between debt and deficit

The specifics in that post were off, but that doesn't change the fact that thinking that the US' national debt is somehow a unique or even notable factor differentiating it from other civilizations shows an equally ridiculous view of world politics.

 

[dexters]

Yeah no, let's stay away from debt, ideology 'split' mechanics or anything referencing American politics in the last 10 or so years.

It's really going to date this game in 10 years anyways. Imagine if Civ2 had a UA in 1990 I bet you the suggestions back then would have been about a UA that allowed America a bonus to win any cold war type situations

 

[HaloCapella]

we should just have "Land military units have +1 vision. Settlers, Workers and Scouts have +1 movement."

nice and simple, good for all ages. There's nothing wrong with saving a turn for more earlier resources.

 

[Arachnofiend]

If I was designing it I would just make it 10% growth per route and drop the happiness qualifier.

For the record, this is almost identical to the idea Keirador and I came up with back on the first two pages. We decided on just giving any city with a trade route 10% growth. 10% per would probably end up being stupid strong; just set up your capital to be mega-attractive to other civs and suddenly you can be running growth modifiers in the triple digits.

 

[pwnerer]

My idea to buff America is this:

Replace Temple with LIBERTY BELL- A cheaper temple that starts as +1 Faith +1 Happiness
When America discovers Printing = +1 culture
When America discovers Economics = +1 Gold
When America discovers Scientific Theory = +1 Science
When America discovers Radio = +1 tourism

UA: Manifest Destiny - scouts get +1 visual range, purchasing land half price, when ideology is discovered, America gets 3 Tenents regardless of being first or not.

UU: Minutemen-leave the same

 

[Polisurgist]

Replace Temple with LIBERTY BELL- A cheaper temple that starts as +1 Faith +1 Happiness
When America discovers Printing = +1 culture
When America discovers Economics = +1 Gold
When America discovers Scientific Theory = +1 Science
When America discovers Radio = +1 tourism

This reflects an unrealistically favorable view of Philadelphia.

 

[dexters]

For the record, this is almost identical to the idea Keirador and I came up with back on the first two pages. We decided on just giving any city with a trade route 10% growth. 10% per would probably end up being stupid strong; just set up your capital to be mega-attractive to other civs and suddenly you can be running growth modifiers in the triple digits.

Native trade route can be 10% max; but is modified by things like same ideology, same religion, happiness (maybe) ; open borders.

So a route that goes to another civ with no open borders, a different religion and different ideology may only give you 1/2 of that.

A foreign trade route to your city will maybe only add 1/2 of that or 5% , also modified by the same things stated above.

I find AI has so many options with their trade routes, I rarely get more than a few routes to my cities, so it won't be too OP, and the routes I can have is capped at 10 with wonders. So a theoretical 100% growth modifier in my capital is all routes converge there.

You can also place a limit whereby having more than 1 trade route to the same Civ from the same city prevents stacking effects. So 2 routes to the same Civ won't give you a 20% growth boost, but only 10.

Lots of ways to sort of manage and control this bonus without it being too onerous, or too powerful.

But it should be sort of powerful since the problem with America is the UA is kind of crap.

 

[pwnerer]

This reflects an unrealistically favorable view of Philadelphia.

My idea to buff America is this:

Replace Temple with LIBERTY BELL- A cheaper temple that starts as +1 Faith +1 Happiness
When America discovers Printing = +1 culture
When America discovers Economics = +1 Gold
When America discovers Scientific Theory = +1 Science
When America discovers Radio = +1 tourism

UA: Manifest Destiny - scouts get +1 visual range, purchasing land half price, when ideology is discovered, America gets 3 Tenents regardless of being first or not.

UU: Minutemen-leave the same

Well it was meant to be a meta UB

First of all, Firaxis used liberty bells in Civ Colonization, so its sort of along the lines of that. It makes sense that the replacement UB is religious since pilgrims fled religious persecution.

It was sort of meant to be a progression towards independance (Liberty ideology) where +1 gold is like Thomas Paine/invisible hand, +1 science is like Ben Franklin, +1 tourism is the blue jeans and pop music ref, etc.

 

[Gyra Solune]

Well it was meant to be a meta UB

First of all, Firaxis used liberty bells in Civ Colonization, so its sort of along the lines of that. It makes sense that the replacement UB is religious since pilgrims fled religious persecution.

It was sort of meant to be a progression towards independance (Liberty ideology) where +1 gold is like Thomas Paine/invisible hand, +1 science is like Ben Franklin, +1 tourism is the blue jeans and pop music ref, etc.

It could definitely be a nice UB in concept, but it's just...well, the Liberty Bell is a very specific thing. There's only really the notable one, not like dozens of Liberty Bells in every city across the globe.

I am in support of a UA that does Ideology stuff, since it's a big part of American culture that they kicked off that kind of thing and started extensive political discourse on the matter in the late 18th century. I was thinking along the lines of "triple free Ideology tenets for early adoption", maybe even something silly like "can start with an Ideology" or so.

 

[HaloCapella]

My idea to buff America is this:

Replace Temple with LIBERTY BELL- A cheaper temple that starts as +1 Faith +1 Happiness
When America discovers Printing = +1 culture
When America discovers Economics = +1 Gold
When America discovers Scientific Theory = +1 Science
When America discovers Radio = +1 tourism

UA: Manifest Destiny - scouts get +1 visual range, purchasing land half price, when ideology is discovered, America gets 3 Tenents regardless of being first or not.

UU: Minutemen-leave the same

ah, liberty bell. sounds like a nice new UA.

"Liberty Bells: Each city you annex will instantly start a WLTKD. Earn great people 25% faster during WLTKDs."