Thanks guys, here are some answers:
Unit Kills:
One thing I never liked about Civ4 was the way units always die - there's never any retreating. In real battle an entire unit (battalion, regiment, whatever) is rarely completely wiped out. In basic terms I plan to give each unit some retreat bonus. More mobile units will retreat more than footsoldiers, and ultimately retreat would be based on some basic factors:
Experience: Well trained or experienced troops are better at retreating than fresh troops from your supply depot. If your troop is hopelessly outclassed or out numbered, it'll retreat more orderly and have a better chance of coming through the battle whole.
Damage: The more damaged our troops are, the more difficult time they will have retreating.-Smitty
I brought this up earlier in the thread, though pretty much as a one line comment so it could quite easily have been glanced over.
I love the concept, but I do wonder if by making units harder to kill, it could leave the game swamped within a relatively short period.
Looking through the modcomponent threads, I came across the Grey Fox's
Unit Fuel Mod which I'm wondering whether - as well as perhaps being used to provide range limits to Tanks - could be used for the concept of manpower - that is a number representing men available for reinforcements of existing units and the creation of new units.
This could perhaps be altered by two Civics;
Army Mantra
Conscription + manpower, - happiness
Professional Army - manpower, + happiness)
Government Types
Absolute Monarchy (ie; Russia) + manpower - production
Militarist Government + manpower (not as much as Absolute monarchy though) + happiness when occupied by troops
Democracy - manpower, + happiness / + production (women in the workplace?)
Communism - relations with others
This latter government civic could perhaps be locked, with changes only available based on in-game events relating to a Religion replacement (see below)
Russia with it's conscription and absolute monarchy (and size) would therefore have plenty of manpower....but it would have a production and happiness cost.
Britain with it's professional army and being a Democracy would have a low manpower regeneration, but would get a happiness and/or production boost. Britain can boost its manpower by introducing conscription
France the benefits of conscription would be partially offset by it being a Democracy
Germany and A-H would get good manpower, but may have to divert troops to home cities to keep happiness up (possibly needs work so this affects the multi-national A-H more than Germany)
At game start the manpower would be raised higher to represent an influx of volunteers to the cause, but a second concept I'd also like to be added would be that for a new unit to be created takes x number of weeks before it becomes available ready for combat...for example, Britains 'Kitchener's volunteer army' didn't actually see combat until July 1916 (the Somme)....for gameplay terms that is possibly over-long, but I think it would be nice to reflect that troops take time to train.
Similarly, I think it'd be good to have each Nations reserves initally unavailable - so for the Russian's for example it would take 6 weeks to mobilise their reserve forces. The Western Nations would be sooner. Presumably this would have to be scripted.
I'd also like to suggest that Infantry should have a better chance of retreat than Tanks and Cavalry - at least where trenches/fortified positions - are involved.
Russia....one thing that is difficult to avoid with WW scenarios preventing Russia from becoming a production beast. As such - assuming that the bitter winter mod won't be added - perhaps a new landtype could be created that would effectively 'lock' much of the population into subsistence farming?
Replacing Religion - in order to mod the Socialist upheavals, I was thinking the Revolution Modcomp (I saw it a few days ago have struggled to find it cince!) could perhaps be adopted - possibly with two "religions" - Old Order and Bolshevism. Cities with "Old Order" would receive negative happiness under a Communist government, whilst cities with Bolshevism would receive negative happiness under Absolute Monarchy, Democracry and Militarist governments.
I actually don't play mods (because I am too busy modding myself) but this, I am definitely going to try.
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If not you're nutz!!!!!!!
