Canals

[Fatty]

Idea for CIV V (as i've pretty much given up trying to play CIV IV).

It would be nice if workers could build canals through land to allow shipping routes through continents rather than having to go all around every time. They wouldn't hinder land troops from crossing (except for normal penalties when attacking over a river).

Thoughts?

Fatty

 

[Inspector Javert]

Yeah I like that idea, but it might be better just to make a Panama Canal national wonder meaning that only one continent's river would be travelable by your ships. Otherwise it'd be too much power.

 

[Sahkuhnder]

Yes I've always thought that a canal tile improvement would be a great addition to the game.

 

[cbutcher318]

Well canals were very common, especially in the 19th century. I think that it would be fine if they just took a long time to build, escpecially through hills and mountains. But to even it out, maybe anything bigger than a destroyer wouldn't be able to go through it, just like today, where the large nuclear carriers still have to go around the south america. And if it was possible to make a limit, like it can't be longer than two or three tiles long.

 

[GIO888]

Or just build your cities on a single land tile separating tow oceans. There still seem to be a lot of archipelago straggly continents on random map on Civ4.

I'd like other civs to pay you toll when open borders mean they can pass thru the city too.

 

[Fifty]

It would make sense but you would need some kind of disadvantage about it so that players dont make "canal continents" with unrealistic quantities of shipping lanes all over the place.

 

[dutchfire]

if you give offensive penalty's people will start to make canals as an extra fortification (this was actually done in the Netherlands a few ages ago)

 

[Innawerkz]

It would make sense but you would need some kind of disadvantage about it so that players dont make "canal continents" with unrealistic quantities of shipping lanes all over the place.

Maybe reduce the benefit of the surrounding tiles to discourage rampant canal development?

If you build a canal, tiles produce 1 less food (for example), effectively nerfing plains & grasslands. This canal better have high strategic worth to damage that much available land to virtual non-use.

Add that it would take a long time to build in the first place and I think you have an effective deterrent.

 

[Sahkuhnder]

It would make sense but you would need some kind of disadvantage about it so that players dont make "canal continents" with unrealistic quantities of shipping lanes all over the place.

Maybe make them really, really expensive. Perhaps even add in a maintenance cost or a cost each time a ship passes through. Limit them to a one tile distance at the beginning and allow two and then three tile canals as more advanced techs become available.

Canals do have huge potential to be abused as an exploit, but I feel that if they are done carefully that it can be prevented while adding a fun new strategic twist to the game.

 

[Fifty]

Your Ideas Are Brilliant

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Well I'd say make them
1. Major canals only, ie Panama+Suez like
2. Placing a canal makes the tile unusable (it can have no other non-road improvement and produces No Food, Production or Commerce)
3. must have Water on Both sides (so one tile only)

Should probably require Steam Power or Railroad to build and take a Major Worker effort (something like 50-200 worker turns on Normal speed)... possibly make it require multiple turns to pillage as well.

 

[lord_graywolfe]

Well I'd say make them
1. Major canals only, ie Panama+Suez like
2. Placing a canal makes the tile unusable (it can have no other non-road improvement and produces No Food, Production or Commerce)
3. must have Water on Both sides (so one tile only)

Should probably require Steam Power or Railroad to build and take a Major Worker effort (something like 50-200 worker turns on Normal speed)... possibly make it require multiple turns to pillage as well.

that sounds good except i think the distance should be 2 tiles. if its only 1 tile we can cover that now by just building a city there. i also think it should not be able to cross hills or mountains.

 

[Sidewinder00Q]

Thats one of the reasons i wanted to make Canals an extension of a "Port" improvement. In order for a marauding army to pillage a port, they would first have to destroy the ships moored there. Would bring back the Warrior vs BattleShip possibility but, with the BattleShip getting appropriate penalties for being caught in port (-50% strength maybe) it makes them vunerable. It would finally also make Ships vunerable to Pearl Harbor style attacks, of which they are currently immune to.

Put two Ports adjacent to one another and you have a Canal. I think the "Port" improvement should change the tiles yield to equal that of a Coastal Tile, with a +1 in Commerce. A Port supercedes all improvements except road and rail.

 

[Gram]

Between, canals, mega bridges, tunnels, trenches, bunkers, coastal gun emplacements and assorted national and world wonders, there are a number of ways that the game could become even more fun strategically and graphically.

It would be cool to have trench warfare, bunkers, etc... Trenches are an easy thing to get around too, as modern units are introduced they get +100% against trenches. It could also be an added promotion.

Bridges kind of annoy me too. If they can build a bridge to span from Denmark to Sweden, and the chunnel from England to France, and assorted other major projects of the sort why can they not be done in game? Being able to move from one spot, across say two coastal tiles to another piece of land would become a vital economic and military asset.

I think any future expansion will be rich with ideas like these.