Are we getting canals NOW?

[eromrab]

My idea is to introduce an expansion with walls and canals- improvements build on the edges of tiles. Walls give a bonus to friendly units in a tile next to them and replace the current ones in cities. Canals look and operate like rivers, but are built. They must be built starting from a water source to a water source and each tile must border flatland.

That would ruin the point of canals for moving boats through them... the military strategy part of a canal is just as important as the trade benefit, if not more.

 

[awesome]

i can see using cities and forts for canals like in bts, but having a canal run straight through the middle of australia, for example, would be neither realistic nor fun.

 

[eromrab]

i can see using cities and forts for canals like in bts, but having a canal run straight through the middle of australia, for example, would be neither realistic nor fun.

Well, they would need to be designed in a way that you wouldn't want to put them through something like Australia because it would be too expensive for the minimal benefit (that country really wouldn't benefit from it... all the cities are pretty much on the coast and it's easier to sail around), but yet where countries like the US that has huge inland lakes would benefit because their interior cities could get more trade AND build fleets that can actually fight outside of the lakes.

 

[awesome]

yeah, i agree, but cities/forts can be put between lakes, or on their coasts, like chicago. while it's possible in real life to build canals to inland cities, like cincinnati, i just don't think that the only way to discourage someone from spamming things is to make them cost too much.

 

[eromrab]

yeah, i agree, but cities/forts can be put between lakes, or on their coasts, like chicago. while it's possible in real life to build canals to inland cities, like cincinnati, i just don't think that the only way to discourage someone from spamming things is to make them cost too much.

I agree. That's why they would take forever to build too. I mean, if someone wants to waste all their turns building workers and trying to build canals that will take forever and cost them lots of money, then let them... I think a combination of those two variables should make it so it is only used when needed or when it will provide a very desirable benefit (ie - you think you're building all of your cities on the ocean only to find out later that it's a huge inland lake and your entire fleet is land locked).

 

[Save_Ferris]

Well, they would need to be designed in a way that you wouldn't want to put them through something like Australia because it would be too expensive for the minimal benefit (that country really wouldn't benefit from it... all the cities are pretty much on the coast and it's easier to sail around), but yet where countries like the US that has huge inland lakes would benefit because their interior cities could get more trade AND build fleets that can actually fight outside of the lakes.

Hence my idea for no canals through hills, and maybe a length limit that could be increased with techs or wonders.

 

[JohnnyW]

My idea is to introduce an expansion with walls and canals- improvements build on the edges of tiles. Walls give a bonus to friendly units in a tile next to them and replace the current ones in cities. Canals look and operate like rivers, but are built. They must be built starting from a water source to a water source and each tile must border flatland.

I really like your idea of border improvements. Whether there is more potential than the two that you mentioned I'm not sure, but it could be quite interesting to have available for creative modders.

 

[Camikaze]

I find it interesting to look back and see that there is photographic evidence that canals were at the very least seriously considered enough to make it into artwork. Maybe some DLC or in an expansion?

 

[blac]

Interesting that they have the artwork done for the wonder screen. They probably didn't have time to put it in the game so they are saving it. I think it would work and be a great idea. I think it would make navy more important too

 

[Rusty Edge]

The long awaited canal. You know, I think I'd consider it a legitimate use of world builder to go in and put in some lakes where I wanted between cities when I lost a wonder race, and then just gift the cash windfall away.

Now that Great Engineers can swim, wouldn't you think that we could have an intercontinental bridge? Or maybe it should just cost a certain amount of workboats...

 

[eromrab]

Interesting that they have the artwork done for the wonder screen. They probably didn't have time to put it in the game so they are saving it. I think it would work and be a great idea. I think it would make navy more important too

Yeah, I feel that navy is undervalued in Civ a lot. Even in 5. I have to play on Archipelago so that they get more importance, but still it's limited if you're able to get your troops to shore quick and safely enough.

Although, they are nice for a quick bombing of a city so that you can take a city over before someone even knows what hit them.

 

[Save_Ferris]

The long awaited canal. You know, I think I'd consider it a legitimate use of world builder to go in and put in some lakes where I wanted between cities when I lost a wonder race, and then just gift the cash windfall away.

Now that Great Engineers can swim, wouldn't you think that we could have an intercontinental bridge? Or maybe it should just cost a certain amount of workboats...

Probably over coast only. Linking Spain to Morocco? Sure. Linking Australia to Papua New Guinea? Um, I guess. Linking Brazil to the Ivory Coast? A bit overboard.

 

[Camikaze]

I'm not sure if an intercontinental bridge would be realistic, but maybe an intercontinental tunnel?

 

[Rusty Edge]

Probably over coast only. Linking Spain to Morocco? Sure. Linking Australia to Papua New Guinea? Um, I guess. Linking Brazil to the Ivory Coast? A bit overboard.

Agreed.

Japan connects islands, we have a highway/bridge connecting the dots in the Florida Keys to the mainland. It's a good distance, but mostly not deep water.

The advantage of workboats is that they don't go beyond the coastal waters.

I like a tunnel, too. We have the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel, Europe has The Chunnel, they both allow for land and sea traffic to cross.

 

[eromrab]

Agreed.

Japan connects islands, we have a highway/bridge connecting the dots in the Florida Keys to the mainland. It's a good distance, but mostly not deep water.

The advantage of workboats is that they don't go beyond the coastal waters.

I like a tunnel, too. We have the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel, Europe has The Chunnel, they both allow for land and sea traffic to cross.

They had underwater tunnels (and cities and such) in one of the offshoots of Civ when it kinda went a million different ways (I think it was between civ2 & civ3?). They were neat but that just had too much stuff in it

I do agree though. Maybe you could do where the engineer had to build a road to the coast, then the work boats could do the rest to the other side? It would be weird to let them just build anywhere in the water, although in real life, I guess you can

 

[Rusty Edge]

They had underwater tunnels (and cities and such) in one of the offshoots of Civ when it kinda went a million different ways (I think it was between civ2 & civ3?). They were neat but that just had too much stuff in it

I do agree though. Maybe you could do where the engineer had to build a road to the coast, then the work boats could do the rest to the other side? It would be weird to let them just build anywhere in the water, although in real life, I guess you can

Ahh. One of those many CivII editions which I never owned because I didn't have the machine to run them at the time.

While I often suggest the Great Engineer mechanic as a way to prevent spamming of a feature such as a canal/bridge/tunnel, with Civ V's auto-embark feature ( which breaks my immersion) I'm a little quick to throw ideas around like having engineers or workers build a bridge, trying to find a good purpose for auto-embark.

 

[eromrab]

Ahh. One of those many CivII editions which I never owned because I didn't have the machine to run them at the time.

While I often suggest the Great Engineer mechanic as a way to prevent spamming of a feature such as a canal/bridge/tunnel, with Civ V's auto-embark feature ( which breaks my immersion) I'm a little quick to throw ideas around like having engineers or workers build a bridge, trying to find a good purpose for auto-embark.

haha, I can't lie, bridges would be fun... but man they'd be difficult to "police" to make sure the enemy didn't come by and destroy them.

Also, how do you handle combat? Can a land based force attack an enemy that is "under" the bridge? Lots of mechanics to figure out...

 

[blac]

Well since it is a tunnel it probably has a road so they should be able to move through it by the end of the turn. I think a bridge would work fine too. The confederation bridge is really long, and would probably work out to be around 1 tile. I don't think that would be to overkill

 

[eromrab]

Well since it is a tunnel it probably has a road so they should be able to move through it by the end of the turn. I think a bridge would work fine too. The confederation bridge is really long, and would probably work out to be around 1 tile. I don't think that would be to overkill

lol, I had never heard of that before. Now I want to go check it out

I mean, I think bridges are great, but I'd want more than 1 tile. Everyone always wants a limit on canal and bridge lengths. I say just make it so cost/time prohibitive that people won't want to build them too long because they won't be worth it.

Then let people do whatever!

 

[blac]

lol, I had never heard of that before. Now I want to go check it out

I mean, I think bridges are great, but I'd want more than 1 tile. Everyone always wants a limit on canal and bridge lengths. I say just make it so cost/time prohibitive that people won't want to build them too long because they won't be worth it.

Then let people do whatever!

I did some research, and there are longer bridges actually. Some in China built in the past few years are huge. I think it would be possible to build one that would be equal to 2-4 tiles long depending on the map size. Honestly considering we have GDR I think we could have a long bridge. I guess it depends how much you think ciV should go into the future era though