It has always annoyed me that the American Civilization always gets stupid late game UUs that arent much use. (Especially the stealth fighter unit, wow).
If you look at american history, the most Civ relevant feature to me is that America expanded from the original colonies to spread across the entire continent, through the use of common citizens creating farms of new land and defending themselves with guns. This was a fairly ingenious method of taking the land away from its original inhabitants.
So I think the American unique unit should be a special settler, similar to how India has fast workers in Civ4. This homesteader unit would be named for the Homestead Act which in the 1800s, which gave settlers ownership of 160 acres of land, if they went and farmed it for a few years. It would be a special settler with a power that would be beneficial in claiming new territory, possibly from someone else, and/or defending the territory.
For example, things I could see this doing:
* The unit might be allowed to move through/settle in territory owned by another civilization!
* The unit could have a defense value sufficient to protect it against early animal and barbarian attacks, so that it doesnt require escort.
* The settler could provide a free basic defensive unit in the new city it creates, simulating how the settlers defended their new land themselves. (This could be based on tech, for example it would be a warrior early, then archer, longbow, musketman, etc as you progress).
I feel that a special settler unit comprising some combination of better settling power or defensive ability, would better represent the history of the american civilization, than some modern unit that doesnt arrive until the game is already over.
If you look at american history, the most Civ relevant feature to me is that America expanded from the original colonies to spread across the entire continent, through the use of common citizens creating farms of new land and defending themselves with guns. This was a fairly ingenious method of taking the land away from its original inhabitants.
So I think the American unique unit should be a special settler, similar to how India has fast workers in Civ4. This homesteader unit would be named for the Homestead Act which in the 1800s, which gave settlers ownership of 160 acres of land, if they went and farmed it for a few years. It would be a special settler with a power that would be beneficial in claiming new territory, possibly from someone else, and/or defending the territory.
For example, things I could see this doing:
* The unit might be allowed to move through/settle in territory owned by another civilization!
* The unit could have a defense value sufficient to protect it against early animal and barbarian attacks, so that it doesnt require escort.
* The settler could provide a free basic defensive unit in the new city it creates, simulating how the settlers defended their new land themselves. (This could be based on tech, for example it would be a warrior early, then archer, longbow, musketman, etc as you progress).
I feel that a special settler unit comprising some combination of better settling power or defensive ability, would better represent the history of the american civilization, than some modern unit that doesnt arrive until the game is already over.