There has been a lot of discussion on civics, and lots of suggestions for new setups of civics. But which is the best? I challenge you to a contest.
Rules:
* Technically possible: The setup, including all features, must be technically possible to create with the current version of Civ 4.
* Limit of 5*5 civics: In this contest you are not allowed to increase the number of categories or options beyond the original number. Lots of options might seem great, but the learning curve gets too steep, and the options gets very hard to survey.
* You may add a limited number of buildings, specialists, units and other features: You can have a Slave specialist, a Secret Police building and so on if they are civic-dependent, work as intended and you document them properly.
Judgment criteria:
* Balance: All civics must be useful during some time of the game, and no civic should be good enough to make all the other obsolete.
* Strategic depth: The outcome of choosing different civic options should differ as much as possible, and require different playstyles.
* Historical realism: I try to measure the realism of a mod by its ability to represent real world history. I ask questions like "what civics did Caesar/Victoria/Hitler/Reagan use, and why?" "Why did the leaders in some countries allow slavery while others did not?" "What is the competitional advantage of state property?" and so on.
* Science-fiction civics will only be awarded if they are plausible. (Environmentalism is plausible, "Using leaves as currency" or "Sandwich-maker cult" are not.)
* Originality: Come up with a civic which is historically important, but which no modder has ever mentioned before!
Please post your suggestion for a 5*5 civic setup!
Rules:
* Technically possible: The setup, including all features, must be technically possible to create with the current version of Civ 4.
* Limit of 5*5 civics: In this contest you are not allowed to increase the number of categories or options beyond the original number. Lots of options might seem great, but the learning curve gets too steep, and the options gets very hard to survey.
* You may add a limited number of buildings, specialists, units and other features: You can have a Slave specialist, a Secret Police building and so on if they are civic-dependent, work as intended and you document them properly.
Judgment criteria:
* Balance: All civics must be useful during some time of the game, and no civic should be good enough to make all the other obsolete.
* Strategic depth: The outcome of choosing different civic options should differ as much as possible, and require different playstyles.
* Historical realism: I try to measure the realism of a mod by its ability to represent real world history. I ask questions like "what civics did Caesar/Victoria/Hitler/Reagan use, and why?" "Why did the leaders in some countries allow slavery while others did not?" "What is the competitional advantage of state property?" and so on.
* Science-fiction civics will only be awarded if they are plausible. (Environmentalism is plausible, "Using leaves as currency" or "Sandwich-maker cult" are not.)
* Originality: Come up with a civic which is historically important, but which no modder has ever mentioned before!
Please post your suggestion for a 5*5 civic setup!
