Civ VI R&F: Tinkering with Scotland

We've had some lighthearted conversations about this over on another thread, but I really do think Scotland is an interesting new addition to the game, but one that could use a little work in the next patch. Here are some thoughts, both on game balance and historical realism (which I care about; I recognize not everyone does).

UU: Highlanders as released with R&F aren't bad units. You can build them or upgrade from scouts into a defensible mid-game unit comparable to a Ranger that has a 1-hex ranged attack. But they don't make much sense in the context of the Scotland that the game has created. Robert the Bruce ruled Medieval Scotland which he helped to win its independence from greedy English monarchs. This is emphasized in his dipolomatic traits. Several Scottish military units or troops were called "highlanders" at different times as this is really a geographical description rather than one about military equipment or technology. The version of the Highlander that we get in the game, appears to date to much later, when the British monarchs were ruling over a unified England and Scotland (plus Ireland, Wales and other domains). That civilization is well-represented by Victoria's England, which is why she calls it Britain in the dialog. It doesn't make much sense to have a Scottish UU that only existed when Scotland was a component of another Civ that's already in the game. You might as well have given Cree Mounties or Sumeria IEDs. You could easily have some sort of Medieval Melee unit called a highlander -- they were famous for greatsword attacks on the one hand and long spear coordinated defense tactics against English knights on the other. Another proposal was to go with a lowland Scotland UU based on the Border Reivers, fast-moving light horse units that would engage in raiding and plundering, with the ability to drive governors and clergy away, as well as cause cities to flip loyalty. Something to think about.

UI: Golf courses are cool. But they have nothing to do with the characteristic Reformed Church of Scotland. Tying these together feels borderline bigoted. And why do this for Scotland and not for the (also Reformed faith) Dutch UI. Religion is tricky and it's easy to offend unintentionally. Find something else to pave the way for golf courses.

Diplomatic traits: Robert the Bruce did not like it when England attacked him. But where did this idea that he cared about states attacking their neighbors in general come from? Certainly if you are surrounded by hostile states, you should be pleased when a friendlier one takes on a less friendly one. But with Robert's traits, the AI is at a disadvantage, sometimes favoring action that is not in its own interest. This isn't the only AI trait that functions bizarrely (Norway, Germany, etc.), but it's definitely another one that ought to be rethought and revamped.

 

I was surprised with the direction they took for the highlander as well. In Quill18's series on Scotland, he said he thought that the golf course was a euphemism for a whiskey distillery because Firaxis wouldn't be able to squeeze one in without getting "alcohol use" added to their ESRB rating (I don't think the wine luxury is currently enough to push it over, but if they added a distillery it might). I think Robert's agenda was just an attempt to shoehorn Scotland into the existing system without adding too many new features.